ONE hundred years ago today Oxford-born war hero Captain Noel Chavasse died in the Battle of Passchendaele, one of the First World War's bloodiest episodes.

Captain Chavasse was in the Royal Army Medical Corps, attached to the 1/10th (Scottish) Battalion of the King's (Liverpool Regiment) and is one of only three people to be awarded the Victoria Cross twice.

The Royal Mint has created a £5 coin in his honour, as part of a limited edition six-coin set.

Cpt Chavasse died on August 4, 1917, from wounds sustained during the incident for which he won his second VC – Britain's highest honour for bravery in the face of the enemy.

He is buried at Brandhoek New Military Commonwealth War Graves Commission Cemetery in Ypres, Belgium.

On the 100th anniversary of his death, St Peter's College in Oxford is urging people to see a collection of the Chavasse family's medals.

The college unveiled a plaque in New Inn Hall Street on August 9 last year on the centenary of Captain Chavasse's first Victoria Cross, awarded for his actions during the Battle of Guillemont in France, when he attended the wounded all day under heavy fire.

The plaque is outside the college chapel in New Inn Hall Street, in which Captain Chavasse was baptised and opposite the house in which he was born.

College bursar James Graham said: "The heroism and duty displayed by Noel Chavasse is of an order of magnitude that is difficult to comprehend.

"He was clearly an extraordinary man who did extraordinary things in extraordinary times and we can only marvel and give thanks.

"He saved countless lives as an army medic and never fired a shot.

"St Peter’s is extremely proud to have the association with Noel Chavasse, and indeed with the Chavasse family, many of whom served with great distinction in the First World War, including Noel’s identical twin brother, Christopher, who was the first Master of St Peter’s.

"It is impossible to read the story of Noel Chavasse’s actions in the First World War without feeling incredibly moved.

"Awards of the Victoria Cross are uncommon.

"To be awarded the Victoria Cross twice emphasises why Cpt Chavasse is being remembered a century on from his bravery and will no doubt be remembered for centuries to come."

Captain Chavasse's second Victoria Cross was awarded for his actions at Wieltje, Belgium, between July 31 and August 2, 1917, when he was mortally wounded while carrying a soldier to a dressing station but refused to leave his post and for two days kept performing his duties.

He also went out repeatedly under heavy fire to search for and attend to the wounded.

Repeat awards of the VC are marked by a bar on the medal's ribbon.

College archivist Richard Allen has invited people to see the collection of medals on display in the college chapel for free during normal working hours.

There are 30 medals in total, 21 of which relate to service in the First World War.

Captain Chavasse's brothers Christopher, Francis Bernard and Aidan fought in the war while their sister May was a ward maid in a mobile hospital on the front line.

Aidan died on July 4, 1917.

Cpt Chavasse's Victoria Cross and bar is a replica, as the original is owned by Lord Ashcroft and displayed at the Imperial War Museum, but all the rest are originals.

Also among the family medals there are three Military Crosses and the Croix-de-Guerre.

The cases in which the medals are housed sit either side of the finely carved wooden cross originally used to mark Cpt Chavasse's grave in Belgium.

Magdalen College School honoured Cpt Chavasse, a former pupil last year by unveiling a paving stone in his honour.