scottish victoria cross awards corporal william … victoria cross awards corporal william anderson,...

© Alistair McEwen 2014

Scottish Victoria Cross Awards

Corporal William Anderson, VC, 2nd Battalion, Yorkshire Regiment, was born at Dallas, Elgin on 28 December 1882. He was the second son of Alexander Anderson, a Labourer, and Isabella (Bella) Anderson, of 79 North Road, Forres, where he was educated at Forres Academy. His siblings were James, Margaret and Alexander. After working as a Conductor at Glasgow Tramways Depot, he moved to London then enlisted in the 2nd Battalion, Yorkshire Regiment on 20 September 1905, serving in India, Egypt and South Africa. His brother, James, served in the same regiment. He was discharged to the Reserve in 1912 and worked at Elder Hospital, Govan, saving money so that he and his fiancee could emigrate to South Africa. However, before they could leave war broke out and he was called up as a reservist. He was mobilised and sent to his old battalion in 1914, where he was known as 'Jock'. Now a Corporal, on 5 October 1914, he embarked for Flanders with the four Companies of the 2nd Battalion. Two weeks later they were taking part in the First Battle of Ypres and involved in some of the fiercest fighting. The regiment was being supplied with 96,000 rounds of ammunition each night. By the end of this engagement Corporal Anderson was in charge of a bombing unit. The aim of a bombing unit was to gain access to an enemy trench, from which they would throw grenades round a corner, immediately following up the explosion with an attack with bayoneting, bludgeoning, shooting, bombing or taking prisoners.

Captain Rollo and Corporal Anderson resting at Fleurbaix in 1914.


These were clearly high risk operations with high mortality rates and hence required men of steel. He fought at Estaires in early 1915. On 10 March 1915 the allies bombarded the German defences at Neuve Chapelle, initial success in taking some of the enemy trenches soon turning to bloody stalemate, with fierce infantry attacks by each side. The Yorkshires were, in places, only 30 yards apart from the Germans, hence the situation was ripe for William Anderson’s skills. Early on the morning of 12 March there was a German counter attack on the captured trenches. Although the main attack was beaten off two companies of a sister regiment were overpowered. Anderson mustered his team of bombers and set about the invaders. He was seen on the trench parapet, totally fearless of bursting shells and firing down on the enemy below and throwing bombs. Having used up his own supply, as well as returning German stick bombs which he threw back before the five second time fuse operated, he saw that the Germans had started to give way. Anderson, unstoppable, returned to his wounded companions and took their bombs, which he also used to good effect. "Explosions, shouts and screams were heard for some time. The next time the wounded bombers saw the Corporal was when he herded 60 German prisoners back to 'D' Company position. He had virtually cleared the enemy strong point single handed." Heavy fighting continued and later that day Anderson led yet another bombing attack. From this he did not return, was never seen again and has no known grave. For his actions Corporal William Anderson was awarded a posthumous Victoria Cross. The citation in the London Gazette of 22 May 1915 read: "For most conspicuous bravery and devotion to duty at Neuve Chapelle on March 12, 1915, when he led three men with bombs against a large party of the enemy who had entered our trenches, and by his prompt and determined action saved what might otherwise have become a serious situation. Corporal Anderson first threw his own bombs, then those in possession of his three men (who had been wounded) amongst the Germans; after which he opened rapid fire upon them with great effect, notwithstanding that he was at the time quite alone." William’s younger brother, Alexander, was also to appear in the London Gazette, when in 1917 his gallantry as a Lance Corporal in Mesopotamia saw him mentioned in Dispatches. And it was Alexander who was presented with his late brother’s Victoria Cross on 19 May 1920 in the banqueting hall of Edinburgh Castle by Lieutenant General Sir Francis Davies. In 1969 Alexander Anderson donated William’s VC and other medals to the Green Howards Museum in Richmond, Yorkshire.


William Anderson’s name appears on Le Touret 'Memorial to the Missing' at Pas-de-Calais, some four miles to the north east of Bethune in France. It is carved with those of 234 other members of the Yorkshire Regiment who have no known graves. It was also inscribed on the Forres War Memorial but was not included on the Dallas War Memorial.

Lieutenant Colonel William Herbert (Bertie) Anderson, VC, 12th Battalion, Highland Light Infantry, was born at Glasgow on 29 December 1881. He was the son of William James Anderson, CBE, a Chartered Accountant, and Nora Campbell Anderson, of Lansdowne Crescent, Glasgow, and Strathairly, Largo, Fife, He was married to Gertrude Campbell Anderson, of 23 Abingdon Court, Kensington, London, and they had two sons. He died on 25 March 1918, age 36, and was awarded the VC for his actions on that date at Bois Favieres, near Maricourt, France, and is buried in Peronne Road Cemetery, Maricourt. His citation read: "For most conspicuous bravery, determination, and gallant leading of his command. The enemy attacked on the right of the battalion frontage and succeeded in penetrating the wood held by our men.

"Owing to successive lines of the enemy following on closely there was the greatest danger that the flank of the whole position would be turned. Grasping the seriousness of the situation, Colonel Anderson made his way across the open in full view of the enemy now holding the wood on the right, and after much effort succeeded in gathering the remainder of the two right companies. He personally led the counter-attack and drove the enemy from the wood, capturing twelve machine guns and seventy prisoners, and restoring the original line. His conduct in leading the charge was quite fearless and his most splendid example was the means of rallying and inspiring the men during the most critical hour. Later on the same day, in another position, the enemy had penetrated to within three hundred yards of the village and were holding a timber yard in force. Colonel Anderson reorganised his men after they had been driven in and brought them forward to a position of readiness for a counterattack. He led the attack in person and throughout showed the utmost disregard for his own safety. The counter-attack drove the enemy from his position, but resulted in this very gallant officer losing his life. He died fighting within the enemy's lines, setting a magnificent example to all who were privileged to serve under him."


His three brothers also fell. Captain Charles Hamilton Anderson, 1st Battalion, Highland Light Infantry, died on 19 December 1914, Second Lieutenant Alexander Ronald Anderson, 1st Battalion, Highland Light Infantry, died on 8 October 1915, and Captain Edward Kerr Anderson, Royal Flying Corps and 5th Battalion, Highland Infantry, died on 16 March 1918.

Bertie, Ronnie, Charlie and Teddie

The Way Home, was published in 2007 about Bertie Anderson and his three brothers who were also killed in the First World War. It was written by Robin Scott-Elliot, Bertie's great-grandson. His VC is on display at the Lord Ashcroft Gallery in the Imperial War Museum.

We are grateful to Robin Scott-Elliot for permission to use the above photograph and the following article which appeared in The Scotsman on 10 November 2011. "A Summer's afternoon in the manicured grounds of a Glasgow golf club. The 20th century is in its early years. Four brothers, Bertie, Ronnie, Charlie and Teddie, pose together, lying on the grass, lined up according to age. The four Anderson boys, pride and joy of parents Willie and Nora. Comfort and respectability were the hallmarks of the family's life. The Andersons were a well-to-do Glasgow family whose home was in Lansdowne Crescent in the prosperous west end. Willie was a partner in a successful accountancy firm; Nora spent much of her time in Fife, preferring the country around Upper Largo where they had a second home - Strathairly, a place the boys loved to play. "Yet the Andersons also possessed a sense of duty. In 1914, Britain went to war and so, willingly answering the call, did Bertie, Ronnie, Charlie and Teddie. By 1918, all four were dead. The picture taken at the golf club records a family's lost generation. Their deaths, commemorated in a plaque in Glasgow Cathedral, can be seen as a symbol of the wider sacrifice Scotland has made for King (or Queen) and Country down the decades, as war has followed war.


"For me, however, there is a more personal connection as Bertie Anderson, who won a posthumous Victoria Cross for his bravery under fire, was my great-grandfather. The sunken road from Hardecourt-aux-Bois in the Somme valley to Montauban curves gently towards the ridge, slipping unnoticed through brown fields, towards the crossroads that lie on the edge of the upper village. At first it is deep enough to hide a man and it was here that Bertie Anderson began the last hour of his life. "Aged 36, William Herbert Anderson was a father of two and a Glasgow Accountant by trade, following in his father's footsteps. On 25 March 1918, he was an acting Lieutenant Colonel, in command of the 12th battalion of the Highland Light Infantry (HLI) and in the path of the fiercest German offensive since the opening year of the First World War. From early that morning, Anderson had shepherded his heavily outnumbered men through a series of increasingly desperate actions to keep the Germans at bay. Weight of numbers, though, began to tell and, by late afternoon, the HLI men were struggling for their very survival. Around five o'clock, Anderson gathered together every last exhausted man he could - cooks, clerks, servants and signallers - and led them up the sunken road towards the German-held Montauban brickworks. As the road rises, so the banks on either side fall away and soon Anderson and his men were exposed. Many were killed instantly, but Anderson ran on, his remaining men clustered behind the tall figure who urged them forward with a revolver in one hand and swagger stick in the other. Soon he was in the brickworks and after a brief, bitter struggle it was taken. On he went, leading his men into the field that separated the brickworks from the village and the next German position. He was to go no further. "'He was cheering me on, his face wreathed in smiles at the way the counter-attack was progressing,' wrote one of his colleagues to Gertie, Bertie's wife, a few days later. 'His last words to me were 'Carry on with those on the left, Cox', and the last I saw was the swing of his stick going on.' It took a week for rumours of his death to filter back to Glasgow. A feeling of dread settled over the Lansdowne Crescent house. They had to know. On 2 April Willie Anderson telegrammed the War Office, 'Hear report that my son Lt Col W H Anderson 12th HLI killed on 25th. Is this true?' The following day came the reply, 'No report of any recent casualty to Lt Col Anderson of HLI received at War Office, Secretary, War Office.' Two days passed and another telegram, this time to a house in Balloch on the shores of Loch Lomond, where Gertie Anderson was staying with her parents and her two sons. 'Deeply regret Lt Col WH Anderson Highland Light Infantry killed in action March 25th. The Army Council express their sympathy.' "The Peronne Road cemetery lies just outside Maricourt on the way to Albert. Unlike many of the war cemeteries that dot this undulating area of northern France, it is small and rarely visited. The gravestones have the familiar curved tops, white sheen and brief details of the men who lie below. Bertie Anderson is in grave II.G.36. There lies my great-grandfather: Lt Col W H Anderson, VC. I was the same age as him when I visited his grave, carved with the Victoria Cross awarded for his actions on that last day of his life. Great-grandfathers should be old men, lives trailed out, part-forgotten behind them. Bertie never grew old, neither did Charlie, Ronnie or Teddie. To stare at their pictures is to see young, handsome, smiling men, four victims of a war of ultimate futility and waste. They are in their twenties, thirties, they are of my generation now. And I want them to be remembered.


"The year the war began, Teddie, the youngest by seven years and his mother's darling, was leaving school at Fettes; Ronnie, something of a drifter, had returned home from ranching in Rhodesia to spend an aimless summer at home. Charlie was a soldier, stationed in India. When hostilities broke out, Charlie was joined in uniform by his brothers. 'So glad we will all be in this war,' he wrote. On 11 December, Charlie, aged 26, went into the trenches around Festubert. The conditions were desperate; a cold, treacherous, sea of mud, the trenches little more than hastily dug ditches. He did not have to endure them for long. On 19 December, his ninth day of active service, Charlie was killed. He had been in the forefront of an attack that morning to capture the first enemy trench. The Germans counter-attacked and when the depleted Highlanders retreated to their line that night, Charlie was not among them. Like so many, his body was never found. He was declared missing and it took until the following August for Willie and Nora to be given official notice that their son was dead. It is a long time to have to hope and pray for a miracle. Ronnie, four years older than Charlie, was sent to France the following summer, arriving with his brother's battalion in June. By then the Western Front had settled into the grind of trench warfare; a battalion would have a turn in the front line, then in reserve and then in the rear, a routine interrupted only by the occasional 'Big Push'. Late that summer he wrote home to his mother, 'If I get killed, don't say 'So like Ron's careless way.' It was around a month after that, on 8 October, that Ronnie, a tall man with the long legs characteristic of the family, was doing his rounds and stopped to talk to one of his sentries. He failed to notice that where he was standing the parapet of the trench dipped, leaving him visible to enemy snipers. "I first read of Ronnie's death in the hushed, soothing surrounds of the Public Records Office in Kew. I'd filled in my forms, waited and then been handed a box with the war diaries of the Highland Light Infantry, 1914-1916. Each day's affairs were meticulously recorded. 'Working party to improve trenches.' 'Route march to Givenchy.' Then, there it was, 'A quiet day. 2nd Lt AR Anderson killed.' What can you know of a man from a photograph, from a letter? I see Ronnie taking what life served him and smiling. I see his death on an old, yellowing piece of paper and my eyes well up. I feel self-conscious. But my eyes still well up when I read it again, and again. "Teddie is easier to know. 'Little Ben' to his big brothers; 'my Honey Bee' to his doting mother; young, good looking, full of himself and full of life. Then, as the long years of the war struggled past, you can see him change. He broadens from a boy into a man, but look at his eyes and I swear you see a wearying of the glory-seeking youth, bursting with pride who left Scotland for the first time in his life to go to war. Teddie had joined the HLI like his brothers, but in 1915 he transferred to the Royal Flying Corps, the precursor to the RAF. He learnt to fly at the Curragh outside Dublin and finally arrived on the Somme in May 1916. He wrote joyous letters home. War for him was the adventure of his life. 'I enjoyed it all immensely,' he wrote of an attack in late June, 'and felt so 'bucked' that I sang lustily most of the way home!! When I looked over the machine on landing, I found six little Archie [anti-aircraft] holes in the wings so they were quite near.' Teddie survived his time at the front. Pilots rarely lasted six months, but if they did they were posted home to become instructors. Teddie ended up in the south of England, just as the end of the war seemed in sight.


"One morning he took a plane up for testing. It fell into a spin and in those early days of aviation there was no way out. Teddie died, age 21, on 18 March 1918 - seven days before his eldest brother Bertie. He lies in the New Kilpatrick Churchyard in Bearsden, not all that far from Glasgow Cathedral where the plaque in the nave marks the sacrifice of these four sons of the city. But for me, the end of this story lies in France. "A survivor of the battle for the Montauban brickworks wrote to Gertie Anderson enclosing a hand-drawn map of where her husband's last steps had taken him that final evening. I have a copy of the map and I am standing in the sunken road. I also have a black notebook that belonged to Bertie. He used it to record sayings, proverbs and quotations that stirred him. I know something of him now. "I walk up the road and what is left of the brickworks comes into view, a scruffy pile of overgrown rubble. I walk through it, studying the map and then out into the field beyond. I find a spot that might match that final X on a map drawn from memory 89 years ago. I take a photograph of a bare piece of a ploughed field and I think of a quotation from Bertie's book. It is by Burns.

But pleasures are like poppies spread, You seize the flow'r; its bloom is shed;

Or like the snow falls in the river, A moment white - then melts forever."

Lance Corporal William Angus, Highland Light Infantry, was born on 28 February 1888 at Armadale. He was the first son of George Angus, a Coal Miner, and Margaret Angus, of Clyde Street, Carluke, and left school at the age of 14 to work in a Lanarkshire coal mine. While playing amateur football for Carluke Rovers in 1911, he played a trial for Glasgow Celtic at Dumfries in a friendly match. He failed to become a Celtic player and in 1914 signed for Wishaw Athletic. On the outbreak of War, William joined the 8th Battalion, Highland Light Infantry. He was sent to the Western Front and was on the front-line at Givenchy in the summer of 1915. On 11 June, Lieutenant James Martin led a covert bombing raid on an embankment in front of the German trenches.

The party was spotted and the enemy detonated a large mine hidden in the earth. Martin was one of the casualties of the explosion.


At first, he was thought to be dead, but he was seen to move as he pleaded for water from the Germans. They responded by throwing a grenade over the parapet. As soon as he heard what had happened, Angus volunteered to attempt a rescue of the man who also came from Carluke. At first this was vetoed by senior officers who considered it a suicidal mission. Angus replied that it did not matter much whether death came now or later. Eventually, Brigadier General Lawford gave permission for Angus to try and save Martin. A rope was tied around Angus so that he could be dragged back if killed or seriously wounded. Angus managed to reach Martin by crawling through No Man's Land without being detected. He gave him a drink of brandy before attaching the rope to Martin. Angus then tried to carry Martin back to the safety of the British trench 70 yards away.

However, once upright, Angus was soon seen by the Germans and he came under heavy fire. Angus was hit and he fell to the ground. For the next few minutes he sheltered Martin with his own body. Angus then signalled to the British troops to pull Martin to safety. He then set off at right angles to the trench, drawing the enemy fire away from Martin. Despite being hit several times, he managed to drag himself back to the trenches. His injuries resulted in him losing his left eye and part of his right foot. His commanding officer, Lieutenant Colonel Gemmill later wrote that, "No braver deed was ever done in the history of the British Army". For this act of bravery Angus became the first professional footballer to be awarded the Victoria Cross. His citation read: "For most conspicuous gallantry and devotion to duty at Givenchy, on 12 June 1915, in voluntarily leaving his trench under very heavy fire and rescuing an officer who was lying within a few yards of the enemy position. Lance Corporal Angus had no chance of escaping the enemy’s fire when undertaking this very gallant action, and in effecting the rescue he sustained about forty wounds from bombs, some of them being very serious". William married Mary Nugent on 12 January 1917 at Carluke Roman Catholic Church.


After returning injured from the front he helped out with Army recruitment, appearing at Celtic Park before a Glasgow Cup tie versus Third Lanark in order to gain recruits from the crowd. William Angus was unable to resume his football career after the war. Nor was he fit enough to be a coal miner and eventually he was employed as Master of Works at the Racecourse Betting Control Board in Carluke. James Martin also recovered from his wounds and the two men became firm friends. Every year Martin sent Angus a telegram on the anniversary of his heroic deed. William Angus served as a Justice of the Peace and President of the Carluke Rovers football club until his death in Carluke on 14 June, 1959, two days after receiving his final telegram. After his death. his brother continued this tradition.

The Victor © D. C. Thomson & Co., Ltd Dundee, Scotland


Sapper Adam Archibald, Royal Engineers, was born on 14 January 1879 at Leith. He was the son of Rennie Archibald, a Plasterer, and Christina Archibald, of 24 Shaws Street, Edinburgh. He lived at 53 Balfour Street with his wife and four children, and before he joined the Army in 1916 he had been Outside Foreman with Stewart’s Granolithic Co Ltd of Duff Street. In his younger days he had been a keen footballer and had played a trial with St Bernard’s FC. He was also a bowler and at the time of his enlistment he had been President of the Eastfield Bowling Club. Another of his hobbies was gardening and he had won prizes at local flower shows. He was a freemason belonging to the Elgin and Bruce Lodge at Limekilns in Fife. He enlisted with the 7th Durham Light Infantry before transferring to the 218th Field Company, Royal Engineers during the second battle of the Sambre. At the age of 39, he was awarded the Victoria Cross for action while his unit was attempting to bridge the Sambre–Oise Canal.

His citation said: On 4 November 1918 near Ors, France, Sapper Archibald was with a party building a floating bridge across the canal. He was foremost in the work under a very heavy artillery barrage and machine-gun fire. The latter was directed at him from a few yards distance while he was working on the cork floats. Nevertheless he persevered in his task and his example and efforts were such that the bridge which was essential to the success of the operations was very quickly completed. Immediately afterwards Sapper Archibald collapsed from gas poisoning. After his discharge he returned to his job with Stuart’s Granolithic Works in Edinburgh, eventually rising to a position as manager of their Duff Street works. He passed away at his home in Leith at the age of 76. He was cremated at Warriston. His name is on the memorial there. His medals are on display with those of Major Waters at the Royal Engineers Museum, Gillingham, Kent.


Sergeant Major Colin Fraser Barron, VC, 3rd (Toronto) Battalion, Canadian Expeditionary Force, born at Baldavie Cottage, Boyndie, Banffshire, on 20 September 1893, was the only son of Margaret Walker Barron, a Domestic Servant. He was raised in a large household by his grandparents, Joseph Barron, a Wood Labourer, and Mary Barron, of Boyndie along with his half-siblings and aunts and uncles. Emigrating from Glasgow on ss Cassandra, he arrived at St John, New Brunswick, Canada on 30 March 1912. Employed on the railroad before enlisting in the Canadian Expeditionary Force in 1914, he recorded his grandparents as his parents. He earned the VC on 6 November 1917 in Belgium, near Passchendaele.

His unit’s objective was to take a pillbox containing three machine guns at Goudberg Spur since the fortification blocked the line of advance. The citation in the London Gazette on 11 January 1918, read, "For conspicuous bravery when in attack his unit was held up by three machine-guns. Corporal Barron opened on them from a flank at point-blank range, rushed the enemy guns single-handed, killed four of the crew, and captured the remainder. He then, with remarkable initiative and skill, turned one of the captured guns on the retiring enemy, causing them severe casualties. The remarkable dash and determination displayed by this NCO in rushing the guns produced far-reaching results, and enabled the advance to be continued". He married Helen Milne at York, Ontario, on 23 September 1921 During the Second World War, he served with the Royal Regiment of Canada in Iceland and Britain. After the war, he was on the staff at Toronto Jail. He died on 15 August 1958 in Toronto and is buried in the Veterans' Section at Prospect Cemetery, Toronto. The following account of his actions was written on 31 January 1918 by James Price Lloyd of the Welsh Regiment, who served with Military Intelligence. After the war, the Government destroyed all these documents as they were regarded as being too sensitive to risk being made public. However, they survived in the personal records of Captain Lloyd.


When the increased concentration and destructive power of the British artillery began to make the German connected trench systems untenable, the Germans took refuge in a new kind of defensive warfare. Concrete "pill-box" and fortified shell-hole took the place of the continuous trench. And each of these was a small fortress in itself. It naturally happened that a bombardment which would have obliterated a trench, occasionally overlooked one of these less conspicuous strongholds. There were several such incidents in the recent fighting for the possession of the Passchendaele Ridge. The Gazette has given us the names of many of our soldiers who have won honours for the courage and initiative that they displayed in dealing with "pill-box" and emplacement.

It was for his bravery in such an emergency that the Victoria Cross has been awarded to Corporal Colin Barron of the Canadian Infantry. He was in charge of a machine gun section during an attack by his battalion near Passchendaele on the 6th of November, 1917. The battalion had advanced to within fifty yards of its final objective, when three machine guns opened a hot fire upon it from some fortified shell holes near a ruined cottage.

Seeing that the attack was in danger of being held up, Corporal Barron crawled out to a flank, under circumstances of great difficulty, taking with him a Lewis gun and two drums of ammunition. He succeeded in getting within 50 yards of the enemy, and opened a rapid fire upon their position. This had the effect of silencing the machine guns, and causing casualties amongst the crew. Corporal Barron made good use of his opportunity.

He jumped to his feet, and charged down upon the Germans. Four of the crew he killed with the bayonet, and the remainder surrendered. When they saw the fate of their comrades in front, the Germans, who had been holding the main position in the rear, began to retire. But they were not allowed to retire in peace, for Corporal Barron slewed round one of the captured guns, and used it to such good effect that the retreat became a rout, and many of the enemy were killed before they could dive to cover. This gallant action enabled the battalion to advance and capture its objective, and was undoubtedly the means of saving many lives.


Major William Davidson Bissett, VC, Croix de Guerre avec Palme (France), was born at St Martin's, Perthshire on 7 August 1893. He was the elder son of John Bisset, a Plumber, and Helen Davidson Bisset, of 18 Strathmore Street, Bridgend, Perthshire. His siblings were John and Jane. During the First World War he was awarded the VC at the age of 25 years when he was a Lieutenant in the 1/6th Battalion, The Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders (Princess Louise's). The citation read, "On 25 October 1918 east of Maing, France, Lieutenant Bissett was commanding a platoon.

"Owing to casualties took command of the company and handled it with great skill when an enemy counter-attack turned his left flank. "Realising the danger he withdrew to the railway, but the enemy continued to advance and when the ammunition was exhausted Lieutenant Bissett mounted the railway embankment under heavy fire and, calling for a bayonet charge, drove back the enemy with heavy loss and again charged forward, establishing the line and saving a critical situation." He also served with the Royal Army Ordnance Corps and Royal Pioneer Corps in World War Two and achieved the rank of Major. He died on 12 May 1971 at Wrexham War Memorial Hospital, Wrexham, Denbighshire, Wales. His headstone is located in Aldershot Military Cemetery, Hampshire, and his Victoria Cross is displayed at the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders Museum in Stirling Castle.


Major William Anderson Bloomfield, VC, Van Deventer's Scout Corps, 2nd South African Mounted Brigade, South African Forces, was born (Broomfield) in Edinburgh on 30 January 1873. He was the youngest son of James Broomfield, a Master Mason, and Jane Cargill Broomfield, of Garvald, East Lothian. The family emigrated to South Africa in 1878. His siblings were Mary, James, Jane, Alexander and Agnes. The award of the Victoria Cross followed action at Mlali, German East Africa, in August 1916, in the course of one of the many unsuccessful attempts to corner the elusive Germans.

The citation read, "For most conspicuous bravery. Finding that, after being heavily attacked in an advanced and isolated position, the enemy were working round his flanks, Captain Bloomfield evacuated his wounded, and subsequently withdrew his command to a new position, he himself being amongst the last to retire. On arrival at the new position he found that one of the wounded - No. 2475 Corporal D M P Bowker - had been left behind. Owing to very heavy fire he experienced difficulties in having the wounded Corporal brought in. Rescue meant passing over some 400 yards of open ground, swept by heavy fire, in full view of the enemy. This task Captain Bloomfield determined to face himself, and, unmindful of personal danger, he succeeded in reaching Corporal Bowker and carrying him back, subjected throughout the double journey to heavy machine-gun and rifle fire. This act showed the highest degree of valour and endurance." The two day action at Mlali took place commander, von Lettow-Vorbeck. In earlier months, the British forces, under the overall command of General J C Smuts, had driven the Germans from the Kilimanjaro-Meru area and had captured the port of Tanga and the northern railway which ran to Moshi at the foot of Kilimanjaro. Major General J L van Deventer had been given command of a sweep to the west and, in due course, he had cut the recently completed central railway line that ran from Dar-es-Salaam to Lake Tanganyika. General Smuts retained direct command of the eastern advance, initially down the Pangani River valley, driving von Lettow-Vorbeck southwards, his retreat to the west having been blocked by van Deventer's successful advance. As Smuts approached the central line at Morogoro, 129 miles (207 km) inland from Dar-es-Salaam, his aim, according to his despatch, was 'to bottle the enemy up in Morogoro' by seizing Mlali, which lay on the road to the west of the Uluguru mountain range, some fifteen miles (24 km) away, whilst simultaneously blocking the road to the east of the range.


The Ulugurus, which run from north to south, are high, rugged and long. Von Lettow-Vorbeck had a different perception of being caught in such a difficult position. 'The enemy expected us to stand and fight a decisive engagement near Morogoro, on the northern slopes of the Uluguru mountains. To me, this idea was never altogether intelligible. Being so very much the weaker party, it was surely madness to await at this place the junction of the hostile columns [van Deventer and Smuts], of which each one individually was already superior to us in numbers, and then to fight with our back to the steep and rocky mountains. In addition, Smuts' afore-quoted despatch records, 'I was not then aware that a track went due south from Morogoro through the mountains to Kissaki and that the capture of the flanks of the mountains would not achieve the end in view'. This was knowledge gained after the event. The task of cutting off the western escape route at Mlali was given to Brigadier General B G L Enslin, in command of the 2nd South African Mounted Brigade. Captain Bloomfield was a member of the scout corps attached to the brigade. Von Lettow-Vorbeck's observers on the mountains watched the dust clouds approaching Mlali from the north-west and he decided to attack this isolated detachment with his full force. Enslin neared his destination late on 23 August 1916 with only some 1,000 men and four guns and, on the morning of 24 August, occupied Kisagale Hill, which commanded the Morogoro-Mahalaka-Kissaki main road and overlooked the Mlali river. Meanwhile, on the evening of 23 August, von Lettow-Vorbeck had ordered Captain Otto, at Morogoro, to march to Mlali during the night with three companies, of roughly 200 men each. Apart from the great advantage of observation from high ground, the Germans made use of telephones and bicycles and were very amply provided with porters, rendering them very mobile. Captain Otto arrived early on the morning of 24 August, just as the British (Enslin under the command of Major General Brits, who was in turn under the command of Gen Smuts) had taken the depot at Mlali. The depot contained a dump of some 200 rounds of 4.1 inch (105 mm) gun ammunition, salvaged from the cruiser Konigsberg, 300 other shells, a large quantity of supplies, and many cattle. Von Lettow-Vorbeck wrote that there were 600 tons of food and military stores at the depot. The South Africans were fired on from a farm east of the river across which the Germans had retreated. In order to envelop this post, a part of the brigade, headed by the 5th Horse, crossed the river some two miles (3.2 km) upstream, but the advanced troops were checked on reaching the edge of a small tributary valley, by heavy fire from the higher ground beyond it. Soon afterwards two enemy guns came into action behind the defended farm, and on the arrival of the German reinforcements and the development of a threat to his extended right flank, Enslin recalled the 5th Horse. It was in the course of this withdrawal, in which Bloomfield and his men had been given up as lost, that he is believed to have earned his VC. When von Lettow-Vorbeck arrived on the scene in the morning, he found the fight to be in full swing and ordered up most of his troops, who were still at Morogoro.


(These were the reinforcements mentioned above). The many steep hills impeded offensive action and, by the afternoon, the outcome of the clash remained undecided, although the South Africans had been driven back at several points and had been seen to suffer considerably. Enslin withdrew to Kisagale Hill to await reinforcements. Although the Germans advanced two light guns on his right flank on 25 August 1916, they later withdrew into the hills south-eastwards, towards Mgeta Mission. Before retreating with the augmented force of ten companies, however, they were forced to blow up two quick-firing naval guns of 3.5 inch calibre (88 mm), as the wagon road did not continue into the hills and they were reduced to using a footpath. Later, they retreated through the mountains in the direction of Kissaki, despite being pursued, and the campaign swept on southwards. A letter dated 1917 from Trooper E W Hurly, referred to an article which appeared in the Sunday Times on 18 March 1917. The article included an account of the action, provided, with characteristic reluctance at first, by Bloomfield himself. The 1917 Sunday Times article and the correspondence to which it led helped to fill out the official citation. It had been preceded by the letter written by the slowly convalescing Bowker to the Staff Officer for War Recruiting on 24 January 1917, presumably upon hearing of the award of the VC to Bloomfield, which had been published 26 days earlier in London. Bloomfield was still in East Africa - 'that dreadful country' as Bowker's mother had already written to Mrs Bloomfield in gratitude for her husband having rescued her son - and a letter by Bloomfield, written on 7 June 1917 in South Africa, indicates that, immediately after the action at Mlali on 24 August, he had been sent off on a mission to Kissaki with Sergeant Theron. Apart from Theron, Bloomfield had not seen his men again in the nine months intervening. After expressing his gratification at the award of the VC to Bloomfield, Bowker went on to mention, should it not be known, that there had been another hero on the day, Trooper Hurly. When Bloomfield had initially called for two volunteers to carry the severely wounded Bowker back, Hurly had volunteered at once. After they had covered some distance, the second man, a corporal, who will simply be referred to as 'O', left, as Bowker tactfully stated, 'in search of assistance, but was unable to return'. The wounded Bowker and Hurly were then joined by Trooper Trickett and they went a little further, until they 'were suddenly fired upon and were obliged to take cover'. It was there that Bloomfield found them on his return journey. Hurly stayed with Bowker throughout 'and behaved I consider splendidly', he said. Trickett, who was much weakened by malaria and fatigue, also remained with them, despite suggestions that he should save himself. From later correspondence, it becomes clear that it was the desertion of 'O', one of the pair chosen as capable of carrying Bowker back, at a stage when the rest of the men later came by in retreat, which occasioned the need for the subsequent rescue of Bowker and the peril of Hurly and Trickett, who had been left behind. In reaction to the Sunday Times article of eleven days previously, Trooper Hurly wrote to Bloomfield, who was by then back in South Africa between campaigns, on 29 March 1917.


Although Hurly clearly respected Bloomfield and approved his award, he took exception to the suggestion in the report that he, as well as 'O', had abandoned Bowker. 'It is quite possible,' he wrote, 'that the reporter made a mistake and that the error has not yet come to your notice.' His complaint against the inaccuracy of the report was justified and his resentment at the injustice natural and Bloomfield's reply confirmed that there had indeed been a mistake. Later, when Bloomfield, in his turn, wrote to the Staff Officer for War Recruiting on 7 June 1917 in response to a request to comment upon Bowker's letter of 24 January, he said, 'I fully agree with Corporal Bowker that Hurley [sic] behaved splendidly that day.' Immediately after the action, Bloomfield had verbally reported on the conduct of various of his men, including Hurly, to his commanding officer. He had then been sent off on the mission to Kissaki without them. Not long afterwards, the 2nd Mounted Brigade was disbanded, owing to a lack of horses and men, and Bloomfield's report to his OC seems to have died there. Whatever its defects, the newspaper report remains the earliest dated account, which referred to the action of the 42 men of the advance formation under Bloomfield's command. The report proceeds: "The forces under Lieutenant Peters, on occupying Muller's Sugar Factory, found that it was used as an ammunition store by the enemy, who, as it was subsequently ascertained, was some 800 strong [before the arrival of the reinforcements]. It was anticipated that the enemy was aiming at reaching the road to Kissaki, and it was with the intention of frustrating this effort, that Major Bloomfield was instructed to occupy the randjes lying between the kopjes occupied by the enemy and the road. "To attain this object, it was necessary to make an easterly detour along the spruit, and across native cornfields, before crossing the road and taking up the positions on the randjes, which proved to be only some 600 and 1,000 yards (550 and 900 m) distant from the kopjes occupied by the enemy with six machine guns. After one man had been killed, five wounded, and the ammunition practically exhausted, Major Bloomfield gave orders for his men to retire, at the same time giving instructions to Corporal "O" and "a private" to take Corporal Bowker, who was wounded, along with them to a place of safety." The action had lasted some five and a half hours, the German reinforcements were arriving and the envelopment of the small advance force, which was running out of ammunition, had begun. "On arriving at the tree in the native cornfields, Major Bloomfield found that 'O' and 'the private' [this was the cause of Trooper Hurly's complaint] had left Bowker behind and, on asking the reason was told that on account of the hot fire of the enemy it was absolutely impossible to bring the wounded corporal with them more than a distance of about thirty yards [27 metres]." Bloomfield's own words in his letter of 7 June 1917 are more graphic: "I saw the corporal whom I had sent in charge of Bowker and asked him why he had not brought the wounded man out. He replied he could not have brought him out even if he had been his own brother, the fire was too hot." The newspaper report continued: "Major Bloomfield asked them to go back and fetch the wounded man, but was told a second time that such a course was impossible.


"Two other well-built soldiers were also asked to go and fetch Corporal Bowker, but they made the same excuse. Major Bloomfield thereupon set off himself alone to rescue the wounded corporal. By this time the enemy had worked round to the Uluguru Mountains and not only had Major Bloomfield to run the risk of their rifle fire, but also of the six machine guns posted on the kopjes some 600 and 1,000 yards [550 and 900 metres] away from where the wounded man had been left. Bullets fell thickly all around him, but, by creeping on hands and knees where the grass was 2 ft [60 cm] high, and racing at full speed through exposed positions he managed to reach the wounded man without any mishap." In his letter of 7 June 1917, Bloomfield's version of the story was as follows: "On returning to look for the men under a hot rifle and maxim fire at 400 yards (365 m) range on both my flanks, and reached (sic) a point about 300 yards (274 metres) from my former position, which the enemy had now occupied, I saw Hurley (sic) sitting in a slight wash out covered with grass about 30 inches (75 cm) high and on approaching nearer saw Trickett down the sluit. I asked 'Where is Bowker?' Hurley (sic) replied 'Here, I am looking after him.' Hurley (sic) is not a strong man and could not possibly carry Bowker, not even with Trickett's aid who was very weak from malaria at the time." The newspaper report continues the story: "Bloomfield took Corporal Bowker on his back, and sent the two other unwounded soldiers on in front to avoid making a big mark. Corporal Bowker asked Major Bloomfield not to trouble with him but to leave him to his fate, as it was hopeless to expect to carry him in safety through enemy fire. Nothing daunted, however, Major Bloomfield picked up the wounded corporal and carried him on his back as quickly as possible when passing through exposed situations. Where grass was present he crept on his hands and knees, still carrying the wounded man on his back, with enemy bullets flying all around him. On reaching the slight rise on which several native huts are built, Major Bloomfield found it necessary to rest for a short spell, [Bloomfield was a tall, lean man of about 150 lbs (68 kg), whereas Bowker weighed some 180 or 190 lbs (82-6 kg)] after which he set off for the tree on the other side of the Kissaki road, where he arrived safely with Corporal Bowker, after carrying him through country swept by the enemy's fire of machine guns and rifles for a distance of about 1,400 yards [1,280 metres]. [This may be an error for 400 yds (365 m)]. Four times during this perilous journey Corporal Bowker asked Major Bloomfield to leave him behind and save himself, but no heed was paid to these entreaties." That really ends the account of the deed for which the VC was awarded, but the perils of the day were not yet over. In his letter of 7 June, Bloomfield continued: "On arriving at the horses and safety the enemy continued to advance and occupied a position which commanded mine. I ordered the wounded and horses to be moved about a mile further back to a spruit. The enemy still advancing crossed the spruit where I tried to make a further stand, the only ammunition which we now had was a few rounds carried by the men who had been holding the horses. I endeavoured to keep the enemy off with these few men while the wounded were being evacuated and gave orders to the other men to make a run for it on to our main body to avoid capture. By some misunderstanding Bowker was left (a second time), only Hurley [sic] being with him. I sent Hurley [sic] for a horse to get Cpl Bowker out as I was too tired to carry him myself. Hurley [sic] brought the horse under heavy fire.


"We were exposed to a flank fire all the time. Whilst we were getting Bowker on the horse, Hurley [sic] was wounded, leaving me with two wounded men. Sergeant ('Skewie') Theron at a distance seeing my plight came to my assistance at considerable risk with a horse for the other man. Hurley's [sic] action in the latter phases of the engagement cannot be too highly commended, he was perfectly fearless until wounded." Contrary to what is said in the press report, the letter also states that, when Bloomfield set out on his return journey to look for Bowker and the other two, he was not alone: "Whilst reporting on this subject, I would like to draw attention to Sergeant Theron's behaviour during this action. When I decided to return to look for the missing men, I asked if anybody would volunteer to return with me. Sergeant Theron did so. We started off under heavy fire. I had proceeded about 700 yards [640 metres], Theron following me up, the enemy here concentrated their maxims on us. "He said it is impossible to go further. I told him to wait there and watch. I then went on alone. It was about some 700 yards further on to where I found Bowker and the other two men. Theron it appears followed me up at some distance behind, as I met him about 150 yds [138 metres] back on my return journey and gave him my rifle and helmet to carry." Major Bloomfield added that he had given the names and facts in his verbal report to his OC some nine months before. In repeating them, he said: "I have given these sketchy details as proof that these men went through a stiff and trying time and also for the reason that it is apparent these men were not given their due, and not even mentioned." Bowker survived the war. Had he not been rescued, his fate may have been a particularly unhappy one. Hurly's letter remarks that, had he abandoned Bowker as 'O' had done, the wounded man would have been left to his fate, "no one knows what". There is also an undertone in Bloomfield's letter when he writes: "I am convinced that had I been five minutes later in returning for the three men all would have been captured by an exasperated enemy, who were very angry to find so small a force (42 of all ranks) had held them up and destroyed a large quantity of munitions."

Who really won the campaign remains controversial. It is true that, by the end of the year, the Germans had been driven out of most of their colony, allowing a victory to be declared in 1916. However, von Lettow-Vorbeck's aim was not victory, but rather to draw onto himself and to hold as many Allied troops in East Africa as possible. In this he succeeded outstandingly and he remained undefeated when the Armistice was declared on the other fronts.


On 8 February 1917 Captain Bloomfield was Mentioned in Despatches. After most of the South African troops had been repatriated from East Africa in 1917 because of poor health, Captain Bloomfield volunteered to serve in France where he was promoted to Major. He died on 12 May 1954 and is buried at Ermelo, South Africa. In The War in Africa and Palestine room in the Delville Wood Museum, Longueval, France there is a photograph of Captain W A Bloomfield, VC, with an abbreviated citation. His Victoria Cross was displayed at the National Museum of Military History in Johannesburg and is now kept by his family.

Lieutenant Colonel Walter Lorrain Brodie, VC, MC, Highland Light Infantry, born at Edinburgh on 28 July 1884, was the second son of John Wilson Brodie, a Chartered Accountant and Stockbroker, and Grace Mary Brodie, of 23 Belgrave Crescent, Edinburgh. Educated at Edinburgh Academy and the Royal Military College, Sandhurst, he was gazetted Second Lieutenant, The Highland Light Infantry on 2 March 1904, promoted Lieutenant on 19 June, 1908, Captain on 10 September 1914, and Brevet-Major and Lieutenant Colonel in 1918. He served with the Expeditionary Force in France and Flanders from August 1914, was killed in action on 23 August 1918, and is buried at Blenvillers-au-Bois. The General Commanding the Division wrote, "Brodie's death was a blow to us all; a better Commanding Officer I never wanted, and his battalion has been doing magnificent work in the recent operations".

The Brigadier-General wrote, "Although he had been only a few months with the brigade which I command, I had ample opportunities for knowing him well and appreciating his fine soldierly qualities. We feel the loss of him greatly in the brigade as a friend as well as a fine officer. He was gallantly leading his men when killed In the action which was subsequently a complete success." A Colonel of the Highland Light Infantry wrote, "No man ever had a more loyal, capable or gallant Staff Officer or a better or more cheery companion. Only a few days ago I had a letter from him, telling me in what a splendid condition the 2nd Battalion was, and I had heard so from other sources, and also what a success he was in command, as I knew he would be. He must have gone far had he lived", and an ex-Commanding Officer of the 2nd Highland Light Infantry, "He was, I knew from personal experience, a splendid officer and a gallant one.


"In gaining the VC he has done the Highland Light Infantry the highest honour possible, and his loss to them is quite irreparable, and I know how very much he will be missed by all who served with him". A Major also wrote, "He was a very great example to all of us, and that example will live forever". Lieutenant Colonel Brodie was twice mentioned In Despatches (London Gazettes, 12 December 1914, and 17 February 1915) by Sir John (later Lord) French, for gallant and distinguished service in the field. He was also awarded the Victoria Cross (London Gazette, 12 December 1914), for conspicuous bravery near Becelaere on 11 November 1914, "In clearing the enemy out of a portion of the British trenches which they had succeeded in occupying. Heading the charge, he bayoneted several of the enemy, and thereby relieved a dangerous situation. As a result of Lieutenant Colonel Brodie's promptitude 80 of the enemy were killed and 51 taken prisoners. He was awarded the Military Cross (London Gazette, 1 January 1917), for bravery in the field. He was a keen sportsman, a good shot, and, when opportunity offered, a keen follower to hounds. His siblings were Patrick, Grizzel and Mary.

