Henry Tandey VC

In the interest of balance, I've now added an entry in our own Famous Coventrians list. If anyone wishes to add an extended description they are very welcome, but Henry's listing has a link to his own Wiki page anyway.

The book by David Johnson on the life of Henry Tandey is located here - "One Soldier and Hitler". Your local library may have a copy.

I don't know why they didn't make a movie of his army career, he was just a good as the American Audie Murphy. His three medal winning battle scenes would have been exciting. Wiki has him marked up as a sergeant, this is not true according to David Johnsons book. I couldn't get into wiki to amend.

I agree a movie of his army career would be at least as good and probably a lot better than the Audie Murphy biopic To Hell and Back

By coincidence I was in Leamington yesterday and parked by the Angel Hotel in Regent Street which occupies the site of the former birthplace of Pte Tandey. For some reason looks like the Blue Plaque has disappeared?

Hi Neil, Did you look at the war memorial in Leamington. They have just added some new names for WWI which included my great uncle Samuel Walter Savage who was on the HMS Natal when it blew up in Scapa Flow.

Thank you for that Neils Y, I wonder if there's a Blue Plaque on his old home, 7 Loudon Ave, Radford.

Don't think there has ever been John, no.

Being the great nephew of Corporal Arthur Hutt VC all I will say is although he & all those who have won VCs or other medals they are all brave but having said that all the soldiers who lived & died in WW1 will always be heroes. I honestly would not have liked to be in that or any war, makes me shudder & don't care what anyone thinks, also I thank all that fought for this country & bless them all.

Members might be interested to learn this very topic is the subject of an Inside Out program, BBC1-Midlands, Monday evening 3rd March. The book, "One soldier and Hitler, 1918 - The story of Henry Tandey VC DCM MM" mentioned in an earlier post is the centre of attention. Should be worth watching.

More on the great Henry Tandey.

I am more than a little confused. The above link recounts that Chamberlain phoned Tandey's family on his return (and that his family "were present during the phone call") to pass on Hitler's thanks for Tandey not shooting him. Yet David Johnson, the author of the book "One Soldier and Hitler, 1918" that you recommend in a previous post, and of which I have a copy, clearly states that this couldn't possibly be true as the BT archives show Tandey's family never had a phone. Apart from that, war records also show Hitler had actually been posted 50 miles away from where the event supposedly took place.

Chamberlain couldn't contact Tandy then, if he tried that is. He was a very busy man at that time. Chamberlain with Hitler Chamberlain's thoughts aren't recorded, World War II erupted soon after and he lost power to Winston Churchill, dying of stomach cancer within months of that event. Although I feel safe in assuming he wished Tandey had pulled the trigger, ridding the world of a venomous creature. Hitler seized the moment to have his best wishes and gratitude conveyed to Tandey by the Prime Minister, who promised to phone him on his return to London. It wasn't until that time Tandey knew the man he had in his gun sight 20 years earlier was Adolf Hitler and it came as a great shock, given tensions at the time it wasn't something he felt proud about.

The programme made it quite clear that, for several reasons, the meeting with Hitler and the subsequent contact by Chamberlain never happened. So, although a nice story, it was all just an urban myth.

Hi Tony Having just watched the inside out programme (I was waiting for it to download when I made my comment) it did state that the phone call was received by a member of Mr Tandey`s family so we are non the wiser really and like they said on the programme it`s a great story and leave at that. And remember Mr Tandey for his brave heroics which we do know are true an incredible man.