‘Harry’ Henry John Andrews [1873–1919]
‘Harry’ Andrews
The History of The Salvation Army (Vol. 3, Ch. 28, p.166) records that Lt Colonel (Dr) Henry J. Andrews was brought up in The Salvation Army Nursery at Clapton, where Miss Emma Booth served as Principal of the Officers’ Training Home. At the age of fifteen, he accompanied her to India following her marriage to Commissioner Booth‑Tucker.
Harry became The Salvation Army’s first medical officer in India, serving nearly 30 years. His medical work began informally at age 17 during the 1893 cholera outbreak in Travancore, working from the bathroom of the Nagercoil headquarters. He later trained as a dresser in England (1896) before returning to India to assist Dr. Percy Turner in establishing the Catherine Booth Hospital, where the original bathroom door is still preserved.
He was later transferred to Anand in Gujarat, contributing to the founding of the Emery Hospital. After further medical training in the United States, he returned to India in 1912 and served in Moradabad.
In 1919, while serving as a medical officer attached to the Indian Army on the North‑West Frontier, he died heroically in service. He was posthumously awarded the Victoria Cross.
Dr. Harry Andrews
See also: further information on his Victoria Cross award