Captain James Anson Otho Brooke, VC, 2nd Battalion, Gordon Highlanders, was born at Newhills on 3 February 1884. He was the eldest son of Sir Harry Vasey Brooke, KBE, a retired Army Captain, and Lady Patricia Moir Byres Brooke, of Fairley House, Newhills, Aberdeenshire. His siblings were Arthur, Patrick Harry, Constance Geraldine, Henry Brian and Alice Irene. His father, Captain Sir Harry Brooke of Fairley, KBE, had been a long-serving officer in the 92nd Gordon Highlanders. He was an outstanding cadet at the Royal Military Academy, Sandhurst, in 1905, when he won the Sword of Honour, the prize for best cadet of the year, before following in his father’s footsteps, joining 2nd Battalion, Gordon Highlanders.

At the Battle of Ypres on 29 October 1914, Brooke led two counter-attacks against the advancing enemy. Under enormous pressure, the British line was in danger of being broken. His swift reaction recovered the situation and the line held. Tragically, Brooke was killed during the action at the age of 30, and is buried in Zantvoorde British Cemetery.


The citation read, "For conspicuous bravery and great ability near Gheluvelt on the 29th October, in leading two attacks on the German trenches under heavy rifle and machine-gun fire, regaining a lost trench at a very critical moment. He was killed on that day. By his marked coolness and promptitude on this occasion Lieutenant Brooke prevented the enemy from breaking through our line, at a time when a general counter-attack could not have been organised." His Victoria Cross is displayed at the Gordon Highlanders Museum in Aberdeen. His brothers, Sub Lieutenant Patrick Harry Brooke, Royal Navy, died on 24 May 1917, and Captain Henry Brian Brooke, Gordon Highlanders, died on 24 July 1916, and his brother-in-law, Captain Napier Charles Gordon Cameron (husband of Constance), Queen's Own Cameron Highlanders, died on 26 September 1914. James is also named on a number of memorials:

Family headstone, Springbank Cemetery, Aberdeen

Kingswells war memorial, Aberdeenshire

Colebrook war memorial, County Fermanagh, Northern Ireland

St Ronans Church memorial, Colebrook, County Fermanagh, Northern Ireland

Enniskillen war memorial, County Fermanagh, Northern Ireland

Large mortar he captured on display at Enniskillen Castle

St Andrews Episcopal Cathedral war memorial, Aberdeen

Sandhurst Memorial Chapel, Camberley, Surrey

Victoria Cross memorial, Wellington College, Crowthorne, Berkshire

Victoria Cross oak panel, Wellington College, Crowthorne, Berkshire

Wellington College war memorial, Crowthorne, Berkshire

Bucksburn and Newhills war memorial, Aberdeenshire


Lieutenant William Arthur McCrae Bruce, Indian Army, was born on 15 June 1890 at Edinburgh. He was the only son of Colonel Andrew Murison McCrae Bruce, born in Dunrossness, and Margaret McCrae Bruce, of La Fontaine, St Clement, Jersey. Young William spent many holidays in Shetland and was well known in the Isles. William entered Victoria College, Jersey, in September 1904. In 1908 he attended Sandhurst where he was a King's India Cadet. Following his passing out in 1909 he travelled to India where he had to serve for twelve months in a British regiment before taking up his Indian Army commission.

He was attached to the Northumberland Fusiliers while he learnt Urdu and was educated in the customs and traditions of India. In 1911 he was posted to the 59th Scinde Rifles where he served on the North West Frontier. When war broke out in 1914 he was on leave in Jersey. His regiment was ordered to France and he rejoined them in Cairo en route for the Western Front. The Victoria Cross was not awarded until nearly five years after Bruce was killed in action, as it was not until returning PoWs had been interrogated that the full facts of his action came to light. The Jersey Evening Post of Thursday 24 May 1917 reported, "Memorial to Lieutenant W A McCrae Bruce. A handsome brass memorial has now been placed on the south wall of the chancel of St Clements Church. This bears the badge of the 59th Schinde Rifles Frontier Force and the motto 'Ready, Aye Ready'. The inscription is a follows 'To the glory of God and in proud and loving memory of William Arthur McCrae Bruce, Lieutenant 59th Schinde Rifles Frontier Force. Only son of Colonel Andrew McCrae Bruce CBE & Margaret his wife, who, when leading a bombing party of his regiment was killed in a German trench at Givenchy, near La Bassee, France on 19 December 1914 aged 24 years. Also to the honoured memory of those brave men of his regiment who refusing to leave him were killed with him". The citation reads, "For most conspicuous bravery and devotion to duty. On the 19th December, 1914, near Givenchy, during a night attack, Lt. Bruce was in command of a small party which captured one of the enemy's trenches. In spite of being severely wounded in the neck, he walked up and down the trench, encouraging his men to hold on against several counter-attacks for some hours until killed. The fire from rifles and bombs was very heavy all day, and it was due to the skilful disposition made, and the example and encouragement shown by Lt. Bruce that his men were able to hold out until dusk, when the trench was finally captured by the enemy". His Victoria Cross was bought by Victoria College, Jersey, where he was educated and one of the original four school houses was named after him.


Second Lieutenant John Crawford Buchan, VC, 7th Bn. attached 8th Battalion, Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders, was born 10 October 1892 at Alloa, Clackmannanshire. He was the third son of David Buchan, the editor and publisher of The Alloa Advertiser, and Margaret McGregor Crawford Buchan, of 5 Kellie Place, Alloa. His siblings were Margaret Ann, David, Robert, Jessie, Norman William and Francis Hall. After leaving Alloa Academy in 1910, John was apprenticed to Charles Thomson, the Town Clerk, with a view to entering the legal profession. However, the pull of the printers’ ink in his bloodstream proved to be too strong and he moved to his father’s paper in 1912.

Apparently a colourful character - a Journalist, Mountaineer, Linguist, Musician and last, but most certainly not least, a Ventriloquist - he loved writing and provided articles on climbing and the outdoors to the national daily The Scotsman in addition to his everyday work at the Advertiser. A keen sportsman, he played rugby and even skied in the Ochil Hills on the northern fringe of the county. In his holidays he worked at the Scottish YMCA Summer Camp which suggests that he belonged to that band of ‘muscular Christians’, so many of whom went on to become junior officers and, too often, fatalities. While at school, John had discovered that he had a gift for languages and so, taking this together with his keen interest in outdoor pursuits, it was not surprising to find him in Switzerland in the fateful summer of 1914. Resident in the Alpine resort of Leysin, he found himself cut off from home when war broke out. Fortunately he was able to earn a crust as an interpreter/clerk in a local hotel where he remained for a year until he received the papers necessary for him to journey home via France.

Immediately upon reaching London he volunteered for the Army and was assigned after basic training to the Royal Army Medical Corps to prepare hospitals in order that they would be ready to receive the expected flood of wounded. After two months of this work, his abilities were presumably recognised and he was commissioned with the rank of Second Lieutenant in the Argyll & Sutherland Highlanders, the 7th Battalion of which drew its recruits mainly from Clackmannanshire. By September, 1917, he was ready and embarked for France on what would unfortunately prove to be a one-way ticket. He died on 22 March 1918, age 25, and is buried in Roisel Communal Cemetery Extension.


On 21 March 1918, John Crawford Buchan found himself on the outskirts of the village of Marteville on the Upper Somme where he and his men were about to bear the brunt of the ‘Kaiserschlacht’. Also known as Operation Michael or the Spring Offensive, this ‘Kaiser’s Battle’ was the brutal blitzkrieg launched by the Germans in a last desperate attempt to smash the Allies before the Americans arrived in force.

The citation reads, "For most conspicuous bravery and devotion to duty. When fighting with his platoon in the forward position of the battle zone, 2nd Lt. Buchan, although wounded early in the day, insisted on remaining with his men, and continually visited all his posts, encouraging and cheering his men in spite of most severe shell fire, from which his platoon was suffering heavy casualties. "Later, when the enemy were creeping closer, and heavy machine-gun fire was raking his position, 2nd Lt. Buchan, with utter disregard of his personal safety, continued to visit his posts, and though still further injured accidentally, he continued to encourage his men and visit his posts. Eventually, when he saw the enemy had practically surrounded his command, he collected his platoon and prepared to fight his way back to the supporting line.

"At this point the enemy, who had crept round his right flank, rushed towards him, shouting out 'Surrender.' 'To hell with surrender,' he replied, and shooting the foremost of the enemy, he finally repelled this advance with his platoon. He then fought his way back to the supporting line of the forward position, where he held out till dusk. At dusk he fell back as ordered, but in spite of his injuries again refused to go to the aid post, saying his place was beside his men. Owing to the unexpected withdrawal of troops on the left flank it was impossible to send orders to 2nd Lt. Buchan to withdraw, as he was already cut off, and he was last seen holding out against overwhelming odds. The gallantry, self-sacrifice, and utter disregard of personal safety displayed by this officer during these two days of most severe fighting is in keeping with the highest traditions of the British Army."

This even greater accolade came from one of his men. "He never asked us to do what he would not do himself." His medals are in the collection of the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders Museum, Stirling Castle. His brothers, Lieutenant David Buchan, Gordon Highlanders, died on 9 April 1917, age 30, and Second Lieutenant Francis Hall Buchan, Rifle Brigade, died on 7 August 1918, age 20.

A sketch by Fortunino Matania for 'The Sphere'


Company Sergeant Major Thomas Caldwell, VC, 12th (Ayr and Lanark Yeomanry) Battalion, Royal Scots Fusiliers, was born at Carluke on 10 February 1894. He was the son of George Caldwell, a Carter, and Margaret Caldwell, of Orchard Street, Carluke. His siblings were Janet, Joseph and Helen. He attended Crawforddyke Primary School where School Houses are named after gallant soldiers from Carluke. Two of them are named after William Angus, VC (see his entry above) and Thomas Caldwell.

The citation read, "For most conspicuous bravery and initiative in attack near Audenarde on the 31st October 1918 near Audenarde, Belgium, when in command of a Lewis gun section engaged in clearing a farmhouse. When his section came under intense fire at close range from another farm, Sergeant Caldwell rushed towards the farm, and, in spite of very heavy fire, reached the enemy position, which he captured single-handed, together with 18 prisoners. This gallant and determined exploit removed a serious obstacle from the line of advance, saved many casualties, and led to the capture by his section of about 70 prisoners, eight machine guns and one trench mortar." His Victoria Cross is displayed at the Museum of The Royal Highland Fusiliers in Glasgow. He died in Adelaide, South Australia on 6 June 1969 and was cremated then interred with full military honours at the Centennial Park Garden Cemetery, in the Returned and Services League Memorial Wall.

William Angus, VC (left) and Thomas Caldwell, VC.


Sergeant John Carmichael, VC, MM, 9th Battalion, The North Staffordshire Regiment (The Prince of Wales's), was born at Glenmavis, North Lanarkshire on 1 April 1893. He was the fifth son of Alexander Carmichael, a Quarry Hewer, and Janet Carmichael, of Glenmavis. His siblings were William, James, Donal, Alexander, Sarah, Ann, Thomas and Janet. The citation read, "At Zwarteleen, Belgium, on September 8, 1917, when excavating a trench, he saw that an unearthed grenade had started to burn. He immediately rushed to the spot shouting to his men to get clear, put his steel helmet over the grenade and stood on it. The grenade exploded and blew him out of the trench, seriously injuring him.

"He could have thrown the bomb out of the trench but by doing so, would have endangered the lives of the other men." He died on 20 December 1977, age 84, at Glenmavis, and is buried in New Monkland (Landward) Cemetery. His Victoria Cross is displayed at the Staffordshire Regiment Museum, Whittington Barracks, Lichfield, Staffordshire.

Lance Corporal John (Jock) Alexander Christie, VC, 1/11th (County of London) Battalion, The London Regiment (Finsbury Rifles), was born at Edmonton, London on 14 May 1895 to Scottish parents. He was the elder son of John Andrew Christie, an Artist and Book Illustrator, and Margaret Baillie Christie, of 8 Booth Street, Manchester, born in Ayr and Glasgow respectively. His siblings were Margaret, Jane, Catherine and George. After leaving school he joined the London and North Western Railway Company (L&NWR) and was a parcels clerk at Euston Station.


In September 1914 he joined the 1st /11th (County of London) Battalion, The London Regiment (Finsbury Rifles), a Territorial battalion of The King’s Royal Rifle Corps. In August 1915 he landed with the Battalion at Suvla Bay during the Gallipoli campaign, and was wounded in the head by shrapnel at Chocolate Hill.

He was evacuated to Egypt and then England, rejoining the Battalion in November 1915, just prior to the withdrawal of the Allies from the Dardanelles. The 1st Finsbury Rifles then became a part of General Murray’s Egyptian Expeditionary Force advancing up the Mediterranean coastline towards Gaza, during which Christie suffered severe sunstroke during a 100-mile march across the Sinai desert before taking part in the unsuccessful battles at Gaza in March/April 1917. In the autumn of 1917 the 1st Finsbury Rifles joined the renewed offensive in Palestine, where during the night of 21/22 December 1917 at Fejja, near Jerusalem, 10 days after Allenby’s triumphal entry into the city, Lance-Corporal Christie performed the act of gallantry recorded in his VC citation.

The citation read, "For most conspicuous bravery when, on 21st December 1917 after a position had been captured, the enemy immediately made counter and bombing attacks up communication trenches. Lance-Corporal Christie, realising the position, took a supply of bombs over the top, proceeding alone about fifty yards in the open along the communication trench and bombed the enemy. He continued to do this alone in spite of very heavy opposition until a block had been established. Returning towards our lines he heard voices behind him; he at once turned back and bombed another party moving up the trench, entirely breaking up a further bombing attack. By his prompt and effective action he undoubtedly cleared a difficult position at a most critical time and saved many lives. Throughout he was subjected to heavy machine-gun fire and shell fire. He showed the greatest coolness and a total disregard for his own safety." Further information about his action, which took place as Allenby’s forces sought to exploit north and east of Jerusalem, is lacking. Torrential rain also intervened to bring the campaign to a halt until March 1918, when, in a further action at Medjelyaba, he was again wounded, this time in the knee and wrist. He received some recompense, however, when HRH The Duke of Connaught visited him in hospital near Jaffa and presented him with his VC medal ribbon. However, he had to wait until 18 November 1918 to receive the medal from King George V at Buckingham Palace.

The Finsbury Rifles Cap Badge


In January 1919 L&NWR station staff at Euston presented him with a mahogany bureau and cheque and named a locomotive after him. He also received a silver salver from the citizens of Islington, where he had moved before the War. However, he did not rejoin the L&NWR, becoming a commercial traveller. He then entered the catering and wine business. During the 1926 General Strike he drove a food wagon on the streets of London. During the Second World War he was a driver in the Auxiliary Fire Service and a Sergeant in the Special Constabulary. He was a founder member of the VC Association and at the time of his death at Bramhall, Cheshire, on 10 September 1967, aged 72, he was Honorary Treasurer. On Sunday 6th September 2009, Stockport Borough Council paid for a very decorative iron framed bench to be placed in the grounds of Bramhall Park, Bramhall. Between his son, Kenneth Christie, and the authorities an appropriate place in the grounds was agreed upon, as the spot where his Father used to take him and his brother, John, on the occasional Sunday to get them out of their Mother’s way. A plaque inside Euston Station commemorating the action of Jock Christie, VC, was unveiled by his son on 28 March 2014. His medal is privately held.

Corporal William Clamp, VC, 6th Battalion, Yorkshire Regiment, was born at Motherwell, Lanarkshire, on 28 October 1891. He was the eldest son of Charles Henry Clamp, an Iron Worker, and Christina Dundas Clamp, of 13C Reid's Terrace, Flemington, Motherwell. His siblings were Hannah, Jessie, James, John, Alfred, Albert and Grace. After education at Craigneuk School, he attended the Salvation Army's Sunday School and played in the cornet section of the Motherwell Corps Band. He later became a member of the Good Templar Lodge. When his parents moved to Flemington, he got a job at Messrs Hurst & Nelsons making wagons.

From there, on 22 January 1914, he joined the 6th Scottish Rifles (Cameronians), the local territorial army unit. On the outbreak of war, he was immediately called up and saw fighting with the 6th Cameronians at Festubert in 1915. He was twice seriously wounded and when he came out of hospital the second time, he was transferred to the 6th Yorkshires on 10 January 1917.


The Green Howards were fortunate to be reinforced by many men from Lanarkshire in the Great War, particularly from the famous Scottish regiment, The Cameronians. They got on well with the Yorkshiremen and brought to the Regiment a special type of grit, humour and a deep-rooted belief in the Almighty. They were proud men, with high principles, who put duty and loyalty above everything. They believed strongly in the Allied cause and saw the German threat as evil. They readily assumed responsibility and, as a result, had a marked influence on those with whom they came in contact. Such a man was William Clamp. Clamp's mother, who lived in Motherwell, remarked after his death, 'Aye, he was a good lad. He never at any time caused the least worry or bother. His letters from the Front were always cheery and bright. In the last letter I received from him, he said, "Don't worry about me, Mother, for whatever happens, my soul is right with God." In the attack on Poelcappelle on 9 October 1917, 25 year old Corporal William Clamp also showed that he was one of the 'bravest of the brave'. Initially, the attack in the early hours of the morning went in as planned; the leading troops advanced through the mud into Poelcappelle village with deceptive ease. The 6th Yorkshires took around 150 prisoners, but progress was slowed down, when they reached the fork in the road, by machine-gun fire from strong German positions near the site of the local brewery. A series of concrete pillboxes manned by machine-gun crews held down the leading troops with accurate bursts of fire. Snipers shot anyone who moved. With this stalemate. Captain Clive Bayliss, Clamp's Company Commander, sent forward the bombers in the hope that they could get round the flanks and destroy the opposition. At first, they were successful, knocking out a couple of pillboxes, but were then pinned down by accurate fire from two German strong points in Meunier House and Stirling House. With two men, Corporal Clamp rushed the largest blockhouse and threw his Mills bombs, but his two companions were hit. He managed to drag them back to safety, collected another supply of bombs, called for two more volunteers and set off again into the ruins. Under the eyes of all the men in his Company, he was seen to reach the block house, hurl in his bombs and then disappear. Suddenly he re-emerged carrying the enemy machine gun with a posse of German prisoners. Some said there were more than 30 prisoners in total. Captain Bayliss described the action he had witnessed as 'one of the bravest examples of pluck and initiative that has ever been seen in this regiment'. Despite this courageous act, the Green Howards continued to take losses from well-sited machine-guns dotted along the spur to the east of the village. By 8 am, the leading Company was still pinned down but the rest of the battalion managed to form a sort of line reinforced by a company from the Duke of Wellington's Regiment. The remainder of the morning was quiet except for sniping and some machine-gun fire. It was during this period of consolidation that Corporal Clamp went out with his bombs to winkle out the snipers who were causing so many casualties. Again he was seen leaping from behind the ruins throwing his bombs, disappearing then reappearing somewhere else, shouting Scottish war cries and cheering on the men who followed him. He succeeded in rushing several posts then continued to display the same reckless courage until he was repeatedly hit.


Captain Bayliss wrote, "Later in the day, he was shot by a sniper whilst endeavouring to find the whereabouts of another machine-gun. The whole battalion mourn his death and we are all proud to have been in the same regiment as he". Tragically it was all to no avail. At around 5 pm, the enemy began to filter back into the positions they had lost. One group managed to reoccupy the dugouts that had been so bravely captured by Corporal Clamp to the north west of the brewery, forcing the 6th Yorkshires to withdraw. The battalion had accomplished little at a considerable cost - 40 dead, 161 wounded and 31 missing. Corporal Clamp's body was never found. However, when news of the Corporal's death reached home, the Motherwell Salvation Army Corps had a memorial service for him on 4 November 1917. Several weeks later, on 10 December 1917, The London Gazette announced the award of the posthumous VC to Corporal William Clamp. The citation read, "For most conspicuous bravery when an advance was being checked by intense machine-gun fire from concrete blockhouses and by snipers in ruined buildings. "Corporal Clamp dashed forward with two men and attempted to rush the largest blockhouse. His first attempt failed owing to the two men with him being knocked out, but he at once collected some bombs, and calling upon two men to follow him, again dashed forward. He was first to reach the blockhouse and hurled in bombs, killing many of the occupants. He then entered and brought out a machine-gun and about twenty prisoners, whom he brought back under heavy fire from neighbouring snipers. "This non-commissioned officer then again went forward encouraging and cheering the men, and succeeded in rushing several snipers' posts. He continued to display the greatest heroism until he was killed by a sniper. His magnificent courage and self-sacrifice was of the greatest value and relieved what was undoubtedly a very critical situation." His parents received the award to their son from King George V at Buckingham Palace on 2 March 1918. The Corporal's name is carved on the Tynecot 'Memorial to the Dead' in Belgium, some five miles north east of Ypres. A gold medal is awarded annually at his old school in his honour and, 65 years later, Motherwell Council named 'Clamp Road' in Craigneuk. Corporal Clamp's VC and medals are presently held by the Green Howards Regimental Museum in Richmond.


Lieutenant Colonel William Hew Clark-Kennedy, VC, DSO, 24th Battalion, Canadian Expeditionary Force, born at Dunskey House, Kirkcudbrightshire, on 3 March 1879, was the son of Alexander William Maxwell Clark-Kennedy, a Landed Proprietor, formerly a Captain in the Coldstream Guards, and the Honourable Lettice-Lucy Hewitt Clark-Kennedy, of Dunskey House, Portpatrick, Kircudbrightshire. His siblings were John, Lettice, Leopold, Alice, Alexander and Archibald. After graduating from St Andrew’s College in Southborough, Kent, he went to work for the Scottish Life Insurance Company.

When the Boer War broke out he served with the Imperial Yeomanry and Rhodesian Horse. After that conflict he went back into the insurance business and in 1903 was transferred to the Scottish Life’s Canadian office in Montreal. When war broke out he joined the 13th Battalion, transferring to the Victoria Rifles. Later transferring to the Royal Highlanders of Canada he rose to command the 24th Infantry Battalion, Canadian Expeditionary Force. Lieutenant-Colonel Clarke-Kennedy was four times mentioned in dispatches, received the Distinguished Service Order and bar, was made a Companion of the Order of St Michael & St George, and was awarded the Croix de Guerre by France. On 27 August 1918, the second day of the Arras Front offensive, Lieutenant-Colonel Clark-Kennedy led his battalion in the central position of the attack. As such, it became the focal point of German shelling and machine-gun fire. The battalion would have broken down completely if it were not for Clark-Kennedy’s example of personally leading assaults on enemy machine-gun nests and putting them out of action. By mid-afternoon, his unprecedented leadership and skill had so strengthened the line of advance that it enabled the brigade to reach the maze of trenches west of Cherisy, the village Cherisy itself, cross the Sensee River, and occupy the Occident trench in front of the barbed wire fences protecting the Fresnes-Rouvroy Line. Next day, Clark-Kennedy again demonstrated his leadership and gallantry in the attack on the Fresnes-Rouvroy Line and the Uptown Wood. Bleeding profusely and in intense pain from a badly wounded leg, he refused to be evacuated. Using a shell hole as his command post, he continued to direct his battalion. Realizing that further advance was impossible he established a firm defence line. After five hours he allowed stretcher-bearers to carry him to a dressing station to have his wounds tended to.


For his gallantry he was awarded the VC to add to his other decorations, namely the DSO and Bar, the Order of St. Michael and St. George, the Croix de Guerre with Palm as well as four mentioned in dispatches The citation in the London Gazette on 14 December 1918, read, "For most conspicuous bravery, initiative and skilful leading on the 27th and 28th August, 1918, when in command of his battalion. On the 27th he led his battalion with great bravery and skill from Crow and Aigrette trenches in front of Wancourt to the attack on the Fresnes-Rouvroy line. From the outset the brigade, of which the 24th Battalion was a central unit, came under very heavy shell and machine-gun fire, suffering many casualties, especially amongst leaders. Units became partially disorganised and the advance was checked. Appreciating the vital importance to the brigade front of a lead by the centre, and undismayed by annihilating fire, Lt.-Col. Clark-Kennedy, by sheer personality and initiative, inspired his men and led them forward. On several occasions he set an outstanding example by leading parties straight at the machine-gun nests which were holding up the advance and overcame these obstacles. By controlling the direction of neighbouring units and collecting men who had lost their leaders, he rendered valuable services in strengthening the line, and enabled the whole brigade front to move forward. By the afternoon, very largely due to the determined leadership of this officer and disregard for his own life, his battalion, despite heavy losses, has made good the maze of trenches west of Cherisy and Cherisy Village, had crossed the Sensee Rivert bed, and had occupied Occident Trench in front of the heavy wire of the Fresnes-Rouvroy line; under continuous fire he then went up and down his line until far into the night, improving the position, giving wonderful encouragement to his men, and sent back very clear reports. On the next day he again showed valorous leadership in the attack on the Fresnes-Rouvroy line and Upton Wood. Though severely wounded soon after the start he refused aid, and dragged himself to a shell-hole, from which he could observe. Realising that his exhausted troops could advance no further he established a strong line of defence and thereby prevented the loss of most important ground. Despite intense pain and serious loss of blood he refused to be evacuated for over five hours, by which time he had established the line in a position from which it was possible for the relieving troops to continue the advance. It is impossible to overestimate the results achieved by the valour and leadership of this officer." After the war he returned to the insurance business in Montreal, and in 1940 was appointed honorary lieutenant-colonel of the 3rd Battalion, Black Watch. He retired from business in 1945 and died on 25 October 1961, age 81. He is buried at Mount Royal Cemetery, Montreal. He was married to Katherine F Clark-Kennedy, of 260 Drummond Street, Montreal. His brothers, Captain Alexander Kenelm Clark-Kennedy, King's Own Scottish Borderers, was killed in action on 19 April 1917, age 33, and is buried in Gaza War Cemetery, Palestine, and Captain Archibald Douglas Hewitt Clark Kennedy, 1/5th Battalion, Royal Scots Fusiliers was killed in action on 18 September 1918, age 30, and is buried in Queant Road Cemetery, Buissy. They are commemorated on the Carsphairn Parish War Memorial near the family home in Kirkcudbrightshire which was unveiled by William Hew Clark-Kennedy.


Lieutenant Robert Grierson Combe, VC, 27th Battalion, Canadian Expeditionary Force, born at Aberdeen on 5 August 1880, was the younger son of James Combe, a Waiter, and Elizabeth Combe, of 2 Millburn Street, Aberdeen. His siblings were Elizabeth, Mabel, Jessie and George. Having already completed his schooling and apprenticeship in pharmacies in Aberdeen and London, he emigrated to Canada on ss Pretorian from Liverpool to Halifax, Nova Scotia, arriving on 24 April 1906. He soon joined the staff of a drug store in Moosomin, Saskatchewan and several years later opened his own store in Melville, Saskatchewan.

After enlisting in April 1915, he was granted a commission and subsequently posted to the 53rd Battalion in Prince Albert. Initially qualified as a Major on arrival overseas and placed on the instructional staff, he later, at his own request, reverted to the rank of Lieutenant and joined the 28th Battalion in France. He was forced back to England due to illness but soon returned to the front, this time with the 27th Battalion where he served with distinction until the time of his death. On 3 May 1917, south of Acheville, France, Lieutenant Combe steadied his company under intense fire and leading them through the enemy barrage reached the objective with only five men. He proceeded to bomb the enemy, inflicting heavy casualties and then, collecting small groups of men, succeeded in capturing the objective, together with 80 prisoners. He repeatedly charged the enemy, driving them before him, but while personally leading his bombers he was killed by a sniper. He earned a posthumous Victoria Cross for his exemplary leadership and conduct.

The citation read, "For most conspicuous bravery and example. He steadied his Company under intense fire, and led them through the enemy barrage, reaching the objective with only five men. With great coolness and courage Lt. Combe proceeded to bomb the enemy, and inflicted heavy casualties. He collected small groups of men and succeeded in capturing the Company objective, together with eighty prisoners. He repeatedly charged the enemy, driving them before him, and, whilst personally leading his bombers, was killed by an enemy sniper. His conduct inspired all ranks, and it was entirely due to his magnificent courage that the position was carried, secured and held."


He was buried in a battlefield cemetery near Acheville close to where he was killed, but later fighting saw the cemetery destroyed and his grave site lost. As such, his name is inscribed on the Canadian National Vimy Memorial along with the names of the other Canadian soldiers who were killed in France and whose bodies were never recovered or identified or whose graves were lost. The battlefield on which Lieutenant Combe fell is just over seven kilometres away from the Vimy Monument, and on a clear day Acheville can be seen from the monument itself. He was married to Jean Traquair Donald Combe, Victoria, British Columbia. His medal is held by the Provincial Archives in Regina, Saskatchewan and is displayed on special occasions. It is the only publicly held Victoria Cross in the province. A lake in northern Saskatchewan has been named in his honour.

Second Lieutenant John (Jack) Manson Craig, VC, 1/4th Battalion, The Royal Scots Fusiliers, was born at Comrie, Perthshire on 5 March 1896. He was the second son of John Craig, a Farmer, and Margaret Eleanora McCosh Craig, of Glencairn, Broch Terrace, Crieff. His siblings were James, Margaret, William and Quentin. He was a Scout with a Perthshire Troop. The citation read, "On 5 June 1917 in Egypt, an advanced post having been rushed by the enemy, Second Lieutenant Craig immediately organised a rescue party and after tracking the enemy back to his trenches, set his party to work removing the dead and wounded under heavy rifle and machine-gun fire.

"An NCO was wounded and a medical officer who went to his aid was also wounded. Second Lieutenant Craig went out at once and got the NCO under cover, but while taking the medical officer to shelter was himself wounded. Nevertheless the rescue was effected, and he then scooped cover for the wounded, thus saving their lives." He served in World War II as a Wing Commander in the Royal Air Force. He died on 19 February 1970, age 73, at Crieff, Perthshire.


Corporal James Lennox Dawson, VC, Royal Engineers, was born at Tillicoultry, Clackmannanshire on 25 December 1891. He was the second son of John Dawson, a Mechanic, and Janet Lennox Dawson, of 1 Hill Street, Tillicoultry. His siblings were John and Peter. He first enrolled at the University of Glasgow in 1909 to take Mathematics and Physics. Although he passed his exams that year, he struggled thereafter and left in 1913 after several unsuccessful resits. He took a job as a science teacher in Hill's Trust School Govan, and attempted his Chemistry degree exam once more in 1914, but was unsuccessful. In November 1914 he enlisted in the 5th Cameronians (Scottish Rifles). He went to France in March 1915 and transferred to the Royal Engineers.

He was commissioned in December 1916. The citation read, "On 13 October 1915 at Hohenzollern Redoubt, France, during a gas attack, when the trenches were full of men, Corporal Dawson exposed himself fearlessly to the enemy's fire in order to give directions to his sappers and to clear the infantry out of sections of the trench which were full of gas. Finding three leaking cylinders, he rolled them well away from the trench, again under heavy fire, and then fired rifle bullets into them to let the gas escape. His gallantry undoubtedly saved many men from being gassed." By co-incidence his second cousin (their fathers were first cousins) James Dalgleish Pollock was also awarded the Victoria Cross in the same battle at the Hohenzolleren Redoubt. He too saved his colleagues from certain death by climbing out of the trench and bombing German infiltrators out of the British lines. Both boys were born in the small Scottish town of Tillicoultry, though James Dawson's family moved to the county town of Alloa when he was eight. Both were considered local heroes in 1915 and were feted in Alloa and Tillicoultry in separate civic receptions, allied to recruitment drives. The Dawson family in Alloa was harried by reporters and cameramen from the national papers, much to the shock of the more sedate local press, which described them ironically as 'colleagues of the pencil and their allies of the camera – scribblers and snapshotters'. One of them even managed by subterfuge to gain access to the Dawson home.


The hero worship peaked on 18 December when huge crowds and the band of the Royal Engineers greeted the returning hero at Alloa Station from where he toured the town in an open carriage. 35 Paton Street, Alloa, besieged by well-wishers as well as the aforementioned 'scribblers and snapshotters', was, for a short time, the most renowned address in Clackmannanshire. As a neighbour proudly declared, "Aren’t we the grand street noo!" For James Lennox Dawson, like his cousin, there would be no respite from his service career. He too returned to France after all the cheering had died down. Wounded at the Battle of the Somme in 1916 he was shipped back to the UK where he remained until demobbed with the rank of Major in 1919. James received another, more unusual award at a ceremony in Partick in October 1919. A gold watch, which had realised £42 by auction at a special constables' concert in 1916, had been purchased by Sir Thomas Dunlop, Provost of Glasgow and was to be awarded to the first Partick man to gain the coveted Victoria Cross. Presenting it to James Dawson, Bailie Boyle acknowledged that, although he was not a native, his period as a teacher with the Govan School Board had earned him the status of an esteemed citizen of Partick. By that time he was teaching science at Strathbungo Public School. Along with hundreds of other service personnel wishing to complete their studies, he returned to University in the Summer of 1919. He took a Chemical Laboratory class gaining a pass in the October diet of examinations. However this still did not give him the full range of subjects required for a BSc degree. In a letter to the Clerk of Senate in February 1920 he successfully appealed for the award of his BSc under war service regulations. He was thereafter awarded a special pass in Geography and graduated on 23 June 1920. The University records show that he taught in Glasgow between 1921 and 1927. By 1928 he had returned to military service with the Army Educational Corps, and transferred to the Indian Army Ordnance Corps in 1931, where he remained for the rest of his career. In 1952 he notified the University that he was a Colonel and that he had retired to Eastbourne, Sussex, where he died on 15 February 1967. His VC is held by the University of Glasgow where he earned his BSc and is displayed at the Hunterian Museum.


Sergeant John Brunton Daykins, VC, MM, The York and Lancaster Regiment, was born at Ormiston Farm, Hawick in the Scottish Borders on 26 March 1883. He was the eldest son of John Daykins, a Farmer, and Elizabeth (Betty) Daykins, of Howden Fram House, Jedburgh. His siblings were Samuel, James and Elizabeth. On 26 December 1918, Major General Sir R D Whigham, KCB, DSO, Commanding 62nd (West Riding) Division, issued this Special Order:

The Divisional Commander has the honour to announce that His Majesty the King has conferred the Victoria Cross on No 205353 Corporal (Acting Sergeant) John Daykins, 2/4th Battalion, The York and Lancaster Regiment (TF) for the following action of gallantry, reported and signed by Lieutenant Colonel Harold F Lea, 62nd (West Riding) Division: - "During the operation at Solesmes on 20th October 1918, this NCO displayed the greatest dash initiative and gallantry. He had command of No 7 Platoon and led 12 men of this Platoon - all that remained with him - up the Main Street towards the Church, met with heavy opposition. By the skilful way in which he picked his way he was able to work along, and about half way up the street, he shot a Machine Gunner just about to open fire on the party, and the gun was rushed. "The Sergeant and his party carried on up the street, and, when about 50 yards from the Church the opposition became very strong, heavy machine gun fire being opened and bombs thrown at the party, which by this time was surrounded, enemy coming out of the cellars behind. "Hand to hand fighting ensued in which the Sergeant accounted for seven of the enemy. The enemy at last ran away, and the Sergeant led his men to their objective, where a strong point was formed. Up to this time the party had captured 30 prisoners and killed about 25 of the enemy, wounding many more. They had been isolated in the town for about half an hour. "From one of the Prisoners Sergeant Daykins learned the position of a Machine Gun which was holding up another portion of his Company, and although other men left with him, wanted to accompany him, he refused to take them owing to the necessity of still maintaining the important post already established, and to prevent the large number of prisoners from escaping and again taking part in the action.

"In spite of heavy Machine Gun fire he worked his way to the post alone and shortly afterwards returned, driving 25 of the enemy in front of him and carrying a captured Machine Gun which he mounted at his post.


"This action of Sergeant Daykins although it appeared owing to the previous strenuous opposition, almost certain death, undoubtedly saved many casualties to the remainder of his Company, and enabled the Village to be carried at an earlier hour of the operations.

"His magnificent fighting spirit and example inspired his men who would follow him anywhere. He was the outstanding figure in the success of the attack." The citation read, "On 20 October 1918 at Solesmes, France, Sergeant Daykins, with 12 remaining men of his platoon, rushed a machine-gun and during subsequent severe hand-to-hand fighting he himself disposed of many of the enemy and secured his objective. "He then located another machine-gun which was holding up an operation of his company. Under heavy fire he worked his way alone to the post and shortly afterwards returned with 25 prisoners and an enemy machine-gun, which he mounted at his post.

"His magnificent fighting spirit and example inspired his men, saved many casualties and contributed largely to the success of the attack." He died at Edinburgh on 24 January 1933 and is buried at Castlewood Cemetery, Jedburgh His Victoria Cross is displayed at the York and Lancaster Regimental Museum, Rotherham, England.


Sergeant Robert Downie, VC, MM, 2nd Battalion, The Royal Dublin Fusiliers, was born at Glasgow on 12 January 1894. He was the third son of Francis Downie, an Iron Plainer, and Elizabeth Downie, of 19 Centre Street, Springburn, Glasgow. His father was born in Laurencetown, County Down. His siblings were David, John, Mary, Catherine, Richard, Elizabeth, Francis, Ann, Thomas, Ellen, Isabella and Amelia. He was educated at St Aloysius School, Springburn, Glasgow. In the 1911 Census, he is registered as living at the Working Boys' Home, Lower Bridge Street, Chester, and working as a Porter at a Dyer's shop. In April 1914, he married Ivy Louise Sparks at Gravesend, Kent, and they had one daughter, Ann, born in 1924. In 1913, he enlisted in the Royal Dublin Fusiliers at the age of 19 and was a regular at the start of the first world war. The citation read, "On 23 October 1916 east of Lesboeufs, France, when most of the officers had become casualties, Sergeant Downie, utterly regardless of personal danger and under very heavy fire, organised the attack which had been temporarily checked. "At the critical moment he rushed forward shouting 'Come on the Dubs!' which had an immediate response and the line rushed forward at this call.

"Sergeant Downie accounted for several of the enemy and in addition captured a machine-gun, killing the team. "Although wounded early in the fight, he remained with his company, giving valuable assistance while the position was being consolidated." On his homecoming, he arrived at Glasgow Central Station to be met by hundreds of people who carried him shoulder-high to a taxi. Springburn Road was decorated with flags and bunting and lined with hundreds more people, and his achievement was widely reported in the Glasgow press.


Welcomed home by his father.

After the war, he lived quietly in Carleston Street, Springburn, until his death in 1968. Celtic Football fans at Parkhead regularly saw him on a Saturday as he worked as a Cashier at the turnstiles. A modest man, he often played down his bravery, saying he won the medals for having 'shot the cook'. He died at Glasgow on 18 April 1968, age 74, and is buried in St Kentigern's Cemetery, Glasgow. He donated his medal to Celtic Football Club, and the medal is on display at Celtic Park.

Private Robert Anderson Dunsire, VC, 13th Battalion, Royal Scots, was born at Buckhaven, Fife, on 24 November 1891. He was the fourth son of Thomas Dunsire, a Contractor, and Elizabeth Anderson Dunsire, of 19 Overton Road, Dysart, Fife. His siblings were Thomas, Alexander, Catherine, Peter, Elizabeth Jemima, Isabella, Grace, Margaret, John, William and Marshall. His father was a Contractor at the Dunnikier Pit in Kirkcaldy, where the family moved when Robert was a young boy. At the outbreak of war in 1914, Robert was a Miner at the Fife Coal Company’s Rosie Pit, living at 210 Denbeath, Methil with his wife, Catherine.


Responding to Lord Kitchener’s call for volunteers, he enlisted, along with many of his fellow miners, in January 1915, joining the 13th Battalion Royal Scots (Lothian Regiment). This Battalion was formed at Edinburgh in September 1914 as part of Lord Kitchener’s Second New Army. Attached to 45th Brigade, 15th (Scottish) Division, it landed in France between 7 and 13 July 1915, serving with distinction on the Western Front for the remainder of the war. It was during the battle of Loos, fought between 25 September and 13 October 1915 that Private Robert Dunsire won the Victoria Cross for acts of supreme gallantry. The citation read, "For most conspicuous bravery on Hill 70 on 26th Sept., 1915. Pte. Dunsire went out under very heavy fire and rescued a wounded man from between the firing lines. Later, when another man considerably nearer the German lines was heard shouting for help, he crawled out again with utter disregard to the enemy's fire and carried him in also. Shortly afterwards the Germans attacked over this ground." At age 24 in 46th Field Ambulance, he died of wounds received in action at Mazingarbe on 30 January 1916 and is buried in Mazingarbe Communal Cemetery. He is remembered on the Kirkcaldy, and Methil and Buckhaven War Memorials. His wife was Catherine Pitt Dunsire, who was awarded a pension of 10/- per week. A number of his possessions were returned to her - wallet, dice, cards, photos, cigarette lighter, knife, tin, trinkets, fork, knife, spoon and handkerchiefs. She later remarried and lived at 107 Denbeath, Methil, Fife. His Victoria Cross is displayed at the Royal Scots Museum, Edinburgh Castle.

Sergeant Alexander Flemming Edwards, VC, 6th Battalion, Seaforth Highlanders, was born at Drainie, Stotfield, Lossiemouth, Morayshire, on 4 November 1885. He was the second son of Alexander Edwards, a Fisherman of Stotfield, Lossiemouth, Morayshire. His siblings were Jessie, Jemima and John. Alexander was educated at Lossiemouth School and was a caddie to the gentry who came to play at the Moray Links golf club. He became a Cooper working in the herring fishery, serving his apprenticeship with Thomas Jenkins, a Fish Curer of Burghhead. He also worked for James Gerry of Buckie and before the war was employed by Thomas Davidson of Aberdeen.


He joined the 1/6th (Morayshire) Battalion, the Seaforth Highlanders, at Elgin in July 1914. He survived the Somme only to be evacuated following a throat infection, spending six weeks in Hospital and two weeks leave in Lossiemouth. He was posted to a training Battalion. In June 1917 when a draft for 1/6 battalion had fallen short of an NCO, he immediately volunteered. On 31 July 1917 north of Ypres, Alexander was acting Company Sergeant Major for C Company. The Morayshire battalion formed part of the left wing of the second and were tasked with driving forward from the slopes of the Pilkem Ridge to the their final objective of straddling Steenbeck. C company was tasked to secure a bridgehead across the stream. Almost three hours after the attack began they set off from the assembly point at Muller Cottage. The advance becoming harder, due in part to the Flanders mud, finally slowed around the location of Macdonald’s Farm. C Company became involved with attacking the number of machine gun emplacements hidden in the ruined buildings. The Seaforths carried on to the shattered Kitchener woods taking heavy casualties and Alexander recalled, "One gun in particular was very troublesome... The officer in charge of the company was knocked out of action, so I went to locate it. I got round behind, and hid in a shell hole which commanded a good view of the gun. I could see right into the door of the pill-box. I had two revolvers in my belt and a bullet stopped the career of the first man who was firing the gun. The other nine of the crew will trouble our boys no more..."

