Charles Upham Captain Charles Hazlitt Upham , VC and Bar ( 21 September 1908 – 22 November 1994 ) was a New Zealand soldier who earned the Victoria Cross twice during the Second World War : in Crete in May 1941 , and at Ruweisat Ridge , Egypt , in July 1942 . He was the third of only three people to receive the VC twice , the only person to receive two VCs during the Second World War and the only combat soldier to receive the award twice . As a result , Upham is often described as the most highly decorated Commonwealth soldier of that war , as the VC is the Commonwealth ' s highest award for extreme gallantry in the face of the enemy . Early life . Upham was born at 32 Gloucester Street in Central Christchurch on 21 September 1908 , the son of John Hazlitt Upham , a lawyer , and his wife , Agatha Mary Coates . He boarded at Waihi School , Winchester , South Canterbury , between 1917 and 1922 and at Christ ' s College , Christchurch , from 1923 - 27 . He attended Canterbury Agricultural College ( presently known as Lincoln University ) where he earned a diploma in agriculture in 1930 . He worked first as a sheep farmer , later as manager , and then valuing farms for the New Zealand government . In 1937 , he joined the Valuation Department as assistant district valuer in Timaru . The following year he became engaged to Mary ( Molly ) Eileen McTamney ( a distant relative of Noel Chavasse , VC and Bar ) . In 1939 , he returned to Lincoln to complete a diploma in valuation and farm management . In September 1939 , Upham enlisted in the 2nd New Zealand Expeditionary Force ( 2NZEF ) at the age of 30 , and was posted to the 20th Canterbury - Otago Battalion , part of the New Zealand Division . Despite the fact that he already had five years experience in New Zealand ' s Territorial Army , in which he held the rank of sergeant , he signed on as a private . He was soon promoted to temporary lance corporal , but initially declined a place in an Officer Cadet Training Unit ( OCTU ) . In December , he was promoted to sergeant and a week later sailed for Egypt . In July 1940 , he was finally persuaded to join an OCTU . First VC . In March 1941 , Upham ' s battalion left for Greece and then withdrew to Crete , and it was here that he was wounded in the action , from 22 to 30 May 1941 , that gained him his first VC . When informed of the award , his first response was : " It ' s meant for the men . " Citation Bar to VC . Upham was evacuated to Egypt , now promoted to captain . He received a Bar to his VC for his actions on 14 – 15 July 1942 , during the First Battle of El Alamein . Citation With this award Upham became the third man to be awarded a Bar to the VC . The previous recipients were Captain Arthur Martin - Leake and Captain Noel Godfrey Chavasse , both doctors serving in the Royal Army Medical Corps . Martin - Leake received his VC for rescuing wounded under fire in the Second Boer War , and the Bar for similar actions in the First World War . Chavasse was similarly decorated for two such actions in the First World War , subsequently dying of wounds received during his second action . Neither of these men were combatants , so Upham remains the only fighting soldier to have been decorated with the VC and Bar . POW in Colditz Castle . Having been taken prisoner of war ( POW ) , he was sent to an Italian hospital to recuperate but attempted to escape numerous times before being branded " dangerous " by the Germans . One attempt to escape occurred when a group of POWs were being transported in open trucks through Italy . Upham jumped from the truck at a bend and managed to get away before being recaptured . He had broken an ankle in jumping from the moving truck . Another attempt occurred when he was being moved between prison camps on a civilian train while guarded by two Germans . Upham was only allowed to visit the toilet when the train was travelling at high speed , to prevent him from jumping through a window . Nevertheless , Upham prised open the toilet window and jumped onto the tracks , knocking himself unconscious . On a third occasion , he tried to escape a camp by climbing its fences in broad daylight . He became entangled in barbed wire when he fell down between the two fences . When a prison guard pointed a pistol at his head and threatened to shoot , Upham calmly ignored him and lit a cigarette . This scene was photographed by the Germans as " evidence " and later reprinted in his biography ( Mark of the Lion , by Kenneth Sandford ) . After this incident , Upham was considered extremely dangerous and was placed in solitary confinement . He was only allowed to exercise alone , while accompanied by two armed guards and while covered by a machinegun in a tower . Despite these precautions , Upham bolted from his little courtyard , straight through the German barracks and out through the front gate of the camp . The guard in the machinegun - tower later told other prisoners that he refrained from shooting Upham out of sheer respect , and as he could see German soldiers coming up the road who he expected to capture Upham . Upham was soon recaptured and sent to the infamous Oflag IV - C ( Colditz ) on 14 October 1944 . Aftermath . When Colditz Castle was captured by American forces , most of the inmates made their own way home immediately . Upham joined an American Unit , was armed and equipped , and wanted to fight the Germans . Upham was keen to see action again , but was instead sent to Britain where he was reunited with Molly McTamney , who was then serving as a nurse . They were married at New Milton , Hampshire , on 20 June 1945 . He returned to New Zealand in early September , and Molly followed him in December . King George VI had invested Upham with his first Victoria Cross at Buckingham Palace on 11 May 1945 . When the recommendation was made for a second VC , the King remarked to Major - General Howard Kippenberger that a bar to the cross would be " very unusual indeed " and enquired firmly , " Does he deserve it ? " Kippenberger replied , " In my respectful opinion , sir , Upham won the VC several times over . " Upham was also Mentioned in Despatches on 14 November 1946 . Post war . After the war Upham returned to New Zealand , and the community raised £10 , 000 to buy him a farm . However , he declined and the money went into the C . H . Upham Scholarship for children of ex - servicemen to study at Lincoln College or the University of Canterbury . He obtained a war rehabilitation loan and bought a farm on Conway Flat , Hundalee , North Canterbury . It is said that for the remainder of his life , Upham would allow no German car on to his property . Although somewhat hampered by his injuries , he became a successful farmer and served on the board of governors of Christ ’ s College for nearly 20 years . He and Molly had three daughters , and lived on their farm until January 1994 , when Upham ' s poor health forced them to retire to Christchurch . In 1992 , he was presented with the Order of Honour by the Government of Greece , in recognition of his service in the Battles of Greece and Crete . He died in Canterbury on 22 November 1994 , surrounded by Molly and his daughters . His funeral in the now destroyed Christchurch Cathedral was conducted with full military honours . The streets of Christchurch were lined by over 5 , 000 people . Upham is buried in the graveyard of St Paul ' s Church Papanui . His death was also marked by a memorial service on 5 May 1995 in London ' s St Martin - in - the - Fields church , attended by representatives for the Royal Family , senior New Zealand government and political figures , senior members of the British and New Zealand armed forces , Valerian Freyberg , 3rd Baron Freyberg , grandson of VC holder Lord Freyberg , the commander of Allied forces in Crete and 7th Governor - General of New Zealand , representatives of veterans ' organisations and other VC and George Cross holders . A bronze statue stands outside the Hurunui District Council buildings in Amberley , North Canterbury , depicting Charles Upham " the observer " . His VC and Bar was on display at the QEII Army Memorial Museum , Waiouru until its theft in December 2007 . In November 2006 , the medals had been sold by Upham ' s daughters to the Imperial War Museum for an undisclosed sum . However , as New Zealand legislation prohibits the export of such historic items , the Imperial War Museum agreed to a permanent loan of the medals to the Waiouru Army Museum . On 2 December 2007 , Upham ' s VC was among nine stolen from locked , reinforced glass cabinets at the Museum . On 16 February 2008 , New Zealand Police announced all the medals had been recovered as a result of a NZ $ 300 , 000 reward offered by Michael Ashcroft and Tom Sturgess .