Michael Allmand
Encyclopedia
Michael Allmand VC
Victoria Cross
The Victoria Cross is the highest military decoration awarded for valour "in the face of the enemy" to members of the armed forces of various Commonwealth countries, and previous British Empire territories....

 (22 August 1923 – 24 June 1944) was an English recipient of the Victoria Cross
Victoria Cross
The Victoria Cross is the highest military decoration awarded for valour "in the face of the enemy" to members of the armed forces of various Commonwealth countries, and previous British Empire territories....

, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces.

Early life

Michael Allmand was born in Golders Green
Golders Green
Golders Green is an area in the London Borough of Barnet in London, England. Although having some earlier history, it is essentially a 19th century suburban development situated about 5.3 miles north west of Charing Cross and centred on the crossroads of Golders Green Road and Finchley Road.In the...

, London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...

 to Arthur John and Marguerite Marie Allmand on 22 August 1923. He was educated at Ampleforth College
Ampleforth College
Ampleforth College in North Yorkshire, England, is the largest Roman Catholic co-educational boarding independent school in the United Kingdom. It opened in 1802, as a boys' school, and is run by the Benedictine monks and lay staff of Ampleforth Abbey...

, a Catholic boarding school in North Yorkshire, England, before attending Oxford University in 1941 where he studied history.

Military career

At the end of 1942, Allmand left university and joined the British Indian Army. He was commissioned
Officer (armed forces)
An officer is a member of an armed force or uniformed service who holds a position of authority. Commissioned officers derive authority directly from a sovereign power and, as such, hold a commission charging them with the duties and responsibilities of a specific office or position...

 into the Indian Armoured Corps
Indian Armoured Corps
The Indian Armoured Corps was a unit of the British Empire's Indian Army. The Corps was formed on 1 May 1941 to administer existing armoured units within the Indian Army. Its headquarters was located at Ferozepore...

, and assigned to the 6th Duke of Connaught's Own Lancers
6th Duke of Connaught's Own Lancers (Watson's Horse)
The 6 Lancers is an armoured regiment of Pakistan Army. Previously, it was known as the 6th Duke of Connaught's Own Lancers , which was a regular cavalry regiment in the British Indian Army. It was formed in 1921 by amalgamation of the 13th Duke of Connaught's Lancers and 16th Cavalry...

. Shortly after the fall of Singapore, Allmand was sent to India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...

 where, following a call from GHQ India, he volunteered for service with the Chindits
Chindits
The Chindits were a British India "Special Force" that served in Burma and India in 1943 and 1944 during the Burma Campaign in World War II. They were formed into long range penetration groups trained to operate deep behind Japanese lines...

 during the Operation Thursday and was subsequently attached to the 3rd Battalion, 6th Queen Elizabeth's Own Gurkha Rifles
6th Queen Elizabeth's Own Gurkha Rifles
The 6th Queen Elizabeth's Own Gurkha Rifles was a regiment of the British Indian Army, before being transferred to the British Army following India's independence. Originally raised in 1817 as part of the army of the British East India Company, the regiment has been known by a number of names...

. He was just two months short of his twenty-first birthday and an acting captain when the following deed for which he was awarded the VC took place. The citation in the London Gazette
London Gazette
The London Gazette is one of the official journals of record of the British government, and the most important among such official journals in the United Kingdom, in which certain statutory notices are required to be published...

reads:
Allmand succumbed to his wounds the following day and his Victoria Cross was given posthumously. It was presented to his family by King George VI at Buckingham Palace
Buckingham Palace
Buckingham Palace, in London, is the principal residence and office of the British monarch. Located in the City of Westminster, the palace is a setting for state occasions and royal hospitality...

 on 17 July 1945, having been announced in the London Gazette on 26 October 1944. The medal remained in his family's possession until 1991, when it was presented to the Regimental Trust in Hong Kong. Later, in 2003 it was decided to donate the medal to the Gurkha Museum at Winchester in Hampshire, England.

His body is interred at the Taukkyan War Cemetery
Taukkyan War Cemetery
The Taukkyan War Cemetery is a memorial to Allied soldiers from the British Commonwealth who died in battle in Burma during the Second World War....

, in Burma. His life is commemorated in the Memorial Window at the St Edward the Confessor Catholic Church in Golders Green, London.

Other decorations

Michael Allmand received the following other decorations:
  • 1939–1945 Star;
  • Burma Star
    Burma Star
    The Burma Star was a campaign medal of the British Commonwealth, awarded for service in World War II.The medal was awarded for service in the Burma Campaign between 11 December 1941 and 2 September 1945...

    ;
  • War Medal 1939–1945
    War Medal 1939–1945
    The War Medal 1939–1945 was a British decoration awarded to those who had served in the Armed Forces or Merchant Navy full-time for at least 28 days between 3 September 1939 and 2 September 1945. In the Merchant Navy, the 28 days must have been served at sea...

    .

External links

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