Vernon and William Andrews
Jersey's Great War heroes:
Vernon and William Andrews
Stretcher bearer Vernon Andrews
This is one of a number of articles published by the Jersey Evening Post on 10 November 2018, the day before the 100th anniversary of the end of the Great War. They tell the stories of a number of Jerseymen and Jerseywomen who were distinguished by their bravery during the war. Some survived to recount their own experiences, others perished in the conflict and never saw their native island again.
See full list of articles
Corporal Vernon Andrews was the guest of honour at the Town Hall on 27 September 1917 for an evening to celebrate the King awarding a bar to his Military Medal.
The Royal Army Medical Corps stretcher-bearer was highly decorated for his acts of bravery treating the injured on the battlefields of France, but tragically the presentation evening would be his last visit to the island.
Over four years Cpl Andrews helped the wounded in numerous battles, including those at Mons, Marne and Aisne.
Killed seven months before the Armistice
After treating so many soldiers and coming out unscathed, it was only a few months before the end of the war, on 18 April 1918, that the 22-year-old suffered fatal injuries.
He had left school at the age of 14 to become an assistant Scout master of the St Simon's troop. When the war broke out, he and older brothers William and Charles were all called up for service. Unlike his brothers, Vernon chose to join the Medical Corps. On 15 September 1915 the Evening Post reported that he had been awarded the Military Medal for bravery in the field, and on 18 August 1917, that h had been further decorated with the Bar to the medal.
While in hospital in February 1918 he had one final chance to meet his brother, Corporal William Andrews of the Royal Engineers.
News reached the island of Vernon's death from injuries sustained in the Somme on 9 April 1918. He was the only member of his family to died in the war. William and Charles returned home shortly after its end.
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William Andrews -
William with his wife Rita -
The Andrews family
