See the September issue of Britain at War for Lord Ashcroft’s new bravery article

  • 2 September, 2021
  • Bravery
  • Britain at War
  • Medals

Lord Ashcroft KCMG PC has had his latest “hero of the month” article published in Britain at War, the country’s best-selling military history monthly magazine.

The September issue of the magazine has four pages on the life and career of Captain Richard Phillip Carr MBE, MC, who served in the Royal Artillery and as a Commando during the Second World War.

Carr, the son of a businessman, was only 20 years old and serving as a second lieutenant, when he was awarded the Military Cross (MC) in August 1940 for gallantry during the retreat from Dunkirk.

Carr was taken as a Prisoner of War in Libya in 1942. For three years, he made repeated escape attempts as a POW. However, he was not freed until the Germans retreated in the face of the Allied onslaught in April 1945.

As a soldier and as a POW, Carr was a prolific letter-writer. After leaving the Army at the end of the war at the rank of captain, Carr was awarded the MBE for his courageous escape attempts and he later joined the family business Carr’s Biscuits.

A keen family man and sailor, he died after a short illness on Christmas Eve, 1977 aged 58.

Lord Ashcroft’s articles for Britain at War over the past eight years have been largely based on excerpts from his six books on gallantry: Victoria Cross Heroes, Special Forces Heroes, George Cross Heroes, Heroes of the Skies, Special Ops Heroes and Victoria Cross Heroes Volume II.

Lord Ashcroft is a military historian who has lectured extensively on courage and his various medal collections.

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