Christopher Tanner

Christopher Champain Tanner AM (24 June 1908 – 22 May 1941) was a Barbarians and England Rugby Union international. He was posthumously awarded the Albert Medal for assisting in the rescue of around 30 sailors in the Second World War.

A Chaplain with the Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve, he was awarded the Albert Medal for his work in attempting to save fellow shipmates when HMS Fiji (58) was sunk during the Battle of Crete in May 1941. He succumbed to his exhaustion and died, aged 32, as soon as he was about to board HMS Kandahar (F28). He is commemorated on the Commonwealth War Graves Commission Plymouth Naval Memorial.

Early life and education
Born in Cheltenham on 24 June 1908 Christopher Champain Tanner, more commonly known by those close to him as ‘Kit’, attended the nearby Cheltenham College and Pembroke College, Cambridge