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Supreme Courage
Since 1854 the Victoria Cross has been the highest award for gallantry in the British Armed Forces. It bears the simple legend 'For Valour', but behind it are thrilling and ultimately humbling tales of unimaginable bravery. SUPREME COURAGE tells the tales of some of those who have won the medal, bringing this badge of honour alive with breath-taking accounts of courage in action. Visiting battle-scenes across the globe, peppering his accounts with letters and first-hand accounts, Sir Peter de la Billière uncovers not just heroism but the hearts and minds of men. With his accounts of Australians, Canadians, New Zealanders, Indians and the Gurkhas, Sir Peter de la Billière does more than accompany the man into battle. He reveals their backgrounds, the climate of their times, what it was that drove them on, and the price of fame - the burden of expectation in civilian life that accompanied more than one recipient to a pauper's grave.
Extraordinary and intensely moving, SUPREME COURAGE is a thrilling addition to the literature of war, and a unique and magnificent monument to heroism.
Extraordinary and intensely moving, SUPREME COURAGE is a thrilling addition to the literature of war, and a unique and magnificent monument to heroism.
400 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2004
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73 people want to read
About the author
Peter de la Billière
4 books3 followersGeneral Sir Peter Edgar de la Cour de la Billière, KCB, KBE, DSO, MC & Bar is a former British soldier, who was Director of the United Kingdom Special Forces during the Iranian Embassy Siege and Commander-in-Chief of the British forces in the 1990 Gulf War.
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July 26, 2011A fascinating and moving account of the lives of some of Britain's bravest men, written by Peter De La Billiere, who was one of the British army's most senior officers at the time of the first Gulf War. De La Billiere writes well and clearly empathises with his subjects, but does not shy away from dealing with the negative aspects and effects of military service, even on these heroes - men brave enough to be awarded the Victoria Cross. Particularly interesting is the chapter dealing with Noel Chavasse, the First World War RAMC captain who is one of only three men to have ever won a bar to their VC's. Given access to Chavasse's letters home from the front, De La Billiere is able to give a rounded picture of one of the most remarkable men ever to serve his country and tells his story in a way that leaves the reader in awe of Chavasse's raw courage and commitment to his men. Also interesting is the chapter dealing with the many Indian and Gurkha winners of the VC, whose stories are not so well known in this country - hopefully this book will go at least some way to redressing that imbalance. A fascinating read.
July 14, 2011
When people feel they need to write or speak of courage they should first read just one chapter of this book - the story of Noel Chavasse. He wore the khaki, but he never fired a shot in anger or killed a single soul. Yet Capt Chevasse is one of only a handful of people ever to won two Victoria Crosses (plus an MC). He served as a front-line medic and displayed the most extraordinary valour persistently rescuing cruelly wounded comrades from under the guns of the enemy, where he showed distain for bullets "as if they were drops of rain".
June 12, 2021
The Victoria Cross has always intrigued me. Going to a school previously attended by arguably the most illustrious VC winner, World War I doctor Noel Chavasse, means I've always been aware of the award. I also recently read Forgotten Soldiers Of The First World War: Lost Voices From The Middle Eastern Front - which mentions Philip Neame, another VC winner, and refers to countless other winners of awards for gallantry. In short, I keep reading about awards for bravery - so this book entirely about the VC was a fitting addition to my reading.
General Sir Peter de la Billière offers not only a run through of the lives of several VC winners (including the aforementioned Chavasse) and what they did to earn their award - which is precisely what I expected - but he also delves into the very concept of courage and valour - a part of the book I did not expect. Indeed, there was something quasi-academic about de la Billière's discussion of hot courage versus cold courage, physical courage versus moral courage in the book's introduction.
These notions of different types of courage then reappear throughout the novel. We hear of Leading Seaman Mick Magennis, who dived under a Japanese cruiser in 1945 to plant mines on its hull at great personal risk in an arduous display of 'cold' courage; Private Bill Speakman, by contrast, led a series of countercharges against the Chinese in the Korean War and exemplified a VC winner fired by 'hot' courage. Moral courage is demonstrated by Roland Bradford of the Bradford Boys (the four shared 2 VCs, 2 Military Crosses, a Distinguished Service Order and three Mentions in Despatches), who took difficult decisions as an increasingly senior officer in the First World War.
Another interesting dimension is the idea that courage is an expendable resource. What might be a simultaneously obvious but also impossible to prove statement for a civilian comes across as deeply thought out and evidenced by grim experience from the author. We hear, for instance, how Guy Gibson's "stock of courage was running low". At other times, the author commends senior officers of the men (and it is all men as no women have won the VC) when they send their exhausted subordinates on leave, in spite of their protestations, because they can see they are strained to breaking point.
