War hero's regiment to auction military memorabilia

Captain Noel Chavasse was the only soldier to win Britain's highest award for bravery twice in World War One

A treasure trove of military memorabilia including some linked to the only man to win the Victoria Cross twice for his heroics in World War One is to go under the hammer.

A whole collection of items belonging to the Liverpool Scottish Regiment is being sold in a week-long online auction.

The reserve regiment was often nicknamed a "gentleman’s regiment" as it was made up of the cotton brokers, shipping executives and stockbrokers who symbolised Liverpool’s Edwardian wealth.

They were among the first to be deployed on the Western Front, where Captain Noel Chavasse, an Army surgeon, won two VCs and a Military Cross.

The son of a former Bishop of Liverpool, he won the Military Cross in June 1915 for the 12 hours he spent rescuing casualties at Ypres, repeatedly combing the battlefield to help the injured.

Just over a year later he was awarded his first VC for saving about 20 men while wounded at Guillemont on the Somme.

Tunics, kilts worn on the front line, weapons and helmets are all up for sale

Chavasse won his second VC - a posthumous award - when, according to the Royal British Legion, his first aid post was hit by a shell and he crawled half a mile to get help for others, despite his face being unrecognisable and suffering a serious stomach wound.

Mortally wounded in a casualty station, he later dictated a note for his nurse fiancee, in which he told her “duty called and called me to obey".

Much of the collection is held by the Museum of Liverpool but the remaining memorabilia, including photos of the hero captain, is being auctioned.

Major Ian Riley said Captain Chavasse showed extraordinary courage

Major Ian Riley, honorary secretary of the Liverpool Scottish Museum, which also holds some of the items, said Chavasse was "a legend" whose "courage is not the reckless flamboyant sort".

"It was a cold calculated kind that simply saw what had to be done and then went away and did it regardless of the risks," he said.

One of the photos up for sale shows Chavasse and a group of officers before they went to France - from where many never returned.

Tunics, kilts worn on the front line, weapons and helmets are all up for sale in the auction, which is running until 1 October.

Ross Litherland, of auction house Outhwaite and Litherland, said: "I come from the same streets that some of the gentlemen who wore these uniforms came from.

"This is a really emotive collection, the like of which does not come up very often."