His assault had been noticed and he went on, "I then made back the way I came to ask the men to come on, when I was hit on the arm by a snipers bullet. I thought we could be doing without him, and with a bit of luck I attended to him. He is quiet enough now.” According to the unit historian the sniper had been very active and had caused havoc and that Alexander had stalked him across the open and along the sniper's line of fire. Despite being heavily wounded he insisted on staying with the company as they neared the Steenbeck. At this point they came under heavy fire. Covered by a Lewis gun they made their way to within 100 yards of the final objective. Protected by a tank, they began digging a trench. Alexander was determined that the company should reach the objective on the other side of the Steenbeck.


For the time being the Seaforths dug in and saved an injured Major of 1/1st King Edward's Horse who had been left out in the open following their attack on the enemy positions, and had been decimated in the process. Edwards lifted him and brought him back despite the intense enemy fire. In the early afternoon he led the final attack across the surviving bridge and captured Maison du Rasa and Maison Bulgare. Despite victory being in their midst they were ordered to withdraw after the bridgehead had been made untenable by enemy success further south. He stayed with his men throughout the night despite his shrapnel wounds to the knee. He reported to Battalion HQ the next day and was sent to hospital. Despite being heavily bandaged, he only complained about how awful the weather was. He remarked, "If I had not gone on, it would not have given the boys much encouragement. The wound on my arm was worst. I was too big a mess to think of the others. The sleeve was cut from my tunic, my hose tops were down over my boots, and I was covered in mud. Oh what a game." Alexander was awarded his Victoria Cross by King George on the forecourt of Buckingham Palace on 26th September 1917. On the 4th October 1917 a presentation was made to him of a gold watch, purse and War Bonds by the people of Lossiemouth. The citation read, "For most conspicuous bravery in attack, when, having located a hostile machine gun in wood, he, with great dash and courage, led some men against it, killed all the team and captured the gun. Later, when a sniper was causing casualties, he crawled out to stalk him, and although badly wounded in the arm, went on and killed him. One officer only was now left with the company, and, realising that the success of the operation depended on the capture of the furthest objective, Sergeant. Edwards, regardless of his wound, led his men on till this objective was captured. He subsequently showed great skill in consolidating his position, and very great daring in personal reconnaissance. Although again twice wounded on the following day, this very gallant NCO maintained throughout a complete disregard for personal safety, and his high example of coolness and determination engendered a fine fighting spirit in his men" On the 21st March 1918 the Germans began the ferocious Kaiserschlacht spring offensive and on 24th March, he was missing in action at Loupart Wood, east of Arras. For three days the Division fought in trenches, then for two days fought stubborn rear-guard actions. During those critical days of March 1918 the casualties of the Division numbered 219 officers and 4,666 other ranks, of which 2,714 were missing. He died on 24 March 1918, age 32, and is commemorated on the Arras Memorial. His Victoria Cross is displayed at the Regimental Museum of Queen's Own Highlanders in Fort George, Inverness-shire, Scotland.


Sergeant John MacLaren Erskine, VC, "D" Coy, 5th/6th Battalion, Cameronians (Scottish Rifles), was born at Dunfermline, Fife, on 13 January 1894. He was the eldest son of William Erskine, a Draper, and Elizabeth Erskine, of 32 Bridge Street, Dunfermilne. After her husband's death, Elizabeth Erskine, who had been a teacher at Bathgate Academy before her marriage, lived at 1 East Savile Road, Edinburgh. John was the eldest of six brothers and had one sister. His father joined the drapery firm of W & J McLaren & Co in Bridge Street, Dunfermline at the age of 14. He became a shrewd businessman, with a strong belief in the power of advertising and rose to become a well respected partner in the firm until his sudden death in 1908.

John was educated at Dunfermline High School, and was remembered as an intelligent boy, who was both shy and sensitive. He was never considered to be assertive but, if he set his mind to doing something, it was accomplished. Also, John was like his father in that he was "full of game", and although he never exploited the quality, flashes of it were unmistakable to those who knew him. John's mother Elizabeth (Bella) Dick had been a teacher at Bathgate Academy and the family was close-knit, well known and highly respected. The family attended the United Free Church in Chalmers Street, Dunfermline and William Erskine Senior was an elder and "preses" (president or chairman). In the church reports of 1908, he was remembered as a “character with zeal, liberality and a high Christian character.” When John left Dunfermline High School he began an apprenticeship with drapers Robert Maule & Son, Princes Street, Edinburgh, later transferring to Pettigrew & Stephens, Drapers, in Glasgow. John enlisted only six days after war was declared, on 10 August 1914 in Glasgow. He was 20 years old when he joined “D” Company, 5th Battalion, The Cameronians (Scottish Rifles). The Battalion was known to many as the "5th SR". Some months later his younger brother, William McLaren Erskine, age 19 years, followed his example and initially joined The Highland Cyclist Battalion in Kirkcaldy before being transferred to "B" Coy. 17th Battalion, Highland Light Infantry. For John there was a period of intensive training - local schools and halls in Glasgow, Falkirk and Larbert were pressed into service as “billets”. Sleeping on hard wooden floors, being confined to barracks, parading in full marching kit (weighing up to 50 lbs including equipment and ammunition) must have seemed like a big adventure to John and his fellow recruits.


"Bully beef and biscuits", forced marches in new boots and "fatigues" were to become a way of life. All ranks received two inoculations against enteric and typhus with a gap of ten days between. By the end of September 1914, John was billeted in Broughty Ferry and wrote a postcard to his mother saying that “he had passed tests A and B in musketry and was now considered a trained man”. John wrote, "...off duty doesn’t mean loafing about. I have been off to-day and this is what we have done - parade at 5 am this morning and line the streets round about the station as the 5th Black Watch have been ordered on service and we are relieving them here. We stood out in the cold for two and a half hours. Back for breakfast and out again at 9 am. Did an 11 mile route march in pouring rain and have 'navied' ammunition all afternoon - that is an example of an off day!" Soldiers were also sent out to the crossroads with orders to stop all motors and if they did not stop they were to put a bullet in their tyre! Just three months after John joined up, the battalion left Brought Ferry by train for Southampton. Here, they "buckled to" and loaded ship (ss Huanchaco) with new boots, uniforms, ammunition, bales of blankets and the new Mark VII rifles to arrive at Le Havre, France on 5 November 1914. The 5th Scottish Rifles were among the earliest to act as reinforcements to assist the sorely tried fighting line on the Western Front. The local people welcomed the arrival of the soldiers. "Soldats Ecossais" and "Bonne chance" were called out to them as they marched toward Armentieres where they remained until December. John Erskine wrote to his mother from the trenches of a "Christmas Tragedy". For twenty four hours "Jerry" had sung carols and there had been a mutual ceasefire. On Christmas Day souvenirs such as buckles and badges were exchanged, as well as beer and tins of bully beef. Sadly, however, a single shot was fired from the British and the Germans replied, killing a Corporal. (John’s letter describing these events was quoted in the Edinburgh Evening News of 12 January 1915). From January to July 1915 the Brigade took over the Bois Grenier trenches and "navied" and dug trenches at night returning to their billets at dawn. John wrote on 10 May 1915, "I assure you that this new job is not nearly so dangerous as in the fire trenches. The only thing is that we might cop a few stray shells...." From August to September the Battalion was based at Laventie and from 16 September to 16 October fought at the Battle of Loos. The Battle of Loos was horrific with its terrible death toll and saw, for the first time, the use of gas by the British. The men were issued with gas masks and struggled to move heavy cylinders of chlorine gas along the trenches. From 15 October the 5th Scottish Rifles fought on the Bethune Front and were generally in trenches at Auchy-Cuinchy-Cambrin near Givenchy. Billets were apparently good, though over-crowded, and there were plentiful shops, pattiseries, estaminets (where omelettes and local wine could be had) and concerts were performed by various units. By the end of 1915, the soldiers who fought in the trenches on the Western Front no longer looked on the war as a great adventure. It rained a great deal which frequently made the trenches into quagmires.


They could not keep warm and they could not keep clean. The constant shelling turned the surrounding countryside into a sea of devastation. Any trees which were still visible in the cratered, muddy landscape were broken, twisted, stumps and any remaining buildings heaps of rubble. These conditions were bad enough but with the addition of the constant artillery fire, the machine gun fire, and the shells and bullets exploding and whistling overhead, it became a living hell. From October 1915 until July 1916, the 5th Battalion Scottish Rifles were fighting on the Bethune Front, in trenches in front of Givenchy, and on 1 December the Battalion took over the trenches at an area known as "Duck’s Bill". In the early summer of 1916, the 33rd Division was holding a line astride the La Bassee Canal. The enemy exploded a large mine at "Duck's Bill" (later known as the Red Dragon Crater) at 0200 hours on Thursday 22 June. Then they attacked the 2nd Royal Welch Fusiliers and "effected a lodgement" (a stable position gained). However, an immediate counterattack dislodged them. The landscape was a series of mine craters and there was heavy fighting and intense bombardment on the British front line. The 5th/6th Battalion, The Cameronians (Scottish Rifles) sapping platoon, led by Lieutenant D J Stevenson, were sent forward to try to consolidate their position on their side of the crater. It was here on 22 June 1916, that John Erskine performed an act of conspicuous bravery that would lead to him being awarded the highest military honour, the Victoria Cross. The history of 5th Battalion says, "Lance Corporal James Erskine of the 5th SR, who had previously brought in two wounded men, very gallantly went over the open ground to attend to Lieutenant Stevenson, lying beside him and scooping out cover until a shallow trench was sapped out to him. For this act he very deservedly was awarded the Victoria Cross, the second in our battalion." The citation read, "For most conspicuous bravery. Whilst the near lip of a crater, caused by the explosion of a large enemy mine, was being consolidated, Acting Sergeant Erskine rushed out under continuous fire with utter disregard of danger and rescued a wounded sergeant and a private. Later, seeing his officer, who was believed to be dead, show signs of movement, he ran out to him, bandaged his head, and remained with him for fully an hour, though repeatedly fired at, whilst a shallow trench was being dug to them. He then assisted in bringing in his officer, shielding him with his own body in order to lessen the chance of his being hit again." John was promoted to Sergeant two days later, and when he wrote to his family in Dunfermline, his modesty prevented him from making any direct reference to his heroic act. John wrote, "You will be sorry to hear that Sergeant Weir has been wounded and that he will probably lose his right hand...fortunately his lung has escaped and I expect that he will come through it all right...if you see Miss Weir you might mention that her brother showed extraordinary fortitude and although in great pain, kept conscious and assisted us in every way in getting him in...Johnny”


His mother received many congratulatory letters and telegrams. One was received from the father of the young officer who thanked Mrs Erskine for her son's brave attempt to rescue his son. Sadly, the young Lieutenant Stevenson had never regained consciousness and had died several hours after the rescue. The letter expressed regret that the officer did not live to thank his rescuer.

The Dunfermline Press reported, "It was discovered that Private A Ogg had been thrown over the parapet, and lay exposed to the enemies fire. Second Lieutenant Stevenson was the first to try and recover the wounded private. He dashed through a hail of bullets and reached the spot where the wounded man lay, but as he was bending over him, he received a bullet in the head. Sergeant Weir, who next attempted the rescue was no more successful, being knocked out after he had left the parapet. Sergeant Erskine was the third to run the gauntlet of the devastating fire. He got safely to where the men lay, and in turn brought in Sergeant Weir and Private Ogg. He then observed that Lieutenant Stevenson who had been thought to be dead, showed signs of life, and for a third time he clambered out to the bullet- swept ground, and after bandaging the officer's head succeeded in taking him back to the trench. The Lieutenant, however, had been so badly wounded in the head that he failed to rally." The city of Dunfermline was naturally very proud that John Erskine had received such a distinction and arrangements were made to publicly acknowledge him on his first visit home. Provost David Harley instructed the Town Clerk to call a meeting to discuss public recognition and the meeting was held at the City Chambers on Friday, 25 August 1916 at 3 pm. A "Subscription List” was opened and there was an enthusiastic response to the appeal from the people of Dunfermline. Private Ogg, one of the men whom Sergeant Erskine was instrumental in saving wrote to Mrs Erskine from a Scottish VAD Hospital at Ceres saying, "Dear Mrs Erskine, I write these few lines to express to you the heartfelt gratitude towards your boy Johnny. I am the private who was saved along with Sergeant Weir, but although a Private, I am proud to say that l was one of Johnny’s closest friends during the whole of last winter's campaigns. We both lived together, messed together, fought together and when in real billets, took long walks together in the evenings. We shared our parcels with each other and held most of our possessions in common. When I came to myself I saw John coming out for me. I tried to shout to him to keep back, because the position was most exposed and I thought it safer to lie there until nightfall. But he paid no attention to me. He dragged me down the slope with bullets missing us by inches." Private Archibald Ogg who had been a medical student at Glasgow University prior to joining the army, and in reference to a letter from John that he had received that morning, he said, "as I might have expected of him there was no mention of the VC from beginning to end". John’s younger brother William was delighted to write home that he had met John behind enemy lines and that his tent was less than one hundred yards away. William had newly arrived in France and hoped to secure a pass to go to a village that evening close to their billet.


The Reverend John White, Barony Church, Glasgow who was also Chaplain of the Brigade wrote to Mrs Erskine saying, "It is a source of great pride to the battalion that your son has had the Victoria Cross conferred upon him. "I know in your heart that you must be glad. It is with great regret that he has been wounded, and we hope that he will soon be sufficiently recovered to visit you all at home. Again I offer you, in my own name and in name of the battalion, heartiest congratulations." (John was briefly hospitalised in Rouen for a leg injury.)

On 21 June 1916 the 2nd Battalion Royal Welch Fusiliers took over the section known as the Duck’s Bill on account of the configuration of the front lines at that point. At 2 am the following morning a German mine exploded directly under "B" Company which lost some two thirds of its strength including two officers and the Company Sergeant Major.

The resulting crater was about 120 yards long, over 70 yards in width and some 30 feet deep. In Dunfermline, as already mentioned, there was a great sense of pride in John's achievements and efforts were made by Provost Harley and the promoters of John's testimonial for the hero to receive a public function. However, as stated in a letter dated 19 February 1917 received from the War Office, London, by the Town Council, a special leave application could not be granted at that time under existing circumstances in France. John did, however, manage to get a few days leave to visit his friends and family, but he kept the visit entirely private. His character lacked boastfulness. He was reserved, and self-depreciatory of his own achievements and the planned public function never took place. Previously, on 21 August 1916, John had requested that a small piece of VC ribbon be sent on to him in France, and on New Year’s Day 1917, at Bellancourt, Somme, the Divisional Commander, Major General R J Pinney, presented the medal ribbon at a Brigade Parade. Throughout this period John showed considerable concern for his younger brother, William, who had arrived in France on the 28th July 1916 had written to his family in Dunfermline assuring them that "...I am in the very best of health and getting on A1". He had always written in a cheerful spirit, and never suggested despondency or complaint.


It was a bitter blow when William was killed in action at Beaumont-Hamel on the Somme on the morning of Saturday, 18 November 1916, aged 21 years. Mrs Erskine received the following letter, "Dear Mrs Erskine, I am very sorry to have to report to you that your son, 43245 Lance Corporal W Erskine, fell in action on the morning of Saturday, 18th. His own platoon officer was also killed, but from inquiries made of your son's comrades, I learn that he was shot through the head and died instantly, so that he was saved any suffering. Owing to the circumstances of the battle it was impossible to recover the bodies until darkness had fallen so that your son’s body rests in an unmarked grave on the field of battle. We who are left deeply sympathise with you in your loss, and we mourn the loss of a comrade who proved himself to the last an efficient and gallant soldier, willing to give his life in our country's noble cause. We pray that God may comfort you in your sad bereavement." Yours faithfully, J.W. Breslan, 2nd Lt. In a letter dated 24 November 1916, John had written to his mother that he was anxious not to have received a letter from his brother "Willie" for some time. Sadly, William had died only days before. John was meanwhile based for four weeks at the 4th Army School of Instructors, in France, and noted that the London papers were advocating a "simple Christmas" instead of a "Merry one". However, John expressed the view that just because a few people were to have a miserable Christmas did not mean that everyone should be sad. He jokingly added that the reason he was saying this was because he was to be one of the lucky ones having a good time at the Instructors School! He wrote, "I know that when I was a youngster there was nothing I looked forward to more than Xmas morning." He added, "It is wonderful what a difference four weeks of security of life means. I never was a particularly hilarious specimen, but lately some of the things I have seen are enough to make one never laugh again..." In the spring of 1917, the Allied offensive took the form of an attack on Vimy Ridge, a line of hills to the north of the city of Arras in northern France. The weather was intensely cold and there were frequent snowstorms. The Battle of Arras was unique in that it was the only instance of launching a big offensive from a town. A vast system of underground shelters and tunnels were made. It was here near Arras in April 1917 that John, still deeply affected by the loss of his brother William five months earlier, wrote to his mother, "France 11 April 1917 Posted 19 April. My dear Mother, I am writing this letter while I have yet time, as I am probably going into action in a day or two. If nothing happens, then you won’t get it. Well I can say quite honestly, that I am not in the least afraid to die and I hope you won't be thinking that I have been unhappy during these last few years. I probably have improved both mentally and physically and if I had been spared, might have made good in a business sense. However, now that Willie has gone, l am afraid that things will never be the same. There is only one thing that troubles me and that is the pain and trouble it will give you all at home, but I hope and trust that you will not take it too much to heart and that in time the kids will do more than Willie and I were able to do. I don't think I have much more to say to you and won’t burden you with wishes that may be incapable of being carried out. Whatever happens, keep a good heart.


With very best love to Bessie, the kiddies and yourself. I am Your Loving son, Johnnie." His mother received this letter two days prior to receiving official notification from Albert Slade, Quartermaster Sergeant confirming the painful news that John had been killed in action. John Erskine was twenty-three years of age when he was killed in action at Arras, France on Saturday 14 April 1917. The information received by his mother was scant but revealed that John’s commanding Officer (Captain K A Brown) had been killed during an advance and the duty of leading the company passed to John. John had not advanced far when he was fatally hit by enemy fire. Extracts from letters sent by CSM Albert Slade from France 21 April - 12 July, "It is with a very, very, heavy heart that I break the very sad news that your son John VC was killed in an attack on the morning of the 14th. His men followed him to the last with the greatest confidence. John was greatly admired, and a better soldier would be difficult to find. I sincerely hope that the sad news has not been too bluntly put in my letter, and therefore causing you more grief than would have occurred otherwise. Well, Mrs Erskine, as it happened the Battallion attacked and your son, first got a wound, but in his usual heroic style evidently thought the wound to be too slight so continued to lead his men , and was again hit...He was hardly killed instantaneously but he was not conscious. 'Tis true just before he died he said to one of his men, 'It’s all up now except for the shouting.' He was buried in front of a line which is a very outstanding feature in the papers at the present time. I think it is the custom to supply a photo of the grave...will send you his paybook, watch and testament as soon as l can, at present things are rather unsettled. I remain, Yours sincerely, Albert Slade On 1 June 1917 Mrs Erskine and daughter, Bessie, attended the Hero Decoration Ceremony at the parade ground at Hyde Park, London and along with over 350 war heroes, received John’s Victoria Cross from King George V. The King, in handing Mrs Erskine the VC, expressed his regret that her son had not been spared to receive the award for his courageous service. Provost Harley and several other representatives of Dunfermline visited Mrs Erskine at her home in Park Avenue to present an "illuminated address", a gold watch and a chain. Mr Andrew Samuel, Craftmaster at the craft school of the Carnegie Dunfermline Trust, had been instructed to prepare the address which was a beautiful piece of illuminated writing.


The inside page showed the Arms of the City with the Regimental badge and name on the opposite page. There was a trellis of forget-me-nots, heather and blue bells down the margin. It also showed the Royal Lions of Scotland, and the heroic deed for which the VC was awarded was written in red with gold capitals. A "text", including the official citation was written in black with the Seal of the City and the signatures of the Provost and the Town Clerk in the bottom margin. The gold watch was of eighteen-carat gold, and had a pendant including a reduced replica of the Dunfermline Burgh Coat of Arms. It had previously been displayed, along with other gifts, in one of the windows of the jewellers shop owned by Provost Harley. The inscription read, "Presented to Sergeant John Erskine, Cameronians (Scottish Rifles) by the citizens of his native city of Dunfermline in admiration of the gallant deeds which gained for him the Victoria Cross. June 1916." The gifts were acknowledged on behalf of Mrs Erskine and family by the Reverend R W Reid, North United Free Church. Prior to travelling to London, Mrs Erskine had received a solid silver rose bowl subscribed for by the staff and pupils of Dunfermline High School. It was presented with quiet respect at the family home at Park Avenue by Dr Macdonald, Rector, and a small deputation from the school. A bound bible was gifted from the Chalmers Street Congregation and a solid silver cup was received from his former employers, Pettigrews in Glasgow, as a mark of esteem and in recognition of John's remarkable heroism. All the items, apart from the gold watch, are now held in private hands.


John Erskine's Victoria Cross, awarded posthumously, may be seen at Low Parks Museum, Hamilton, Lanarkshire (which now incorporates the Cameronians Regimental Museum) and was handed over by sister Bessie some years ago. John Erskine’s name is recorded on the Arras Memorial, in the Faubourg-d'Amiens Cemetery, France. The Arras memorial commemorates almost 35,000 casualties of the British, New Zealand and South African Forces who died between Spring 1916 and 7 August 1918 and have no known grave. The brothers’ names also appear in the graveyard at Caimeyhill as part of the family-resting place and on the Dunfermline and Cairneyhill War Memorials. William McLaren Erskine’s grave is to be found in the New Munich British Cemetery, Beaumont-Hamel, Somme, France. Each year Dunfermline High School present a Memorial Medal (Erskine Memorial Medal) and prizes for Excellence in the Arts and Sciences. Mrs Elizabeth Erskine was invited to unveil the Cairneyhill War Memorial on 16 December 1922. It was reported, "...that with fitting solemnity, the memorial erected to the memory of men connected with the village of Cairneyhill who fell in the war, was unveiled. Amid genial sunshine, a large crowd of villagers and others assembled to witness and take part in the impressive ceremony..." Prayers were said, pipers played a lament and Mrs Erskine unveiled the memorial, whereupon the Reverend William Forbes offered the prayer of dedication. Among the many wreaths placed on the plinth of the memorial was one bearing the inscription, "In loving memory of Johnnie and Willie, from Mother".


Colonel George de Cardonnel Elmsall Findlay, VC, MC & Bar, DL, Royal Engineers, was born at Balloch, Dunbartonshire on 20 August 1889. He was the third son of Major Robert Elmsall Findlay, a JP, and Director of the firm of Messrs Findlay, Richardson & Co. Ltd., East India Merchants, of 34 West George Street, Glasgow, and Jane Cecilia Louise Scott Findlay, of Boturich Castle near Balloch. His siblings were Charles, Robert and Jane. He was educated at St Ninian's Preparatory School at Moffat, Harrow and the Royal Military Academy, Woolwich.

He became a regular soldier in the Corps of Royal Engineers and was commissioned in January 1910. He was in his early 20s when the First World War broke out. But he broke both legs early in the war, and it was not until 1917 that he saw action. He was awarded a Military Cross for gallantry at Passchendale, after which he took command of 409 (Lowland) Field Company, Royal Engineers, a territorial company, in June 1917. His distinguished service won not only the Military Cross and Bar, but also two Mentions in Despatches, before the incident for which he won the Victoria Cross on November 4 1918 at the age of 29 - seven days before the Armistice was signed. A modest, quiet six-footer, he was always very reluctant to describe the incident, which was part of the final offensive of the war. But he did speak about it in an interview with the Helensburgh Advertiser in 1964. “I was acting Major commanding the 409 (Lowland) Company at the time. Many of the company were miners, and I have kept in touch with them ever since,” he said. His engineers built a bridge across the Sambre-Oise Canal near Catillon despite intense enemy opposition. The canal was the first barrier to be encountered by troops in the northern attack, and the British XIII and IX Corps reached the canal first. German guns quickly ranged the attackers and bodies piled up before the temporary bridges were properly emplaced under heavy fire. When the infantry tried to cross the bridge, they were driven back and their officers killed. Colonel Findlay rallied the infantrymen and led them across the bridge,


He said, “Our division had to force two crossings and by dawn both were successful. I led one crossing. But the French did not get over until seven that night, and there were a lot of casualties.” The medal was presented by King George V to then Captain (Acting Major) Findlay at Buckingham Palace on 27 November 1918. The citation read, "For conspicuous bravery and devotion to duty during the forcing of the Sambre-Oise canal at the Lock, two miles from Catillon, on November 4 1918, when in charge of the bridging operations at this crossing. Major Findlay was with the leading bridging and assaulting parties which came under heavy fire while trying to cross the dyke between the forming-up line and the Lock. "The casualties were severe and the advance was stopped. Nevertheless, under heavy and incessant fire, he collected what men he could and repaired the bridges, in spite of heavy casualties in officers and other ranks. "Although wounded, Major Findlay continued his task and after two unsuccessful efforts, owing to his men being swept down, he eventually placed the bridge in position across the Lock, and was the first man across, subsequently remaining at this post of danger till further work was completed. "His cool and gallant behaviour inspired volunteers from different units at a critical time when men became casualties almost as soon as they joined him in the fire-swept zone, and it was due to Major Findlay's gallantry and devotion to duty that this most important crossing was effected.” The family story goes that the reason Major Findlay crossed safely was because he was a slow runner. The Germans overcompensated their aim and thus missed him as he led his men across the bridge. After the war he continued his chosen career as a soldier until his retirement in 1939. But in only a few months the Second World War had begun, and he was called back as a temporary Colonel. In 1941 he retired again, but in 1943 he was called back for a further two years which included service in Italy. In 1941 he was first elected to Dunbarton County Council to represent the Cardross and Craigendoran ward, and automatically he became a member of Helensburgh District Council. At various times he was a member of a number of county committees, but his 23 years of council service came to a sudden end in May 1964 when, hours before nominations for the elections closed, he decided not to stand again. In 1957 he was appointed a Deputy Lieutenant of the County.


He was particularly identified with the British Legion, serving for a number of years as president of the Helensburgh branch before being appointed the branch’s Life President. In the Legion and outwith he had a particular interest in pensions, and he was a member of the county’s War Pensions Committee. He took a great interest in the Army Cadet Force in Dunbartonshire, and one of his last public appearances was with his wife at a Cardross AFC display.

The Colonel married late in life, his marriage to Constance Clark from Cardross, known to friends as Connie, in St Michael and All Angels Church taking place only eight years before his death. Her interests became his own, and he helped and supported her in her work as president of Cardross Old People’s Welfare Committee and Commandant of the Cardross Red Cross Detachment. He was a member of St Michael’s Church, but did not hold any offices in the church. His main recreation was angling, and he was a prominent member of the Loch Lomond Angling and Improvement Association. An excellent pianist, he enjoyed playing the piano for guests at Drumfork House.

He died on 26 June 1967, age 78, and is buried in the family plot at Kilmaronock Churchyard near Gartocharn. His medals are on display at the Royal Engineers Museum and Library in Gillingham, Medway. His brother, Captain Robert (Robin) De Cardonnel Findlay, 4th Battalion, Seaforth Highlanders, died on 11 March 1915, age 46, and is commemorated on Le Touret Memorial.


Sergeant David Finlay, VC, 2nd Battalion, Black Watch (Royal Highlanders), was born at Guardbridge, Fife, on 20 January 1893. He was the eldest son of George Finlay, a Shepherd, and Susan Small Finlay, of Cameron Farm House, Cameron, Fife. His siblings were James, Susan, George, John, William, Elizabeth, Georgina, Helen, Albert and Anne. He married Christina Cunningham at Cupar on 27 July 1915. She remarried and lived at The Anchorage, St Abb's, Coldingham, Berwickshire. The citation read, "For most conspicuous bravery and devotion to duty on 9th May, 1915, near Rue du Bois, when he led a bombing party of twelve men with the greatest gallantry.

"Ten of them fell in the attack, then Lance-Corporal Finlay ordered the two survivors to crawl back, and he himself went to the assistance of a wounded man and carried him over a distance of 100 yards of fire-swept ground into cover, quite regardless of his own personal safety." He was killed in action in Mesopotamia on 21 January 1916, age 23, and is commemorated on the Basra Memorial, and the war memorial in Moonzie Kirkyard Fife. His Victoria Cross is displayed at the Black Watch Museum, Balhousie Castle, Perth.

Lance Corporal Finlay leading the survivors of his bombing party.


Sergeant Samuel Frickleton, VC, 3rd Battalion, New Zealand Rifle Brigade, was born at Slamannan, Stirlingshire, on 1 April 1891. He was the son of Samuel Frickleton, a Coal Miner, and Elizabeth Logan Frickleton, of 23 and 24 Miners Row, Bannockburn. His siblings were John, Marion, Henry, Jean, Mary, Samuel, William, James, Thomas and Robert. He immigrated to New Zealand in 1913 and lived on the West Coast, working alongside four of his brothers in a coal mine in Blackball. After the outbreak of the First World War, Samuel enlisted in February 1915 and volunteered to serve overseas with the New Zealand Expeditionary Force (NZEF).

His four brothers also volunteered for the NZEF. Samuel embarked for the Middle East with the 5th Reinforcements with the rank of Corporal in the Canterbury Battalion. After arriving in Egypt in June, he became ill and was repatriated back to New Zealand and subsequently discharged as medically unfit for active service. After a period of convalescence, he re-enlisted for the NZEF in 1916. He was posted to France as a rifleman in the 3rd Battalion, New Zealand Rifle Brigade. By March 1917, he had been promoted to Corporal. On 7 June 1917, Samuel participated in the Battle of Messines. His battalion was attacking the edge of Messines village when it was slowed by two machine gun posts. He was awarded a Victoria Cross (VC) for his actions in dealing with these posts. The citation read, "For most conspicuous bravery and determination when with attacking troops, which came under heavy fire and were checked. Although slightly wounded, Lance Corporal Frickleton dashed forward at the head of his section, rushed through a barrage and personally destroyed with bombs an enemy machine gun and crew, which were causing heavy casualties. He then attacked the second gun, killing the whole of the crew of twelve. By the destruction of these two guns he undoubtedly saved his own and other units from very severe casualties and his magnificent courage and gallantry ensured the capture of the objective. During the consolidation of the position he suffered a second severe wound. He set, throughout, a great example of heroism."


Wounds in the arm and hip and being badly gassed would affect his health for the remainder of his life. Evacuated to England for medical treatment, he was presented with his VC by King George V on 17 September 1917, in a ceremony at Glasgow. By then he was an acting Sergeant, which was confirmed later that year. After a period of further hospitalisation, he was selected for and underwent officer training. He was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant in March 1918 and returned to the Rifle Brigade. However, his health problems persisted and he was repatriated to New Zealand in June 1918. He was accorded a hero's welcome and a reception was held at the Auckland Town Hall in his honour. He would spend the remainder of the year under medical care. He was discharged from the NZEF in December 1918.

After the war, Samuel transferred to the New Zealand Staff Corps. He was promoted to acting Lieutenant and served as assistant Provost Marshal for the Wellington Military District for several months until June 1919. He was then transferred to the Canterbury Military District. For health reasons, he retired from the military with the rank of captain in April 1927. In civilian life he tried several professions. At first, he took up business in Wellington and then tried farming at Waikanae. He later worked as a House Manager. His poor health notwithstanding, in 1934 he joined the Territorial Force with the rank of captain. He was later awarded the Efficiency Decoration for his long service in the military. He was part of the New Zealand contingent sent to London in 1937 for the coronation of King George VI and Queen Elizabeth. He was returned to the Officer Reserve the same year. In 1939, Samuel was recalled to active duty and served as Inspector, New Zealand Military Forces. He was returned to the Retired List in 1948. In 1956, he was one of 400 VC winners who paraded in Hyde Park in London. Samuel died on 6 August 1971, age 80, in Wellington after a long illness. He was survived by his wife, who he married in 1922, and a son. He is buried in the Taita Serviceman's Cemetery, Naenae. There are several memorials to his memory; on 7 June 2007, a plaque commemorating his bravery was unveiled at the Mesen Church in Belgium in a ceremony attended by two of his granddaughters. There is also a plaque in his honour at the Messines Ridge British Cemetery.


His wife donated his VC and other medals to the QEII Army Memorial Museum in 1977. The VC was on display when it was one of nine Victoria Crosses that were among a hundred medals stolen from the museum in December 2007. On 16 February 2008, New Zealand Police announced all the medals had been recovered as a result of a NZ$300,000 reward offered.

This photograph is of the five brothers who went to New Zealand with their mother in 1913 after Samuel senior had died. They all enlisted to fight in the Great War and as part of the New Zealand Expeditionary forces were sent to the theatre of War in Europe. William had initially served at Gallipoli but on 28 September 1916 he died of injuries he sustained a few weeks earlier during the Somme offensive. On 7 June 1917 Samuel won the Victoria Cross at the battle of Messines in Belgium, during the battle he was badly injured and spent some time convalescing visiting relatives ‘up the braes’ around Blackbraes, Avonbridge and Slamannan. In September 1917 he was presented the VC at Ibrox Stadium Glasgow by King George V. James was wounded at Gallipoli and was invalided home in 1916; he died in South Africa in 1957. Thomas was discharged from the Army in 1916 after being wounded and severely gassed; he received a War Pension and died in New Zealand in 1959. Bert was wounded in France and discharged from the Army in 1918. Incidentally, he was also wounded at Messines, the same day his brother, Samuel was awarded the VC. Bert died from an accident while fishing off Stewart Island, NZ, in 1929.


Lieutenant Colonel Sir John Reginald Noble Graham, VC, OBE, Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders attached Machine Gun Corps, was born at Calcutta, India, on 17 September 1892. He was the eldest son of Sir Frederick Graham, 2nd Baronet, of Larbert, and Lady Irene Maud Campbell, of Darleith, Cardross His siblings were Glenda Victoria Maud, Bevis Royal and Frederick Clarence Campbell. He was educated at Eton College and Trinity College, Cambridge. Soon after the First World War broke out he joined 9th Battalion, The Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders (Princess Louise's). In 1916 he was seconded to 136 Company, Machine Gun Corps, which was sent to Mesopotamia.

During the Samarrah Offensive Lieutenant Graham was in command of a machine-gun section which was co-operating with the 56th Punjabi Rifles (Frontier Force) near Istabulat on the evening of 22 April 1917: The citation read, "Lieutenant Graham accompanied his guns across open ground, under very heavy rifle and machine gun fire, and when his men became casualties, he assisted in carrying the ammunition. Although twice wounded he continued during the advance to control his guns and was able, with one gun, to open an accurate fire on the enemy, who were massing for a counter-attack. This gun was put out of action by the enemy's rifle fire, and he was again wounded. The advancing enemy forced him to retire, but before doing so he further disabled his gun, rendering it useless. He then brought a Lewis gun into action with excellent effect till all the ammunition was expended. He was again severely wounded, and forced through loss of blood to retire. His valour and skilful handling of his guns held up a strong counter-attack which threatened to roll up the left flank of the Brigade, and thus averted what might have been a very critical situation." After recovering from his severe wounds Captain Graham, as he had become, was ordered back to Mesopotamia where he continued to serve until January 1918 when his company was transferred to Palestine where he was given command of the unit with the rank of Major. After the war, he returned to Scotland to a hero's welcome at his home village of Cardross in Dunbartonshire. He later worked in India in branches of the family firm, William Graham and Company, founded by his great-great-grandfather in Glasgow.


He succeeded to the Baronetcy on the death of his father in 1936. During World War II he was given a temporary rank of lieutenant colonel and served in Scottish Command. He was awarded the OBE in the New Year Honours of 1946, and King Haakon VII's Cross of Liberty in 1949. His medals are held by the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders Museum in Stirling Castle. in 1918 the villagers of Cardross turned out in force at the station to honour a Victoria Cross-winning hero of World War One. He was the first of six members of the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders to be awarded the highest honour for gallantry in that conflict. The Helensburgh and Gareloch Times proudly reported, "On Friday evening a large gathering of the residents of the village assembled at the railway station to welcome Major Reginald N Graham, VC, home from active service. Major Graham joined the 9th Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders in 1914 at Dumbarton, being subsequently transferred to the Machine Gun Corps and proceeding to Mesopotamia, where he gained his great honour. "The reception was entirely spontaneous, as it was only in the afternoon that it became known in the village that the gallant hero was on the way home. On alighting from the train Major Graham was promptly ‘chaired’, and, preceded by a piper, carried shoulder high along the station platform to his waiting car, amid a scene of great enthusiasm. "Major Graham, in an eloquent little speech, expressed his sincerest thanks to the Cardross people for this cordial reception, and paid a high tribute to the Dumbartonshire men of 2/9th Argylls who served with him in Mesopotamia.” While he was in Mesopotamia from September 1916 to January 1918 he kept a diary, including descriptions of his voyage to Mesopotamia, comments on his fellow officers, and concerns over discipline in the ranks arising from a close relationship between his commanding officer and a Company Sergeant Major. He wrote about supporting a raiding party on Turkish front lines after which two British soldiers were displayed on the enemy parapet in January 1917, and his wounding at the battle of Istabulat when he won the VC. The diary and some paintings and sketches are now preserved in the Imperial War Museum. In 1920, he married Rachel Septima Sprot, daughter of Sir Alexander Sprot, and they had two children, Lesley, born on August 20 1921, and John Alexander, born on July 15 1926, who became the fourth Baronet after his father’s death in Edinburgh at the age of 88 on 6 December 1980. He was cremated at the city's Morton Hall Crematorium, and his ashes are buried in front of a memorial cross in the Crematorium grounds, without a memorial tablet. His medals are at the Argyll & Sutherland Highlanders Museum at Stirling Castle.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/King_Haakon_VII%27s_Cross_of_Liberty

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/King_Haakon_VII%27s_Cross_of_Liberty


Lance Corporal John Brown Hamilton, VC, Highland Light Infantry, was born at Dumbarton, West Dunbartonshire on 26 August 1896. He was the son of Thomas Hamilton, a Moulder, and Agnes Brown Hamilton, of 90 High Street, Dumbarton. His siblings were Agnes, James, William, Thomas and Alexander. He grew up in Dumbarton, was a member of the 2nd Company of the Dumbarton Boys Brigade and served an apprenticeship as an electrician in the Steel works before joining the Hihhland Light Infantry (Glasgow Highlanders) at the outbreak of 1st World War. While serving he married Mary Love Weir Maxwell at Cambuslang on 15 November 1915. They had four children, Thomas, who died in infancy, John, Jessie and Ian.

He saw action in Ypres and on 26 September 1917, as Acting Lance Corporal, north of the Ypres-Menin Road, great difficulty was experienced in keeping the front and support line supplied with small arm ammunition, owing to the intense artillery fire. The citation read, "At a time when small arms ammo was at a seriously low ebb, Lance Cpl Hamilton, on several occasions on his own initiative carried bandoleers of ammo through the enemy belt of fire to the front line, and then, passing along these lines in full view of the enemy's snipers and machine- guns, who were lying out in front of our lines at close range, distributed ammunition. In so doing, he not only ensured the steady continuance of the defence by rifle fire, but, by his splendid example, fearlessness, and devotion to duty, inspired all who saw him with fresh confidence to hold at all costs." At the end of the War, on 10 April 1918, he was awarded the Freedom of Dumbarton. He returned to his trade and was offered a job with Messrs J J Inglis & Co as a Commercial Traveller. In 1933 he joined the Probation Service where he gained the Principal post in Lanarkshire until his retirement in 1966. During the Second World War, he was prevented from re-enlisting by suffering from pneumonia. He did eventually enlist and was promoted to Major, having charge of an Italian Prisoner of War camp in the north of England. He enjoyed fishing in his younger years and was a keen Budgie breeder for many years. On 18 July 1973, age 76, he died in Hairmyres Hospital of cancer after a long illness. His Victoria Cross is displayed at the National War Museum of Scotland, Edinburgh Castle having been delivered there by his daughter and grandson.


Captain Arthur Henderson, VC, MC, 4th Battalion, Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders, was born at Paisley, Renfrewshire on 6 May 1893. He was the only son of George Henderson, OBE, a Contractor, Builder and Magistrate, and Elizabeth Purdie Henderson, of 18 Greenhill Road, Egnal. His siblings were Agnes, Elizabeth and Ellen. On 23 April 1917 near Fontaine-les-Croisilles, France, he performed the deed for which he was awarded the Victoria Cross. The citation read, "For most conspicuous bravery. During an attack on the enemy trenches this officer, although almost immediately wounded in the left arm, led his Company through the front enemy line until he gained his final objective.

"He then proceeded to consolidate his position, which, owing to heavy gun and machine gun fire and bombing attacks, was in danger of being isolated. By his cheerful courage and coolness he was enabled to maintain the spirit of his men under most trying conditions. Captain Henderson was killed after he had successfully accomplished his task." He died the following day, 24 April, 1917, age 23, and is buried in Cojeul British Cemetery, St. Martin-Sur-Cojeul. He is commemorated on the Gordon war memorial in the Scottish borders, in Paisley and at Ferguslie Cricket Club. His VC is on display in the Lord Ashcroft Gallery at the Imperial War Museum, London. A Private in the Argylls told this story of Captain Henderson's exploit: "Captain Henderson was in charge of my company at the time. When he went over he was in command. He was absolutely fearless. He led us like a lion, and he never seemed to mind anything. The ordeal we had to go through was the worst I have experienced. Several times the attack was held up, and the position seemed hopeless. Never more so that when Captain Henderson was hit and fell. "He was on his feet at once, and without having his wounded arm attended to he was in the thick of the fight again, urging the men forward, and anticipating every possible move of the Huns.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Imperial_War_Museum


"If there was a piece of ground ahead that offered the least protection of cover it was Captain Henderson who ordered the men to rush it, and the men soon got that confidence which comes with the knowledge that one is being led by a born leader of men. Very soon we forgot all else but the task before us, and led in person by Captain Henderson we swept over the enemy parapet. The Germans fled in terror before the fierce officer with the winged arm, though he hadn't got a weapon with him, and they could easily have knocked him over had they made a stand. The excitement and the pain of his wound had tried Captain Henderson greatly, but he refused to retire, and immediately set about getting the position ready to withstand the strong counter-attacks that the enemy were preparing. The position wasn't very bright. Against our company of Argylls the enemy were pushing a strong cordon around the position in the hope of cutting us off. "The Germans launched their last attack just as assistance was on its way to us. They were met with a stubborn resistance, Captain Henderson handling his men with great skill and courageously sticking at his post until the attack was smashed."

Captain George Stuart Henderson, VC, DSO and Bar, MC, five times Mentioned in Despatches 2nd Battalion, Manchester Regiment, was born at East Gordon in the Scottish Borders on 5 December 1893. He was the only son of Robert Henderson, a Farmer and Auctioneer, and Mary Henderson, of Mount Hooly, Jedburgh, Roxburghshire. His siblings were Elspeth and Jessie. He was educated at Rossall School, Fleetwood, Lancashire.

He was awarded the Military Cross near Ypres, Belgium, on 26 April 1915.

The citation read, "Near Ypres on 26th April 1915, after his Company Commander had been wounded, he led his company up to within yards of the enemy's trenches with great gallantry and determination, and held on through several hours of daylight, and finally established himself there. Throughout the operations he set a fine example, after most of the senior officers had become casualties."

he was awarded the Distinguished Service Order on 8 March 1916.