By structuring the description of the numerous VC winners around the concept of courage, de la Billière provides a guiding thread through what could otherwise be disparate chapters that might be better read alone. Indeed, you can dip in to read about a famed figure - Guy Gibson of the Dam Busters raid for instance - but I feel the book offers much more when read as a complete package. That way, readers will develop an appreciation for the similarities and differences of the winners. From the aforementioned Gibson's recklessness in the air that likely led to his death, to the preternatural calmness of David Wanklyn, one of Britain's greatest submariners.
These examples also illustrate the author's steely respect for his fellow service-people and the jocular attitude he has to members of forces other than his own (the army). We see this in his views on submariners - he marvels at their ability to cope in cramped and claustrophobic quarters - to the intense camaraderie of those in the RAF - who have to cope with long periods of quiescence followed by mere minutes of extraordinarily dangerous action.
"For an infantryman like myself, it is difficult to comprehend the wild variations that occur in the lives of aircrew. One moment they are living in safety and relative comfort, with no immediate threat to their lives; the next they are on their nerves' edge for hours on end, with a high chance of death. I think this contrast must be harder to cope with than the long-term, permanent discomfort of living in a foxhole."
There are a few moments of humour in all this as well; I fully laughed out loud at de la Billière's playful comment on David Wanklyn's Navy-given nickname: "A tall, lean beanpole of a man, Wanklyn was inevitably known in the Navy as 'Wanks'". We can almost see the author's playful eye-roll here.
An unfortunate habit on the part of the author is demonstrated just after this, however. We hear about Wanklyn's "strong eyebrows and prominent, crooked nose ... he looked the archetypal naval officer". This is a lesser of many examples of a bizarre penchant for physiognomy - whereby men's characters and capabilities are inferred from their appearance. In a description of Albert Ball, for instance, we are told how "kitted out in uniform and Sam Browne belt, he looks dashingly handsome; but once again, the expression in his eyes and the set of his mouth suggest controlled aggression". Such irritating 'how you look is how you are' comments are common and grate after a while.
A similar habit is generalising whole nations. This is done slightly with regards Australians in the chapter on Albert Jacka. But by far the most egregious example is the deeply condenscending 'rebuttal' of the apparently prevailing view of the Ghurkas:
"The popular image of an award-winning Gurkha is of a man gone fighting mad, galvanised by heat-of-the-moment courage and wilding his kukri with ferocious abandon ... but the popular idea is misleading, for in general the Nepalese are by no means aggressive. Rather, they are gentle, polite and easygoing, and only when roused do they become ferocious."
This could almost be a description of an animal like an elephant in a nature documentary, not of an entire nation. It is, in short, so crassly general as to be manifestly wrong while at the same time extremely belittling. It is an unfortunate trait in the author's writing that could reflect his army background which perhaps, in his position of command, calls for ready-to-hand heuristics to judge people quickly, such as when managing large numbers of troops (or maybe it is simply lazy stereotyping).
Physiognomy and a handful of unfortunate national generalisations such as the above aside, this book still ranks as an outstanding work on not only the Victoria Cross, but on courage and the nature of military bravery. It is a must of war or general history buffs but equally provides a novel look into not only bravery but leadership as well - since so many of the men described in this book sacrificed themselves for their comrades and spurred others to be the best versions of themselves. While most of us thankfully will not experience war itself, I believe this book offers a whole host of general lessons most of us could well learn from, particularly those like managers who have responsibilities for others.
General Sir Peter de la Billière offers not only a run through of the lives of several VC winners (including the aforementioned Chavasse) and what they did to earn their award - which is precisely what I expected - but he also delves into the very concept of courage and valour - a part of the book I did not expect. Indeed, there was something quasi-academic about de la Billière's discussion of hot courage versus cold courage, physical courage versus moral courage in the book's introduction.
These notions of different types of courage then reappear throughout the novel. We hear of Leading Seaman Mick Magennis, who dived under a Japanese cruiser in 1945 to plant mines on its hull at great personal risk in an arduous display of 'cold' courage; Private Bill Speakman, by contrast, led a series of countercharges against the Chinese in the Korean War and exemplified a VC winner fired by 'hot' courage. Moral courage is demonstrated by Roland Bradford of the Bradford Boys (the four shared 2 VCs, 2 Military Crosses, a Distinguished Service Order and three Mentions in Despatches), who took difficult decisions as an increasingly senior officer in the First World War.
Another interesting dimension is the idea that courage is an expendable resource. What might be a simultaneously obvious but also impossible to prove statement for a civilian comes across as deeply thought out and evidenced by grim experience from the author. We hear, for instance, how Guy Gibson's "stock of courage was running low". At other times, the author commends senior officers of the men (and it is all men as no women have won the VC) when they send their exhausted subordinates on leave, in spite of their protestations, because they can see they are strained to breaking point.
