LESLIE WILTON ANDREW

“HE DISPLAYED GREAT SKILL AND DETERMINATION IN HIS DISPOSITION, FINALLY CAPTURING THE POST, KILLING SEVERAL OF THE ENEMY AND PUTTING THE REMAINDER TO FLIGHT. CPL. ANDREW’S CONDUCT THROUGHOUT WAS UNEXAMPLED FOR COOL DARING, INITIATIVE, AND FINE LEADERSHIP, AND HIS MAGNIFICENT EXAMPLE WAS A GREAT STIMULANT TO HIS COMRADES”
London Gazette, 4 September 1917

Corporal ‘Les’ Andrew commanded a force of 15 men, ordered to take out a machine gun nest on the northern edge of the village of La Basseville in support of the main assault to take the village. This attack launched at 3.50am on 31 July 1917 and was immediately halted by another hidden machine gun nest, which opened up on the front platoon. From his position in support of the main assault, Andrew realised that if the attack were to succeed, he would need to take out the new machine gun nest first, before advancing on his original objective.

Leslie Andrew was one of 16 New Zealanders to receive the Victoria Cross during WWI – aged 20, he was the youngest Kiwi recipient. Born in the Wanganui region of the North Island, he attended one of the country’s most prestigious schools, Wanganui Collegiate. He had been a