Remembrance
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For most conspicuous bravery and initiative during the capture of a village and the crossings at Marcoing and the subsequent counterattack on the 28th September 1918. His platoon washeld up by machine-gun fire. He at once crawled forward, located the machine gun with a Lewis gun team and knocked it out. On arrival at the crossings he restored the plank bridge under a hail of bullets, thus enabling the first crossing to be made at this vital spot. Later in the evening, during an attack, he, with eight comrades was surrounded by an overwhelming number of Germans and, though the position was apparently hopeless, he led a bayonet charge through them, fighting so fiercely that thirty seven of the enemy were driven into the hands of the remainder of his company. Although twice wounded, he refused to leave until the fight was won. |
Henry Tandey, son of James Tandey, a soldier and stonemason, was born
in Livery Street, Leamington, Warwickshire on 30th August 1891.
Henry, nicknamed 'Napper', spent part ofhis childhood in an orphanage
and was educated at St. Peter's School, Leamington. At the age
of 18, he took the job of stoker/assistant engineer at the Regent Hotel,
Leamington before joining the Green Howards in August 1910. |
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The following information on Henry Tandey can be found on Wikipedia;-
HENRY TANDEY Tandey enlisted into the Green Howards on 12
August 1910. After basic training he was posted to the 2nd Battalion of
the regiment on 23 January 1911, serving with them in Guernsey and South
Africa prior to the outbreak of the First World War I.
He took part in the Battle of Ypres in October 1914, and was wounded on
24 October 1916,at the Battle of the Somme. On discharge from hospital
he was posted to the 3rd Battalion on 5 May 1917, before moving to the
9th Battalion on 11 June 1917. He was wounded a second time on 27 November
1917, during the Battle of Passchendaele.
After his second period of hospital treatment he returned to the 3rdBattalion,
on 23 January 1918, before being posted to the 12th Battalion on 15March
1918, where he remained until 26 July 1918. On 26 July 1918 Tandey transferred
from the Green Howards to The Duke of Wellington's (West RidingRegiment).
He was posted to their 5th Battalion on 27 July 1918, where he was awarded
the Distinguished Conduct Medal. On 28 August 1918, during the Second
Battle of Cambrai, the 5th Battalion was in action to the west of the
Canal du Nord. Tandey was in charge of one of several bombing parties
on the German trenches. As the forward parties were being held up Tandey
took two men and dashed across open ground (No Man's Land) under fire
and bombed a trench. He returned with twenty prisoners.
This action led to the capture of the German positions and Tandey was
awarded the Distinguished Conduct Medal (DCM) on 5 December 1918, the
citation read “34506 Pte. H. Tandey, 5th Bn., W. Rid. R.(T.F.) (Leamington).
He was in charge of a reserve bombing party in action, and finding the
advance temporarily held up, he called on two other men of his party,
and working across the open in the rear of the enemy, he rushed a post,
returning with twenty prisoners, having killed several of the enemy. He
was an example of daring courage throughout the whole of the operations.
On 12 September, the 5th Battalion was involved in an attack at Havrincourt,
whereTandey again distinguished himself. Having rescued several wounded
men under fire the previous day,, Tandey again led a bombing party into
the German trenches, returning with more prisoners. For this action Tandey
was awarded the Military Medal (MM).
Tandey was 27 years old and a private in the 5th Battalion Duke of Wellington's(West
Riding) Regiment when he performed the actions which earned him the Victoria
Cross (VC). On 28 September 1918, during a counter-attack at the canal,
following the capture of Marcoing, France, his platoon was stopped by
machine-gun fire. Tandey crawled forward, located the gun position and
with a Lewis gun team, silenced it. Reaching the canal crossing, he restored
the plank bridge under heavy fire. In the evening, he and eight comrades
were surrounded by an overwhelming number of the enemy. Tandey led a bayonet
charge, fighting so fiercely that 37 of the enemy were driven into the
hands of the remainder of his company. Although twice wounded, Tandey
refused to leave until the fight was won, eventually going into hospital
for the third time on 4 October 1918.
An eyewitness, Private H Lister, recounted the episode: On 28th September
1918 during the taking of the crossing over the Canal de St.Quentin at
Marcoing, I was No.1 of the Lewis gun team of my platoon. I witnessed
the whole of the gallantry of Private Tandey throughout the day. Under
intensely heavy fire he crawled forward in the village when we were held
up by the enemy and found where it was, and then led myself and comrades
with the gun into a house from where we were able to bring Lewis gun fire
on the MG and knock it out of action. Later when we got to the canal crossings
and the bridge was down, Pte Tandey, under the fiercest of aimed MG fire
went forward and replaced planks over the bad part of the bridge to enable
us all to cross without delay, which would otherwise have ensued. On the
same evening when we made another attack we were completely surrounded
by Germans, and we thought the position might be lost. Pte Tandey, without
hesitation, though he was twice wounded very nastily, took the leading
part in our bayonet charge on the enemy, to get clear. Though absolutely
faint he refused to leave us until we had completely finished our job,
collected our prisoners and restored the line.
His VC was gazetted on 14 December 1918, the citation read:No. 34506 Pte.
Henry Tandey, D.C.M., M.M., 5th Bn., W. Rid. R. (T.F.)(Leamington). For
most conspicuous bravery and initiative during the capture of the village
and the crossings at Marcoing, and the subsequent counter-attack on 28
September, 1918. When, during the advance on Marcoing, his platoon was
held up by machine-gunfire, he at once crawled forward, located the machine
gun, and, with a Lewis gun team, knocked it out. On arrival at the crossings
he restored the plank bridge under a hail of bullets, thus enabling the
first crossing to be made at this vital spot. Later in the evening, during
an attack, he, with eight comrades, was surrounded byan overwhelming number
of Germans, and though the position was apparently hopeless, he led a
bayonet charge through them, fighting so fiercely that 37 of the enemy
were driven into the hands of the remainder of his company. Although twice
wounded, he refused to leave till the fight was won.
]In 1923, the Green Howards Regiment commissioned a painting from Fortunino
Matania, showing a soldier purported to be Tandey carrying a wounded man
at the Kruiseke Crossroads (northwest of Menin) in 1914. The painting
was made from a sketch, provided to Matania by the regiment, based on
an event at that crossroads. A building shown behind Tandey in the painting
belonged to the Van Den Broucke family, to whom the regiment presented
a copy of the painting.
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There was also an article in the "Independent" newspaper by Terry Deary on 8 October 2024 which explored the possible myth that Henry Tandey spared the life of Hitler.
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