By structuring the description of the numerous VC winners around the concept of courage, de la Billière provides a guiding thread through what could otherwise be disparate chapters that might be better read alone. Indeed, you can dip in to read about a famed figure - Guy Gibson of the Dam Busters raid for instance - but I feel the book offers much more when read as a complete package. That way, readers will develop an appreciation for the similarities and differences of the winners. From the aforementioned Gibson's recklessness in the air that likely led to his death, to the preternatural calmness of David Wanklyn, one of Britain's greatest submariners.
These examples also illustrate the author's steely respect for his fellow service-people and the jocular attitude he has to members of forces other than his own (the army). We see this in his views on submariners - he marvels at their ability to cope in cramped and claustrophobic quarters - to the intense camaraderie of those in the RAF - who have to cope with long periods of quiescence followed by mere minutes of extraordinarily dangerous action.
"For an infantryman like myself, it is difficult to comprehend the wild variations that occur in the lives of aircrew. One moment they are living in safety and relative comfort, with no immediate threat to their lives; the next they are on their nerves' edge for hours on end, with a high chance of death. I think this contrast must be harder to cope with than the long-term, permanent discomfort of living in a foxhole."
There are a few moments of humour in all this as well; I fully laughed out loud at de la Billière's playful comment on David Wanklyn's Navy-given nickname: "A tall, lean beanpole of a man, Wanklyn was inevitably known in the Navy as 'Wanks'". We can almost see the author's playful eye-roll here.
An unfortunate habit on the part of the author is demonstrated just after this, however. We hear about Wanklyn's "strong eyebrows and prominent, crooked nose ... he looked the archetypal naval officer". This is a lesser of many examples of a bizarre penchant for physiognomy - whereby men's characters and capabilities are inferred from their appearance. In a description of Albert Ball, for instance, we are told how "kitted out in uniform and Sam Browne belt, he looks dashingly handsome; but once again, the expression in his eyes and the set of his mouth suggest controlled aggression". Such irritating 'how you look is how you are' comments are common and grate after a while.
A similar habit is generalising whole nations. This is done slightly with regards Australians in the chapter on Albert Jacka. But by far the most egregious example is the deeply condenscending 'rebuttal' of the apparently prevailing view of the Ghurkas:
"The popular image of an award-winning Gurkha is of a man gone fighting mad, galvanised by heat-of-the-moment courage and wilding his kukri with ferocious abandon ... but the popular idea is misleading, for in general the Nepalese are by no means aggressive. Rather, they are gentle, polite and easygoing, and only when roused do they become ferocious."
This could almost be a description of an animal like an elephant in a nature documentary, not of an entire nation. It is, in short, so crassly general as to be manifestly wrong while at the same time extremely belittling. It is an unfortunate trait in the author's writing that could reflect his army background which perhaps, in his position of command, calls for ready-to-hand heuristics to judge people quickly, such as when managing large numbers of troops (or maybe it is simply lazy stereotyping).
Physiognomy and a handful of unfortunate national generalisations such as the above aside, this book still ranks as an outstanding work on not only the Victoria Cross, but on courage and the nature of military bravery. It is a must of war or general history buffs but equally provides a novel look into not only bravery but leadership as well - since so many of the men described in this book sacrificed themselves for their comrades and spurred others to be the best versions of themselves. While most of us thankfully will not experience war itself, I believe this book offers a whole host of general lessons most of us could well learn from, particularly those like managers who have responsibilities for others.
March 25, 2018
I really enjoyed the accounts in this book, they are well-written and tell stories of immense courage. I very much appreciated that the author confronts the mental strain facing soldiers head on - I would actually love to read more from him on this subject.
January 22, 2018
This was a very interesting and easy to read account of how VCs were started by Queen Victoria and the history of the award from the early battles to the most recent. Most of the people who won the award were exceptional and selfless a trait which seems to be missing in our current celebrity cult. Nearly all the winners of the VC were very modest and found publicity embarrasing. The chapter on people who falsey claimed to have won a VC was very revealing about the personality of the people who have made false claims completely the opposite to the ones who have been awarded the honour. The descriptions of how the VCs were won leaves one with a sens of admiration for the feats undertaken.
June 17, 2025
This was an interesting and enjoyable collection of short biographies of VC winners, written in the crisp and direct style you would expect from a retired general. The pieces on Noel Chavasse, Albert Ball and Roland Bradford were particularly memorable, as were de la Billière's musings on both the medal itself and on courage.
February 2, 2008
The Author goes through the lives of men who were admired for their courage under fire, winning Britain's highest military award. Stirring stuff. Makes you want to smoke, spit, and tattoo the flag on your arm.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews