Michael Allmand

Michael Allmand VC (22 August 1923 – 24 June 1944) was an English Second World War recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces. Born into a Catholic family in London in 1923, Allmand attended Ampleforth College before studying history at Oxford University in 1941. He joined the British Indian Army in 1942 and was commissioned into the Indian Armoured Corps for service in the Far East. He later volunteered to serve with the Chindits and in 1944 saw action against the Japanese during Operation Thursday, during which he was killed in action at the age of 20.

Early life

Michael Allmand was born in Golders Green, London, to Arthur John and Marguerite Marie Allmand on 22 August 1923. He was educated at Ampleforth College, a Catholic boarding school in North Yorkshire, England, before attending Oxford University in 1941 where he studied history. While at Oxford, Allmand served as the founding editor of a literary review journal called The Wind and the Rain, and began writing a biography of Edmund Burke.