The citation read, "For conspicuous gallantry and determination in an attack on an enemy redoubt. On entering the redoubt he organised and led bombing parties which cleared out the enemy, of whom he personally shot five. He subsequently covered out withdrawal, and was one of the last to leave the redoubt."

Baghdad had been entered in March 1917 by a force from the (British) Indian Army under General Sir Frederick Maude, who issued his famous proclamation.


"Our armies do not come into your cities and lands as conquerors or enemies, but as liberators". It was during this campaign that Private George Stringer, of 1st Battalion the Manchester Regiment, won the Victoria Cross for single-handedly holding his position during a Turk counter-attack. After the war, under the mandate, most of the former Ottoman officials in Iraq were replaced by British administrators. Many Iraquis feared that the country would be incorporated into the British Empire and in May 1920 there were mass meetings and demonstrations by both Sunni and Shia Muslims in Baghdad, the mood initially peaceful but soon changing. The revolt gained momentum when it spread to the largely Shia regions of the middle and lower Euphrates. The grand mujahid of Karbala, Imam Shirazi, issued a fatwa saying that it was against Islamic law for Muslims to countenance being ruled by non-Muslims, and he called for a jihad against the British. By July, the key city of Mosul was in rebellion against British rule and reinforcements were rushed in from India and Iran, including the 2nd Battalion of the Manchesters. One of the Manchesters’ companies was commanded by the 26-year old Captain George Henderson. A regular officer, he had won the Military Cross near Ypres in Belgium in April 1915, when he had taken command after his company commander and the other senior officers had become casualties in an attack on the German trenches. In May 1916, as a temporary captain, he won the DSO and in August of the following year he was awarded a bar to his DSO. By the end of the war had been mentioned in despatches five times. Towards evening on the July 24, 1920, near Hillah - Al-Hillah, the site of ancient Babylon, 50 miles south of Baghdad - the Manchesters company he was commanding was ordered to retire from the positions they had been guarding. The following citation describes what then took place. The citation read, "For most conspicuous bravery and self-sacrifice. On the evening of the 24th July, 1920, when about fifteen miles from Hillah (Mesopotamia), the Company under his command was ordered to retire. After proceeding about 500 yards a large party of Arabs suddenly opened fire from the flank, causing the Company to split up and waver. Regardless of all danger, Capt. Henderson at once reorganised the Company, led them gallantly to the attack and drove off the enemy. On two further occasions this officer led his men to charge the Arabs with the bayonet and forced them to retire. At one time, when the situation was extremely critical and the troops and transport were getting out of hand, Capt. Henderson by sheer pluck and coolness, steadied his command, prevented the Company from being cut up, and saved the situation. During the second charge he fell wounded, but refused to leave his command, and just as the Company reached the trench they were making for he was again wounded. Realising that he could do no more, he asked one of his N.C.O s to hold him up on the embankment, saying ' I'm done now, don't let them beat you'. He died fighting." The rebellion fizzled out over the next 12 months. However the campaign was notable for the use of air power, controversially in the dropping of white phosphorous bombs, and for the movement of troops, with the first strategic employment of air transport, in particular the Vickers Vernon, the RAF’s first dedicated troop transport aircraft.


He is commemorated on Jedburgh War Memorial and the Basra Memorial. His Victoria Cross is displayed at the Museum of the Manchester Regiment in Ashton-under-Lyne.

Major James Palmer Huffam, VC, 5th Battalion, The Duke of Wellington's (West Riding) Regiment, was born at Dunblane on 31 March 1897. He was the fourth son of Edward Valentine Huffam, an Army Pensioner (Royal Highlanders) and High Bailiff, and Dorothy Roughead Huffam, of 2 West Street, Spittal, Berwick-on-Tweed. His siblings were Alfred Meek, John Henry, Elizabeth Clara Margery, Dorothy Francis, Henry Harold and Dorothy Gertrude Beatrice. He was educated at Spittal Council School.

He was 21 years old, and a Second Lieutenant when on 31 August 1918 at St Servin's Farm, France, he performed the a deed for which he was awarded the Victoria Cross. The citation read, "For most conspicuous bravery and devotion to duty on the 31 August. 1918. With three men he rushed an enemy machine gun post and put it out of action. His post was then heavily attacked and he withdrew fighting, carrying back a wounded comrade. Again on the night of 31August 1918 at St Servin’s Farm, accompanied by two men only, he rushed an enemy machine gun, capturing eight prisoners and enabling the advance to continue. Throughout the whole fighting from 29 August to 1 September he showed the utmost bravery." The following are extracts from the Berwick Journal, issue 26 December 1918, relating to the award of his Victoria Cross, "Berwick Wins VC. "Lieutenant J P Huffam, Duke of Wellington’s West Riding Regiment, son of Mr Huffam, High Street, Berwick has won the Victoria Cross. A telegram reached Berwick on Monday from his Colonel, congratulating his parents on their son’s heroism. The gallant Officer, who is only 21 was a Private, in 7th N F (Berwick Territorials), and gained his Commission in France. "We congratulate heartily Lieutenant James Palmer Huffam, VC who is called after the late Councillor James Palmer, well known Spittal native in his day and member of Berwick Corporation. Lieutenent Huffam, who was 21 on 31 March last, was apprentice with Mr J Cockburn, Joiner and Builder, Castlegate, Berwick and joined up on 15 January 1916, volunteering for France to join there his two brothers, who had gone out in the memorable April and May of 1915.


"Our gallant friend was soon promoted to Sergeant and thereafter recommended for a commission. He came home in September 1917 and was gazetted Second Lieutenant on 30 January 1918. He was three times recommended for the Military Cross, as showing the sort of stuff Berwick’s VC is made of. He has been in big things at Ypres on Somme, at Cambrai, at Douai and is now serving at Valenciennes. He was at the crossing of Sensae River, when the boys went through up to the neck, and he has participated in important captures of German prisoners, skilfully and daringly managed. "On one occasion when on a particular job, after he had sent his two men back each with a batch of prisoners, Lieutenant Huffam found himself left alone. He noticed a movement and on going forward two men came out to him first and afterwards 50 and by his prompt action in whistling for and getting assistance he secured the lot. "Lieutenant Huffman was home in November only a month ago - and was then in the pink. He said nothing of his fine work then, and has been remarkably quiet and unassuming over his fine work at the front. "Mrs Dorothy Huffam, wife of Mr V E Huffam, 119 High Street, Berwick, Ex-Colour Sergeant, Black Watch, formerly in 'The 42nd' for 27 years and County Court Bailiff for Berwick, is the proud mother of four sons and one daughter who have been on Active Service, and besides seven nephews have been out doing there bit. "It is a fine record. Mr Huffam’s daughter (Nurse Bessie Huffam) has been tending the wounded. The four sons A M, John, I P, and H H all began in the Northumberland Fusiliers. "Private H H Huffman was killed in action, and John (now an Officer), was dangerously wounded recently and his parents summoned to France. Happily he rallied, and now is in Hospital in England. "The following letter was received by Mr Huffman "2nd Battalion, Duke of Wellington Regiment, "19th December 1918 "Dear Mr Huffman, -I hardly know whether to congratulate you or thank you on the occasion of the honour bestowed on your son - congratulations are on the occasion of the honour to you as the father of such a boy and thanks for the award coming to the Regiment. We have been anxious for some time whether this well merited award was coming through for one so richly and deservedly earned it, but now we are happy to think it has and your boy is alive and well at the last of the fighting. "I cannot express a small part of the pride we all feel in having available a boy as your son as a member of our Battalion which bears such a noble name and record. May you and your gallant son live long to enjoy the fame which he has earned so nobly. This is the highest brightest Christmas greeting I can send from my Battalion and may you enjoy many more.


"J Pawlett Lt. Col. "Cmdg 2nd the Duke of Wellington Regt. "The following telegram was sent from the Mayor of Berwick to Second Lieutenant James P Huffam, 2nd Duke of Wellington’s West Riding Regiment, BER France:- "Accept heartiest congratulations from myself and the Town of Berwick on the high military honour conferred on you – "Plenderleith, Mayor of Berwick-on-Tweed "The Mayor of Berwick (Ald. Plenderleith) will take steps to ensure Town recognition of Lieut. J. P. Huffam’s winning of the coveted British Empire honour - the Victoria Cross". A return visit to Berwick and his old school, Spittal School, is noted in the school log book. "17 April 1919 Second Lieutenant James P Huffam, VC made a visit this afternoon in the company of his parents. He was entertained by the scholars and teachers and congratulated on the honour he had brought to the school. "The teachers presented Lieutenant Huffam with a pocket wallet." He was initiated as a Freemason at St David’s Lodge No 393 Berwick on Tweed on 17 Feb 1920, age 22. On 23 April 1935, he married Constance Marion Huffam at Valetta, Malta and they had two children. After the War, James Palmer Huffam remained in the army undertaking service in India and West Africa. He eventually rose to the rank of Major and retired in 1938 for the first time. During the Second World War he went back into the service and was the Assistant Provost Marshal for France and was involved in the D Day Landings. He retired for the second time in 1945 and died in 1968 at Stanmore in Middlesex. His medal is privately owned and not publicly displayed. He died at Burnt Oak, Middlesex, on 16 February 1968 His brother, Private Henry Harold Huffam, 1st/7th Battalion, Northumberland Fusiliers, died on 21 August 1915, age 20. His sister, Sister Elizabeth Clara Margery Huffam, Queen Alexandra's Imperial Military Nursing Service, died on 3 March 1944, age 52.


Corporal David Ferguson Hunter, VC, 1/5th Battalion, Highland Light Infantry, was born at Dunfermline, Fife, on 28 November 1891. He was the third son of Peter Hunter, a Coal Miner, and Maria Hunter, of Main Street, Dunfermline. His siblings were Robert, Thomas, James and Janet. In the second half of September 1918 the main objective of the British was to capture the outer defences of the Hindenburg Line. Corporal David Hunter was a member of the 1/5th Battalion, Highland Light Infantry and was in charge of a machine-gun outpost north-west of Moeuvres, west of Cambrai. During an attack by the enemy his post became isolated and overlooked. Two days later, when the division retook Moeuvres, they found Hunter and his six men still holding their post.

By then they had virtually no ammunition, food or water left. David Hunter was awarded the Victoria Cross and his six men the Military Medal. The citation read, "For most conspicuous bravery, determination and devotion to duty (NW of Moeuvres). When the battalion to which he belonged relieved another unit in the front line, Corporal Hunter was detailed to take on an advanced post which was established in shell holes close to the enemy. Relief was carried out in darkness, and there was no opportunity of reconnoitring the adjacent ground. On the following afternoon the enemy drove back the posts on Corporal Hunter's flanks and established posts in close proximity to and around him, thus completely isolating his command. Despite the fact that he was exceedingly short of rations and of water this gallant NCO was determined to hold on to his post to the last. On the evening of the second day he endeavoured to communicate with the company without result. Nevertheless, he maintained his position, and repelled frequent attacks until the evening of the third day, when a counter-attack relieved him. Without food and water he had held on to his post for over forty-eight hours. Not only did he have to withstand constant attacks, but he had also to undergo the barrage fire of the enemy and of our own attacks, which came right across his post. The outstanding bravery, coupled with the determination, fortitude and endurance, displayed by Corporal Hunter is beyond all praise, and is a magnificent example to all." He was subsequently promoted to the rank of Sergeant on 23 October 1918. This account was written on 30 October 1918 by James Price Lloyd of the Welsh Regiment, who served with Military Intelligence. After the war, the Government destroyed all the archives relating to this propaganda (section MI 7b (1)).


They were regarded as being too sensitive to risk being made public. However, these documents have survived in the personal records of Captain Lloyd. Many of these papers are officially stamped. The men involved were Corporal 3247 D Hunter, and Privates 200062 J L Phillips, 203406 D McFarlane, 55770 W Jones, 41617 W Gray, and 40666 J Fleming, and one other (not named) who was killed during the action. The Privates were each awarded the Distinguished Conduct Medal.

On the occasion of the hostile attack at Moeuvres on 17 September 1918, a Corporal and six man of the Highland Light Infantry, 52nd Division, forming the garrison of one of our posts just north of the village, were surrounded and believed to have been captured. During the two days in which the Germans were in occupation of Moeuvres, this party, in fact, maintained their position, and inflicted many casualties on the enemy. On the night of 18-20 September, when Moeuvres was retaken by our troops, the whole party regained their unit without loss (A later note indicates that one man was killed and another wounded. All were awarded the DCM).

Thus the British official communiqué, issued from General Headquarters in France on the morning of 21 September 1918.

The ruins of the village of Moeuvres are set on the brow of a low slope which looks down to the dry bed of the Canal du Nord. Death has stalked Moeuvres many times during these four years of war. It is in the heart of a country which the Battle of Cambrai in the autumn of 1917 has made historic. Pronville, Inchy-en-Artois, Graincourt, Flesquieres, Moeuvres itself, all these places have risen out of obscurity into a terrible fame. Between Moeuvres and Queant, four miles to the west and then southwards along the Canal, the Hindenburg Line, that 'unbelievable fortress' which our soldiers have taken, spreads its tentacles across the map.


Two and a half miles away, the maimed spikes of Bourlan Wood stand out boldly against the Eastern sky. On Monday night, 16 September the brigade went into action between Inchy-en- Artois and Moeuvres taking place after dark. The right company of the brigade took over from a company of the 1st Munsters those posts on the road that runs northwards out of Moeuvres to Inchy, one of them at its junction with Hobart Trench, which joins the Hindenburg Support Line and the Canal du Nord, and the other two at intervals of 200 yards southwards along the road. The left post of the west Brigade was on the northern edge of the village of Moeuvres. This tale concerns the garrison of the most southerly of the three posts on the Inchy road. This post, after the manner of modern fighting, consisted simply of a group of shell-holes, encircled by a ragged fringe of wire. Behind it the ground rose gently towards the main defences of the Hindenburg Line. The Canal was half-a-mile away across the flat ground in front. At some time during the night of 16 September, a NCO and six men of the Munsters filed out of the post and a Corporal and six men of the HLI filed in. The Corporal's name was David Ferguson Hunter, and the names of his men were Privates J L Phillips, D McFarlane, W Jones, W Gray, and J Fleming, and one man (not named) who is now dead. The newcomers brought with them a Lewis gun and ammunition, a few bombs, and their rations and water for the next day. That night passed quietly, as nights go on the Western Front. As one of the party has put it, "There was just the usual shelling, nothing to worry about." 17 September, too, was a quiet day, but it was only the hush before the storm. In the dusk of the September evening there fell about them suddenly a rain of gas and high explosives. And, when the guns had prepared the way, the Germans attacked. They came in full flood across the high places against the Inchy road. The post on the northern edge of Moeuvres and the post on Corporal Hunter's left were both driven in but the Corporal and his men stood up like sullen rocks above the sea of their enemies. They heard the noise of battle drift slowly westwards, but Corporal Hunter saw no reason to withdraw. "We had got no further orders", said one of his comrades afterwards, "so we decided to hold on, trusting our boys would make a counter-attack and relieve us."


When the main attack was over, the Germans tried several times to destroy this handful of insolent Scotchmen who presumed to oppose the might of the German Army. Again and again, their bombers stole up in the darkness, but always keen eyes were waiting for them, and rifle and machine-gun drove them back whence they came. So that night passed and another day. The seven men had now no rations, except the 'iron ration' that the British soldier carried in his pack, and no water, except such foul and nauseous liquid as they could scoop from the bottom of shell-holes. During the night of 18 September, Corporal Hunter sent out two men bidding them try to get into touch with the Company. They never came back. One of them was killed. The other, after wandering for eight hours in the wilderness of No man's land, was badly wounded , and only reached British lines as dawn was breaking. At midnight , one of the sentries on duty reported that a patrol of the enemy was approaching the post. Corporal Hunter gave his men the order to fire, and the Germans, disappointed once more of their prey, went back to their lines. Just before daylight Private Jones made an effort to crawl back, but in a little while he returned. It was impossible to break through so there was nothing else but to still hold on.

One more day did these brave men spend in the pangs of hunger and thirst, but not a man of them thought of surrender. On the evening of Thursday 19 September, came the most welcome sound they had heard during their three days' ordeal, the full-throated voice of the British guns. It is odd that, after all they had suffered and endured because of their enemies, these five men in their shell-holes should come to be in the greatest peril of all from their friends. Yet it was so.


Pressed close to the parados, they heard all about them the whistle and roar of the descending shells, and saw the Inchy road and the light railway which ran beside it wrapped in an orange sheet of flame. Then fell a sudden silence, and afterwards out of the night behind them came the shouts of men and the noise of bursting bombs. Help was close at hand but, before it came, the thunder of the German barrage peeled out upon the Inchy road. At about 10 pm that night a corporal of the HLI going forward to join his company, was challenged as he passed a group of shell-holes on the edge of the road. He turned sharply to find himself covered by the uncompromising muzzle of a machine-gun with the haggard unshaven but equally uncompromising face of a British soldier behind it. The Corporal explained that the line had moved on and that such strict precautions were hardly necessary under the circumstances. The man in the shell-hole replied that he was glad to hear it. He had been there three days and that was the first he had heard of it. anyway. Then Corporal Hunter and his weary men lifted their Lewis gun from the parapet, climbed out of their shell-holes and, guided by their new friend, returned to their old Company Headquarters in Hobart Street.

All five of them were utterly exhausted . The stress of their three days' watching had left its mark upon them. Yet their comrades, who had never hoped to see them again, were impressed by their air of cheerfulness and good spirits.

That night the battalion was relieved. Corporal Hunter was asked if he would prefer to ride in an ambulance. He refused to do that but insisted on taking his usual place in the ranks, and marching back out of Moeuvres with the rest of the Company. David Hunter was invested with his Victoria Cross by King George V at Buckingham Palace on 16 November 1918. This article appeared in a 1919 edition of The Boys Own Paper: "Place of honour this month must be given to the record of splendid heroism associated with the attack on Moeuvres in September last. The incident is depicted for us in a vivid manner by Mr George Soper, in the drawing published on page 183 of this number. Briefly, the story is as follows. In the heavy fighting that month a strong German attack compelled the scattered garrison of Moeuvres to fall back to the west of that village. During the retirement some of the troops reported that one of our posts near the cemetery was holding out, and it was generally concluded that the little remnant would be wiped out by the Hun fire. Two days later, however, when the British troops counter-attacked, driving back the Germans beyond their former line, the brave little post of seven men - Scotsmen aIl, of the Highland Light Infantry - were found to be still holding their own and keeping the enemy at bay. A circle of corpses round the post showed how desperately the Germans had endeavoured to capture the position, and how dearly they had paid for the attempt.


"When the relieving force came up with them, the gallant band of Scotsmen were right out of food and were wet through with the exposure to the rain. "It was but fitting that the leader of the valiant seven, Corporal David Ferguson Hunter, should be awarded the distinc-tion of the Victoria Cross. "All seven heroes deserved the decoration without doubt, but in such cases the leader is selected as the recipient. The honour belongs, nevertheless, to the Highland Light Infantry, which corps is justly proud of its comrades of Moeuvres. In the official story of the deed, as related in the Gazette, we learn that after the little post was isolated and almost surrounded by the enemy, Corporal Hunter endeavored in vain to get into communication with his company, which had fallen back.

"He then decided to maintain his position and, by skilful arrangement, managed to repel frequent attacks until the evening of the third day when relief came. The seven heroes, crouching in their shell-hole, had held on grimly for forty-eight hours, without food or water. It was a fine deed, and it stands out prominently among the many splendid heroic exploits to the credit of the Scottish regiments during the Great War. We shall not willingly let die the memory of those gallant seven heroes of Moeuvres." Following his discharge, David Hunter returned to Dunfermline and took up his old job as a Miner at Dean Colliery, Kingseat. In 1920 he attended the Buckingham Palace Garden Party for VC holders and the same year sat as a model for a bust being made by Jacob Epstein, commissioned by the Imperial War Museum. It was designed to represent all Scots who won the VC in the First World War, and was first displayed at the Royal Academy, then later in the Imperial War Museum, where it still resides. In 1962, two years before his death, Hunter was prepared to sell his VC as he was finding it increasingly difficult getting about and his twenty-seven-year-old Morris car had recently failed its road test. His family urged him to sell the VC, but in the end this was not necessary, as a London car dealer provided a car on condition that the Cross was kept by Hunter and not sold. His old regiment, The Highland Light Infantry, had been quite prepared to purchase David Hunter's VC group from him but he promised that he would leave it to them on his death anyway. He died on 14 February 1965, at the age of seventy-three, and was buried in Dunfermline Cemetery. John Carmichael, VC and John Hamilton, VC (see their entries) both attended his funeral.


A ceremony organised by the Royal Highland Fusiliers, Mrs Mary Fairbairn of Abercorn Memorials, Edinburgh, and Union Lodge Dunfermline 250, took place on 12 August 2004 in Dunfermline Cemetery, to place a memorial stone over the previously unmarked grave of Sergeant David Hunter VC, 1/5th Battalion, Highland Light Infantry. David Hunter's funeral was well attended by his family and various organisations and it is not clear why a headstone was not erected over his grave. His Victoria Cross is displayed at the Museum of The Royal Highland Fusiliers, Glasgow, Scotland.

Corporal Charles Alfred Jarvis, VC, 57th Field Company, Royal Engineers, was born at Fraserburgh, Aberdeenshire on 29 March 1881. He was the elder son of Charles Alfred Jarvis, a Coastguard, and Mary Jane Jarvis, of Admiralty Buildings, Saltoun Place, Fraserburgh, then Rattray Coastguard Station, and subsequently Carnoustie. His siblings were Evelina, Mary, James and Elizabeth. His father was awarded the Royal Humane Society medal for saving two boys from drowning at Berwick. Charles completed his education at Carnoustie School.

Aged sixteen, he was confirmed at Carnoustie’s Holyrood Church and, on leaving school, he was taken on as an Apprentice Plumber, but was unable to complete the apprenticeship. His mother and sister died within a month of each other in 1898, and two years later Charles senior was also dead. He was employed as a Metal Worker and was a member of the Walthamstow Branch of the Amalgamated Society of Engineers. In 1899 Charles enlisted in the Royal Engineers at Chatham and was sent to Singapore where his unit was involved in the construction of military works. He was transferred to the Reserve in 1907 and worked as a Telegraphist in London. On the outbreak of war, Charles was called up and sent to France with the Royal Engineers, arriving at Mons on 22 August 1914. The following day he was one of the men sent to destroy eight of the bridges over the Mons-Conde Canal. Although coming heavy fire from German fire, Jarvis managed to blow up the bridge at Jemappes. This was the deed for which he was awarded the first VC of the war. Later the same day Lieutenant Maurice James Dease 4th Battalion, The Royal Fusiliers, from Gaulstown, Coole, County Westmeath, won the second VC of the War.


The citation read, "Lance-Corporal Jarvis worked for 1½ hours under heavy fire, in full view of the enemy and finally succeeded in firing charges for the demolition of a bridge. He was wounded in the process."

The war was only three weeks old when Charles Jarvis was awarded the Victoria Cross for his gallantry in blowing up the Bridge of Jemappes to cover the retreat of the army from Mons. The British Expeditionary Force had moved up to the Mons-Conde canal during the night of 22-23 August 1914, intending to advance into Belgium the next morning. It soon became clear, however, that they were vastly outnumbered, and the order was given to defend the line of the Canal and destroy the bridges. The enemy fire onto this position become very heavy and the casualty toll increased to the point at which it was decided that they need to retire to the relative safety of the southern bank. Whilst this was going on Lance Corporal Jarvis and Sapper Neary of the Royal Engineers were preparing the bridge for demolition. This was one of five bridges within a three mile stretch of the Mons – Condé Canal allotted to the 57th Field Company RE that had to be blown. The hazardous task of demolishing the bridges was made even more dangerous by chronic shortages of manpower and equipment. Lance Corporal Jarvis and Sapper Neary were allocated the Lock 2 bridge at Jemappes. Working from a small boat held in position by soldiers of the 1st Royal Scots Fusiliers, Jarvis and Neary painstakingly applied demolition charges to the girder supports. All the while they were in full view of the enemy and under intense fire. Captain Theodore Wright continually moved backwards and forwards along the canal bank in a car that he had commandeered encouraging his men.


As their situation worsened, Jarvis sent the infantrymen back into cover, although Private Heron, 1st Royal Scots Fusiliers, continued to assist him and was awarded the DCM. They occasionally had to expose themselves even more as they dashed back for extra explosives and to run out the leads.

He himself continued to work for over an hour, occasionally dashing back for extra explosives and to run out the leads. As the gunfire intensified, the infantry themselves were forced to fall back, leaving Jarvis dangerously exposed. An electrical plunger was now needed to set away the demolition - but there was only one to destroy five bridges spaced three miles apart. Ducking down in the boat, Jarvis pulled himself along the bank to safety. It was nothing short of a miracle that he escaped unhurt. He met Captain Theodore Wright, who had by that time been wounded in the head. Captain Wright told Jarvis to go back to the bridge and he would bring the necessary equipment.

Whilst Captain Wright set off in his car in search of the necessary equipment Lieutenant Boulnois and Sergeant Smith, Royal Engineers, cycled passed the Lock No 2 Bridge on their way to Pont Richebe, the road bridge near the Railway Station.


Seeing them, Lance Corporal Jarvis stopped them and obtained the plunger that Lieutenant Boulnois was carrying. The lines were connected, the demolition charges set-off and the bridge was successfully put out of use collapsing into the canal. Throughout, the company of the 1st Royal Scots Fusiliers had remained in position holding off the enemy. Only one of the eight bridges allocated to 57th Field Company was destroyed, but this in no way detracts from the heroism of those who attempted it. In 1915 he returned to Britain and was presented with his medal at Buckingham Palace. He was discharged from the Army in 1917 and went on to work at the Naval Dockyard at Portsmouth. In January 1917 he was discharged from the Army after over 17 years service, claiming in an interview with the London Star that the authorities had done this to avoid paying him the pension granted to men with 18 years' service. After leaving the Army he found work as a Labourer. During the Second World War he was employed at Portsmouth Dockyard. He returned to Scotland in 1943 and married Janet Grace Black, a widow from Cupar, Fife. The couple lived in St Monance. Charles died in Dundee Royal Infirmary on 19 November 1948, and is buried in Cupar. In Carnoustie, he is commemorated with a bronze plaque erected by the local branch of the British Legion in a street named Jarvis Place.

Major William Henry Johnston, Royal Engineers, was born at Leith on 21 December 1879. He was the second son of William Johnston, Royal Artillery Riding Master, and Mary Johnston, 2 Madeira Place, Leith. His siblings were Alice, Robert, Francis, Adelaide, Maud, Helen, Katherine, Mary and John. He was commissioned on 23 March 1899 and served in Gibraltar from 1900 to 1905 in the Intelligence Department. Promoted Lieutenant on 19 November 1901, in Britain he was attached to the Survey Department until 1908, then gazetted as a General Staff Officer 3rd Grade for service in China, attaining Captain on 23 March 1908. From 11 July 1908 to 26 October 1911 he served in North China in intelligence work.

On his return to Britain he served in the Geographical Section of the War Office until 1913, when he entered the Staff College, Camberley.


At the outbreak of the war he joined the 59th Field Company of the Royal Engineers in the British Expeditionary Force serving throughout the winter of 1914-15. He saw action at the retreat from Mons and the battles of Aisne, the Marne, Neuve Chapelle and the first and second battles of Ypres. His citation read, "At Missy on 14 September, under a heavy fire all day until 7 pm worked with his own hands two rafts, bringing back wounded and returning with ammunition, thus enabling advanced Brigade to maintain its position across the river." He was killed by a sniper on 8 June 1915 near Zwarteleen in the Ypres Salient, just four days after being appointed Brigade Major of 15th Infantry Brigade, and is buried in Perth Cemetery (China Wall), West-Vlaanderen, Belgium. .

Major Allan Ebenezer Ker, Gordon Highlanders attached 61st Battalion, Machine Gun Corps, was born at Leith on 5 March 1883. He was the first son of Robert Darling Ker, WS, a Solicitor, and Joanna Ker, of 4 Wardie Road, Leith. His siblings were Hilda, Gertrude and John. On 21 March 1918, near St Quentin in France, the enemy had penetrated the British lines, and the flank of the 61st was exposed. Lieutenant Ker had one Vickers gun, but managed to hold up the attack and to inflict many casualties. He then sent word back to his Battalion Headquarters that he was going to remain at his post, along with a Sergeant and several men who had been badly wounded, and fight on until a counter-attack could be launched to rescue them. Just as the Vickers gun was finally destroyed, his party were attacked from behind with bombs, machine guns and bayonets. Lieutenant Ker and his men managed to repulse these attacks with their revolvers. Although exhausted from want of food and gas poisoning, as well as from fighting and attending to the wounded.


Lieutenant Ker only surrendered when all his ammunition was spent and the position overrun. He had managed to hold 500 of the enemy off for three hours. The wounded were collected into a small shelter, and it was decided to defend them to the last and to hold the enemy for as long as possible. In one of many hand-to-hand encounters, a German rifle and bayonet were secured, along with some ammunition, and these were used with good effect. The citation read, "For most conspicuous bravery and devotion to duty. "On the 21st March, 1918, near St. Quentin, after a very heavy bombardment, the enemy penetrated our line, and the flank of the 61st Division became exposed. Lieutenant Ker with one Vickers gun succeeded in engaging the enemy’s infantry, approaching under cover of dead ground, and held up the attack, inflicting many casualties. "He then sent back word to his Battalion Headquarters that he had determined to stop with his Sergeant and several men who had been badly wounded and fight until a counter-attack could be launched to relieve him. "Just as ammunition failed his party were attacked from behind by the enemy with bombs, machine guns, and with the bayonet. "Several bayonet attacks were delivered, but each time they were repulsed by Lieutenant Ker and his companions with their revolvers, the Vickers’ gun having by this time been destroyed. The wounded were collected into a small shelter, and it was decided to defend them to the last and to hold up the enemy as long as possible. "In one of the many hand-to-hand encounters a German rifle and bayonet and a small supply of ammunition was secured, and subsequently used with good effect against the enemy. "Although Lieutenant Ker was very exhausted from want of food and gas poisoning and from the supreme exertions he had made during ten hours of the most severe bombardment, fighting, and attending to the wounded, he refused to surrender until all his ammunition was exhausted and his position was rushed by large numbers of the enemy. "His behaviour throughout the day was absolutely cool and fearless, and by his determination he was materially instrumental in engaging and holding up for three hours more than 500 of the enemy."

He later achieved the rank of Major. Anthony Powell later used him as the inspiration for the character of Colonel Finn in his novels The Soldier's Art (1966) and The Military Philosophers (1968).


After the war, he was described as an amiable solicitor and was known on special occasions to wear the WWI dress of a field-officer of the Gordon Highlanders, including Glengarry, tartan breeches and top boots. His VC is on display in the Lord Ashcroft Gallery at the Imperial War Museum, London. Lieutenant Ker died, age 75, on 12 September 1958 in Hampstead, North London, where he is buried.

Sergeant-Piper Daniel Logan Laidlaw, VC, The King's Own Scottish Borderers, was born at Little Swinton, near Berwick-upon-Tweed on 26 July 1875. He was the son of Robert Laidlaw, an Enginemen, and Margaret Laidlaw, of Coldingham, Berwickshire. His siblings were William, Isabella, Alice, Mary, James, George and Margaret. He was educated at Berwick-upon-Tweed and Lesbury, Northumberland, where he was employed as a Miller's Apprentice. He joined the Army in 1896, served with the Durham Light Infantry in India and received a certificate for work during a plague outbreak in Bombay in 1898.

In 1898 he was claimed out by his elder brother and transferred as a Piper to the King's Own Scottish Borderers. Having transferred to the reserve in 1912, he found employment as a Canteen Manager at Alexandria, Alnwick Co-operative Stores, and with Messrs D and D H Porter of South Doddington, a firm of horse-breeders. In Alnwick he was also an assistant scoutmaster. On 11 April 1906 he married Georgina Mary Harvie, of Kilburnie, Ayrshire, at the Baptist Church, Alnwick, Northumberland. They had three sons (Andrew, John, and Victor) and three daughters (Margaret, Georgina, and May). He re-enlisted in The King's Own Scottish Borderers on 1 September 1914, went to France in the following June, and was 40 years old when the following deed took place for which he was awarded the VC. The citation read, "On 25 September 1915 during the Battle of Loos at Hill 70, prior to an assault on enemy trenches and during the worst of the bombardment, Piper Laidlaw, seeing that his company was shaken with the effects of gas, with complete disregard for danger, mounted the parapet and, marching up and down, played his company out of the trench.


"The effect of his splendid example was immediate and the company dashed to the assault. Piper Laidlaw continued playing his pipes even after he was wounded and until the position was won." He earned lasting renown on that first morning of the Battle of Loos. At 6.30 am, as his battalion stalled in the trenches after heavy artillery fire from the German guns, and as gas wafted back from British cylinders, Lieutenant Young cried out ‘For God's sake, Laidlaw, pipe them together!’ Laidlaw promptly scaled the parapets and marched up and down, playing the regimental march, ‘Blue Bonnets over the Border’. Suitably inspired, the battalion dashed out of the trenches and Laidlaw followed. Wounded by shrapnel in the left ankle and leg, he hobbled onwards, changing the tune to ‘The Standard on the Braes of Mar’. Once the battalion had made its way to the third line of German trenches, Laidlaw scrambled back to his lines amid the dropping shells. Promoted corporal for distinguished service in the field (25 September 1915), he was dubbed the ‘Piper of Loos’ in the Scottish press and his feat of arms was compared with that of Piper George Findlater, VC, who had piped the Gordon Highlanders onwards, despite being wounded at the battle of Dargai (20 October 1897). On 18 November 1915 Laidlaw's citation for the award of the Victoria Cross appeared in the London Gazette, commending his ‘absolute coolness and disregard of danger’ in the battle. Interviewed in Lord Derby's hospital at Winwick, near Warrington, he was photographed extensively and his portrait painted for the illustrated press. Modestly he received an address from the citizens of Alnwick, and a gold-mounted walking stick, a cheque for £5, and war stock to the value of £60 from a fund raised by the Berwick Journal and the Berwickshire News. After George V decorated him with his Victoria Cross at Buckingham Palace on 3 February 1916 he received a gold watch from the Worshipful Company of Musicians at the Mansion House on 28 February 1916, and played the pipes at various wartime concerts. He also received the French Croix de Guerre (with palm), the 1914–15 star, British war medal (1914–20), victory medal with oak leaf for mention in dispatches (1914–19), and later the King George VI coronation medal (1937) and the defence medal (1939–45). Promoted Sergeant Piper on 12 October 1917, he was demobilized on 3 April 1919. If never quite the celebrity that Findlater became, Laidlaw gained more publicity than many contemporary winners of the Victoria Cross, with his portrait appearing in paintings, book illustrations, and the endorsement of tobacco products. He appeared at various formal gatherings for holders of the Victoria Cross: a garden party at Buckingham Palace (26 June 1920), dinner in the royal gallery at the House of Lords (9 November 1929), and the Second World War victory parade in Whitehall and subsequent dinner at the Dorchester hotel (8 June 1946). He also piped at the head of marches to the Cenotaph in the 1930s, notably on 25 September 1932, when he marched alongside Findlater, VC, and Pipe-Major D Anderson (Croix de Guerre) to commemorate the battle of Loos. However, he struggled to find work after the war, enduring long periods of unemployment. He sought assistance from the King's Own Scottish Borderers Association and received support from a public fund to educate his youngest son.


He piped in two films, the Guns of Loos (1929) and Forgotten Men (1933), accompanied a troupe of highland dancers on a tour of Norway in 1934, and piped for the Scottish Country Dancing Club in London. Just before the Second World War he became the Sub-Postmaster of Shoresdean and then Head Warden of the ARP in Norham and Islandshires district. He died at Shoresdean, near Berwick-upon-Tweed, on 2 June 1950, age 74, and was buried in St Cuthbert's churchyard, Norham, Northumberland, where a memorial headstone, organized by the King's Own Scottish Borderers Museum and members of the Laidlaw family, was placed over his grave on 2 June 2002. At a ceremony at the Loos Museum, Belgium, on the ninetieth anniversary of Laidlaw's action, his grandson, Victor, donated his Victoria Cross and other medals to Scotland's National War Museum in Edinburgh Castle.

This account was written on 16 May 1918 by James Price Lloyd of the Welsh Regiment, who served with Military Intelligence. After the war, the Government destroyed all the archives relating to this propaganda (section MI 7b (1)). They were regarded as being too sensitive to risk being made public. However, these documents have survived in the personal records of Captain Lloyd. Many of these papers are officially stamped.

One of the most notable achievements on the first day of the Battle of Loos was that of the 15th Division. Its three Scottish Brigades held trenches in front of the village of Loos. Two of these Brigades were in the firing line, the 44th on the right and the 46th on the left. The remaining Brigade, the 45th, was in Divisional reserve. The German entrenchments which lay in front of these troops of the New Army were a maze of redoubts and machine-gun emplacements, and the deep dug-outs with which they abounded provided efficient protection against the heaviest shell-fire.

They had been the work of months, and were considered to be as strong as any defences on the Western Front. All night, the great British shells shrieked over the heads of the anxious men crowded along the British trenches, and the German lines opposite were aflame with their bursts. When the men looked out at dawn across No Man's Land, the tall parapets opposite were seen to be crushed and broken, the wide belt of tangled wire torn into shreds. The hour fixed for the attack was 6.30 am. The enterprise was associated with a new departure in British methods of warfare. Five months earlie, at Ypres, the German had launched his new devilry of poison gas upon the French and Canadians. The British soldiers had not forgotten that. Now, for the first time, the German was to swallow his own medicine.


At ten minutes to six a whitish cloud rose from the British trenches, and drifted slowly on the light south-west wind towards Loos. As this strange terror approached them, the panic stricken Germans poured fire upon it with rifles and Machine-guns, on it came inexorably. As it passed over them, the firing slackened and died away.

But in one spot, the gas, owing to a variation in the wind, eddied back down the hollow upon the 46th Brigade on the left. So it happened that when the whistles blew, and the 44th Brigade on the right leapt over the parapet and raced across No Man's Land towards the German trenches, the 46th did not at once follow them, but hesitated with the scent of the gas in their nostrils. Then Piper Daniel Laidlaw, of the 7th King's Own Scottish Borderers, did a fine thing. He climbed out of the trench and, standing boldly on the parapet, set his pipes to his lips.

The German machine-gunners had come up out of their deep dug-outs now, and bullets thudded into the sandbags at his feet, and whistled all around him as he played. The men of his company saw him and, from his Headquarters in the rear, his Brigadier watched and wondered at that lonely figure on the parapet. Far away to either flank, men heard, above the roar of battle, the familiar strains of 'Blue Bonnets over the Border'. The mad magic of it fired their northern blood as nothing else in the world could have done. They answered as one man to the call. As one man they streamed through the gas cloud towards Loos, and with them marched Piper Daniel Laidlaw, playing them on. This is not the place to tell of the adventures of that wonderful day. The world knows what those Scotchmen did, with the memory of that wild music singing in their ears - it was only a memory, for Daniel Laidlaw had been wounded before ever he reached the German trenches - and how that morning they came into Loos and joined hands with their Highland comrades of the 46th Brigade along the low slopes of Hill 70."


Private David Ross Lauder, VC, Royal Scots Fusiliers, was born at Easter Glentore, Airdrie, Lanarkshire on 31 January 1894. He was the elder son of Angus Lauder, a Tailor, and Marion Lauder, of 61 G Chapel Street, Airdrie. His siblings were Angus and Elspeth. He spent his early years in Dairy, Ayrshire, where he worked as a Carter before the war and also served as a Private with the 1/4th Battalion, Royal Scots Fusiliers, a Territorial (militia) unit. When war broke out and his unit was called to active duty, after a period of training in Britain they were sent to Turkey as replacements. At a position called The Vinyard, near Krithia in the Helles sector of the Gallipoli Peninsula, grenades were much more useful than rifles. He and his comrades kept a running tally of the number they had thrown.

Lauder was well into his second hundred when, as Lauder later reported, "I threw a bomb that fell short. I saw it slip down the parapet and roll towards the bombing party. A three second fuse does not allow you very long for thinking. I recognised the fault as mine and the only course that seemed open to me was to minimise the explosion as much as possible. So I put my right foot on it. The explosion was terrific and the concussion was awful. My foot was clean blown away, but, thank goodness, my comrades were saved." His fault or not, his commander described the action as "the pluckiest I had seen in Gallipoli" and it was deemed sufficient to warrant awarding the VC at the age of 21 years for action on 13 August 1915. The citation read, "On 13 August 1915 at Cape Helles, Gallipoli, Turkey, Private Lauder was with a bombing party retaking a sap when he threw a bomb which failed to clear the parapet and fell amongst the bombing party. There was no time to smother the bomb and Private Lauder at once put his foot on it, thereby localizing the explosion. His foot was blown off, but the remainder of the party escaped unhurt.

After a period of recuperating in Malta and England, he was fitted with an artificial leg and was mustered out of the Army on 10 June 1916. His wound later became infected and a larger part of his leg had to be amputated.


He took a job in Glasgow with the General Post Office as a Telephone Operator and later became a Supervisor. During World War II he continued working for the GPO as well as serving briefly in the Home Guard and part-time as an air-raid warden. After the War, David joined the Limbless Association, something that brought him into contact with Royalty at Buckingham Palace garden parties. In fact, the Queen Mother was particularly taken with him, not least because she was a fan of his cousin - Harry Lauder, the Scottish music hall comedian and singer. Like many men who served their country, David rarely spoke much about his wartime experiences. His granddaughter said of him that, “He was a character. Only having one leg never made any difference to him. He had an artificial one put in and it never held him back. He still drove and even rode a motorcycle.” He passed away at his home in Glasgow on 4 June 1972 at the age of 78, he is buried in Daldowie Crematorium, Glasgow, and is immortalised on the monument to Lanarkshire’s VC recipients in the centre of Hamilton. His medals, including the Serbian Medal for Bravery, are privately held.

Captain John MacGregor, VC, MC & Bar, DCM, ED, 2nd Regiment, Canadian Mounted Rifles, Canadian Expeditionary Force, born on 11 February 1889 at Cawdor in the County of Nairnshire, he was the third child of William MacGregor, and Hanna MacGregor, of Newlands of Urchany. He was baptised at Cawdor Free Church and attended Geddes School, Cawdor School and Nairn Academy, leaving full time education in 1907.

When he left school he was apprenticed to Mr George Tolmie of Nairn as a Master Carpenter and Stone Mason. He also joined the Nairn Garrison Artillery. In 1908 his father died of a stroke and, as was the custom, the family croft was handed on to the eldest son.

John was not happy about being beholden to a local laird and had been looking towards Canada as a land of opportunity and wide-open spaces, which suited his personality. On his birthday in 1909 he told his family that it was his intention to emigrate. He booked a passage with Donaldson Line on ss Athenia and left Scotland, arriving at Montreal on 8 April 1909. From Montreal he worked his way across Canada utilising his skills as a Carpenter, mostly on the burgeoning railroads building trestle bridges, moving west as the work moved west. On his route west he also worked as a Cowboy.


