Henry Robert Bowreman Foote Major General Henry Robert Bowreman Foote ( 5 December 1904 – 11 November 1993 ) was a British recipient of the Victoria Cross , the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces . Life and career . Foote was born in Ishapore , India the son of Henry Bruce Foote , a major in the Royal Artillery , and his wife Jennie Elizabeth . He was the grandson of the archaeologist and geologist Robert Bruce Foote , often considered the " Father of Indian Prehistory " . Foote ' s mother died when he was a child and he went to England to board at St Cyprian ' s School , Eastbourne at the age of four . In 1918 he went to Bedford School where he stayed until 1923 . He joined Royal Tank Corps in 1925 . Second World War . Foote was a Staff Officer from 1939 to 1942 and a member of the British Army Staff Mission , Washington , DC USA in 1941 . In 1942 he became Officer Commanding , 7th Royal Tank Regiment and it was in this post that he won the Victoria Cross at the Battle of Gazala . Shortly after this , Foote was captured and became a prisoner of war . However , he subsequently escaped and entered Switzerland in April 1944 , it was only then that he learned he had been awarded the Victoria Cross . After a period as a General Staff Officer at Allied Forces Headquarters in 1944 , he became Second in Command , 9th Armoured Brigade in 1945 . Post - War . After the end of the war , Foote was flying to Berlin to take part in a victory parade when he had to bail - out , as the aircraft was about to crash . Consequently , he became a member of the Caterpillar Club , an informal group of those who have been saved from death or serious injury by means of a parachute . Foote was Brigadier of the Royal Armoured Corps , Middle East Land Forces from 1945 to 1947 and then Officer Commanding 2nd Royal Tank Regiment from 1947 to 1948 . He was at the Fighting Vehicles Proving Establishment , at the Ministry of Supply from 1948 to 1949 and commanded the 7th Armoured Brigade from 1949 to 1950 and the 11th Armoured Division from 1950 to 1953 . He was Director General of Fighting Vehicles at the Ministry of Supply from 1953 to 1955 and Director , Royal Armoured Corps , at the War Office from 1955 until his retirement in 1958 as Major General . After his retirement , Foote was a trustee of the Bovington Tank Museum until his death . He was featured as a guest on the biographical television programme This Is Your Life on 22 October 1986 . Details of Award . Foote was 37 years old , and a temporary lieutenant colonel in the 7th Royal Tank Regiment , British Army , during the Second World War when the following deed took place for which he was awarded the VC . During the period 27 May / 15 June 1942 in Libya , Lieutenant Colonel Foote commanded his battalion with outstanding courage and leadership , always being at the crucial point at the right time . On 6 June , although wounded , he continued to lead his battalion from an exposed position on the outside of a tank , and succeeded in defeating the enemy ' s attempt to encircle two Allied divisions . On 13 June , when a number of Allied tanks had been destroyed , he went on foot , " from one tank to another , to encourage the crews under intense artillery and anti - tank fire " . By " his magnificent example the corridor was kept open and the Brigade was able to march through " . The medal . His medals are displayed at the Royal Tank Regiment Museum , Bovington , Dorset .