Marcus Ervine-Andrews facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Marcus Ervine-Andrews
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| Born | 29 July 1911 Keadue, County Cavan, Ireland |
| Died | 30 March 1995 (aged 83) Gorran, Cornwall, England |
| Allegiance | United Kingdom |
| Service/ |
British Army |
| Years of service | 1932–1952 |
| Rank | Lieutenant-Colonel |
| Service number | 50928 |
| Unit | East Lancashire Regiment |
| Battles/wars | North-West Frontier Second World War |
| Awards | Victoria Cross |
| Spouse(s) |
Emily Torrie
(m. 1939–1952)Margaret Gregory
(m. 1981) |
Lieutenant-Colonel Harold Marcus Ervine-Andrews, VC (29 July 1911 – 30 March 1995) was a British Army officer and an Irish recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest award for gallantry that can be awarded to British and the Commonwealth forces, for his actions during the Second World War.
Early life
Marcus Ervine-Andrews was born in Keadue, County Cavan, Ireland, on 29 July 1911, the son of a bank manager. He was educated by the Jesuits at Stonyhurst College, Lancashire, one of seven recipients of the VC who were educated at Stonyhurst.
Ervine-Andrews was commissioned in the East Lancashire Regiment, British Army in January 1932. He was sent to the Indian North West Frontier in 1936–37, where he was Mentioned in Despatches.
Events at Dunkirk
Ervine-Andrews was 28 years old, and a captain in the 1st Battalion, East Lancashire Regiment (part of the 1st Infantry Division), in the latter stages of the Battle of Dunkirk, when the following deed took place for which he was awarded the VC. During the night of 31 May/1 June 1940, near Dunkirk, France, the company commanded by Captain Ervine-Andrews had been ordered to defend 1,000 yards (910 m) of territory. Already heavily outnumbered and under intense German fire, when the enemy attacked at dawn and crossed the Canal de Bergues, Ervine-Andrews, with volunteers from his company, rushed to a barn and from the roof, shot 17 of the enemy with a rifle, and many more with a Bren gun. When the barn was shattered and alight, he sent the wounded to the rear and led the remaining eight men back.
Post-war
Ervine-Andrews attempted to return home to his native County Cavan after the war, but was driven out by local members of the IRA and later settled in Cornwall. He later achieved the rank of lieutenant-colonel.
From 1955 he was involved with the Leonard Cheshire Foundation, first as the Warden of Wardour Castle Cheshire Home. After the Home closed in early 1957, he continued to advise the foundation on the setting up of new Cheshire Homes.
Personal life
Ervine-Andrews married Emily Torrie in 1939. Their marriage was dissolved in 1952. She died in 1975, thus permitting him to remarry, in 1981, to Margaret Gregory.
Ervine-Andrews had two children with his first wife, a girl born in 1941 and a boy in 1943.
Death
The last surviving Irishman to be awarded the VC for service during the Second World War, Ervine-Andrews died in his home at Gorran, Cornwall on 30 March 1995, at the age of 83. His memorial is at Stonyhurst College. He bequeathed his VC medal to the Lancashire Infantry Museum, but at his request it is on display at Blackburn Museum and Art Gallery.