During this time he found a Cree Indian with a broken leg out on the prairie. He tended to him and returned him to his village where the Indians gave him geranium seeds as a thank you for helping one of their own. He then crossed the Rockies, went into America for a short time then returned to Canada in Vancouver where he worked on the construction of the University of British Columbia. Whilst working on the University he found a map of the west coast of Canada and saw how remote the north west region was. In the autumn of 1912 he booked a passage north to Prince Rupert. On his arrival at Prince Rupert he secured a job at the dry dock, again as a Carpenter. He became friends with another worker, Archie MacPhee, who had spent time as a Trapper. It was his tales of the backwoods that sent John off at weekends learning from Archie the art of setting traps and fishing. He eventually bought his own equipment and supplies and, in late 1913, he set out by canoe up the Skeena River for the backwoods north east of Prince Rupert. He built himself a log cabin and planted the geranium seeds the Cree had given him. When the leaves are crushed and mixed with fat or grease then applied to bare skin it apparently stops the midges from biting. In the winter of 1914/15 a Ranger passed his cabin and told him that Britain had been at war with Germany for six months. He immediately pulled his traps, greased and packed his tools, left a note on the door that he had gone to war, donned his snow shoes and set out cross country to the nearest railway at Terrace. He took food for seven days. He travelled at night and slept by day, making the over mountain and cross-country journey in five days. When he arrived in Prince Rupert he went to the recruiting office smelling and looking like a tramp. He was thrown out for 'being unfit for duty in the Canadian army'. He caught the next boat down to Vancouver, cleaned himself up and on 26 March 1915 he took the King's Shilling. He became 116031 Private John MacGregor of the 11th Canadian Mounted Rifles. Initial training took place in Vancouver, following which the 2nd and 11th Mounted Rifles travelled by train back across Canada and then by ship over the Atlantic to Britain. The 11th were barracked at Shorncliffe Camp in Folkstone, Kent. By June 1915 the German advance had been halted and the war had become a static affair. Both sides were digging in their trench systems and it was found that cavalry were of little value in these conditions. It was decided that the mounted units would combine with the infantry. On 20 July 1915 John became a Trooper with the 2nd Canadian Division. After a short leave with his family in Cawdor the Division embarked for France on 22 September 1915. Four days later they were in the front line around Ypres. The Battalion spent the next year in and out of the front line in various locations. The area they were sent to was very flat with the water table close to the surface and, as John described it, "We supped, slogged, and slept in deep unrelenting mud". In August 1916 they were in the line on the Somme beyond Albert. The Germans made counter assault after assault but were driven back each time. The 2nd called for artillery support. When it came it was too late and fell short. The Germans didn't bother to attack. They just joined in with their own artillery.


The 2nd had so many casualties they were taken out of the line next day. On 25 September 1916 John was promoted from Private, straight to Sergeant because the battalion had lost so many officers and NCOs. On 16 October 1916 they were pulled out of the Somme area and were sent to what was to become a very familiar name in Canadian military history - Vimy Ridge. The Germans had seized the town in 1914, together with the infamous ridge and all its fortifications. Thousands of British and French troops had died trying to take it, but now it was the turn of the Canadians. Prior to the main assault they had built training trenches where John drilled his men and the artillery had perfected the 'rolling barrage'. At 0530 hrs on 8 April 1917 (Easter Sunday) the attack began. The guns had already been blasting away for days when the rolling barrage started. John's C Company objective was the most difficult - cross 700 yards of defensive positions, (from the top of The Brae to the Station Car Park), capture the principal trench known as The Zwischen Stellung, fire three white flares to signal it had been taken, reverse the trenches and dig in. Eye witness reports of the attack stated, "When the barrage started, Sgt MacGregor cried out, 'What are we waiting for' and, climbing out of his trench, started forward roaring 'Follow me boys, follow me'. And follow him we did. Bullets whined, thudded and pinged through our ranks and grenades boomed splattering mud and shrapnel. Lucky for us the blowing snow hindered the snipers. Jock led us up the slopes behind, and sometimes in the creeping barrage, zig-zagging and leaping from crater to hillock to crater, but always forward. He was nearing our objective when a Hun machine gun rata-tat-tatted at his platoon. Yelling at us to lie low, Jock charged the machine gun nest, killed the crew and captured the gun. He saved many of our lives that day. When we reached the Black Line he called for the enemy to surrender. The German troops dropped their weapons and raised their hands". They reached their objective in 30 minutes. Of its 23 officers, the 2nd CMR had lost four killed and five wounded. In four days the Canadians had lost 3,598 men killed and over 7,000 wounded. On 17 May 1917 John was commissioned in the field to Temporary Lieutenant and was awarded the Distinguished Conduct Medal. This was the highest award short of the Victoria Cross that may be made to a soldier below the rank of Warrant Officer. The official citation read, "For conspicuous gallantry and devotion to duty. He single-handedly captured an enemy machine gun and shot the crew, thereby undoubtedly saving his company from many casualties". Over the next few months the 2nd Battalion moved in and out of the line over a wide front and, just before Christmas 1917, they were moved into the area of Hill 70. On 28 December 1917 at Hill 70, John twice led reconnaissance patrols into No Man's Land through the snow, wearing white sheets as camouflage. He was gaining experience and familiarity of the terrain, which would later prove useful. This was all to gain intelligence for a raid on 12 January 1918. C Company's lines were 50 yards from the Germans and they often used to shout 'pleasantries' at each other. At 1200hrs, John's group of 18 Privates, four Corporals and a Sergeant set out.


To ensure they did not warn the enemy they set out in ones and twos making for a large shell hole to reassemble. They were discovered and came under attack from bombs and rifle fire. John knew it was futile to carry on with the existing plan but did not abandon the assault. He personally amended on the spot the GOC's orders by changing direction to another part of the line. Together with the Sergeant and a small party of men they went forward. They laid mats over the wire and stormed the trenches while the rest of his party gave covering fire. The German light machine gunner ran away. They bombed and bayoneted right and left and captured two prisoners. They were back in their lines by 0220 hrs. John had been hit in the hand but not seriously. After this action he was given 14 days leave and during that leave was promoted to Temporary Captain. He was awarded the first of his Military Crosses. The citation read, "For conspicuous gallantry and devotion to duty. Whilst he was assembling his men prior to a raid, the enemy bombed the trench. He, however, changing the point of attack, led his men over the wire into the enemy's trench, and successfully dealt with the garrison of the trench and three concrete dug-outs, himself capturing one prisoner. He then withdrew his party and his prisoner successfully to our trenches. Before the raid he, together with a sergeant, had made several skilful and daring reconnaissances along the enemy wire, which materially assisted in the success of the enterprise". On 16 March 1918 the war diary recorded, "At about 4pm one of our planes was brought down in front of our lines. The enemy shelled the spot at once with high explosive and fired on the plane with machine guns. Upon seeing the plane fall, Captain MacGregor, MC, DCM, of C Coy immediately went over the parapet and despite the heavy shelling and machine gun fire succeeded in getting both the pilot (who was wounded) and the observer to our trench". In September 1918 the Canadian Divisions were moved to the front area near Cambrai. The Canadian Corps was not given the city but were told to capture the high ground over the Sensée Valley and all three defence lines. This was not to be a short range battle like The Somme or Vimy Ridge but advances were measured in several miles. For the Canadian 3rd Division, Cambrai turned out to be the bloodiest engagement of the war with greater losses than The Somme, Vimy Ridge or Passchendaele. The losses were due undoubtedly to the maps the commanders had to work with. The area of operations were where four maps joined together and the grid squares for the grid references didn't even match. There were also miles of barbed wire, deep mud and they were not to have the cover of a rolling barrage. On 28 September the 7th and 9th Canadian Infantry Divisions failed in all their objectives. Those that came down the Douai Road were cut to pieces by machine guns. The following day, new plans were laid and reinforcements brought up. There were major problems with the positioning of the troops because of the maps. In the first 30 minutes of the advance, John's C Company was engaged in heavy fighting. They managed to clean up the machine gun nests, capturing five guns and dealing suitably with the crews. John had put one nest out of action single-handedly. The advance then stalled. They were outflanked on the left and for the first time in the history of the regiment men got cold feet and refused to go forward. John sized up the situation, grabbed a rifle and darted out into the open.


He reached the enemy position almost unscathed, bullet holes in his tunic and a wound to his knee. He killed four, captured eight then went back for his men. He then got reports that the officers of D and B Companies had all been killed. He immediately took command of these men and led them forward. The battle ebbed and flowed through 29 September and into the next day. The fighting died down for the night. John, with C Company had been in action for 36 hours and, apart from using a walking stick, he was ignoring the wound to his knee. On 30 September they were trying to achieve their target of seizing the bridges over the canal. John was in front of his forward troops and undertook what was recorded in the records as "a personal reccy". He moved south and found St Remy partially vacated so moved his men in. They were not yet at the bridges. He sent out patrols, found the way relatively clear and moved forward. They reached the dock but could go no further. For three days their own artillery pounded their positions and no amount of messages sent to headquarters could get it stopped. Their advance was stopped by their own side, not by the Germans. For this action John was awarded the Victoria Cross. The citation read, "For most conspicuous bravery, leadership, and self sacrificing devotion to duty. He led his company under intense fire, and when the advance was checked by machine guns, although wounded pushed on and located the enemy guns. He then ran forward in broad daylight, in the face of enemy fire from all directions, and with rifle and bayonet, single handed, put the enemy crews out of action, killing four and taking eight prisoners. His prompt action saved many casualties and enabled the advance to continue. After reorganising his command under heavy fire he rendered most useful support to neighbouring troops. When the enemy were showing stubborn resistance, he went along the line regardless of danger, organised the platoons, took command of the leading waves, and continued the advance. Later, after a personal daylight reconnaissance under heavy fire he established his company in Neuville St Remy, thereby greatly assisting the advance into Tilloy. Throughout the operations Captain MacGregor displayed magnificent bravery and heroic leadership". In the final days of the war the allied troops chased and harried the German retreat. Near Crespin on the Belgian border three rivers have to be crossed. the Rhonnelle, the Aunelle and the Honnelle. The 2nd CMR were given the job of capturing the bridges before they could be blown up. Six sappers were attached to each company to defuse the explosives. John's expertise in trapping proved useful in a reconnaissance role. He personally reconnoitred not just the approaches but went onto the bridges themselves. At the Aunnelle and Honnelle bridges he reported that the wire and explosives were in position but the enemy was not alert. The Grand Honnelle was seized and made safe without the enemy knowing. The other bridges, although not so easily taken, were made safe due to his supplied intelligence. John's unit was then given the order to attempt to secure a bridgehead over the Condé Canal. John took two companies and reached the banks. The enemy blew the bridges and then withdrew in the night. The following morning John's companies crossed the canal and then, with the remainder of the CMR, facing no major opposition, went on to liberate Mons.


The war diary of the 3rd Canadian Division described his reconnaissance work as "An outstanding piece of work". At Buckingham Palace on 26 February 1919 His Majesty the King decorated Captain John MacGregor with the Victoria Cross and also a bar to his Military Cross. The Canadians left for home on 17 March 1919. Back in their homeland there were parades and receptions for the homecoming heroes and John, along with other VC holders, was always in great demand. He was demobilised and struck off the Expeditionary Force Register on 9 April 1919 in Vancouver and arrived back in Prince Rupert on 16 April 1919. He now had to find work so with James Newall, an ex-Sergeant whom John had befriended on the way home, set off back up the Skeena River to collect his tools. The door was off its hinges but the tools were still there. He took various jobs but found it hard to adapt to civilian life again. James was a fisherman, so he and John decided to buy their own boat. John would finance the project and James would supply the expertise. A boat was found, refitted and re-equipped. On their first trip one of John's crew was hauled overboard by a massive halibut and sustained serious injuries. To save the man's life John let all the expensive gear go by cutting the lines and raced back to port. The man had no savings and the hospital bills were piling up. John decided to re-mortgage his boat, re-equip it and gave the left over money to the family to pay the bills. Sometime in 1923 John was walking along one of the timber docks when he heard an explosion from one of the docked ships. The boat was well alight when he reached it so he jumped on deck and with an axe cut the lines and pushed it away from the dock. He then leant over the side and hacked a hole in the side to sink the vessel. His prompt action saved the wooden dock from going up in flames, which would have been disastrous for the local fishing industry. He was very seriously burned and ended up in the local hospital where Nurse Ethel Flower, who was later to become his wife, treated him. They were married in Vancouver in 1924 but Ethel did not want to return to Prince Rupert. She wanted to settle down in Powell River. The town had a large paper mill and always wanted Carpenters. John would also be able to make a fresh, anonymous start, as he hated the publicity of his awards. In July 1925, Ethel, with her new son James Alistair, moved into the house that John had built. At that time there was a vicious racket called 'The Hiring Squeeze'. The hiring bosses would ask for a percentage of pay in exchange for job security. John refused and was subsequently sacked. If it had been known that he was a war hero it would never have happened but it was John's decision to stay quiet. He then started working away from home, building the trestle bridges for the railroads and the buildings on hydro-electric schemes. In 1929, the Prince of Wales decided to hold a dinner for all VC holders in London to mark the 11th anniversary of the end of the war. People all over Canada had been looking for John to attend. An old friend found him and told him of the dinner. He was persuaded to attend for the honour of the regiment, even though he knew he would lose his anonymity. He was rushed right across Canada and put on a ship in New York, which took him back to the UK for the dinner.


On 10 September 1939 Canada declared war on Germany. For months nothing happened and John seemingly made little or no effort to rejoin the colours. As a Major in the North Coast British Columbia Regiment, he could hope to be called to active duty but that didn't occur. Senior officers in reserve units were not wanted. In early June 1940, the phoney war ended with the Blitzkrieg of Belgium, Holland and France. For the allies the news was very serious and John told his family it was not going to be a short affair.

The official record states that, on 20 June 1940, John signed an application to join the Canadian Active Service Force. As he held the rank of Major in the 1st North British Columbia Regiment, he signed his application "John MacGregor, Major." The application was approved and he was appointed to the 2nd Battalion with effect from 1 July 1940. He was appointed company commander of one of the four companies in the 2nd Battalion. In 1942, John was promoted to Lieutenant Colonel and took over command of the Regiment. From the records he seemed to be a hands-on commander giving personal instruction to his recruits before handing them on to their fighting battalions.

In August 1943 he was sent to Britain for a four month detachment. He was able to meet his eldest son who had joined the Royal Canadian Air Force as a Pilot Officer. He was a rear gunner in bombers and been awarded a Distinguished Flying Cross. They both managed to travel to Nairn where John showed him around his childhood home. John returned to Canada and was discharged from the Army on 11 May 1946. He then set up a block making and gravel business just outside Cranberry, Powell River. By late 1949 he was failing to turn up for work and his youngest son Donald was managing the business. He was suffering from repeated pains in his stomach so he was sent to the Shaunessy Veterans' Hospital in Vancouver. The hospital at first thought that there was nothing physically wrong with John so they consigned him to the River View Mental Hospital. At first he wouldn't go but when he became too sick for his wife to care for him he was admitted. River View did nothing to help and, in December 1950, they discharged him with the diagnosis, ‘Involutional Phychosis' and his record was marked ‘a malingerer'. His condition worsened and in January 1951, he was re-admitted to River View. The hospital still took the view there was nothing wrong and he just needed a better outlook on life. He was taken back on by The Powell River Company as a Carpenter.


For a while his outlook on life did get better but then his condition worsened. When he ate, he vomited. There were no doctors on the logging site so he just took pain killers. On 22 December 1951 he collapsed. A swelling the size of a grapefruit had slipped out from under his ribcage. The hospital in Alert Bay could do nothing for him but to ease the pain. He was flown out to Vancouver General Hospital where it was discovered that he had cancer. In June 1952, when Ethel his wife could no longer look after him, he was admitted to Powell River General Hospital. He died eight days later on 9 June 1952.

He was piped to his last resting place by the pipe band he had helped to form and was buried on 9 June 1952. Three holders of the Victoria Cross attended his funeral, General George Pearkes, VC, Colonel Cy Peck, VC and Captain Charles Train, VC.

John MacGregor's medals from left to right - Victoria Cross; Military Cross and Bar; Distinguished Conduct Medal; 1914-18 Star; British War Medal 1914-18; The Victory Medal; 1939-45 Star; Voluntary Service Medal Canada and Clasp; 1939-45 War Medal; King George VI Coronation Medal 1937; Territorial Force Efficiency Decoration.


Captain David Lowe MacIntyre, VC, CB, Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders, attached to the 1/6th Battalion, Highland Light Infantry, was born at Portnahaven, Islay, Argyll on 18 June 1895. He was the second son of Archibald MacIntyre, a United Free Church Minister, and Elizabeth MacIntyre, of 25 Downie Terrace, Corstorphine. His siblings were Alexander, George and Robert. He attended George Watson's College from 1907 to 1914. From 1914 to 1915 and then in 1918, he was a Student of Arts at the University of Edinburgh, where he was Cadet on the Officer Training Corps Infantry from February to May 1915, when he enlisted. When war broke out, he served in Egypt, Jerusalem and France.

On 24 August, at the age of 23, while attached to the Highland Light Infantry, he was involved in what is described as 'ferocious fighting' to break the mighty Hindenburg Line at Henin near Arras in France, and the deed took place for which he was awarded the VC. The citation read, "For most conspicuous bravery in attack when, acting as Adjutant of his battalion, he was constantly in evidence in the firing line, and by his coolness under most heavy shell and machine-gun fire inspired the confidence of all ranks. "Three days later he was in command of the firing line during an attack, and showed throughout most courageous and skilful leading in face of heavy machine-gun fire. "When barbed wire was encountered, he personally reconnoitred it before leading his men forward. On one occasion, when extra strong entanglements were reached, he organised and took forward a party of men. and under heavy machine-gun fire supervised the making of gaps. "Later, when the greater part of our line was definitely held up, Lt. Maclntyre rallied a small party, pushed forward through the enemy barrage in pursuit of an enemy machine-gun detachment, and ran them to earth in a pill-box a short distance ahead, killing three and capturing an officer, ten other ranks and five machine guns. In this redoubt he and his party raided three pill-boxes and disposed of the occupants, thus enabling the battalion to capture the redoubt.


"When the battalion was ordered to take up a defensive position, Lt. Maclntyre, after he had been relieved of command of the firing line, reconnoitred the right flank which was exposed. When doing this an enemy machine gun opened fire close to him. "Without any hesitation he rushed it singlehanded, put the team to flight and brought in the gun. On returning to the redoubt he continued to show splendid spirit while supervising consolidation. "The success of the advance was largely due to Lt. Maclntyre's fine leadership and initiative, and his gallantry and leading was an inspiring example to all." After the war, he entered the Civil Service in the Office of Works and by the time of his appointment as a Companion of the Order of the Bath (CB) in the 1949 New Year Honours, he was Under-Secretary for Scotland in its successor, the Ministry of Works. He still held the post at his retirement in 1956. Interestingly, in 1939, at the outbreak of World War 2, the Scottish Naval and Military Museum in Edinburgh Castle was closed and its artefacts put in storage. They might never have seen the light of day again had he not insisted that it reopen under the supervision of the Ministry of Works. He died in Edinburgh on 31 July 1967, age 72, and his grave is at Warriston Crematorium in Edinburgh. The medal is now on display in the National War Museum of Scotland, Edinburgh Castle.

Private James MacKenzie, VC, 2nd Battalion, Scots Guards, was born at New Abbey, Dumfries on 2 April 1889. He was the son of Alexander MacKenzie, a Mason, and Marion MacKenzie, of 22 Terregles Street, Maxwelltown, Dumfries. His siblings were Marion, Isabella and Agnes. He enlisted in the Scots Guards on 16 February 1912, embarking for France on 5 October 1914. The 2nd Battalion, Scots Guards, was part of the action on the Sailly-Fromelles Road on 18 December 1914 when 180 men were lost to withering German machine gun fire while attacking the enemy front line trenches. This was part of a fierce hand-to-hand two-day action in which he won the Victoria Cross for rescuing a severely wounded comrade under heavy fire.


All previous attempts had failed. He was killed by a sniper the next day while attempting a similar rescue., and is commemorated on the Ploegsteert Memorial. The citation read, "For conspicuous bravery at Rouges Bancs on the 19th December, in rescuing a severely wounded man from in front of the German trenches, under a very heavy fire and after a stretcher-bearer party had been compelled to abandon the attempt. "Private Mackenzie was subsequently killed on that day whilst in the performance of a similar act of gallant conduct." He is also commemorated on a memorial plaque at Troqueer Parish Church, Dumfries, on Maxwelltown War Memorial and in Laurieknowe Roll of Honour.. His Victoria Cross is displayed at The Guards Regimental Headquarters (Scots Guards RHQ), London.

Lieutenant Donald MacKintosh, VC, 3rd Battalion, Seaforth Highlanders, was born at Partick in Glasgow on 7 February 1896. He was the only son of Colonel Donald J MacKintosh, CB, MVO, MB, LLD, Medical Superintendent of the Western Infirmary, and Margaret F MacKintosh, of Western Infirmary House, Glasgow. His sibling was Anna. He was educated at St Ninian's Preparatory School in Moffat, Fettes College, and Glasgow Academy. His father was the Medical Superintendent at the University's teaching hospital - the Western Infirmary - and he was to enrol at the University upon his return from the war.

He joined Seaforth Highlanders in 1914. At the age of 21 years, the following deed took place for which he was awarded the VC. The citation read, "For most conspicuous bravery and resolution in the face of intense machine gun fire. During the initial advance he was shot through the right leg, but though crippled he continued to lead his men and captured the trench. In the captured trench Lt. Mackintosh collected men of another company who had lost their leader, and drove back a counter-attack. He was again wounded, and although unable to stand, he continued, nevertheless, to control the situation.


"With only fifteen men left, he ordered his party to be ready to advance to the final objective, and with great difficulty got out of the trench and encouraged his men to advance. He was again wounded and fell. The gallantry and devotion to duty of this officer were beyond all praise." He died on 11 April 1917, age 21, and is buried in Brown's Copse Cemetery, Roeux. His dying moments are immortalised in Fettes College's War memorial, which features a statue of him urging his men onwards and bears the legend "Carry on". His Victoria Cross is displayed at the Regimental Museum of Queens Own Highlanders, Fort George, Scotland. On 19 December 1925, British Medical Journal reported, "Two war memorials were unveiled in the chapel of the Glasgow Western Infirmary on December 12th, in the presence of a large number of nurses and members of the general public. The matron of the infirmary, Miss Gregory Smith, unveiled a memorial in memory of Lieutenant Donald Mackintosh, VC, son of the superintendent of the infirmary, Colonel D J Mackintosh, CB, MVO, which took the form of two stained glass windows erected by the Nurses' League. "A tablet was unveiled also in memory of two nurses, Sister Ella Maud Bond and Staff Nurse Margaret S Dewar, who lost their lives in the war. The Reverend George H Morrison, DD, conducted a commemoration service, and delivered an address in which he recalled the high esteem and affection in which those whom they were commemorating had been held. Such a joint commemoration was particularly appropriate because of the united comradeship, co-operation, and self-sacrifice of the two sexes in the great war. Colonel Mackintosh for many years had directed the Western Infirmary with a grasp of detail which had placed him high in the ranks of organizers; no man had surpassed him in devotion to the welfare of the great nursing profession. It was, therefore, fitting that in remembering the son the Nurses' League should also bear the father in mind. "The two windows were the first of a series to be placed in the chapel. The matron of the infirmary, unveiling the memorials, spoke of the high esteem and regard in which Lieutenant Mackintosh and the two nurses had been held by the infirmary staff. "Colonel J A Roxburgh, accepting the custody of the memorials on behalf of the infirmary board of managers, said that they would serve to remind them of the spirit of devotion to duty and self-sacrifice which had always distinguished the medical and nursing professions. At the conclusion of the service wreaths were placed at the base of the memorials."


Lieutenant Henry May, VC. 1st Battalion, The Cameronians (Scottish Rifles), Army Service Corps, was born at Bridgeton, Glasgow on 29 July 1885. He was the second son of Henry May, a Gas Stoker, and Margaret May, of 262 London Road, Glasgow. His siblings were Daniel, James, Sarah, Joseph and Smollet. He attended Dalmarnock Public School in Bridgeton, was employed as a Button Weaver before enlisting in the 1st Battalion, The Cameronians (Scottish Rifles), at Hamilton on 29 August 1902 at the age of seventeen. He was transferred to the reserve on 31 January 1905, and mobilized on 5 August 1914.

At daybreak on 22 October 1914 Henry was in a platoon under the command of Lieutenant D Graham. This platoon was acting as a covering party in a ditch to hold the enemy in check while the main part of the Cameronians entrenched positions about 700 yards to the rear. This took place on the eastern side of the village of La Boutillerie. During this time the enemy, who were only 50 yards to the front of the platoon, attacked them in force which resulted in them falling back, but not before the trench-digging to the rear was completed. During the fighting Lance Corporal Lawton had been wounded, about a hundred yards to the right of May who quickly ran across the firing line through a hail of bullets. Lance Corporal McCall and Private Bell went with Henry May to assist. Bell took off Lawton's equipment but he was shot dead as May and McCall tried to lift him to his feet. McCall too was knocked unconscious and May then flattened himself on the ground determined to fight to the last.

At that moment he saw his platoon commander Lieutenant Graham fall to the ground with a bullet in his leg. May called to Bell to follow and ran over to their officer, the two men carried him step by step, zig-zagging as they stumbled on. When they had covered about 300 yards they reached a ditch where Bell was shot in the hand and foot but they managed eventually to reach comparative safety. May was exhausted but struggled to drag Lieutenant Graham a little nearer safety when Corporal Taylor came to his assistance.

Private May making his way to the assistance of the wounded Lt Graham, as imagined by

popular illustrator Alfred Pearse in 1917.


He lifted Lieutenant Graham onto his shoulder but was then shot dead. Henry May, by some supreme effort, then dragged the wounded officer to the British trenches and to complete safety. These deeds led to the award of the VC. The citation read, "For most conspicuous bravery near La Boutillerie, on 22nd October, 1914, in voluntarily endeavouring to rescue, under very heavy fire, a wounded man, who was killed before he could save him, and subsequently, on the same day, in carrying a wounded Officer a distance of 300 yards into safety whilst exposed to very severe fire." Eleven days after his VC action May was wounded by shrapnel during the attacks on the town of Ypres and was invalided home, returning to France in mid-January 1915. The Daily Record and Mail reported that one of its staff "had the pleasing duty of conveying the glad tidings about the VC to Mrs May. Naturally she was delighted that the coveted distinction had been awarded to her husband, but one thing she would have preferred even before the Victoria Cross, as she frankly phrased it, "would be him comin' in that door as weel as when he left." "Many woman with husbands at the war will appreciate the sentiment thus expressed. Private May has his home at 38 Colvend Street, Bridgeton, Glasgow, a quiet thoroughfare in the neighbourhood of Main Street and adjacent to the bridge which connects with the Rutherglen side of the river. He has a family of three, the eldest being a sunny little lady of six summers, and the youngest, of the same sex, eighteen months. "The hero is 29 years of age, and is known in several of the factories in the East-end. Previous to joining the army, he acted as a Mechanic at the weaving mill of Messrs John Brown and Company, Adelphi Street, and after serving the necessary three years with the colours he was employed as a tenter in the weaving factory of Messrs Frew, Main Street, Bridgeton. When war broke out Private May had only about a fortnight of his time to serve as a reservist. Called up with his comrades, he proceeded immediately to the front, and in the interval he has participated in nearly all the heavy fighting. According to Mrs May, whose anxiety throughout the interview was to tell her simple tale with befitting modesty, Private May 'has always been lucky.' His fortune has been out on occasion, however, for the gallant soldier received one wound. The mishap occurred on November 2. Happily the injury was not of a very serious nature, but it was severe enough to necessitate his remaining in hospital for three weeks. A piece of shrapnel, which had struck him on the cheek, was the cause of his absence from duty. Following upon the treatment at the hospital, Private May was transferred to the base, where he was detained for six weeks. Home leave was granted at the expiry of his stay at the base, and the wounded hero reached Glasgow in time to enjoy the Christmas and New Year festivities.


His holiday among friends was a short one. Three weeks saw it ended, and at the close of that period he was once again on his way to the trenches. Little that was detailed could be ascertained with respect to the gallant action which had earned the Victoria Cross. In his speech and in his letters from the front on his return to the fighting zone, Private May had very little to say concerning the part he had played. Whispers had reached the ears of Private May that his bravery might be rewarded with the Distinguished Conduct Medal, but an honour such as had been awarded was never anticipated. Mrs May knew nothing of the earlier act mentioned in the official version. To the best of her knowledge, Lieutenant D A H Graham, an Edinburgh gentleman, was the officer whom her husband had rescued. Apologising for her lack of particulars, and for possible inaccuracies, she explained that so far as she knew the officer was lying wounded when Private May and a number of other men endeavoured to bring him back to the British lines. In the attempt the others who had made the gallant essay were wounded. Private May, who, in the darkness, was unable to make out the Cameronians lines. In the circumstances he did the next best thing possible; he conveyed the wounded officer, although Lieutenant Graham begged the brave soldier to leave him to his fate, to a ditch, where shelter was obtained. To his chagrin, Private May found, with the arrival of daylight, that the same amount of exertion would have suffice to bring the wounded officer right among his friends, for the British lines were but a few yards distant. Lieutenant Graham, it transpired, was wounded in three places, and is believed to be recuperating in the East of Scotland at the moment. The noble part played by Private May did not escape notice, if the announcement of the distinction does appear belated. In a letter forwarded to his wife, Private May enclosed the following intimation which had reached him "Your Commanding officer and brigade commander have informed me that you distinguished yourself on 22nd October, 1914, near La Boutillerie. I have read their report with much pleasure." J S Keir, Major General Commanding 6th Division British Army 31st March, 1915 After his VC was gazetted, he was told that he was entitled to return home for a short respite. He arrived in Glasgow Central Train Station at 19.45 hours on Saturday 31st July 1915 and was met by a representative of the Lord Provost and by friends and former colleagues of Forrest Frew's mill.


After leaving the train he was briefly carried shoulder high by the enthusiastic crowd. On 4th August Henry was invited to a civil reception and in replying to the toast he said, "I feel proud to be present. I only did what any other soldier would have done. Plenty of men have equalled what I did." A week later he addressed a group of Clyde munition workers during a dinner break, telling them, "Stick to your work for the sake of our boys in the trenches." Henry was invested with his Victoria Cross by King George V at Buckingham Palace on 12 August 1915 and was discharged from the Army on 28 August 1915 when his regular engagement of thirteen years expired. He rejoined in 1918 and in March obtained a commission as Lieutenant in with the Motor Transport Corps, Army Service Corps and was demobilized with the rank of temporary Lieutenant in 1919.

After the war May joined a hosiery firm, the Glasgow Manufacturing Company, in which he became a partner. He was taken ill at his home and died in the Glasgow Infirmary on 26th July 1942, just before his fifty-sixth birthday. He left a widow, Christina and four children. His funeral took place at Riddrie Park Cemetery, Glasgow, and was the largest seen in the East End for a long time. It was attended by four holders of the Victoria Cross - John McAulay, Robert Downie, David Lauder and Walter Ritchie. Following Henry May's death in July 1941 a headstone was placed over his grave in Riddrie Cemetery, Glasgow, which did not contain his name, but did commemorate his two children. Over the past few years the headstone had deteriorated, suffered badly from vandalisism, and had been knocked over. It was decided to erect a new headstone over Henry May's burial plot recognising him as one of Glasgow's Victoria Cross holders.

Henry May VC, Royal Army Service Corps.


The ceremony to unveil the new headstone took place on 12 September 2006 where members of the May family gathered in Riddrie Cemetery, accompanied by representatives of Henry May's old regiment, the Cameronians (Scottish Rifles), the Regimental Museum, the Thistle and Poppy Society, and the Royal British Legion. His Victoria Cross is displayed at the Cameronians Regimental Museum in Hamilton Footnote. Henry May's former platoon commander Lieutenant D A H Graham whose life he saved, later became a Major General winning the DSO and the MC. He eventually became Colonel of the regiment.

Sergeant John McAulay, VC, DCM, Scots Guards, as born at Kinghorn in Fife on 27 December 1888. He was the eldest son of John McAulay, a Coal Miner, and Isabella McAulay, of 4 Gillespie Terrace, Plean, Stirlingshire. His siblings were Elizabeth, Mary, David, Isabella, Agnes, Margaret and James. When he left school, like many before him he got a job as a Miner. He was living with his parents and working in the local pit. He was a big man with ‘hands like shovels’ and the heavy work kept him fit. Appreciating that there was more to life than working in the bowels of the earth, John applied for the Glasgow Police and was appointed as a probationary constable on 27 February 1911, and got accommodation in the Police Barracks in Blythswood Street.

After four weeks initial training in the muster hall of the Central Police Office, Turnbull Street, Glasgow, he was appointed to ‘E’ (Northern) Division on 27 March that year.


Working in the Northern Division of Glasgow was a very good ‘training ground’ for a young constable and John, now known to his mates as ‘Jock’, was settling in well and making a name for himself as a steady, reliable officer who was good to have with you in a fight. But, like so many young men in 1914, his life would be altered forever by global conflict. When the First World War broke out in August 1914, young men from all walks of life volunteered for the Army and Navy. Within the first few months of the War, over 300 Glasgow police officers had joined the armed services and by 3 September 1914, Constable John McAulay was one of them. He went to the Scots Guards, where so many policemen from Glasgow, and many other Scottish police forces, found themselves. They were so highly regarded by the Scots Guards Commanders that their Guard of Honour for HM King George V at the State Opening of Parliament on 11 November 1914 was comprised mainly of policemen from Glasgow and other Scottish police forces. When his battalion was posted to France, John McAulay and his comrades were thrown into some of the fiercest battles of the war, not least of which was the Battle of Ypres in July 1916. Now a Sergeant, John was to win his first bravery decoration with characteristic flair and dogged determination. Faced with a stalemate in his platoon’s advance, John went forward and cleared several enemy positions. Faced with fire from a number of snipers, one of whom killed his young officer, John accounted for several of them single-handed and thereafter took command of his platoon. He was awarded the Distinguished Conduct Medal. When he was 28 years old, the deed took place at the Battle of Cambrai for which he was awarded the VC. Few people can comprehend the conditions and privation experienced by soldiers in the First World War. The winter of 1917 was particularly severe and the dawn of 27 November, a Tuesday, was about to break over the trenches of the 1st Battalion of the Scots Guards. The young soldiers were poised to ‘go over the top’ on the eighth day of the Battle of Cambrai. Despite the cold and damp, their morale was good. They had a job to do and knew how to do it. Like many companies of soldiers, ‘C’ company had a variety of experience, but the man they looked up to was their senior NCO, Sergeant John (Jock) McAulay, a three-year veteran of the fighting who had already been decorated for bravery. The men were waiting to climb out of the trenches and to surprise the German troops in the village of Fontaine Notre Dame and the nearby Bourlon Wood. Both these objectives were heavily defended and we can only guess how the young men felt as they wondered if they would survive the day. Sadly, many of them would not. By 1917, the military planners had, at long last, perfected the ‘creeping barrage’ of heavy artillery which pulverised the earth and anything in it, ahead of the advancing troops and the new tanks which had proved so successful the previous week. However, the tanks were late that day and would be sorely missed, but the troops advanced without them along the sunken road which ran from Cantaing to Fontaine.


For the first fifty yards the banking at each side of the road provided cover, but the sides dropped away as progress was made along the road and the young Scots Guards were exposed to withering machine gun fire from the German positions. Sergeant John McAulay’s Company Commander, Lieutenant, The Honourable Arthur Kinnaird MC was one of the first to be hit by the hail of machine gun fire. A bullet struck him in his leg spinning him round, only to be struck in his back with another bullet. His plight was seen by John and he raced to bring him back to safety. He reached the stricken officer, lifted him onto his shoulders and headed back to the cover of the Guards’ position. Twice, bursting shells knocked him down but he rose again only to be met by two German soldiers trying to cut him off. He killed both of them and continued back with the dying officer on his shoulders. The strength of the German defence of the objectives caused the Guards’ attack to falter and, realising that a German counter attack was inevitable, he rallied his men and assumed command of ‘C’ Company as their senior NCO. His company’s position was exposed on the left flank and John set up a defensive position. He even brought up a Lewis Gun himself, when the machine gun failed to function, and was instrumental in killing more than fifty Germans, as the young Scots soldiers repelled the attack. After the battle, Lieutenant-Colonel Sir Victor MacKenzie, Sergeant McAulay’s commanding officer, recommended him for a gallantry award, sending the following report to the General. "He took command of the company after all his officers had been hit, cheered and encouraged them, brought back Arthur (Kinnaird) and many wounded men from positions of danger, beat back a counter attack, killed several Germans and was altogether splendid. I am recommending him for a VC, but they are hard to get". The recommendation was successful and on 13 January 1918, Sergeant John McAulay was informed that he had been awarded Britain’s highest bravery award, The Victoria Cross. He was immediately brought back from France and two months later was presented with his medal by King George V at a ceremony at Buckingham Palace. He was the only Scottish police officer to win the decoration while serving in the forces and one of seven police officers in Britain to do so. The citation read, "On 27 November 1917 at Fontaine Notre Dame, France, when all his officers had become casualties, Sergeant McAulay assumed command of the company and under shell and machine-gun fire successfully held and consolidated the objectives gained. He reorganised the company and noticing a counter-attack developing, repulsed it by the skilful and bold use of machine-guns, causing heavy enemy casualties. The sergeant also carried his company commander, who was mortally wounded, to a place of safety. When the news reached Glasgow it was a welcome respite from the daily news of casualties. It was something to cheer about and every member of the Glasgow Police was proud of the credit John had brought to the force.


However, it would be almost a year before John would be back in Glasgow, when he was demobbed from the Army on 25 January 1919. At this time he had a romance with a woman, Helen MacLean, who bore him a son. But there was to be no happy ending, the couple split up and the child was adopted and given the name James Harding. Constable John McAulay returned to ‘E’ (Northern) Division of Glasgow Police, got married to Isabella Horn, and lived at 154 Oxford Street. Within a few weeks, on 11 June 1919, he was promoted to Sergeant, such was the high esteem in which he was held. He was initially posted to ‘H’ (Maryhill) Division, but a few weeks later transferred to ‘D’ (Southern) Division. During his time there he passed his Inspectors’ Certificate on 10 June 1920.

Unfortunately, after complications in childbirth, his wife Isabella died. On 11 November 1921, a bronze War Memorial tablet, bearing the names of the 173 Glasgow Police officers who were killed or missing, was unveiled in the crypt of Glasgow Cathedral. Sergeant John McAulay, representing the force, laid a wreath on the memorial. The officers and men of the force, together with the City dignitaries, then marched from the Cathedral to the Central Police Office, Turnbull Street, where an exact replica of the Cathedral memorial was unveiled on the wall of the police office, within the quadrangle. This memorial is now in the Glasgow Police Museum. John McAulay served in ‘D’ (Southern) Division and, on 27 September 1922, he was promoted to Inspector. In 1923 he remarried and he and his wife, Catherine, had a daughter, Isabel. On 9 June 1926 he was transferred to ‘A’ (Central) Division, where he would remain for the rest of his service. He served throughout the Second World War and retired on 31 January 1946 with 34 years 339 days service). John died at his home at 915 Aitkenhead Road, Glasgow on 14 January 1956 aged 67 and was buried in New Eastwood Cemetery, Glasgow. His Victoria Cross is displayed at The Guards Regimental Headquarters (Scots Guards RHQ), London. In February 1918, the following poem was written about John’s bravery by the Ayrshire poet, Matthew Anderson, in his poem 'John McAulay VC'.


His heart and soul were in the fight To crush the wrong and guard the right,

And sever That sword that makes weak nations cower,

That deadly, poisonous, Hunnish power For ever.

His arms were strong, his eyes were clear,

And if he felt a touch of fear He hid it.

For Britain’s cause his soul was true, He dreamt great dreams of what he’d do,

And did it.

The battle roared, the crisis came, He stemmed the rush, and clothed his name

In dazzling glory. Old Scotia’s sons will never tire To tell, around the cottage fire,

His thrilling story. This account was written on 26 January 1918 by James Price Lloyd of the Welsh Regiment, who served with Military Intelligence. After the war, the Government destroyed all the archives relating to this propaganda (section MI 7b (1)). They were regarded as being too sensitive to risk being made public. However, these documents have survived in the personal records of Captain Lloyd. Many of these papers are officially stamped.


Sergeant John McAulay, DCM, was in charge of a platoon during an attack by his battalion on 27 November 1917 west of Cambrai. His Company suffered very severe casualties in the course of the advance, and alI its officers were either killed or wounded. So heavy were the losses that the attack was temporarily held up. When his Company Commander fell, mortally wounded, Sergeant McAulay went out in full view of the enemy, who were at close range, and with the assistance of another man lifted the officer on his back. With his revolver he killed two Germans, who tried to intercept him, and then started off down the road with his burden.

The Germans continuously with machine guns and rifles, and shells were bursting all around him. Twice he was knocked down by the concussion of shells which exploded beside him, but each time he rose again to his feet, and continued on his perilous journey. He carried the officer a distance of 500 yards to a sunken road, where the rest of the company were sheltering and placed him in a place of comparative safety. Later on in the day he took him across 200 yards open ground, under a heavy fire, to the Headquarters of the company on his right. Returning then to his own company, this able and gallant non-commissioned officer reorganised his men, and prepared to meet the counter-attack which seemed likely to develop.

When it did come, Sergeant McAulay carried a machine-gun across to his left flank which was exposed, and opened fire upon the advancing enemy, who were then only 50 yards distant. The Germans broke, and retreated in disorder.

By his initiative and commanding personality he succeeded in inspiring the confidence of men who had already lost all their officers and had suffered much themselves. Before the counter-attack came the Sergeant walked up and down the whole line, cheering his men, under the eyes (and, of course, the fire) of the enemy. He afterwards led his company forward with conspicuous ability and success, and it was mainly due to the splendid leadership he displayed that they were able to establish themselves in their original position.


Lance Corporal Robert Gordon McBeath, VC, 1/5th Battalion, Seaforth Highlanders, was born at Rosehearty, Aberdeenshire, in 1898. At a young age he was adopted by Robert MacKenzie and his sister Barbara MacIntosh, and grew up in Kinlochbervie. Aged just sixteen, Robert lied about his age and was accepted into the Seaforth Highlanders. On 20 November 1917, when he was 19 years old, during the Battle of Cambrai in France, he volunteered to deal with a nest of machine-gunners that checked the advance of his unit and which had caused heavy casualties. He moved off alone, armed with a Lewis gun and a revolver. Finding that several other machine-guns were in action, McBeath attacked them with the assistance of a tank and drove the gunners to ground in a deep dug-out.

McBeath rushed in after them, shot the first man who opposed him and then drove the remainder of the garrison out of the dug-out. He captured three officers and 30 men. He was awarded the VC. The citation read, "For most conspicuous bravery west of Cambrai, France, on 20th November 1917, when with his company in attack and approaching the final objective, a nest of enemy machine guns in the western outskirts of a village opened fire both on his own unit and on the unit on his right. The advance was checked and heavy casualties resulted. When a Lewis gun was called for to deal with these machine guns, Lance Corporal McBeath volunteered for the duty and immediately moved off alone with a Lewis gun and revolver. He found however, several other hostile machine guns in action and, with the assistance of a tank, attacked them and drove the gunners to ground in a deep dug-out. Lance Corporal McBeath, regardless of danger, rushed in after them, shot an enemy who opposed him on the steps, and drove the remainder of the garrison out of the dug-out, capturing 3 officers and 30 men. There were in all five machine guns mounted round the dug-out and by putting them out of action, he cleared the way for the advance of both units. The conduct of Lance Corporal McBeath throughout three days of severe fighting was beyond all praise". This account was written on 17 January 1918 by James Price Lloyd of the Welsh Regiment, who served with Military Intelligence. After the war, the Government destroyed all the archives relating to this propaganda (section MI 7b (1)). They were regarded as being too sensitive to risk being made public.


However, these documents have survived in the personal records of Captain Lloyd. Many of these papers are officially stamped.

During the British advance near Cambrai on 20 October 1917, the Seaforths and the battalion on their right were held up by heavy machine-gun fire, when only a short distance from the railway which was their final objective. The fire appeared to be coming from some houses at the western and of a village on their right. Lance Corporal McBeath's Company Commander called for a Lewis gun to deal with these German machine-guns. Lance Corporal McBeath at once volunteered for this duty, and went off alone with his Lewis gun on his shoulder, a spare tray of ammunition, and a revolver.

As he approached the village he saw a German Machine-gun in action. He worked his way to within twenty yards of the gun, and shot the gunner with his revolver. There were also four other machine-guns near the same spot, and Lance Corporal McBeath was now fully 150 yards away from the nearest man of his company. But he never thought of going back. He managed to attract the attention of a tank, and with this formidable ally at his side he charged down upon the astonished gun crews. The Germans turned tail and fled for shelter into a deep dug-out. Lance Corporal McBeath would not be deprived of the fruits of his victory. He promptly dived down after the fugitives. When he was half-way down the steps the rearmost German turned at bay, and fired at him.

The bullet grazed the Corporal's head and buried itself in the woodwork of the steps. A shot from McBeath's revolver found its mark, and the German fell dead. Inside the dug-out he found huddled together like sheep, thirty men and three officers (it was discovered later that it was a battalion headquarters). McBeath, however, at that moment, had little respect for the dignity of a German Staff, and drove his terrified prisoners before him through another doorway and up into a trench above. By this time a second man of his battalion had come up, and he was just in time to see the exodus from the dug-out, and himself entered it once more.


He searched it thoroughly, and shot two Germans who were still lurking in its recesses and showed some fight. His search concluded, he returned to his Company. A Sergeant who arrived on the spot shortly afterwards, saw strange things around that dug-out. He could read, as well as if he had been there himself, the incidents of McBeath's whirlwind charge. Lying dead around the first machine-gun were four Germans. The gunner lay dead with his weapon still at his shoulder and his finger on the trigger. The four remaining machine-guns were surrounded by a litter of empty cartridge cases and one of them had a half-empty belt still in the feed-block. The trampled earth outside the dug-out showed the haste with which the Germans had bolted for cover from the onslaught of the Scotsman. Half-way down the stairs the white scar of newly-splintered wood told how narrow had been the Corporal's escape.

It was entirely owing to McBeath's courage and resources that both battalions were enabled to continue their advance and capture their objectives.

His conduct, not only on that day but also on the following days, during which his battalion was heavily engaged, was beyond all praise. Following the end of World War I he married Barbara Mackay, also born in Kinlochbervie and emigrated to Canada on ss Corsican from Liverpool to Quebec, arriving on 18 August 1919, where he joined the British Columbia Provincial Police. On 12 August 1921, he joined the Vancouver Police Department. On 9 October 1922, while walking the beat on Granville and Davie Streets with his partner, Detective R Quirk, he stopped and arrested a man named Fred Deal for impaired driving. While escorting the prisoner to the nearest call-box, the man pulled a handgun from his pocket and shot both officers; McBeath's partner survived, but McBeath died almost instantly. He was 23 years old. Fred Deal was arrested later that day and was subsequently sentenced to death. The sentence was reduced to life imprisonment on appeal because Deal had been beaten while in custody. Deal served only 21 years before being released and deported to his native Jacksonville, Florida, where he died a few years later. Robert McBeath was given what was called at the time “the largest official funeral in Vancouver history.” McBeath is buried in the Masonic Section, of Mountain View Cemetery in Vancouver. The headstone shows his name as "MacBeath", although his surname is spelled "McBeath" on all other documents except the Vancouver coroner's report. On Tuesday, October 10, 1922, the Daily Province reported, "Standing with heads uncovered and bowed in sympathy, thousands of Vancouver citizens this afternoon paid their tribute to Robert McBeath, VC, who was killed on Monday morning.


Between the silent ranks his body passed to its resting place at Mountain View,. while the wailing of 'Lochaber No More' by the police pipe band reminded the sorrowing crowds that the young hero who had won glory on the battlefields was a son of Scotia and had met his end while carrying out his duties as a peace officer with that grim determination characteristic of his race. "Flags were half-masted in the city and suburbs, stores closed their doors while the procession passed and following the coffin were representatives of many organizations with which Constable McBeath had been associated. The body was removed from the police station at 1 o'clock to the Masonic Temple, where a largely-attended service was held by his brothers in the order. Then the coffin was taken to St Andrew’s Presbyterian Church, Richards Street, where Reverend J S Henderson paid a tribute to the deceased. "The church was completely filled by the mourners and the general public, while along the route of the procession on Georgia, Granville, Hastings and Main streets thousands lined the sidewalks. 'Oh Rest in the Lord' was played by the organist after the benediction, and then the chords of the Dead March in Saul crashed out as the coffin was borne from the church by Sergeant Yorke, John Deacon, H. Annesley, H. Mortimer, D. Mitchell and H. McAuley of the city police force.. "The order of the cortege was the city mounted police, 377 Masons,. 150 city constables, suburban police forces, mayor, aldermen and civic officials, police magistrates and commissioners, 100 firemen, twenty-five Royal Canadian Mounted Police, members of militia units and veteran’s organizations, St Andrew’s and Caledonian Society, Gaelic Society, Foresters and private citizens.

"An eloquent tribute to the manhood of Constable McBeath was voiced by Dr Henderson. 'We are met to pay our last tributes of respect to one whose sudden, tragic passing we all deeply mourn.' he declared. 'There is sorrow in all our hearts. Many did not know him by sight, could call him by name, but there were few hearts or homes that were not sad when the news of this event became known. Constable McBeath was a splendid specimen of British manhood, clean, strong, upstanding, a forward-looking man. Those who knew him intimately not only admired him as a splendid specimen of manhood, but loved him for those finer qualities of mind and heart which enrich noble character, ennoble life and give high tone to citizenship and patriotism.'


"Dr Henderson recounted the splendid record of the deceased in the Great War, pointing out that it is not often that a lad in his teens may win such a high and honorable place in the esteem of not only his own folk, but of all who knew him. 'This tragic event has awakened a new interest in that brave body of men who safeguard our lives and property by day and night,' he said. 'All honor to them. Do we as citizens appreciate as we should their devotion to duty, the courage and sacrifice with which they give themselves to their task? 'We know about their pay, we hear about certain lapses of duty which are alleged. But do we know of the thousand and one heroic deeds performed on the streets of our city, deeds as worthy of a place on the scrolls of fame as those performed on the fields of France and Flanders?' "Dr Henderson urged that a new civic spirit should arise, a spirit which does not carp nor hinder reforms, but cheerfully assists constituted authorities. "In conclusion he said, 'There is a new purpose on the part of the authorities to rid this city of that herd of undesirables, who through someone's blunder has made Vancouver its breeding and feeding ground. It is time that we rose up in our might, officials and citizens together, and put a period to those disgraceful scenes all too common in the life of our city. We do not forget today the young wife who mourns the loss of her gallant husband. She, brave heart, is the one who feels more keenly than the rest what has happened. She has the heartfelt sympathy of the entire community, and the fervent prayers of devote hearts, that the Almighty in love and strength may guide and uphold.' "There was a festoon of crepe over the door at police headquarters this morning and from a very early hour an enormous crowd surged back and forth on Cordova Street, waiting to view all that was mortal of the dead hero. "While counsel in the court room above were wielding the machinery of the law to bring home the crime to the alleged slayer, the hands of his comrades were busy turning the entrance hall of the building into a chapel where he might lie in state while his fellow citizens paid him their silent tribute of farewell. "The hall was draped with a freize of crepe looped with rosettes and streamers of white silk; around the lower walls great palms spread their shade and, for a background, the foot of the stairs was hidden behind two Union Jacks, also draped with crepe. "Arranged in a semi-circle at the back and sides of the hall were the floral tributes that have poured in from all parts of the city to honor the passing of a hero. "Into the space between these at a little before 11 o'clock was borne the grey casket by Constable Murray, Constable Proudlock, Constable Rae and Constable Murdock. Inspector George Hood draped the coffin with the Union Jack and placed the Masonic insignia of the dead man above it. At the foot of the coffin was a great wreath conceived in the form of the Victoria Cross and executed in carnations, lilies and Scotch heather, with the medal ribbons won by the dead man woven in the centre. This tribute was the gift of the returned men of the city.


"Before the public was admitted the hall was cleared of all but the silent guard of constables at the head and foot of the coffin and Mrs R G McBeath, led in by Chief of Police Anderson and accompanied by the immediate friends and relatives, took a last farewell of her young hero husband. There are no words, nor is it fitting to describe the grief of the bereaved. "As the public were admitted by the main door they passed the coffin in single file, looked reverently and left. The great crowd that had packed the Police Court for the hearing of the preliminary case against Deal were also ushered down the stairs in single file to prevent confusion and passed round the coffin with the rest. "Among the mass of floral offerings, the gift of the Vancouver City Police Union took the form of a wheel with a broken spoke carried out in pink and white carnations." After his death, a Vancouver Police Marine vessel was named the R C McBeath VC and a housing development, McBeath Court, in his home town of Kinlochbervie. His Victoria Cross is displayed at the Regimental Museum of the Queen's Own Highlanders, Fort George, near Inverness.

Lieutenant David Stuart McGregor, VC, 6th Royal Scots attached 29th Battalion, Machine Gun Corps, was born at Edinburgh on 16 October 1895. He was the second son of David McGregor, a Tailor and Clothier, and Annie McGregor, of "Ferragon", Craigs Road, Corstorphine, then 125 Warrender Park Road, Edinburgh. His siblings were James, Marjorie and Ronald. Educated at George Heriot’s School from 1908 to 1911, he was interested in sport generally; was an expert swimmer and the holder of many trophies. He was also a good golfer, and no mean Rugby player. He was an apprentice of the Commercial Bank of Scotland, and had joined the Midlothian RFA (TF) in 1913.

Prior to mobilization he had made satisfactory progress in his professional studies, and was an associate of the Scottish Bankers' Institute. He had also passed most of the examinations for the full membership. When war broke out, volunteering for service abroad, he initially served as a Gunner in the 1st Lowland Brigade, Royal Field Artillery.


He was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant on 10 October 1915 and went on to serve as a Lieutenant in the 6th Royal Scots being attached to the 29th Battalion, Machine Gun Corps, entering Egypt as a theatre of war on 18 May 1916, but was immediately transferred to France, where he took part in the severe fighting of that summer on the Somme. Responding to a call to young officers for volunteers for machine-gun work, he was trained for that service: posted to the 29th Battalion, with whom he served till he was killed, under circumstances officially that led to the award of the VC. The citation read, "For the most conspicuous gallantry and devotion to duty near Hoogmolen on 22 October 1918, when in command of a section of machine guns attached to the right flank platoon of the assaulting battalion. In the assembly position he concealed his guns on a limber under the bank of a sunken road. Immediately the troops advanced at zero they were subjected to intense enfilade machine-gun fire from Hill 66 on the right flank. "Lieutenant McGregor fearlessly went forward into the open to locate the enemy guns, and having done so, realized that it was impossible to get his guns carried forward either by pack or by hand without great delay, as the ground was absolutely bare and swept by a hail of bullets. "Ordering the teams to follow by a more covered route, he went to the limber, got on to it, and, lying flat, told the driver to leave cover and gallop forward. This the driver did, galloping down about six hundred yards of absolutely open road under the heaviest machine-gun fire into cover beyond. The driver, horses and limber were all hit, but Lieutenant McGregor succeeded in getting the guns into action, effectively engaging the enemy, subduing their fire and enabling the advance to be resumed. "With the utmost gallantry he continued to expose himself in order to direct and control the fire of his guns, until, about an hour later, this very gallant officer was killed whilst observing fire effect for the Trench Mortar Battery. "His great gallantry and supreme devotion to duty were the admiration of all ranks, and especially the officers and men of the 1st Border Regiment, who witnessed this extraordinary action." He was killed in action on 22 October 1918, aged 23, and was buried in Stasegem Communal Cemetery, Harelbeke, West-Vlaanderen, Belgium, Grave A.1. He was awarded the British War Medal, Victory Medal and the Victoria Cross. He is remembered on a family gravestone in Corstorphine Hill Cemetery.


Sergeant Louis McGuffie, VC, 1st/5th Battalion, King's Own Scottish Borderers, Was born at Wigtown, Wigtownshire on 15 March 1893. He was the second son of Edward McGuffie, a General Labourer, and Catherine Gilmour McGuffie, of 1 North Main Street, Wigtown, Wigtownshire. His siblings were Edward John, Thomas, Robert and James. Along with three of his brothers, he enlisted early in the war, and went to Gallipoli in 1915. Later he was sent to France where he was awarded the VC for his part in the battle at Wytschaete in September 1918. The citation read, "For most conspicuous bravery and resourceful leadership under heavy fire near Wytschaete on 28th September, 1918. During the advance to Piccadilly Farm, he, single-handed, entered several enemy dugouts.

"He took many prisoners, and during subsequent operations dealt similarly with dugout after dugout, forcing one officer and twenty-five other ranks to surrender. During the consolidation of the first objective he pursued and brought back several of the enemy who were slipping away, and he was also instrumental in rescuing some British soldiers who were being led off as prisoners. Later in the day, when in command of a platoon, he led it with the utmost dash and resource, capturing many prisoners. This very gallant soldier was subsequently killed by a shell." An officer in the 5th Battalion, Kings Own Scottish Borderers described his actions, "It was on 28 September, during the Wytschaete attack. The chief strong point in the Boche line was Piccadilly Farm, a fortified house held by a number of machine-guns. Time and again McGuffie rushed the machine-guns by himself, and knocked out or captured their crews. Then, later, it was found that a party of twenty fellows from another battalion had been cut off and surrounded by twice as many Germans. McGuffie took a couple of men with him, made a surprise rush on them, and surrounded and captures all the Boche." McGuffie survived the battle but was killed a week later on 4 October 1918, age 24, by a stray shell, and is buried in Zantvoorde British Cemetery. On 6 December 1920, The Scotsman reported, "An interesting and impressive ceremony was performed in the county town of Wigtown on Saturday, when the Right Hon Sir H E Maxwell, Bart, Lord-Lieutenant of the county, unveiled a beautiful brass tablet on a granite background in the County Buildings, Wigtown, in memory of Corporal (Acting Sergeant) Louis McGuffie, Wigtown.


"He was awarded the Victoria Cross for most conspicuous bravery and resourceful leadership under heavy fire near Wytschaete, Belgium, on September 20, 1918. The memorial was erected by Sir Peter McClelland, a native of Wigtown.

"There was a large attendance at the unveiling, which included a contingent from the Newton Stewart Comrades of the Great War, under command of Captain McNeill and Captains Brand and Salmond. At the close of the ceremony several of the men of the parish who had also won distinctions in the war were presented with watches in recognition of their services."

His Victoria Cross is displayed at the Regimental Museum of The Kings Own Scottish Borderers, Berwick upon Tweed, Northumberland.

Private George Imlach McIntosh, VC, 1/6th Battalion, Gordon Highlanders, was born at Buckie, Banffshire, on 24 April 1897. He was the youngest son of John McIntosh, a Fisherman, and Margaret McIntosh, of 107a Main Street, Buckie. His siblings were John and James. He was 20 years old when the deed took place at the Battle of Passchendaele for which he was awarded the VC.

The citation read, "On 31 July 1917 at Ypres, Belgium, during the consolidation of a position, the company came under machine-gun fire at close range and Private Mclntosh immediately rushed forward under heavy fire and reaching the emplacement, threw a Mills grenade into it, killing two of the enemy and wounding a third. "Subsequently entering the dug-out he found two light machine-guns which he carried back with him. His quick grasp of the situation and the rapidity with which he acted undoubtedly saved many of his comrades and enabled the consolidation to proceed unhindered by machine-gun fire." He married Andrina Sutherland at the Station Hotel, Elgin, on 27 April 1923. They had a son, George Imlach, in 1925. George went on to join the Royal Air Force and served in World War II, and during 1942 was the senior NCO with No 1 squadron. He later achieved the rank of Flight Sergeant.


On 4 February 1960, the Buckie Advertiser reported, "Big day for George I McIntosh VC. George McIntosh, VC at 63 now the only living VC of the Gordon Highlanders took the salute at a passing out parade at the Bridge of Don Barracks in Aberdeen. He first of all inspected two platoons of recruits who have completed their basic training, one of which was named after himself and the other after one of the Gordon’s 19 VCs, Drum Major William Kenny who died in 1935. Mr McIntosh, Head Janitor at Buckie High School won his VC at the 3rd battle of Ypres in July 1917 and has been mentioned in dispatches three times, twice in WWI and one in WWII in which he served as a Flight Sergeant. He ended the war as a Warrant Officer. In 1955 he was made a Freeman of Buckie."

On 23 June 1960, the Buckie Advertiser reported, "Death of G I McIntosh, VC - Mr George Imlach McIntosh, VC a hero of two world wars is dead. ‘Mac’ who had been ill for the past month and had undergone two operations died on Monday night in Woodend Hospital, Aberdeen. He was 63." A headline on the front page read, “Buckie mourns the death of a hero.” He is buried in New Cemetery, His Victoria Cross is displayed at the Gordon Highlanders Museum, Aberdeen.

Private Hugh McIver, VC, MM and Bar, "B" Company, 2nd Battalion, Royal Scots, was born at Kilbarchan, Renfrewshire, on 21 June 1890. He was the eldest son of Hugh McIver, a Coal Miner, and Mary McIver, of 34 Dunlop Street, Newton, Cambuslang, Glasgow. His siblings were Margaret, Patrick, Mary, Katherine, Bridget and Jane. Hugh was raised in Newton, Cambuslang, a mining village.

His father had moved to the area for work in the coal mine in Newton, just outside Glasgow. Hugh was the oldest of seven children, and was educated at St Charles Roman Catholic School, Newton.


He initially joined the Highland Light Infantry in March 1914 but was discharged after 55 days with a character reference of ‘bad' and a note stating ‘unlikely to make a special reservist' He enlisted on 18 August 1914 in the Royal Scots and whilst he was with them he had one citation for drunkenness where he was deprived pay as well as a citation for making ‘an improper reply to a senior officer'. He was 28 years old when the deed took place for which he was awarded the VC. The citation read, "For most conspicuous bravery and devotion to duty when employed as a company runner. In spite of heavy artillery and machine-gun fire he carried messages regardless of his own safety. Single-handed he pursued an enemy scout into a machine gun post and having killed six of the garrison captured twenty prisoners with two machine guns. This gallant action enabled the company to advance unchecked. Later he succeeded at great personal risk in stopping the fire of a British Tank which was directed in error against our own troops at close range. By this very gallant action Pte. McIver undoubtedly saved many lives." He was killed in action 10 days later on 2 September 1918, age 28, before he knew he had been recommended for the Victoria Cross, and is buried in Vraucourt Copse Cemetery, Vaulx-Vraucourt. After his death, Hugh's commanding officer, Captain Alick Gordon wrote to his parents, "It is only 10 days since I recommended him for the Victoria Cross and if ever a man deserved the VC, Hugh did. He was one of the best and bravest boys in the battalion - in fact, the bravest I have ever known." His parents went to Buckingham Palace in the late winter of 1919 to receive his VC from the King. His father, Hugh was killed in a mining disaster at No 1 Colliery, Newton, a few weeks later on 31 March 1919. Hugh Junior is commemorated on his father's grave at Glasgow's Westburn Cemetery. His mother, Mary Flynn McIver died aged 69 on 4 September 1929 and was laid to rest with her husband. Just inside the main gates of Hawkhead Cemetery,Paisley, Renfrewshire, stands a memorial to the five sons of the area who were awarded the VC. His Victoria Cross and Military Medal and Bar are displayed at the Royal Scots Museum, Edinburgh Castle.


Hugh McIver was unmarried, but in August 2008 a service commemorating him at Corcelle-le-Compte was attended by his extended family who made the trip to France to take part and also to visit his grave. Part of that family group were three of Hugh's nieces who themselves were in their 80s.

Lieutenant Hugh McDonald McKenzie, VC, DCM, 7th Canadian Machine Gun Corps, born at Liverpool on 5 December 1885 but moved to Inverness at the age of six weeks, he was the third son of James McKenzie, a Sugar Boiler to trade, and Jane McKenzie. James, originally from Glasgow, moved the family to Liverpool in search of work and obtained employment in the Merchant Navy as a Marine Engineer. His widowed mother and the family moved back to Inverness after two years in Liverpool, when James was lost at sea in an accident in 1887.

His siblings were Robert, James, Jeannie, Isabella, Alexander and Nora.

(As his parents were both Scottish and he only had a brief stay in England, we have decided to include him here. He regarded himself as Scottish.) He was educated at Rosebank Primary School, Dundee, where the plaque on the left commemorated him, and at Leachkin School until he was 14 years old. Upon leaving school Hugh found work as a Farm Labourer, and later with the Highland Railway Company as a Cleaner. In 1905, the family moved again this time to Dundee, setting up home at 23 James Street in the city. However, they maintained contact with family and friends at Inverness by spending their holiday times there. Mckenzie found work in Dundee at Messrs Watson & Son of Seagate and later at the Caledonian Railway as a Carter. Hugh was a noted sportsman and fine athlete.


He was the founder of the Dundee Amateur Boxing and Wrestling Club. As a wrestler he was crowned North Scotland champion, winning many trophies and then becoming an instructor in the fine art of that combat.

While in Scotland he, aged 20 years in 1905, joined the Territorials enlisting to serve in the Garrison Artillery for four years, and the Special Reserve of the Field Artillery for two years. He emigrated to from Liverpool on ss Lake Manitoba, arriving at St John, New Brunswick, Canada on 27 March 1911. He obtained work on the railways as a Teamster. He set up home at 297 Gertrude Avenue, Verdun, Quebec. Hugh married Marjory McGuigan at Saint Marks Presbyterian Church, in Montreal, on 14 December, 1912, and they had a son called Alexander, born on 15 February 1913, in Montreal, and a daughter called Elizabeth, born in 1914. He enlisted in Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry as a Private in August 1914. He was then sent off to war on 28 August 1914, aboard the ss Megantic. However due to a heavy German U-Boat presence off the coast of Canada, the ship was diverted to Levis, Quebec. Here the troops were off loaded and set to undergoing military training. This stint lasted until 27 September 1914, when they boarded ship, the ss Royal George which took the Battalion across the Atlantic arriving at Southampton on 18 October 1914. The troops disembarked and set up camp in the South of England and resumed their training for France. On 20 December, 1914, they boarded ship again and crossed to Boulogne. The Princess Patricia’s were the first Canadian troops to arrive in France. His battalion was moved to the front at St Omer and dug in on 22 March 1915. At Rouen he was promoted to Corporal and assigned to the machine-gun section. While in charge of machine-guns, on 22 May 1915, during an attack he performed so well his efforts were rewarded by his officers recommending him for the Distinguished Conduct Medal. The citation read, "For conspicuous gallantry, his machine-gun having been blown up by a shell and the whole crew killed or wounded \Corporal Mckenzie displayed the utmost coolness in stripping the wrecked gun of all undamaged parts and bringing them to safely out of the trench, which had been totally demolished. Having no machine-gun, he volunteered to carry messages to and from Brigade Headquarters under terrific fire and succeeded, his devotion to duty has always been most marked". On 11 September, 1915, he was promoted to Sergeant. He was again recognized for gallantry when he was awarded, on 7 March 1916, the French Croix de Guerre, "For gallant and distinguished conduct on the Field". His officers decided that Sergeant McKenzie’s abilities with machine-guns would be best served if he were to be transferred to the Canadian Machine Gun Corps. So on 30 August 1916, he was transferred with a recommendation that he be promoted to the rank of Company Sergeant Major of that unit. Sergeant McKenzie was assigned to the 7th Company and on 10 November 1916, was promoted to Company Sergeant Major


On 22 January 1917, having successfully served with the 7th MGC CSM McKenzie was promoted to Temporary Lieutenant in the field, a promotion prompted by the losses of Junior Officers at the front. On 10 February 1917, he was promoted again to Lieutenant. 30 October 1917, heralded the continued push by the Canadians in the battle for Passchendaele. The Princess Pats (as they were known) were pushing hard against German strong points on the line between Duck Lodge and Meetcheele spur. It was hard going, what with the mud, the exploding ordinance and bullets flying about them. Number two company led on the right with number three company on the left. Behind came two platoons of what could be called caretakers, mopping up after the initial wave had gone on. Following them were the remaining companies, numbers four and one. Attached to this assaulting force was the 7th Canadian Machine Gun Company, under the command of Lieutenant Hugh McKenzie. His company was equipped with four Vickers heavy machine guns. He had been ordered to follow the other companies in line in the battle, but plans on contact with the enemy often go awry. As the assault went in, they were counter attacked by German artillery and heavy machine gun fire. In the chaos almost all the officers in the leading companies had been killed or wounded. To complicate matters the telephone lines to the rear had been cut and the forward sections had no way of receiving orders and redirection. The Canadians ran headlong into a wall, a spur of ground no more than 50 feet high but festooned with machine guns in a massive bunker which was carved into the spur. They were pinned down and taking fearful casualties. As McKenzie and his team came up it was apparent that he was the only officer left standing and desperate measures were required to maintain the advance! Seeing this McKenzie, ‘Mac’ to his men, climbed out of his shell hole and at the point of his revolver urged the men to rise and follow him forward. Whether by design, or fluke, the sudden surge of Canadians before the Germans, diverted their attention from a flanking move, carried out by Mckenzie and the men he’d roused from their malaise and which carried the spur. Unfortunately McKenzie and many of his fearless men paid the price. McKenzie, while leading the charge was shot through the head by a sniper, and killed. McKenzie was buried where he had fallen. However, after the battle his men returned to retrieve his body, but found it had disappeared churned to pieces by yet further barrages, both British and German. His body was never found. His bravery and leadership in the face of the enemy was rewarded with the award of the Victoria Cross. The citation read, "For most conspicuous bravery and leading when in charge of a section of four machine guns accompanying the infantry in attack. Seeing that all the officers and most of the non-commissioned officers of an infantry company had become casualties, and that the men were hesitating before a nest of enemy machine guns, which were on commanding ground and causing them severe casualties, he handed over his guns to an NCO, rallied the infantry, organised an attack, and capture the strong point.


"Finding that the position was swept by machine-gun fire from a pill-box which dominated all the ground over which the troops were advancing, Lieutenant McKenzie made a reconnaissance and detailed flanking and frontal attacking parties, which captured the pill-box, he himself being killed while leading the frontal attack. By his valour and leadership this gallant officer ensured the capture of these strong points, and so saved the lives of many men and enabled the objectives to be attained." After he his death, his wife remarried in 1919, becoming Mrs Marjory Smith, living at PO Box 304, Amherstburg, North Bay, Ontario. It is uncertain what has happened to his Victoria Cross. However, the representatives of the Princess Pats set about contacting his relatives. They eventually contacted his daughter, Mrs Elizabeth McAndrews, in 1970, and she was able to present to them the DCM and the Croix de Guerre, which he had left with relatives in Scotland during the war. As the VC was missing the Princess Pats Regiment organised a replacement for it. Now his replica Victoria Cross, and his other medals are on display in the Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry Museum in Calgary.

Corporal James McPhie, VC, 416th (Edinburgh) Field Company, Royal Engineers (TF) attached to the 56th (1st London) Division, was born at Edinburgh on 18 December 1894. He was the third son of Allan McPhie, a Turf Commission Agent, and Elizabeth McPhie, of 21 Salisbury Street, Edinburgh. His siblings were William, Adam, Mary, John and Elizabeth. James joined the Territorial Force in 1912. On 14 October 1918, during the final Allied advance in France, McPhie was with a party of sappers maintaining a temporary cork bridge over the Canal de la Sensée near Aubencheul au Bac. At dawn, an infantry patrol which was crossing the canal started to bunch under German fire, causing the frail bridge to break up.

James and another man jumped into the water, holding the cork floats and timbers of the bridge together until the patrol was able to scramble across. Realising that the safety of the patrol depended upon the bridge being repaired, James swam back and immediately set about collecting the necessary material. Undeterred by heavy fire, and rallying his men with the inspiring words "It is death or glory which must be done for the sake of our patrol on the other side", he led the way back onto the bridge to begin the vital work.


He was severely wounded almost at once, falling partly into the water, and died after receiving several more wounds, but his inspiring example ensured that contact was kept with the patrol on the far bank at a critical period. This led to the awarding of the VC. The citation read, "For most conspicuous bravery on the 14th October, 1918, when with a party of sappers maintaining a cork float bridge across the Canal de la Sensee near Aubencheul au Bac. The further end of the bridge was under close machine-gun fire and within reach of hand grenades. When Infantry, just before dawn, were crossing it, closing up resulted and the bridge began to sink and break. Accompanied by a sapper, he jumped into the water and endeavoured to hold the cork and timbers together, but this they failed to do. "Cpl. McPhie then swam back, and, having reported the broken bridge, immediately started to collect material for repair. It was now daylight. Fully aware that the bridge was under close fire and that the far bank was almost entirely in the hands of the enemy, with the inspiring words 'It is death or glory work which must be done for the sake of our patrol on the other side', he led the way, axe in hand, on to the bridge and was at once severely wounded, falling partly into the water, and died after receiving several further wounds. "It was due to the magnificent example set by Cpl. McPhie that touch was maintained with the patrol on the enemy bank at a most critical period." James is buried in the Naves Communal Cemetery Extension, near Cambrai, close to where he fell in action. The King presented the VC to his parents at an investiture held at Buckingham Palace on 3 April 1919. His Victoria Cross is displayed at the Imperial War Museum, London. Also held in the collection are his service medals; the Next of Kin Memorial Plaque; his RE cap badge and his Imperial Service Badge.

A memorial plaque on a park bench in Princes Street Gardens Edinburgh

dedicated to Corporal McPhie and men of his unit who fell 1914-1918


Sergeant John Meikle, VC, MM, 4th Battalion, Seaforth Highlanders, was born at Kirkintilloch, Dunbartonshire, on 11 September 1898. He was the fifth of 12 children, four of whom died in infancy, and four of whom died before they were 30 years old. His parents were John Meikle and Anna Hollywood Meikle, of 42 Freeland Place, Kirkintilloch. His father is an old soldier, who served in the Royal Garrison Artillery and held the Burmese Medal. John was brought up from childhood as a member of the Pollokshaws Primitive Methodist Church which, although three miles from the home, the family, on the testimony of the Reverend F J Sainty, Minister of the congregation, were "among the most faithful adherents. Sunday after Sunday throughout the year they are found in their places at the forenoon service; the parents and two sisters are adherents."

John was a popular lad, well-known for his enthusiastic support of the local junior team, Royal Victoria FC. He acted as hamper boy. At sixteen he gave up his job as a Ticket Clerk at the Railway Station and in 1914, although just over 16, he gave his age as 18 and enlisted. He took his 'Harry Lauder' stick with him. John joined the 2/4th Seaforths on 8 February, 1915, and was trained at Bedford, Fort George, and Blair Atholl, being one of the hardy band to cross the Grampians on the long trek between the Fort and the Blair. He went to France on 30 July 1916, and although wounded on two or three occasions, never seriously, had only been home on furlough, his last leave being in November 1917, shortly after the battle of Cambrai. He had a high reputation in the battalion throughout, and it was felt that when he got the Military Medal for gallantry in action on 20 September 1917, he had won it well. Sergeant Meikle received a gold watch from the people of Nitshill when home on furlough, and was promoted Sergeant on returning to France. In July 1918, still under 20 years of age, and now a Sergeant, he led an attack on a German machine-gun post, armed only with a pistol and a branch of wood. Though he was killed in the action, his men, inspired by his example were able to complete the destruction of the post. This brave young man was posthumously awarded the Victoria Cross. The citation read, "For most conspicuous bravery and initiative when his company, having been held up by machine-gun fire, he rushed single-handed a machine-gun nest. He emptied his revolver into the crews of the two guns and put the remainder out of action with a heavy stick.


"Then, standing up, he waved his comrades on. Very shortly afterward another hostile machine-gun checked progress, and threatened also the success of the company on the right. Most of his platoon having become casualties, Serjt. Meikle seized the rifle and bayonet of a fallen comrade, and again rushed forward against the gun crew, but was killed almost on the gun position. His bravery allowed two other men who followed him to put this gun out of action. This gallant non-commissioned officer's valour, devotion to duty, and utter disregard for his personal safety was an inspiring example to all." John had written this poem to his mother:

When the war is over, Mother dear, And the bands are playing while the people cheer,

As the boys go marching through the dear old town, And the joy bells are ringing as the sun goes down,

Will your heart be aching, Mother dear? I'll come back to you, never fear.

I'll come back some day And kiss your tears away, Mother dear.

Captain Claude Hamilton Harris, MC, commanding No 2 Company, Seaforths Highlanders, in a letter to Mr and Mrs Meikle said, "Your son on the fatal day did deeds which will last for ever in the memory of all who knew him. Your boy has been under my command ever since he joined the Battalion, and I therefore saw him under all conditions of life in and out of action. To tell you what I thought of him is absolutely an impossibility, as I cannot praise sufficiently his beautiful character, or describe his wonderful personality. To replace him is an impossible thing, and I assure you his loss is deeply deplored." The Directors of the Glasgow, Barrhead and Kilmarnock Railway, with whom Sergeant Meikle was employed as a ticket clerk at Nitshill station before joining up, wrote, "His record of most conspicuous bravery is one which has gained the admiration of everyone, and my Directors feel sure that the noble services he has rendered will be to you a proud and lasting memory. My Directors are gratified to recall that, before joining His Majesty's Forces, he was a faithful member of the staff of this railway at Nitshill station, and they regret exceedingly that your gallant son was not spared to enjoy the high distinction which he attained and to wear the coveted VC which he so nobly won". "I am sure you would like to know early," wrote an officer of Sergeant Meikle's battalion to Colonel Mason Macfarlane, CMG, who took the battalion to France and led it into action for its baptism of fire at Neuve Chapelle, "that the old battalion has at last got a VC. The winner is Sergeant Meikle, a most excellent NCO, who distinguished himself greatly on the Marne. He attacked an enemy MG post by himself, advancing for about 150 yards over open country, killing the crew with a revolver and stick. He then went on and tried to knock out another MG crew, armed only with a stick. He was killed just by the gun, but he enabled other two men to come up and finish the crew off. It is one of the greatest acts of individual bravery I have heard of, and one is proud and glad it should have been performed by an officer of this battalion."


Writing to his parents at Nitshill, on 27 September 1918, Lieutenant Gordon Dickson, Seaforths, said, "I was in command of the Company at the time he met his death. We, every one of us (the old lads), miss him terribly, and would infinitely rather have had him with us than the honour that he has brought to his parents and the regiment." This account was written on 26 October 1918 by James Price Lloyd of the Welsh Regiment, who served with Military Intelligence. After the war, the Government destroyed all the archives relating to this propaganda (section MI 7b (1)). They were regarded as being too sensitive to risk being made public. However, these documents have survived in the personal records of Captain Lloyd. Many of these papers are officially stamped. German prospects of victory in the West had never looked brighter than they looked in the early days of last July. They had driven a great wedge into the Allied line at Chateau Thierry in front of Amiens and Hazebrouck. To complete the tale of disaster, they had planned towards the end of the month to deliver a mighty blow at the bulge of the Lys Salient, which would smash finally the British armies in the North and open for the conquerors a path to Calais. Then, suddenly, on 18 July, Marshal Foch struck. An attack was launched against both shoulders of the Chateau Thierry Salient. A fortnight later, with the capture of Fismes, the whole salient had been flattened and the castle of German dreams had fallen to the ground.

British soldiers had a large share in the honours of this battle. British divisions did great things round Marfaux, in the crossing of the Ardre and the taking of Courton Wood, and afterwards on 1 August, in the stern struggle for the heights of the Ouroq. Among them were the Scottish Highlanders of the 51st Division, men tried on many a field, and never found wanting. These men had helped to break the Hindenburg Line in the Battle of Cambrai. At the end of March, they had fought against tremendous odds from Boursies to Bapaume.

At the beginning of April they helped to stem the tide that flowed down from the Aubers Ridge. Now, in July, they took their place once more in the line near Marfaux, south-west of Rheims. It was no easy task that confronted them. The country was strange and difficult. Against them was massed the pick of the German divisions, brought there for an intended drive towards Epernay.


The task was difficult, but the Highlanders accomplished it. And the accomplishment was marked by numberless deeds of individual gallantry. One notable example amongst many was the heroic self-sacrifice of Sergeant John Meikle of the Seaforth Highlanders, who won the Victoria Cross for what he did, but died in the winning of it. On 20 July, near Marfaux, his company was held up by machine-gun fire from an emplacement 150 yards in front. Sergeant John Meikle, armed with a revolver and a heavy stick, rose from his place in the line, and ran forward alone across that bare stretch of bullet-swept ground towards the emplacement. By some miracle he reached the place alive, and leapt down boldly over the parapet into the midst of his enemies. Many of them were killed with his revolver. When that was empty, he laid about them vigorously with his stick. As the Germans came down upon him with their bayonets, the Scotchman felled them one after the other. When they were all dead, Sergeant Meikle jumped to the top of the emplacement, waving his stick and shouting to his platoon to advance. A little while afterwards the progress of the company was again checked by machine-gun fire. Once more Sergeant Meikle staked his own life to save the lives of his men. Snatching up the rifle and bayonet of a dead comrade, he dashed out across the open in full view of the Germans. The gun's crew shot him dead on the very threshold of the emplacement, but they did not long survive him, for two of his men, who had followed close behind him, killed the Germans and destroyed their gun.

Sergeant John Meikle died in the moment of victory, but it was such courage as his, multiplied many times, that made victory possible. General Mangin, in a special Order of the Day, paid a high tribute to the valour of these soldiers.

"All you English and Scottish troops have shown the magnificent qualities of your race - namely indomitable courage and tenacity. You have won the admiration of your brothers-in-arms. Your country will be proud of you, for to you and your comrades is due in large measure the victory which we have just gained against the barbarous enemies of all free people".


The memorial at Nitshill

A memorial was erected by his former colleagues at Nitshill Station but after it was vandalised in the 1970s, it was moved to Dingwall.

The memorial now at Dingwall


Private Charles Melvin, VC, 2nd Battalion, Black Watch (Royal Highlanders), was born at Barns of Craig, Montrose, Angus, on 2 May 1885. He was the second son of James Melvin, a Ploughman, and Ann Melvin of Buckmetty Village, Kirriemuir. His siblings were Ann, James, Rachel and David. Before enlisting in the Black Watch on 4 April 1907, he was employed as a Factory Worker. He served in India for six years 93 days, in Egypt for one year, in France for 296 days, and in the Persian Gulf for one year 239 days. On 21 April 1917 the 2nd Black Watch found itself in Mesopotamia about to attack a series of redoubts at Dujail.

They attacked along with a battalion of Gurkhas and after initial success began to face strong resistance from the Turks. The action dissolved into a confused series of small actions, any one of which could have wide implications for the whole regiment. Private Charles Melvin, the son of a ploughman and a pre-war regular was typical of the lads that the Black Watch liked to fill its ranks. He was seen by many to display great courage throughout the day. At one point his section became scattered he was seen to charge a Turkish trench alone, he threw a grenade into the trench and then fired the last of his ammunition, then using his bayonet as a knife jumped into a Turkish trench, and with his bayonet, fist and head, he killed five as well as taking eight unwounded and one wounded prisoners, the rest fled. He then tended the wounded Turk who he carried back to the British dressing station, secured a new rifle and reported back to the fight were he fought with distinction for the rest of the day. Like a good son he wrote home to his mother to reassure her that he was safe and all was fine. He had a little bit of news and told her that the Colonel had given him a gold watch “for his good work in the field” he added he was getting some other thing as well. When the press arrived at her door to ask her what she thought of her son being awarded the VC, she replied “Ye see he never tells me anything in his letters”.


Charles continued to serve, wounded once in Mesopotamia and twice in France, and returned home to a hero's welcome in 1919.

The citation read, "For most conspicuous bravery, coolness and resource in action. Pte. Melvin's company had advanced to within fifty yards of the front-line trench of a redoubt, where, owing to the intensity of the enemy's fire, the men were obliged to lie down and wait for reinforcements. Pte. Melvin, however, rushed on by himself, over ground swept from end to end by rifle and machine-gun fire. On reaching the enemy trench, he halted and fired two or three shots into it, killing one or two enemy, but as the others in the trench continued to fire at him, he jumped into it, and attacked them with his bayonet in his hand, as, owing to his rifle being damaged, it was not “fixed." On being attacked in this resolute manner most of the enemy fled to their second line, but not before Pte. Melvin had killed two more and succeeded in disarming eight unwounded and one wounded. Pte. Melvin bound up the wounds of the wounded man, and then driving his eight unwounded prisoners before him, and supporting the wounded one, he hustled them out of the trench, marched them in and delivered them over to an officer. He then provided himself with a load of ammunition and returned to the firing line where he reported himself to his platoon sergeant. All this was done, not only under intense rifle and machine-gun fire, but the whole way back Pte. Melvin and his party were exposed to a very heavy artillery barrage fire. Throughout the day Pte. Melvin greatly inspired those near him with confidence and courage." He transferred to Class Z Army Reserve on 15 April 1919, after which he worked as a Caretaker and was unwilling to discuss his military service.

In the 1930s he did give an interview to a local newspaper. When he was asked about the raft of 'war' novels now being published (many anti-war in sentiment) at this time, he said, "If another country declared war on Britain I’d be the first to go again if I was able". Asked if the books gave a true impression, he said, "No..... I’ve read many war novels. They’re overdrawn. Too much hysteria and drinking. There were people whose nerves gave way, but that wasn’t general. As for the drinking in the frontline, it wasn’t done. It wasn’t as horrible as all that". On his VC he said, "Well, you don’t go out one day with the set intention in your mind to win one, you know. We were attacking a line of trenches in an open stretch of ground, and there was firing on us from three sides.


"Well, we got scattered a bit, and I found myself a few yards from the Turkish trenches. I looked round, and there wasn’t a soul there besides me. I thought of going back. Then I thought if I went back I’d be copped in the back. Rather be copped in the front if I’m going to be copped at all, I thought. I went on because it was the common sense thing to do. I threw my grenades into the trench, killing some men, and jumped in. There was a scuffle, of course, and the Turks, having seen my grenades, and thinking possibly I had more, surrendered. As a matter of fact, I had none, and my rifle was unloaded." Melvin added that he liked the Turks and dressed the injuries of their wounded. For many years he worked as the attendant at the Camera Obscura gifted to the town by J M Barrie. He joined the Home guard in 1940 but he was suffering from ill health, died in 1941 at the age of 56, and is buried in Kirriemuir Cemetery with a Commonwealth Graves Commission headstone. His VC is on display in the Black Watch Museum in Perth and a street is named in his memory in Kirriemuir. There is also a memorial tablet in Cumberland Close listing all three recipients of the Victoria Cross from Kirriemuir.

Private William Johnstone Milne, VC, 16th (The Canadian Scottish) Battalion, Canadian Expeditionary Force, born at Cambusnethan on 21 December 1892, was the second son of David Milne, a Carting Contractor, and Agnes Milne, of 10 Anderson Street, Cambusnethan. His siblings were Alexander, Jane, Margaret, Agnes and Helen. He was educated at Newmains Public School, then emigrated to Canada on ss Numidian from Glasgow to Halifax, Nova Scotia, arriving on 15 March 1910. He worked on a farm near Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan before joining the army in September 1915. On 9 April 1917 at the age of 24 years old his actions near Thelus, France, during the Battle of Vimy Ridge led to the award of the Victoria Cross.

The citation read, "For most conspicuous bravery and devotion to duty in attack. On approaching the first objective, Private Milne observed an enemy machine gun firing on our advancing troops. Crawling on hands and knees, he succeeded in reaching the gun, killing the crew with bombs, and capturing the gun.


"On the line re-forming, he again located a machine gun in the support line, and stalking this second gun as he had done the first, he succeeded in putting the crew out of action and capturing the gun. His wonderful bravery and resource on these two occasions undoubtedly saved the lives of many of his comrades. Private Milne was killed shortly after capturing the second gun." The Battle of Vimy Ridge, which historian George Nasmith called 'probably the most brilliant success of the war' on the British front, was sandwiched between the actions of two other feats in the spring of 1917 for which Canadians earned the Victoria Cross. Apart from William Milne, three more Canadian soldiers earned the Victoria Cross in the Battle of Vimy Ridge; they were Thain Wendell MacDowell, Ellis Wellwood Sifton and John George Pattison. His body was never found and he is commemorated on the Vimy Memorial. Milne Channel in northeast Saskatchewan is named after him. Using public donations, the Canadian War Museum purchased his Victoria Cross at an auction in London, UK, and it is displayed at the Canadian War Museum in Ottawa.

Lieutenant John O'Neill, VC, MM, Prince of Wales's Leinster Regiment, was born at Airdrie, Lanarkshire, on 10 February 1897. He was the third son of Samuel O'Neill, a Coal Miner, and Agnes Devan O'Neill, of 19 Moore Street, Cadzow, Hamilton, Lanarkshire. His siblings were Charles, James, Arthur, Mary, Ann, Agnes and Samuel. He enlisted in the Leinster Regiment at the age of 17, and within four years he had been honoured with the Military Medal, the Victoria Cross, Médaille Militaire, and the Légion d’Honneur. On 14 October 1918, the Battalion moved out of Ypres towards the heavily contested ground around the strongly held town of Courtrai. Between the villages of Ledegem and Moorsele, some six miles from Courtrai, the attack ground to a halt.

It was checked by two enemy machine guns and an artillery battery firing over open sights. Sergeant O'Neill, leading a small group of eleven men, decided to charge the German battery. The small party successfully overcame the enemy positions and some of the captured guns were turned towards the German lines. Elevating them as high as possible, they loosed them off in the vague direction of the enemy.


On the morning of the 14th Sergeant O’Neill received news that his brother, a member of the 36th Ulster Division who was also fighting on the right of the Leinsters, had been killed in action. At the start of the day's artillery barrage, presumably to avenge his brother, Sergeant O’Neill charged ahead of the barrage and led the Leinster attack being the first man in many enemy strongholds. In the village of Staceghem he teamed up with another Sergeant from the 4th Worcester Regiment and between them commenced to clear several houses of enemy combatants. He was 21 years old, and a Sergeant when the deed took place for which he was awarded the VC. John O'Neill was invested with his Victoria Cross by King George V in Buckingham Palace on the 2nd August 1919. He also served in the RAF as an Armourer Sergeant when he served alongside Lawrence of Arabia. In 1940 he was commissioned into the Auxiliary Military Pioneer Corps as a Lieutenant. When he died on 16 October 1942, at the comparatively young age of 45, he had been serving with the Pioneer Corps in Hoylake, Cheshire, defending Liverpool's docklands from air attack. He was subsequently buried in Holy Trinity Churchyard, Hoylake, his headstone engraved with his name and his service in the Corps. The recently raised Leinster Regiment Association believed that recognition for the regiment with which O'Neill had won his Victoria Cross should be displayed on his grave. Therefore, a ceremony was held in Holy Trinity churchyard in which O'Neill's headstone was cleaned and a memorial plaque placed over his burial plot pointing out that he was serving with the 2nd Battalion, Prince of Wales' Leinster Regiment when he earned his Victoria Cross on two dates in 1918. The memorial stone was unveiled by Mrs McCaughy and her cousin Mrs Molly Hayes, both relatives of John O'Neill. On 13 February 1962, John O'Neill's Victoria Cross medal group was placed into the care of B A Seaby, a numismatic company, for sale in their forthcoming auction. On the same day a gang of thieves parked a van outside the motor showrooms on the ground floor of Seaby's premises. They forced the showroom door to reach another door giving access to the coin dealer's offices. The gang then carried oxy-acetylene apparatus hidden in rolls of linoleum into the building and spent the next ten hours burning open three safes. Coins and medals valued at £30,000 were stolen, including the medals and decorations awarded to General Thomas MacDougall Brisbane, after whom the Queensland capital is named, and the WWI Victoria Cross medal group awarded to Sergeant John O'Neill, 2nd Battalion, Leinster Regiment.


They are valued at £2,750 and £535 respectively. An immediate reward of £2,000 was offered by Tyler & Co, city assessors, and warnings were circulated by the International Association of Professional Numismatics to markets in Switzerland, Italy, Germany and France. To date, no sighting of John O'Neill's Victoria Cross has been made.

The grave of John O’Neill, VC, MM, at Hoylake Cemetery, Trinity Road.

This photograph was taken in 2005 when the Chairman of the Leinster Regiment Association laid a commemorative wreath on the grave. The Association was instrumental in recommemorating the resting place of Sergeant John O’Neill on 31 October 2004.


Captain George Henry Tatham Paton, VC, MC, 4th Battalion, Grenadier Guards, was born at Innellan, Argyllshire on 3 October 1895. He was the only son of George William Paton, Deputy Chairman and Managing Director of Messrs Bryant and May Ltd, and Henrietta Tatham Paton, of Wolviston House, Whyteleafe, Surrey. His sibling was Agnes. He was educated at Rottingdean School and at Clifton College, Bristol. In September 1914 he joined the Army. He was gazetted Second Lieutenant in the 17th County of London Regiment making First Lieutenant on 3rd October 1915.

He transferred to the Grenadier Guards in January 1916 and was promoted Second Lieutenant on the 28th January 1916, Becoming Acting Captain on 4th June 1917. He was awarded the Military Cross in August 1917. When he was 22 years old, the deed took place for which he was awarded the VC. The citation read, "For most conspicuous bravery and self-sacrifice. When a unit on his left was driven back, thus leaving, his flank in the air and his company practically surrounded, he fearlessly exposed himself to re-adjust the line, walking up and down within fifty yards of the enemy under a withering fire. He personally removed several wounded men, and was the last to leave the village. Later, he again re-adjusted the line, exposing himself regardless of all danger the whole time, and when the enemy four times counter-attacked he sprang each time upon the parapet, deliberately risking his life, and being eventually mortally wounded, in order to stimulate his command. After the enemy had broken through on his left, he again mounted the parapet, and with a few men, who were inspired by his great example, forced them once more to withdraw, thereby undoubtedly saving the left flank." He died on 1 December 1917, age 22, and is buried in Metz-en-Couture Communal Cemetery, British Extension. He is commemorated on the War Memorial at Innellan. His Victoria Cross is displayed at The Guards Regimental Headquarters (Grenadier Guards RHQ) at Wellington Barracks, London. He was the first Grenadier Guard's officer to win the Victoria Cross since the Crimea. On Friday 7th November 1919, the Walton Times reported, "A Born Leader of Men. Diamond Match Workers Honour Memory of Director's Son. The esteem which the employees of the Diamond Match Works have for their managing director, Mr George W Paton, and the sympathy which they feel for him in the loss of his son, Captain G H Tatham Paton, VC, MC, was manifested at St Andrew's Hall, Linacre, on Tuesday evening, when they presented him with a cheque for £500 for the endowment of a bed in Bootle Borough Hospital in memory of the gallant captain.


"The large hall was absolutely 'crammed', if one may use such an expressive bit of slang. Mr W G Wright, local manager, presided, and the warm reception which was accorded to Mr and Mrs G W Paton on their entrance, and also to Mrs Wright, showed the good feeling which exists amongst the workers, and those in authority over them. Others present were Councillors Beckett and Quigley, and Mr B May. "The Chairman said the occasion was both sad and pleasant. Pleasant because it showed the excellent spirit and fine feeling they had for Mr Paton, and sad because they were to honour the memory of his son, Captain G H Paton, who gave his life as one of those whose heroism saved us from the iron heel of Germany. He had known Captain Paton better than most of them, and the longer he knew him the more he loved him. Captain Paton was one of Nature's gentlemen. He had scarcely left school and started work at the London factory when the call of his country came. It was louder to Captain Paton than the call of matches (applause). He joined up as a second lieutenant, and soon rose to the rank of Captain, but as there was little prospect of getting to France he transferred to the Grenadier Guards. He was soon in France as a Captain again, for he was a born leader of men. If there was any hard and dangerous work to be done the Guards were given the job, and so it came about that Captain Paton was always in the thick of the fighting. He was awarded the Military Cross, but like many other brave men, he was reluctant to tell how he won it. They did know, however, of the deed which won the coveted Victoria Cross. According to the London Gazette, it was for most conspicuous bravery when the unity of his line was broken, and his flank was 'in the air', he fearlessly exposed himself to readjust the line, walking up and down within 50 yards of the enemy under a very withering fire. He later removed several wounded men, and was the last to leave the village. He again re-adjusted the line, exposing himself regardless of all danger the whole time. As the enemy four times counter-attacked, he sprang upon the parapet each time, deliberately risking his life, and being finally mortally wounded, in order to stimulate his men. After the enemy had broken through on his left, he again mounted the parapet with a few men, who were inspired by his great example, and forced the enemy to withdraw once more, thereby undoubtedly saving the left flank. Captain Paton, like the rest of our lads, was not out to win medals so much as to 'play the game'. From the kick-off they meant to win, and they had won. "As a fitting tribute of respect to the memory of Captain Paton he asked the audience to stand in silent meditation for a few seconds. "This was done, and after this touching mark of sympathy with the bereaved parents, Councillor Beckett made a few remarks. He had been on that platform on many occasions, but never on one so solemn as that night. He ventured to think that not a single person in the audience but was thrilled by the account of Captain Paton's heroism. Captain Paton was all that a Britisher could be and should be. He believed that Captain Paton, in common with their own relatives, who had made the great sacrifice, had died not grudgingly but willingly. There were pessimists who prophesied that this great country of ours was going to the dogs. He did not believe it. There was good in the old country yet, and that was proved by the gallantry of their lads. While they tendered their deepest sympathy to Mr and Mrs Paton, they congratulated them on being the parents of such a son (applause).


"He was greatly honoured by being on the platform on such an occasion, and he had very great pleasure in handing Mr Paton a cheque for £500 with which to endow a bed in Bootle Hospital to the memory of his son. The inscription on the bed would read 'This bed is dedicated to the memory of G H Tatham Paton, VC, MC, Grenadier Guards, who was killed in action at Gonneliew, 1st December, 1917, only son of Mrs and Mr George W Paton, Deputy Chairman and Managing Director of Messrs Bryant and May, Ltd, and endowed by the employees of the Diamond Match Works, at Linacre, November, 1919'. (Loud applause) "Councillor Quigley said the cheque was for the endowment of a bed which would keep alive the memory of one of the best Britishers who ever lived. After the glowing tributes of the preceding speakers it was scarcely necessary for him to enumerate the good qualities of the gallant officer. No more suitable memorial could have been erected than the endowment of a bed in the hospital. Mr and Mrs Paton must be very proud to think that their son - their only son - should have sacrificed his life for the good of Britain and her Allies. When first the idea was brought forward it was thought that a bed could not be endowed for less than £1,000, but now they found that it could be accomplished for £500. He hoped that they would not be satisfied with that, but that they would raise another £500 for the endowment of a bed to the memory of their own lads, who had laid down their lives for King and Country. They could then have one bed in the women's ward, and a second in the men's (applause). He hoped that they would show the same spirit in contributing to the second bed as they had in contributing for the endowment of the first. They would then have a memorial to the bravest men who ever went from a factory (cheers). "Mr Paton said he knew that they would feel for him in the extraordinarily difficult position in which he found himself that night, and if his words were few they were nevertheless from the heart. When the chairman informed him of the affair the previous week he was agreeably surprised. He could not adequately express his gratitude to them, his fellow-workers, that they should have thought it well to mark in such a tangible form the loss his wife and himself had suffered in the death of their son. It was the most touching of many touching incidents which had happened since the day when they received news of their only son's death. He was glad that the endowment had not cost £1,000, and he was glad they intended to 'carry on', and raise another £500 for the endowment of a bed to their other heroes. That was the best part of the gift. He found in it an expression of their brotherhood which he hoped and prayed would prevail in the future. They had not expected their boys to do otherwise than they did. They would not have been made of true British material if they had done otherwise. He felt sure that many more medals had been won but not awarded, and other men would have done medal-winning deeds if they had been given the chance. The death of those lads was a great blow to their parents, but he did not think that the men themselves would now wish it otherwise. They were now free from all pain. It was up to us who remained to make the world brighter and truer with less sham and selfishness, otherwise the sacrifice of their lads would have been in vain (applause). He had very great pleasure in handing the £500 which they had been pleased to subscribe to the memory of his son to Mr Cunningham, representing Bootle Hospital. No monument of stone of brass could have pleased him as much as the memorial which they had chosen (applause).


"Mr. Cunningham thanked the subscribers very heartily for the splendid sum which had been handed to him for the endowment of a bed. It was indeed a magnificent gift. Nearly 1,300 wounded soldiers and sailors had been received into Bootle Borough Hospital. The Linacre Council School had a bed endowed in memory of the boys who had fallen in the war, and the bed endowed by the cheque presented that evening provided a second war bed in the hospital. It would be difficult to suggest a more fitting way to memorialise the heroism and fortitude of our defenders than by endowing a bed in a hospital. (Applause) "The Chairman moved and Councillor Quigley seconded a vote of thanks to Mr and Mrs Paton for being present that evening. A vote of thanks to the Chairman was moved by Mr W Beckett and seconded by Mr B May. Both motions were heartily carried. Margaret Byrne and Norah Jennings presented beautiful bouquets to Mrs Paton and Mrs Wright. "During the evening an excellent programme was contributed by the Diamond Orchestral Concert Party, which, despite its heavy sounding title is quite a talented and sprightly troupe. The chorus composed of the Misses Jane Hale, Peggy Lynch, Edith Wynne, Gertie Hemans, Marion Wright, Lena Kershaw, Carrie Stephenson, and Jimmie Lynch were deservedly popular, despite the fact that it was their first public appearance. Jimmy Lynch as 'Boots' was very funny. He has a fine strong voice, and the nerve essential for a comedian. A feature of the entertainment was the dainty dancing of Miss Mima Lee, who was presented with a few flowers from Mrs Paton's bouquet after her clever Scottish sword dance. Her vivacious interpretations of the sailors' hornpipe and Irish jig were also delightful. Perhaps we may be excused for suggesting that 'Jimmy', Miss Lee, and the chorus would make a nice little juvenile troupe without the older artistes, and with a daintier title they would doubtless be instrumental in raising much money for charities. Their instructress must feel proud of them. "Of the older artistes Mr J Lee was probably the most popular. His songs of those places which song-writers lead us to believe are heavens on earth, Tennessee, Dixie, etc, were well sung, and Mr Lee showed himself to be an energetic dancer. Miss Cissie Duncan was an able accompanist, and Mr J Foster contributed several rousing pianoforte solos. "Other items in the programme were: song 'Simon the Cellarer', Mr Maidment; song, 'Two Eyes of Grey', Miss Florrie Wells; recitation, 'The Invisible Army', Mr Blundell; song, 'Until', Miss Bella Evans; mandoline and banjo solo, Messrs R Kelly and Bonfret; songs, 'Some Monday morning', and 'Pat Finnigan's Ball', Mr J Birks; song, 'Loch Lomond', Miss Grainger; song, 'Underneath that old umbrella', Mr Kelly; song, 'The Heart of a Rose', Miss G Hemans; song 'Memories', Miss A Roberts. The gathering ended with the National Anthem." His Victoria Cross is on display at The Grenadier Guards Regimental Headquarters at Wellington Barracks in London – the first VC won by the regiment since the Crimea.


The Innellan War Memorial. Under George Paton's name is John Lauder, Harry Lauder's son


Captain James Dalglish Pollock, VC, Queen's Own Cameron Highlanders, was born at Tillicoultry, Clackmannanshire on 3 June 1890. He was the son of Hugh Pollock, a Foreman Dyer, and Margaret Helen Pollock, of 28 Ochil Street, Tillicoultry. His siblings were Richard, Mary, Hugh, Jessie, George and Margaret. He spent his early years at Tillicoultry and, after his school days were over, he worked at one of the local mills in the warehouse and offices. An able lad, he moved rapidly upwards in the textile industry, working as a commercial traveller. In that capacity he travelled extensively in France, Belgium and Holland, becoming fluent in the languages required to conduct the business of the firm. He was in France when the First World War broke out.

Returning to Britain, he tried to enlist into his local Territorial Unit, the 5th Scottish Rifles, but on finding that it had mobilised to its full complement, he joined Lochiel’s Battalion of the Queen’s Own Cameron Highlanders. This became the 5th (Service) Battalion, attached to the 9th (Scottish) Division. He was soon promoted to Corporal and the Division, as part of Douglas Haig’s 1st Army, was sent out to France in March 1915. By 10 May 1915 the Battalion was entrenched near Loos. He was commissioned as a temporary Lieutenant on 6 July 1915. On 25 September 1915, as part of the French Artois offensive, the 1st Army attacked German positions at Loos. There were no significant positive results and casualties were high. On 26 September there was a major attack by the 2nd Worcestershire Regiment in the northern part of the battlefield where there was a significant German defensive position called the Hohenzollern Redoubt. Gas was used and this killed as many British soldiers as German ones. On 27 September 1915 near the Hohernzollen Redoubt, France, at about noon, the enemy’s bombers in superior numbers were successfully working up the 'Little Willie' Trench towards the Redoubt. At 1000hrs 70 men of the Black Watch and 30 Camerons, amongst them Corporal Pollock of 'C' Company were sent up to the Redoubt. This party rallied the defenders and checked the German advance after several prolonged bombing fights.


Corporal James Pollock, after obtaining permission, got out of the British trench alone and walked along the top edge of the enemy parapet with the utmost coolness and complete disregard to danger, and compelled the enemy bombers to retire by bombing them from above. He carried his grenades across the trench under heavy fire and worked his way along it hurling bombs at the enemy. The Germans were taken completely by surprise and were held at bay for an hour by Pollock who, although under heavy machine gun fire, remained unscathed until he jumped down into his own trench when he was wounded in the arm.

The VC citation read, "On 27 September 1915 near the Hohenzollern Redoubt, France, at about noon the enemy's bombers in superior numbers were successfully working up "Little Willie" Trench towards the Redoubt. Corporal Pollock, after obtaining permission, got out of the trench alone and walked along the top edge with complete disregard for danger, and compelled the enemy bombers to retire by bombing them from above. "He was under heavy machine-gun fire the whole time, but contrived to hold up the progress of the Germans for an hour before he was at length wounded." Perhaps he was fortunate to get off with 'just' a wounded arm. As he himself described the incident in a letter to his mother.

"We got outside the parapet and crept along outside the trench and got a queer peppering but luck was with us… We crept on a bit closer and I got one of the Huns with my second bomb. I got another two with my third and I was about to fling a fourth when I got a bullet clean through my arm. This put an end to operations so far as I was concerned, so I made all haste to get back to our lines. How I managed to get back safely was a miracle as bullets were whistling all around me but fortunately I was not once hit…"

His wound was a much coveted 'Blighty One' and he was transferred to hospital in Dublin to recover, unaware that he was about to become public property. On Saturday, 4 December 1915, Pollock went to Buckingham Palace to receive his Victoria Cross from King George V. One week later, on his return to his roots, the floodgates would open.

Despite cold, wet weather, Tillicoultry was in festive mood for his homecoming. The station, draped in bunting, was thronged with the townsfolk. The local bigwigs formed a welcoming party on the platform from where a procession set off for the town hall.


Pollock’s transport was by a horse drawn gun carriage accompanied by outriders provided by officers of the Royal Field Artillery. To put a spring in their step, the band of the Royal Scots played, appropriately, 'The March of the Cameron Men' and 'See, The Conquering Hero Comes'.

After speeches at the Town Hall, Pollock received the tribute of his fellow Tillyonians in the form of £70 in war script and an inscribed watch, both presented to him by Lord Mar, the Lord Lieutenant of the County. Pollock appeared at the local schools in Tillicoultry, Coalsnaughton and Dollar Academy. This account was written on 15 February 1918 by James Price Lloyd of the Welsh Regiment, who served with Military Intelligence. After the war, the Government destroyed all the archives relating to this propaganda (section MI 7b (1)). They were regarded as being too sensitive to risk being made public. However, these documents have survived in the personal records of Captain Lloyd. Many of these papers are officially stamped.

"It was the third day of the Battle of Loos. At 6.30 in the morning the 5th Cameron Highlanders of the 9th Division had streamed out into No Man's Land to the music of the German machine-guns, their faces set towards the Hohenzollern Redoubt and that great slag heap, half an inch north of it, which was marked on their trench maps as Fosse 8. The Germans had worked hard at strengthening their defences, and the Hohenzollern was as good an example of their ingenuity as anything on the Western Front. That any troops on earth could take it they thought impossible.

"The Hohenzollern was an enormous pear-shaped redoubt that crowned a low rise in the ground, and covered a frontage of some 500 yards. It was a maze of trenches cut out of the chalk, and each trench sown thick machine-gun emplacements. From the Northern and Southern ends of the redoubt two communication trenches ran back to the main trench line in the rear which, with characteristic irreverence for the merely nominally great, our soldiers had christened "Little Willie" and "Big Willie". "The 9th Division took the Hohenzollern and, in the first fervour of the attack, swept even beyond Fosse 8, but the gains could not be made good, and in the grim relentless struggle that swayed for two days back and forth across that drab, white-seamed landscape north of Loos, the Germans recovered some of their lost ground. "Monday, 27 September, was a day of cold mists and drizzling rain. When dawn broke it found the Camerons entrenched on the Easter edge of the Hohenzollern.


"All that morning they were under heavy machine-gun fire from Madagascar trench in front, while the German bombers made constant attempts to force a passage along "Little Willie" into the redoubt. "The Camerons proved stubborn opponents.

"But at last weight of numbers began to tell. About midday the enemy renewed their attacks with greatly increased strength. Our bombers fell back slowly, traverse by traverse, disputing every inch of the way. "Little Willie" was now a Hell of bursting bombs and shrieking splinters. "It seemed, then, as if nothing could save the Hohenzollern. The Germans, with their goal almost within reach, were fighting desperately to press home their advantage. But the end was not yet. In that critical hour there was found a man who volunteered for a service which might yet save the day, although it meant almost certain death for himself. This man was Corporal Dalglish Pollock.

"He persuaded his Platoon Commander to allow him to leave the trench, run across the open, and bomb the Germans in "Little Willie" from behind. "Corporal Pollock collected a few bombs, and scrambled over the parapet. Once he was out of the trench, he was in full view of the enemy. Every rifle and machine-gun in "Madagascar" was turned upon his flying figure as he dashed across the open. Bullets whistled past him and flicked up the mud at his feet but, by a miracle, he was untouched. At last he stood on the parapet of "Little Willie". Bomb after bomb he flung down upon the astonished Germans in the trench below. His unselfish action effectually turned the scale. His exhausted comrades, hard-pressed by great odds as they were, took new heart from the sight of that solitary figure in the parapet, and they surged back along the trench once more. The Germans wavered and broke, and "Little Willie", with its burden of dead and wounded, was ours once more. "Rarely has a soldier performed so brave and so difficult a task and lived to enjoy the honour and credit of it. But, whether he lived or died was a question to which Corporal Pollock gave no thought, his single aim being to enable his comrades to hold the position they had bought so dearly. And here as elsewhere fortune favoured the brave." In the book ‘Last Man Standing’ by Norman Collins, James Pollock is referred to. "On 6 May 1917, it is very hot, like July or August, just had tea with J D Pollock VC Cameron Highlanders.


"He is a top hole man. In the convalescent home in Eastbourne, I again met Lieutenant Pollock of the Cameron Highlanders, he had been wounded and now only had one eye. Occasionally we used to go down to the Grand Hotel and listen in the Palm Court there to the orchestra. On another occasion I remember going to London with him. We were walking past Horse Guards Parade and got quite a shock when the sentry called out ‘Guard turn out’. The whole guard turned out and presented arms for Pollock because he had won the VC". Just over two weeks later his second cousin, James Lennox Dawson also won the VC in the same trenches at the same battle. His actions were remarkably similar. Dawson saved his colleagues in the trench by going over the top, under machine-gun fire, to roll away gas canisters that had been blown open by German shells. Both boys were 25 years of age and born within six months of each other. Whilst at home after recovering from his wound in 1916 he attended the Officer Cadet school at Gailes, Ayrshire and during this time he met his future wife, Margaret Bennett. In July 1916 Pollock was commissioned Second Lieutenant into the 6th Battalion. He then served on the Somme and, as a Captain, he was wounded at the Battle of Arras in 1917 by the premature bursting of a rifle grenade which caused him to lose the sight of his left eye. As a result he was invalided out of the Army. He worked for the Ministry of Munitions in France for a short while before coming back to Ayr and marriage in 1919 to the girl whom he had met in 1916 while attending his officers’ course. A civilian once more, he returned to the textile industry where he forged a highly successful career. In 1923 he moved to London and worked as a director of an importing company. James Pollock returned to Scotland in 1940 and apart from five years in Leicester, he remained in Scotland as a director and sales representative for Midland Hosiery Mills of Leicester. During the Second World War he served at home as a full-time member of the Royal Observer Corps with distinction. He is recorded as being an Observer Officer and full-time Duty Controller in No 33 Aberdeen (Ayr) Group. He was still working at the age of 67 when, shortly after one of his frequent business trips to Canada, he died on 10 May 1958 at Ballochmyle, Ayrshire, and is buried in Ayr Cemetery in his wife’s family grave in Ayr Cemetery. To mark the end of the Second World War the Air Ministry arranged a huge rally at RAF North Weald in Essex from Saturday 23 June to Monday 25 June 1945. Almost 2,000 members of the ROC from all over the United Kingdom were invited to attend the rally. King George VI had already approved the design of an Ensign for the newly formed Royal Observer Corps, the Ensign was RAF blue with the Union Jack in one corner and also bearing the Corps' crest. It was dedicated at a special service held at North Weald on Sunday 24 June 1945. That day the 2,000 observers carried out the first ever uniformed ROC march past to the accompaniment of the RAF Band with the Under Secretary of State for Air, Lord Beatty, taking the salute. The parade then formed into a huge square and the Royal Observer Corps Ensign was presented by Lord Beatty.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Royal_Air_Force


The Ensign was borne to the drumhead by Observer Lieutenant Pollock VC. In the parade Observer Lieutenant Pollock bore the Ensign flanked by two senior NCO’s at the head of the massed contingent of observers. A filmed record of the day's events is held in the National Archive at the Imperial War Museum, London.

Lt J D Pollock carrying the ROC Ensign at the RAF North Weald Rally in June 1945.

His Victoria Cross is displayed at the Regimental Museum of Queens Own Highlanders, (Fort George, Inverness-shire. His brother, Private George Pollock, "B" Squadron, 5th Dragoon Guards (Princess Charlotte of Wales's), died on 26 March 1918, age 21, and is buried in St Sever Cemetery Extension, Rouen.

Captain Henry (Harry) Sherwood Ranken, VC, Royal Army Medical Corps, was born at Glasgow on 3 September 1883. He was the elder son of the Reverend Henry Ranken, Minister of Irvine Parish Church, and Helen Morton Ranken, of The Manse, Irvine, Ayrshire. His sibling was Alan. Harry moved to Irvine at the age of eight where his father was Minister of Irvine Parish Church for over 44 years. An exceptionally clever lad, Harry was Dux of Irvine Royal Academy in 1899.

Captain Harry Ranken, RAMC, was born in Glasgow in September 1883 the oldest son of Reverend Harry Ranken. He was educated at Irvine Royal Academy, at Anderson's College, and first enrolled at the University of Glasgow in summer 1900 and over the course of his studies he won eight prizes.


These included three surgery prizes in the classes of Professor Sir William MacEwen, who served in the war as Consulting Surgeon to the Admiralty. He received his MB, ChB degrees in July 1905. In 1910 he became a member of the Royal College of Physicians of London. Before entering military service in January 1909 and taking first place at the entrance examination, he had been a member of the Sudan Sleeping Sickness Commission and had held posts at several hospitals including Glasgow's Western Infirmary and the Brook Fever Hospital London, which was on the site adjacent to the Royal Herbert Military Hospital; the original hospital designed on the principles laid down by Florence Nightingale after the Crimean war. At army medical college he excelled gaining several prizes including the Prize of First Order of Merit. He also gained the Tulloch medal, the medal for military medicine, the medal and prize for tropical medicine, the De Chaumont prize in hygiene and the prize of £20 for grand aggregate of marks in all examinations during the probationary course, open to the RAMC and the IMS. From 1919 to 1911 Harry was stationed in London under the Eastern Command, and during this period was assistant to Sir William Leishman at the Royal Army Medical College and to Dr H G Plimmer in the Brown Institute, and engaged himself in research work, particularly in connexion with sleeping sickness. In 1910 he obtained the MRCP diploma, and in the following year passed the examination for captaincy with special certificate and was promoted Captain in July 1912. He started his research on Trypanosomiasis with Sir William Leishman. During these years he contributed, jointly with Major W B Fry and Dr Plimmer, several important papers on trypanosomiasis, which were published in the Proceedings of the Royal Society.

In August 1911 until June 1914, he transferred to the Egyptian Army and served as a member of the Sudan Government Sleeping Sickness Commission, and was in charge of the camp at Yei in the Lado enclave, Western Mongalla. He was described as a keen big game shot in the Sudan. He went home on leave in July 1914 and volunteered for war service, he was restored to the British establishment in August 1914 and entered the war in France with the Expeditionary Force on 12 August 1914. Harry was 31 years old, and attached to 1st Battalion, The King's Royal Rifle Corps when on 19 and 20 September 1914 at Haute-Avesnes, France, he was severely wounded in the leg whilst attending to his duties on the battlefield under shrapnel and rifle fire.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/France


He arrested the bleeding from this and bound it up, then continued to dress the wounds of his men, sacrificing his own chance of survival to their needs. When he finally permitted himself to be carried to the rear his case had become almost desperate and he died on 25 September, and is buried in Braine Communal Cemetery. He was awarded the VC, and the Croix de Chevalier of the Legion of Honour (France), for gallant conduct during the operations from 21 to 30 August 1914. The citation read "For tending wounded in the trenches under rifle and shrapnel fire at Hautevesnes on 19th September and on 20th September continuing to attend to wounded after his thigh and leg had been shattered. (He has since died of wounds.)" His will which had been written on 30 May 1910, was confirmed in court in Ayr on 16 December 1914. Alan Rain Ranken, his brother (a University of Glasgow law student at the time the will was drawn up) and George Haswell Wilson, his University friend, were his executors. He left an estate valued at £1,400 1s 4d. The Times History of the War Pt. 41, p.44 says "It is a safe statement that no man ever won the Victoria Cross more nobly than did Captain Harry Sherwood Ranken RAMC. Capt Ranken was severely wounded in the leg whilst attending to his duties on the battlefield. He arrested the bleeding from this, and bound it up, and then continued to dress the wounds of his men, sacrificing his chances of salvation to their needs. When finally he permitted himself to be carried to the rear, his case had become almost desperate. He died within a short period." Lieutenant Robinson of 8th Field Ambulance wrote in his narrative for 23rd September 1914, "It was on one of these days at Braisne that I came across that very gallant fellow Captain Rankin, RAMC. When I saw him he was lying on a stretcher on Braisne Station platform; he was smoking a cigarette and talking with animation. He had recently had his leg amputated somewhere above the knee, but had said he was in no pain and was quite comfortable and well. We were horribly shocked to hear a day or two later that he had died suddenly of embolism; but he had already received the award of the VC for his work at the time when he received his injuries." Colonel Northey commanding 1st Bn. King's Royal Rifle Corps, and several other of his brother officers, wrote to his parents of their personal loss and the loss to the whole Battalion. The PMO of the Egyptian Army regarded his death as a great loss to science. Sir William Leishman deplored the loss of a friend and wrote of him as a man who thought nothing of doing three men's work. Additionally, the Lancet wrote, "The bare record of his scientific and professional career shows that he was a man of unusual ability with a special leaning towards research, and his early and heroic death robs the RAMC of one of its most promising and accomplished junior officers."

The following is an official RAMC account of his last days. "On the 18th, Captain H S Ranken, the medical officer of the 1st King's Royal Rifles, 6th Infantry Brigade, was severely wounded his thigh and leg being shattered by a shell. Yet he refused to leave the trenches; refused even to cease from treating the wounded, and continued to do so till the bearers carried him away to the dressing station. Nor were the trenches below the Chemin des Dames the only spot where this gallant officer had displayed conspicuous devotion to duty.


"At Hauteavesnes on the 9th, during the action which practically ended the Marne operations, he had attracted the attention of his brother officers and the men by his indifference to danger, and by the manner by which he exposed himself to rifle and shell fire in the effort to treat the wounded. Unfortunately his wound was a very severe one. He bore the shock of amputation splendidly. Never once did he grumble at the ill-fortune that had come along so soon after the opening of the campaign. Cigarette in mouth, he bade a smiling farewell to his friends as he was carried across the platform at Braisne station some few days later, and was transferred to an ambulance train. That was the last they saw of him, smiling, plucky and cheerful. He died of embolism a few hours later. The deed for which he deservedly obtained mention in dispatches, and to which led directly to his death, was rewarded by a posthumous Victoria Cross." On 7 December 1914 the Minute Book of the Incorporation of Hammermen, Irvine recorded that "The Clerk intimated that he had written the Reveend Henry Ranken, as follows, "At the Michaelmass Meeting of the Incorporation of Hammermen held on Monday evening last, feeling reference was made to the great loss the Community and the Country had sustained by the lamented death at the seat of war of your gallant and distinguished son Captain Harry S Ranken. We are proud to have his name on our membership roll and the memory of his noble life and heroic death will be long cherished by the members of our Craft. I have been instructed to convey to you and Mrs Ranken and Mr Alan the sincere sympathy of the Incorporation of Hammermen with you all in your irreparable loss. The Clerk read the Reverend Henry Ranken's letter of acknowledgement in which he expressed the thanks of himself and his family for the kind letter of sympathy. He also mentioned - and this was a matter of great gratification to the members of the Court - that Captain Ranken had been recommended for the VC, the highest award which a soldier can merit. The Inscription on the Memorial Plaque in Irvine Old Parish Church reads, "To the glory of God and the dear memory of Captain Harry Ranken VC. Chevalier Of the Legion of Honour, MB, ChB (Glas), MRCP (Lond), Royal Army Medical Corps, and asttached to the 1st Battalion, King's Royal Rifle Corps (60th), who died at Braine in France of wounds received in action, 3rd Sept 1883 - 25th Sept 1914. Croix De Chevalier. For Gallantry During The Operations Between August 21st And 30th 1914. Victoria Cross. For tending the wounded in the trenches under rifle and shrapnel fire at Hautvesnes on September 19 and on September 20 continuing to attend to wounded after his thigh and leg had been shattered." A tree is planted in his memory in the National Memorial Arboretum, Staffordshire, and described as a scratch golfer who represented his university in matches and won many trophies, he is listed on the Irvine Golf Club war memorial, in the main hallway of the Bogside clubhouse. In 1924, his parents founded a University of Glasgow prize in his memory. It is awarded annually to the candidate with the highest number of marks in the professional examinations in Pathology.


On Tuesday, 26 January 1967 in the ante-room of the Headquarter Mess before a large and distinguished audience of officers of all seniorities, serving and retired, Mr Alan Ranken (brother) presented to the Royal Army Medical Corps the Victoria Cross, 1914 Star, British War and Victory medals and the French Legion of Honour awarded posthumously to Captain Ranken. His name appeared in the first list of VC awards of World War I. Sir Robert Drew in accepting the VC and medals on behalf of the RAMC assured Mr Ranken of the appreciation of the Royal Army Medical Corps of the gift which would join other memorials of gallantry and devotion to duty which were to be seen in the VC Room of the Headquarter Mess. He reminded his audience and particularly the junior officers that the end of the regimental system when regiments had their own doctors as one of themselves did not mean that a unique position of confidence and trust was not open to the Unit MO nowadays through the exercise of his professional skill and personality. Quite recently two regiments had asked to retain the services of an RAMC officer whom they referred to as their doctor. Captain Ranken had been a man apart whose shining example came down to his successors who would be reminded of him and his service to the Army. Mr Alan Ranken thanked the Director General for his references to his brother. As regards the VC he regretted it leaving his family but appreciated that in passing over to the RAMC its influence had been increased and it would be in better custody. Brigadier Sir John Smyth VC, MC, President of the Victoria Cross and George Cross Association referred to the privilege of being present on one more occasion to honour the memory of a non-combatant holder of the VC of which so many were RAMC. When the military hospital moved to a new set of buildings around 1970 - the Queen Elizabeth Military Hospital - the administration block was named after him - Ranken House. Harry Ranken's photograph and a copy of his citation are still proudly displayed in the reception area of Ranken House. His Victoria Cross is displayed at the Army Medical Services Museum, Aldershot.

Piper James Cleland Richardson, VC, 72nd Seaforth Highlanders of Canada, 16th (Canadian Scottish) Battalion, Canadian Expeditionary Force, was born at Bellshill, Lanarkshire, on 25 November 1895. He was the eldest son of David Richardson, a Police Sergeant, and Mary Dall Prosser Richardson, of Blantyre Police Station, Blantyre. His siblings were Mary, Alice, David, Alexandra, Isabella, Robert and Janet. The family later lived in Rutherglen where David was Police Inspector and Chief Fire Officer. He was educated at Bellshill Academy, the Auchinwraith Public School in Blantyre, and the John Street School in Glasgow.


The family sailed from Glasgow on ss Parisian to Halifax, Nova Scotia, arriving on 23 May 1913, and then journeyed across Canada by train to Vancouver. David Richardson secured the Chief of Police position at Chilliwack (now a city with 80,000 citizens). James remained in Vancouver where he secured an electrician’s apprenticeship in a False Creek factory. He served for six months in Vancouver's 72nd Battalion Seaforth Highlanders’ Cadet Corps pipe band. Following the outbreak of World War I, he volunteered for service in the Canadian Expeditionary Force and was taken on strength on 23 Sept. 1914 at Valcartier, Quebec, as a Private and Piper with the 16th Infantry Battalion (the Canadian Scottish), for which the Seaforths provided contingents. At the time he joined up, Richardson listed his father as Chief of Police in Chilliwack, British Columbia. The 16th, which arrived in France in February 1915, engaged in numerous battles during the Somme offensive of 1916. One of the most difficult was Ancre Heights on 8 October, especially the attempt to seize the heavily defended Regina Trench north of Courcelette. Facing enemy rifles, machineguns, mortars, and artillery, the attackers were particularly vulnerable when they advanced over no man’s land. Frequently a piper would go in with a company assaulting enemy trenches. Not originally detailed for the attack on Regina Trench, the 20-year-old James pleaded successfully with his commanding officer to accompany the troops, whom he piped over the top. The advancing company encountered a storm of fire and enemy wire which had not been cut by the artillery. At this critical point, with the company commander killed, casualties mounting, and morale and momentum almost gone, Richardson volunteered to pipe again. "Wull I gie them wund?" he asked the Company Sergeant Major, who consented. For some ten minutes, fully exposed, he "strode up and down outside the wire, playing his pipes with the greatest coolness". Later, after participating in bombing operations, Richardson was ordered to take back a wounded comrade and some prisoners. He started but returned for his pipes, which he had left behind. In doing so he was evidently hit by enemy fire. Initially listed as missing in action, he was never seen again and was officially presumed to have died on 9 October. Jimmy, as he was known, Richardson was posthumously awarded the Victoria Cross on 22 October 1918 for his action at Regina Trench. The citation read, "For most conspicuous bravery and devotion to duty when, prior to attack, he obtained permission from his Commanding Officer to play his company 'over the top'. As the Company approached the objective, it was held up by very strong wire and came under intense fire, which caused heavy casualties and demoralised the formation for the moment. Realising the situation, Piper Richardson strode up and down outside the wire, playing his pipes with the greatest coolness. The effect was instantaneous.


Inspired by his splendid example, the company rushed the wire with such fury and determination that the obstacle was overcome and the position captured. Later, after participating in bombing operations, he was detailed to take back a wounded comrade and prisoners. After proceeding about 200 yards Piper Richardson remembered that he had left his pipes behind. Although strongly urged not to do so, he insisted on returning to recover his pipes. He has never been seen since, and death has been presumed owing to lapse of time." He was one of four members of the 16th Battalion to win this decoration. Other decorated pipers with the 16th included Pipe Major James Groat (Distinguished Conduct Medal and Military Medal) and Piper George Firth Paul (Military Medal). James was only the third piper within the Imperial Forces to receive the Victoria Cross. David and Mary Richardson were still living in Chilliwack when they received news of the award; no parents could have been more proud of their son. His remains were found in 1920 and he is buried at Adanac Military Cemetery. His bagpipes were believed to have been lost in the mud of the Somme for almost 90 years until 2002, when the Pipe Major of The Canadian Scottish Regiment (Princess Mary's) responded to an Internet posting. He discovered that Ardvreck preparatory school in Scotland had possession of a set of bagpipes with the unique Lennox tartan on them, the same tartan used by the pipers of the 16th (Canadian Scottish) Battalion. A British Army Chaplain, Major Edward Yeld Bate, had found the pipes in 1917 and brought them back home after the war to a school in Scotland where he was a teacher. The pipes were unidentified for several decades, and served as a broken, mud-caked, and blood-stained reminder of an unknown piper from the Great War. Andrew Winstanley of The Canadian Club and Pipe Major Roger McGuire were largely responsible for the investigative work into identifying the pipes. With the support of The Canadian Club and a group of patriotic citizens, Pipe Major McGuire travelled to Scotland in January 2003 to help identify the pipes that had been displayed at Ardvreck School in Crieff, Perthshire, Scotland, for over seven decades. Thomas Christie, a parent of students there and also a piper, initiated the search for the origin of the pipes. Their collective effort led to conclusive evidence that identified the pipes as those played by Piper Richardson on that fateful day in 1916. An anonymous donor facilitated the purchase of the pipes on behalf of the citizens of Canada. In October 2006, a party of dignitaries visited Scotland and received the pipes from the Headmaster of Ardvreck School for repatriation to Canada.


James Richardson's bagpipes

On 8 November 2006, the bagpipes were officially repatriated when troops from The Canadian Scottish Regiment (Princess Mary's) placed them at the British Columbia Legislature. They are currently on public display. In 1936, his father, mother, sister and nephew attended the unveiling of the Vimy War Memorial. At that time they visited James’ grave at Adanac Military Cemetery.

A statue of James Richardson at the museum in Chilliwack, BC.


Sergeant John Ripley, VC, 1st Battalion, The Black Watch (Royal Highlanders), was born at Keith, Banffshire, on 20 August 1867. He was the third son of Joseph Ripley, a General Labourer, and Margaret Ripley, of 225 Cross Street, Keith. His siblings were sisters Isabella, Margaret, Jessie Fordyce, Mary Ann and Alice, brothers Joseph, James Cassels, John and William Stuart), and one half-sibling James. As a child he was employed as a Wool Spinner by the time he was 13 years of age. By 1891 he had left home and had begun working as a Railway Porter in Dumbarton. Perhaps his father, who had been a Railway Labourer, inspired this early career choice.

He appeared not to have taken to this line of work though and followed in the footsteps of many in his family (including his father and several brothers), by apprenticing as a Slater. In fact from an interview he gave in a newspaper article in the Edinburgh Evening News on 6 August 1915, we know he had moved to Montrose in 1884 to join up and from there had moved to St Andrews in 1887. (The dates are supported by an article in the Red Hackle (Oct 1933), the official publication of the Black Watch, however there are several other publications that list his date of enlistment in the Territorials as 1889, e.g., The Scotsman, 7th August 1915) and 1894 so there remains some doubt about this. His Territorial Army service record has not been located and may well have been destroyed and we therefore have to rely upon indirect sources, such as those from newspaper articles, to infer the correct date.) Perhaps while serving in the Black Watch he earned his nickname. ‘Jock’, a name that would stick with him for the rest of his life. His sojourn to Dumbarton around 1891 remains something of a mystery, however, given that he had been living in St. Andrews from 1887. Perhaps he was just trying something different. On 21 June, 1895, only a year after enlisting, he married Jane Laing in St Andrews after which he moved in with his wife’s family there. Their first and only son, Alexander Laing Ripley was born nine months later, on 12 February 1896, and he later emigrated to the USA. At the time he also became a volunteer member of St Andrews Fire Brigade as well as a long serving member of the St Andrews Rocket Brigade that fired rescue lines out to struggling vessels at sea.


In 1912 Jock resigned from ‘G’ Company of the 6th Black Watch after 18 years of service having received his long service and good conduct medal. Less than two years later on 28 July 1914, the First World War broke out and John immediately joined up, initially on a recruiting role. Later that year on 25 September, at the venerable age of 48, Jock went back on active service, was instantly given the rank of Corporal in the 3rd Battalion and had taken up the position of instructor to the 10th Battalion in Codford, Wiltshire. In November, the battalion was transferred to Bristol and John was seconded to the 3rd Black Watch basic training Battalion based at Nigg in Ross-shire. On the 18th of February, 1915 he was transferred, with a draft of other men, to reinforce the 1st Battalion in France. On 9 August 1915, the Evening News reported, "In France the Sergeant ran into an officer who knew him. “Hallo Ripley”, he said, “what are you doing here? You know you’re over the age limit”. “Yes, I know all about that, sir” was the reply, “and so are you. But while there are any Germans left, I’m eighteen”. He saw his first major action on the 10th of March at Neuve Chapelle. Although he was not in the actual charge, he was still in the thick of the shell fire and several months later in the Edinburgh Evening News of 4th August 1915, would describe the "...sandbags dancing about our ears..." Less than 3 months later, on 9 May 1915, he and the Black Watch found themselves bogged down near the Rue du Bois in Neuve Chapelle, France. Earlier that day, several costly attempts had been made to penetrate the German lines. Another attack by the 2nd and 3rd brigades of the British Expeditionary Force was ordered and, after several delays, began at about 16:00. Following an intense bombardment of the enemy lines, 'A' and 'D' companies, 1st Black Watch left the British lines at 15:57. Major Robertson, the commanding officer was shot down almost immediately but despite this, they charged on 'impetuously' with a couple of pipers firing their blood with rousing tunes and the Germans being swept before them. One of the pipers fell early but the other survived until they were well up to the enemy trenches. The battalion war diary recorded, ‘Cpl J Ripley ['A' Company] finds gap in wire and is on parapet at 3.59 pm and directs men.’ He therefore covered the 300, body strewn yards, from his own lines, in only two minutes. It was perfectly flat and afforded no protection for the advancing men. Jock recalls that it was a "perfect rain of shrapnel, machine gun fire and rifle fire" and later added that "any man that passed through yon, would not care to go through it again; I don’t care who he is, be he the bravest man on earth." (Edinburgh Evening News, 4th August 1915) He was the first man of the Battalion to climb the enemy’s parapet and from there he directed those following him into the gaps in the German wire. In the German trenches he simply recalls that it was a "confused blur of slaughter" as they each went at one another with bayonets.


Jock then led a small band of eight men to a German support trench. With a shortage of grenades, he and his men held this position. During this action, he was shot in the leg, had the front of his kilt blown away, and received a nasty shrapnel wound to the left side of his head. The shrapnel entered his forehead on the left side but luckily travelled under the skin and out behind the left ear. Despite these horrendous injuries, and after all his men had been downed, he managed to made his way back to his own lines. It was his exhausted state that saved him and caused him to fall head first into a water-filled trench. The water came up to his neck and bullets and shells rained all around him. Two days later on 11 May 1915, Jock returned to the Depot Battalion at Rouen and from there shipped back to a hospital in Glasgow and then on to join the expeditionary force in St Andrews to recuperate. On the 2nd of July, he was promoted to acting Sergeant, 3rd Battalion. For his bravery in France, Jock was granted the Victoria Cross, and on 4 September 1915 was presented to the King to receive it. This medal joined his earlier long service and good conduct medal and would later be joined by the 1914-15 Star, the British War Medal (1914-20) and the Victory Medal (1914-19). He was both one of the first and certainly one of the oldest men to receive the Victoria Cross in the First World War as well as one of the few recipients of both the long service and Victoria Cross medals. The citation read, "On 9 May 1915 at Rue du Bois, France, Corporal Ripley led his section on the right of the platoon in the assault and was the first man of the battalion to climb the enemy's parapet. From there he directed those following him to the gaps in the German wire entanglements. He then led his section through a breach in the parapet to a second line of trench. With seven or eight men he established himself, blocking other flanks, and continued to hold the position until all his men had fallen and he himself was badly wounded in the head." Shortly after he received his VC, back in the trenches in France, more than 1,100 of his comrades died during the Battle of Loos, on 25 September 1915. Most of these were neighbours, friends or relatives and their loss left a social chasm in Fife that took generations to bridge. An article in the Perthshire Advertiser (3rd July 1915) gives us an insight into the character of the man: “He was one of the most popular football players in the ancient City Athletic Club during its palmy days in the nineties, and was ever a fearless tackler, imbued with the greatest dash. He was connected with the Volunteer movement from his youth, and is a fine type of the sturdy thick set Scotsman, with any amount of go and pluck. One can well imagine Jock Ripley making his mark in any military duty he was asked to undertake. If coolness and resource were needed, he had these qualities to the full, and, as Americans would say, is a 'real live wire' in disposition. His many friends will feel proud of the St. Andrews hero’s honour, for a cheerier or more modest 'pal' mortal man could not desire."


On the 16th of July, he returned via Edinburgh to St Andrews where he was accorded a hero’s welcome with exploding fog signals laid on the railway lines. Local citizens turned out en masse to show their admiration, cheering loudly as he stepped down from the train, and the station was dressed in bunting. The approaches to the station were guarded by the 7th Royal Highlanders and a carriage was waiting to convey him, Captain Doggart of the 7th, Baillie Hall and Baillie McTier to the town hall in St Andrews. On approach to the town, the soldiers chose to unyoke the carriage and, instead of horses, used ropes to haul it to St Andrews themselves, with the pipe band of the 7th leading the way. The route by Alexandra Place, Bell Street and South Street was crowded all the way and the procession finally stopped at the Town Hall. Baillie Hall then gave a brief address saying how proud he was to welcome back Sergeant Ripley who had done what many more should have, which was to enlist. He then went on to say that he wasn’t going to make a recruiting speech but wished to call upon all present to give three hearty cheers for "...our citizen, our man who had risked his life and had now come home with his Cross, not an iron one..." (for which there was laughter), "...but the Victoria Cross...". Sir Ralph Anstruther then spoke saying that no one was more proud of Sgt. Ripley as they had served together in the 7th and that his action showed what could be done by a man who set out to do his duty. There was a loud applause. Finally John, who was carrying a bouquet of flowers, got to his feet to the accompaniment of loud cheers. John, a man of few words, said that he was not a public speaker and that he had only done what many others would have done. Sheriff Armour-Hannay then called for "God Save the King" to be sung after which John was driven to his home to the accompaniment of "For he’s a jolly good fellow". On 28 March 1919 after only 4½ years back in the service he was demobbed and transferred to the class Z army reserves. He had spent only 82 days in France. The citizens of St Andrews honoured John in the Council Chambers when he received a handsome presentation from them. Provost Cheape and members of the Town Council welcomed John who was accompanied by his brother, Quartermaster Sergeant Ripley, Scottish Horse. The Provost said, "When Sergeant Ripley gained his honour, he was 47 years old - a unique record - and he was also in possession of the long- service Volunteer Medal. Sergeant Ripley over thirty years ago joined the 2nd Battalion of the Black Watch. After putting in his time, he joined the Volunteers, and only resigned three years ago. On the outbreak of the war last year, he again volunteered and went abroad, with what result they now saw. There was no doubt that a large number of recruits had joined in consequence of the noble example of Sergeant Ripley. He would remind men of military age in St Andrews that they were not too late at the eleventh hour to join, and prevent themselves being 'fetched'". Provost Cheape then handed to Sergeant Ripley a silver casket, with inscription, containing a War Loan and a purse of sovereigns. He set himself up in business as a Slater and volunteered in the town’s fire brigade. He was also a member of the United Services Association, the Black Watch Association and the British Legion and was chairman of the St. Andrews branch of the Comrades prior to their amalgamation with the British Legion.


Sergeant Ripley said that when he was invalided home he was walking with his great friends, Willie Greig (of golfing fame) and Corporal George Thomson, when they met Brigadier General Grogan. The latter exclaimed, "Hallo, Ripley! What are you doing here?" "Invalided home from France, sir." "From France? How did you get there?" "Oh, the pen must have slipped when I put my age in."


Continuing his remarks, Sergeant Ripley said that every man who made the march on the 9th of May, was entitled to a decoration. That thin Khaki line went forward without a halt, facing machine-gun fire as well as big gun fire. He was glad to know that each of his comrades proved himself to be a soldier and a man. He appealed to everyone eligible to join to do so now, A volunteer was always worth ten "pressed men". If that was so, the latter should only get a tenth part of a soldier's pay.

Meeting General Douglas Haig.

"Jock" Ripley said of his encounter with the King. "I shook hands wi' the King, and he's a man, every inch of him, for he gave me a gran' grip o' the hand. Says he, 'Hae ye fully recovered frae your injuries?' and I said, 'Yes, I thank you, your Majesty'. I was shot in the leg, the front part of my kilt being blown away, and also a piece of shrapnel entered my forehead and passed under the skin out behind the left ear." Some years later on 14 August 1933, while climbing a ladder to test the drains of Castlecliffe House in St Andrews, he slipped and fell 18 feet. He died several hours later in the St Andrews Memorial Cottage Hospital. It was an inauspicious end to the life of a hero. His burial was a grand affair, the funeral cortege leaving the hospital for the cemetery in Upper Largo. It was led by three pipers playing “The Flowers of the Forest” and upon its arrival in Largo, a short service was conducted by Reverend W B Buchanan of Kilmarnock.


Amongst the many graveside mourners were Lt Stewart Sandeman of the Perth Depot of the Black Watch, Mr D Watson, a close personal friend and many of his family. The coffin pallbearers were Joseph and William Ripley (his brothers), William McLean Ripley, James Ripley and John Ripley (his nephews), Major General Marindin, Captain S Watson, Black Watch Association and Mr D Thomson of the British Legion. A Black Watch bugler played the last post. In October 2001, a poignant ceremony was held to re-dedicate Jock’s grave in Upper Largo after it had been repaired following damage. Stuart Mackie, who runs Glenrothes-based Memorial Maintenance Services - and who also served in the 1st Battalion of the Black Watch - was so touched by the story of Jock Ripley that it was he that offered to repair and clean the gravestone for free. The Black Watch also stepped in with financial help to erect a plaque commemorating a man who had won the highest military honour.

Largo villagers and Black Watch representatives made up the crowd who braved swirling mist and driving rain to commemorate Corporal Ripley for his bravery while serving with the 1st Battalion in 1915. Wreaths were laid on the grave by Brigadier Garry Barnett, Colonel of the Regiment, and also by Peter Aitken, chairman of Largo Area Community Council, on behalf of local residents. The Black Watch also stepped in with financial help to erect a plaque commemorating a man who had won the highest military honour. On 25 October 2001, Fife Today reported, "Retired dental consultant Mr William Stevenson lives in Falkirk and only read of last Saturday's ceremony honouring Corporal John Ripley, VC, after the event. Expressing regret at not being able to be there to remember his grandfather's brother, Mr Stevenson (82) said he had a photograph of the man he knows as Uncle John on the wall of his home, beside other wartime pictures. "At 48, Cpl Ripley was one of the oldest soldiers to receive the VC. Said Mr Stevenson, 'John Ripley was a Freeman of St Andrews. He lost a nephew, William Ripley, who was trained at Barry Buddon in the first war, a sniper who was killed by a German sniper. My grandfather was a crack shot who competed at Bisley and my mother won a national newspaper medal for drill hall shooting. I am sorry late notification of the article did not allow my presence at the ceremony.


"At the graveside during Saturday's service led by the Reverend Alex Forsyth of the Royal Army Chaplains' Department, Brigadier Garry Barnett recounted that Cpl Ripley achieved the military honour while leading his section, becoming the first man to ascend the enemy's parapet at Rue de Bois. He continued to maintain a defensive position until all his men had fallen, despite suffering serious head wounds himself. "After receiving the VC Corporal Ripley was honoured by the town council of St Andrews, where he spent much of his adult life. He worked as a Chimney Sweep and Slater as well as serving in the town's fire brigade. He died, aged 66, after falling from a ladder, and was buried with full military honours with a carrying party of six Sergeants, three Pipers and a Bugler from the Black Watch headquarters in Perth. Wreaths were laid on Cpl Ripley's grave by Brigadier Barnett and also by Peter Aitken, chairman of Largo Area Community Council on behalf of the community." The location of Jock’s VC is unknown. In May 2015, a monument stone will be laid at the war memorial in Keith to celebrate his Victoria Cross. Members of the Ripley family will attend. John’s only son, Alexander Laing Ripley, also fought with the Black Watch in France (Regt. No. 1436) and received the Victory Medal, British Medal and 1914-15 Star. He joined the British forces in France in May 1915 and was demobilised in March 1919.

With his brother, James Cassels Ritchie Proudly wearing his medals.


Other members of the Ripley family that served with the Black Watch included his brother’s, Joseph and William Stuart Ripley (the latter was Steven Ripley's grandfather), Joseph’s sons, John (who was also the Scottish Amateur golfing Champion for several years around the turn of the 20th century) and William Elder Seath Ripley, who was shot and killed by an enemy sniper on the 20th April 1917. William Elder Seath Ripley is listed on the Montrose War Memorial. Several Pathe News reels have recently been uncovered that feature John in St. Andrews upon his return from Buckingham Palace and later with Field Marshall, Earl Haig. Source: Steven Ripley, Jock's grand nephew.

Commander Henry Peel Ritchie, VC, Royal Navy, was born at Edinburgh on 29 January 1876. He was the elder son of Robert Peel Ritchie, MD, FRCP (Ed), LRCS (Ed), a Physician, and Mary Ritchie, of 1 Melville Crescent, Edinburgh. His sibling was Lionel Charles Peel Ritchie. Henry was educated at George Watson's Boys' College and Blair Lodge before he enrolled on the training ship HMS Britannia at the age of fourteen, in 1890. Rapidly rising in the navy due to keen intelligence and impressive strength, he was promoted to Lieutenant six years later, and served for the next 15 years as a junior staff officer at Sheerness Gunnery School. In 1900 Ritchie became the armed forces lightweight boxing champion, and was the runner up in the same contest the following year.

Whilst stationed at Sheerness, he met and married Christiana Lilian Jardine, with whom he had three daughters, Lillias, Stella and Muriel.

In March 1911, he was posted as Senior Lieutenant to the battleship HMS Goliath. Promoted to Commander later that year, he managed the ship's gunnery exercises and procedures while Goliath was part of the Channel Fleet stationed in British waters. One of his junior officers said, "Ritchie had the reputation of being very strict, but I always found him most fair".


At the outbreak of World War 1, Goliath was ordered to the Indian Ocean to lead a blockade of the German colony of German East Africa, and specifically its main port at Dar-es-Salaam. It was feared by the Admiralty that the German navy would use its colonial ports to support commerce raiding cruisers such as the SMS Emden or the SMS Konigsberg, both of which were known to be operating in the Indian Ocean at that time. This concern was amplified because the Konigsberg, blockaded in the delta of the Rufiji River, had operated from Dar-es-Salaam in the early months of the war and had sunk the British cruiser HMS Pegasus on a raid from the port. Remaining in Dar-es-Salaam's large natural harbour were the German cargo ships SS Konig and SS Feldmarschall, the hospital ship SS Tabora and several smaller coastal vessels – all of which could conceivably be used to resupply the trapped cruiser should they leave port. Despite a declaration from the German Governor, Heinrich Schnee, that neither the harbour nor its ships would be used for military purposes, the decision was taken by British Admiral Herbert King-Hall that the shipping in the port must nevertheless be neutralised. The Germans had pre-emptively scuttled a blockship in the port's entrance channel, with the intention of preventing Goliath and the other heavy British warships from entering the harbour to shell the undefended city. With close-range bombardment impossible, the British assembled assault teams with volunteers from the small blockading flotilla. Their mission was to augment the existing blockage by immobilising or sinking those cargo ships trapped in the port, thus denying its use to the Germans as well. Command of the assault was given to Commander Ritchie as the second most senior officer present, and he commandeered two small auxiliary gunboats, Dupleix and Helmuth, to carry his raiding parties. The day prior to the raid the decision was taken that, in order to allow the Germans time to evacuate the target ships and minimise casualties, they would be warned of the British intentions. In a brief parley the German defenders requested that the British conduct their operations under a white flag, which request was denied. Ritchie was informed that he could begin his assault on the following morning of 28 November 1914. Due to a breakdown aboard the Duplex before it reached the harbour, Ritchie had to begin his assault with only the Helmuth and a handful of small boats and launches from the blockading ships. There were no signs of life on the target ships as Ritchie's flotilla moved uncontested into the port, and the shoreline was described by officers in the raiding party as "utterly deserted" and "cool and inviting". Shortly after 10:00 the raiders laid explosive charges on the abandoned Konig and Feldmarschall.


However they were then challenged by the port's commanding officer, who questioned their right to be in the anchorage and demanded to be permitted to observe their actions in order that he could make a report. In a meeting aboard the Helmuth it was explained to him that British orders were to disable German assets in the harbour and that, being at war, his permission was unnecessary. After some discussion he was persuaded to disembark so that the Helmuth could continue operations. Leaving demolition parties aboard the cargo vessels, Ritchie then took the Helmuth further downriver to check for other shipping, but the small ship grounded on a sandbar. Assuming the route was blocked, he returned to the two cargo ships on one of the expedition's small launches. It was at this stage, whilst conducting a final inspection, that he made the discovery of a large number of empty ammunition cases and discarded bullets in the holds of the cargo ships. Deducing that the German crew had armed themselves before they left their vessels, he suspected preparations were underway to ambush his force when it attempted to leave the harbour. Despite this discovery Ritchie resolved to continue as ordered. He took the precaution of sending Helmuth to the harbour entrance to cover the withdrawal, and gathered together several small boats moored in the harbour. These he secured around his launch, providing added buoyancy in case it received fatal damage in the engagement he was sure would ensue. With preparations complete, one of Ritchie's boats (from the cruiser HMS Fox) moved to the harbour entrance. There it was met with a hail of fire from the shore, where the hidden German crews and town garrison had lain in wait. The Helmuth was also attacked, but despite sustaining severe damage both craft were able to limp to safety, carrying several wounded. From outside the harbour Fox and Goliath responded with a heavy barrage, demolishing several streets in the town, including the Governor's Palace. Ritchie, aboard the only remaining British boat in the harbour, attempted to pick up one of his officers who had earlier gone aboard the German hospital ship SS Tabora to conduct a medical inspection. This effort was unsuccessful, and on leaving the harbour Ritchie's launch came under sustained fire from machine guns, rifles and light artillery. With most of his crew wounded, Ritchie refused to relinquish his place at the helm until he had steered his boat to safety. He was discovered "simply smothered in blood and barely conscious" by Goliath's crew when they went to his aid in the battleship's pinnace. Ritchie was rushed to the sick bay, where it was ascertained that he had been hit in eight separate places. The raid had cost the British one dead, fourteen seriously wounded and twelve captured after they were left behind in the confusion. The raiders had in turn immobilised three large merchant vessels and destroyed several shore installations, as well as taking thirty five prisoners.


Two days later, with the wounded hospitalised in Zanzibar, Goliath and Fox returned to Dar-es-Salaam and reduced most of the seafront to rubble, setting fire to several other districts of the town as well. This reprisal served only to turn the hitherto neutral local populace against the British. Feelings ran high in both camps following the raid, with the British claiming that white flags flying from several shore installations should have prevented any German attack, and the Germans insisting that the British had attempted to capture their merchant vessels' crews despite promises not to do so. It does appear that both sides had entered the operation with the intention of breaching the predetermined agreements. Ten men were honoured for their role in the operation, seven receiving Distinguished Service Medals, two the Conspicuous Gallantry Medal and one, the grievously wounded Ritchie, the Victoria Cross. Ritchie had not initially been recommended for this award; the recommendation being submitted at a later date by an unidentified figure in the Admiralty. The Admiralty's change of heart was possibly a morale boosting measure, although Ritchie's courage during the action was never called into question. The shrapnel and bullet wounds he sustained in the raid were extensive, including injuries to his forehead, left thumb, left arm (twice), right arm, right hip and a badly broken right leg after being hit by two large calibre machine gun bullets. Ritchie spent six weeks in hospital in Zanzibar before he was considered well enough to be transported home. He recovered during the spring of 1915 at Plymouth Hospital, with his family present. Although judged fit in late February, Ritchie was assigned light duties and was not returned to Goliath; a disappointment which proved fortunate for him when she was sunk off the Dardanelles in May 1915 by the Turkish destroyer Muavenet with the loss of five hundred lives. His Victoria Cross was presented by King George V at Buckingham Palace in April 1915. Promoted acting Captain, he retired in 1917 having been deemed unfit for further service as a legacy of the wounds he had received. Ritchie received the first VC awarded to naval personnel during the First World War. The citation read, "For most conspicuous bravery on the 28th November 1914 when in command of the searching and demolition operations at Dar-es-Salaam East Africa Though severely wounded several times his fortitude and resolution enabled him to continue to do his duty inspiring all by his example until at his eighth wound he became unconscious The interval between his first and last severe wound was between twenty and twenty five minutes." Following his retirement he settled with his family back in his home city of Edinburgh, and lived a quiet and uneventful retirement. He was not involved in any official capacity during the Second World War, and died at his home Craigroyston House, Davidson's Mains, Edinburgh, in 1958. Ritchie was cremated at Warriston. There are no memorials or headstones dedicated to him today, and his Victoria Cross is not on public display.


His brother, Lionel Charles Peel Ritchie, ChM, MD, FRCSE, was Assistant Surgeon at the Royal Infirmary, Edinburgh. His obituary described his death on 24 September 1914 when he had an accident on his steam yacht in Granton Harbour. It was believed that he may have slipped and fallen overboard, possibly striking his head as he fell. He had taken the degrees of MB, ChB at Edinburgh University in 1900, then ChM in 1905 and MD in 1907. He was made a Fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons in 1904. For some years he had acted as Surgeon to the Western Dispensary, Edinburgh, and had recently been appointed Assistant Surgeon to the Royal Infirmary, Edinburgh.

Drum-Major Walter Potter Ritchie, VC, 2nd Battalion, Seaforth Highlanders (Ross-shire Buffs, Duke of Albany's), was born at Hopehill Road, Glasgow on 27 March 1892. He was the second son Walter Ritchie, an Ornamental Iron Fitter, and Helen Monteith Ritchie, of 35 Raglan Street, Glasgow. His siblings were Janet, Arthur, Elizabeth and Thomas. He was a religious boy and a keen member of the Tron Episcopal Church in Glasgow. After his schooling he started an apprenticeship as a Blacksmith. This did not last very long, however, and, even though, he was underage he decided to join the army. He enlisted as a Drummer in the 8th Battalion, Scottish Rifles and then transferred to the 2nd Battalion The Seaforth Highlanders in 1908 although still only sixteen years of age. At the outbreak of war Walter's battalion were one of the first to land on French soil in August of 1914.

They saw action on the retreat from Mons at the Battle of Le Cateau and were also involved at the Battle of the Marne and the fighting in the Ypres salient in 1915. On the eve of the Somme offensive, Walter and the 2nd Seaforths were positioned in reserve trenches as they were not to go forward in the first wave of the attack. Following a week long barrage of the opposing German lines, fourteen British divisions on an eighteen mile front rose from their trenches at 7.30 am on 1 July 1916. Bugles sounded and whistles blew as men scrambled out of their positions hoping to walk through the decimated enemy lines.


As we know now, this was not to be the case as the deeply entrenched enemy emerged from their dugouts as the sun was burning through the morning mist to wreak havoc amongst the advancing troops. The end of that fateful day saw close to 60,000 casualties on the British side, 19,000 of whom died on the chalky fields of the Somme. Over twenty men were dying for every minute of that summer's day in Picardy. Amidst the tales of death, carnage and wholesale slaughter, stories of great bravery, devotion to duty, care for their fellow men and indeed self-sacrifice were also to emerge. Just after 7.30 that morning the Hampshire and East Lancs regiments moved off for the attack up to the Redan Ridge. At 9.00 it was the turn of the 2nd Seaforths and as they pushed forward the war diary records "heavy machine gun fire from the ridge and the direction of Beaumont Hamel." They managed to reach the third line of German trenches, but by now numbers had been decimated and men cut down in swathes. Walter Ritchie then decided on his own initiative to climb onto the parapet of the enemy trench where despite being under machine gun and bomb attacks he repeatedly played "The Charge" on his bugle. This helped to rally the melee of men of many units who were by now wavering and starting to retire as most of them had lost their units and commanders. Throughout that long July day Walter continued to show the greatest devotion to duty carrying messages back and forth over the fire swept battlefield. As a result of his actions on that day Walter Potter Ritchie was awarded the Victoria Cross, which was presented to him personally by the King at Buckingham Palace on 25 November 1916. The citation read, "On 1 July 1916 north of Beaumont Hamel, France, Drummer Ritchie, on his own initiative, stood on the parapet of an enemy trench and, under heavy machine-gun fire and bomb attacks, repeatedly sounded the 'Charge' thereby rallying many men of various units who, having lost their leaders were wavering and beginning to retire. He also, during the day, carried messages over fire-swept ground. Many awards and decorations were bestowed on brave young men that day, but nine of them would be singled out for the ultimate accolade for outstanding deeds of gallantry in the presence of the enemy, the Victoria Cross. Only three of these nine gallant men survived the carnage of July 1st to be presented with their medals in person. The other six gave their lives and still lie out on the Somme battlefield. Walter was one of the lucky ones to survive the Great War despite being gassed twice and wounded on two other separate occasions. He was also honoured by a grateful French nation being awarded the Croix de Guerre. He later achieved the rank of Drum Major. In 1920 Walter attended a garden party given by a grateful King George V at Buckingham Palace and on November 11th of that year proudly stood as one of the "VC Guard" at the interment of the unknown warrior in Westminster Abbey. In November 1929 a reunion dinner for VC holders was held at the House of Lords, which Walter attended.


His final encounter with royalty came in June 1956 when, to commemorate 100 years of the Victoria Cross, Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth held a centenary review of VC holders at Hyde Park in London. Walter Potter Ritchie died on 17 March 1965 in Edinburgh, age 73, and his funeral service was held at Warriston Crematorium in the city. Unlike so many VC winners, Walter Ritchie's award is not held by the family or a regimental museum but has passed into private hands after being sold at auction. The bugle that he used to sound 'The Charge' is now at the Queens Own Highlanders Museum.

Seaman George McKenzie Samson, VC, Royal Naval Reserve, was born at Carnoustie, Angus, on 7 January 1889. He was the second son of David Samson, a Shoemaker, and Helen Lawson Samson, of Charles Street, Barry. His siblings were Davis, Lily, Mary Ann, Roland, Violet May, Sarah and Mabel. He married Charlotte Glass at the Huntly Arms Hotel, Aboyne, Aberdeenshire, on 31 December 1915, and they had two sons. SS River Clyde was built in 1905 in Glasgow. Like the Trojan horse at Troy, ss River Clyde, on 25 April 1915, was used to transport troops onto V Beach, Cape Helles the southernmost point of the Gallipoli Peninsula.

Holes were cut into the ship’s hull from which 2,000 troops of the 1st Royal Munster Fusiliers, 1st Dublin Fusiliers and the 2nd Hampshire Regiment disembarked, when ss River Clyde was beached near a rocky outcrop. Prior to the beaching of ss River Clyde troops were landed from other ships' lighters that were either towed or rowed towards the shore. Once ss River Clyde was beached, gangways from the ship allowed the troops to descend upon a bridge constructed across three lighters that led them to shore. Subjected to heavy enfilade fire the devastation on the beach was horrific. Several attempts were made to land the troops but it was not until dark that the last 1,000 men from ss River Clyde were landed.


On 25 April 1915 during the landings at V Beach, Cape Helles, George was assisting the commander (Edward Unwin) of ss River Clyde, at the work of securing the lighters. He worked all day under very heavy fire, attending wounded and getting out lines. He was eventually dangerously wounded by Maxim fire. The citation read, "At Gallipoli, on 25 April 1915 Samson was on board River Clyde, a tramp steamer that was attempting to land 2000 troops onto V Beach, when lighters forming the bridge between the steamer and the shore began to drift apart. Under fierce machine gun fire, he busied himself among the wounded and offered assistance to those repairing the bridge. He was hit over and over again, and when he returned to England, his body still contained a dozen pieces of shrapnel."

As ss River Clyde grounded, the lighters that were to form the bridge were run out ahead, and the troops began to pour out of the holes in her sides and down the gangways; but the lighters failed to reach their proper stations. A gap was left between two of them which it was impossible for the men to cross, and scores were shot down as they stood helpless on the uncompleted bridge. Commander Unwin and Able Seaman William Williams made a line fast to one of the drifting lighters and, dropping over the side, waded through the water and towed the barge towards a spit of rock that gave direct access to the shore. Midshipman George Drewry, of the Royal Naval Reserve, was already in the water wading ashore to make a land end of the towing rope. In the meantime, Commander Unwin and Williams had nearly reached the rock with the lighter in tow when they found the rope they had was not long enough. Drewry at once went back to the ship to get another length, and while the other two were waiting, Williams was shot as he stood breast-deep in the water. Unwin carried him back to the lighter but Williams was already dead.


When Drewry returned with the rope it did not take long to make the lighter fast, and then the troops began at once to pour across the shot-swept bridge. Presently a shot severed the lashing rope, and again the lighters went adrift. Midshipman Drewry was onboard the inshore barge, but was struck in the head by a fragment of shell, but he hastily bound his wound with a soldier's scarf, and jumping overboard with a line between his teeth, swam towards the other lighter. Once again the rope was too short but Midshipman Malleson threw himself over the side and succeeded in making the connection again; but once more it was broken, and although Malleson made two further attempts to carry a rope he was unsuccessful. Seaman George Samson remained on the lighters the whole of the day, busying himself among the wounded and giving all the assistance he could to the officers as they carried the lines from lighter to lighter. The River Clyde's surgeon, Dr P Burrowes-Kelly, DSO, commented, "Samson was most prominent through 25-26 April. He effected many daring rescues of the wounded, stowed them carefully away in the hopper, and treated them himself until medical assistance was forthcoming. In the intervals he devoted his time to attending to snipers and was prominent in the close fighting on 'V' beach on the night of 25 April. He was eventually shot by a Maxim machine-gun and wounded in nineteen places He was in great agony when I saw him, and whether he lived or died I knew he had won the VC." Back at home recuperating from his injuries, George was presented with a white feather (a symbol of cowardice), when in civilian dress, by a group of unknowing individuals. The River Clyde remained in this position throughout the campaign serving as a both a dock and breakwater and was an immediate target for Turkish gunners. The whole while equipment in the ship was used to make fresh drinking water and, within the hull, a field dressing station was established. After the evacuation from Gallipoli, the River Clyde remained beached for the duration of the war, but was refloated and taken to Malta for repairs. The vessel then had a long history serving across the Mediterranean and survived until 1966 when, despite efforts to save the ship, she was broken up. George was invested with his Victoria Cross by King George V at Buckingham Palace on 5 October 1915. Post-war he found employment back in the Merchant Navy, sailing out of Dundee as Quartermaster of the tanker Dosina, and it was in this capacity that he fell ill during a voyage to the Gulf of Mexico in early 1923. Transferred to ss Strombus, bound for Bermuda, he died from double pneumonia on 28 February, age 34, and was buried with full military honours in the military section of the island's Methodist Cemetery in St George's, Bermuda.


The VC and campaign medals awarded to George Samson were sold at auction by Dix Noonan Webb for a hammer price of £210,000. The group was purchased on behalf of the Michael Ashcroft Trust, the holding institution for Lord Ashcroft's VC Collection. His VC is in the Lord Ashcroft Gallery in the Imperial War Museum in London.

The medals are the Victoria Cross, 1914-15 Star, British War Medal (1914-20), Victory Medal (1914-19) and the Medaille Militaire (France).

Lieutenant Robert Shankland, VC, DCM, 43rd Battalion (Cameron Highlanders of Canada), Canadian Expeditionary Force, born at Ayr on 10 October 1887, was the only son of William Shankland, a Passenger Railway Train Guard, and Jane Russell McCririck Shankland, of 68 Church Street, Ayr. His sibling was Janet. His first job was as a Clerk in the Stationmaster’s office at Ayr. He emigrated to Canada on ss Sicilian from Glasgow to Halifax, Nova Scotia, arriving on 27 April 1911, then was employed as Assistant Cashier for the Crescent Creamery Company in Winnipeg. He enlisted in the 43rd Battalion (Cameron Highlanders of Canada) Canadian Expeditionary Force at Winnipeg on 14 December 1914.

The citation for the award of the Distinguished Conduct Medal for his actions at Sanctuary Wood in 1916 as a Sergeant (in charge of a stretcher bearer party), read, "For conspicuous gallantry for volunteering to lead a party of stretcher-bearers, under very heavy shell fire, and bringing in some wounded and partially buried men. His courage and devotion were most marked". He received a battlefield commission later that year, and was wounded on 26 October 1917 and 11 November 1917. The battle for the Belgian crossroads village of Passchendaele was one of the bloodiest battles of all time.


Winston Churchill called it "a forlorn expenditure of valour and life without equal in futility." It never would have happened if Canadian Lieutenant-General Sir Arthur Currie had been successful in having it called off. In just 12 days from 26 October to 6 November 1917, the Canadian Corps suffered nearly 16,000 casualties, and all for a gain of 4½ miles. Currie, the Corps Commander, had recommended the assault be called off because the battlefield was a quagmire; a mass of shell holes filled with suffocating yellow ooze that made it impossible to advance let alone build proper gun emplacements. He was convinced that any attack would be suicidal.

Besides, he considered Passchendaele a useless, worthless objective - a flat little Flemish village that offered not a single military vantage point. But Currie was overruled by Sir Douglas Haig. At dawn on 26 October, 20,000 men began inching their way across No Man’s Land in rain and mist, shell hole by muddy shell hole toward their objective. Adding to the soldiers’ difficulties was the fact that German planes had managed to bomb and strafe the supply areas, reducing the capability of the artillery. But before the battle was over on 6 November, nine Canadian Victoria Crosses had been earned, four of them on the same day, two of them posthumously. Preliminary actions occurred all down the line. One of these forays on 1 October produced a Canadian VC, and while this accomplishment perhaps should not be directly added to the Passchendaele Nine, it warrants being chronicled alongside them. The incident was the capture of Belgium’s Polygon Wood, a position the Germans tried to recapture two weeks later. At the time, Lieutenant-Colonel Philip Eric Bent was in command of the 9th Battalion, the Leicestershire Regiment which bore the brunt of the assault. At the outset, the Germans forced back Bent’s right flank and the situation soon became critical amid much confusion and intense artillery fire. Bent organized a counterattack after rallying a reserve platoon and a number of other soldiers from various companies. Charging forward in front of his men, he inspired them by shouting, "Come on the Tigers!" His actions won the day and secured the position, but during the charge he was cut down by enemy fire. His mother received his posthumous VC from King George V during an investiture at Buckingham Palace. He first enlisted in the Royal Scots on 2 October 1914 and later transferred to the Leicestershire Regiment where he received a commission and took command in autumn 1916.


On the first day of the Battle of Passchendaele, the right flank of the 4th Royal Canadian Mounted Rifles, (RCMRs), between Wallemollen and Bellevue was held up by machine-gun and rifle fire from a German pillbox as well as from machine-guns on either side of it. Private Tommy Holmes, a 19-year-old from Owen Sound, Ontario, was about to become the first Canadian to earn the VC in this offensive. Wounded at Vimy, Holmes wore a perpetual grin on his face, and it was he who decided to take matters into his own hands. Holding a grenade in each hand, he dashed across the bullet-swept battlefield towards the nearest shell hole. While the German gunners reloaded their weapons, he raced to another mud-soaked hole approximately 15 yards away. He then lobbed his two grenades with such precision that he knocked out both weapons and killed or wounded the gun crews. He then coolly ran back to where his comrades were sheltered. Arming himself with another grenade he raced out into No Man’s Land again, this time braving fire from the pillbox itself. However, none of the enemy’s bullets so much as grazed him. Dashing around behind the concrete emplacement, Holmes threw his grenade into the entrance at the back. There was a loud explosion and 19 German gunners, lucky enough to survive the blast, emerged with their hands up. Holmes’ daring assault allowed the RCMRs to continue their advance. Lieutenant Robert Shankland had already been awarded the Distinguished Conduct Medal at Sanctuary Wood in 1916. Now, as an officer with the 43rd Battalion, he distinguished himself even further, enough to be awarded the VC. On the morning of 26 October, he led his platoon of 40 men from Company D to the crest of the hill at the Bellevue Spur, the main trench line defending Passchendaele. Overrunning it and holding the position was critical to capturing the town. On the right, the 58th Battalion, which was under heavy fire from Snipe Hill, was forced to retire after failing to reach its objective. Some of the men joined Shankland’s platoon, but this still left his right flank open. For four hours they withstood incessant artillery shelling and German counterattacks, sustaining heavy casualties. But by this time, the 8th Brigade on the left was forced to withdraw. This left both of Shankland’s flanks exposed. He and his men were in danger of being cut off and losing the vital position gained at such heavy cost. The only solution was to bring up reinforcements and counterattack. Shankland turned over his command to another officer and then weaved his way through heavy mud and German shelling to battalion headquarters where he gave a first-hand report of the situation. He also offered a detailed plan on how a counterattack with reinforcements could best be achieved. He then returned to his men to lead the forthcoming attack supported by reinforcements from the 52nd and 58th battalions. A Company of the 52nd, under the command of another Winnipegger, Christopher O’Kelly, was ordered to go to Shankland’s aid. O’Kelly’s troops worked their way to the crest of the Bellevue Spur, where Shankland’s men were distracting the Germans with their fire. While sweeping the top of the hill in the face of enemy fire from pillboxes, O’Kelly’s men completely routed a German column they caught advancing towards Shankland’s position.


O’Kelly then led his men against six pillboxes that were holding up the battalion’s advance. Under his aggressive leadership they overcame the concrete emplacements and captured 100 Germans. Later that afternoon, O’Kelly and his men had to entrench themselves to ward off a German counterattack. But the day wasn’t over. That night, O’Kelly took his men out on a sortie to capture an enemy raiding party. All told, in 18 hours his unit captured 284 prisoners and 21 machine-guns, a performance that earned him the VC, the third to be awarded in the Passchendaele fighting. By 30 October, the fifth day of the offensive, the Canadians were in a position to assault what was left of Passchendaele village. The 49th Battalion and the Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry (PPCLI), were in the vanguard of the attack from Meetcheele Spur. Lieutenant Hugh McKenzie, who was in charge of four guns of the 7th Canadian Machine Gun Corps, saw all the officers and non-commissioned officers of the PPCLI mowed down by machine-gun fire. The survivors of the unit could not advance, but they staunchly refused to retire and so stood their ground waiting for someone to take charge. McKenzie placed a corporal in charge of his guns and strode out onto the battleground to investigate. It quickly became obvious that a German pillbox atop a hill had inflicted the damage that was holding up the advance. Taking charge, McKenzie organized a few parties of the PPCLI to circle the flanks of the concrete stronghold and then attack it from the rear where the entrance was located. Leading one of the parties was Sergeant George Mullin. To draw fire away from the raiding parties, McKenzie led his group on a frontal attack directly up the slope leading to the pillbox. As they charged ahead they were met with deadly fire from the fort. Mullin rushed the stronghold head-on, blasting it with hand grenades. He then climbed on top of the emplacement and shot both machine-gunners dead. McKenzie, charging up the hill, was killed by a bullet through the head. Mullin forced his way into the pillbox through the entrance and took the surviving occupants prisoner. Both McKenzie and Mullin were awarded VCs, the former posthumously. As soon as the assault on Passchendaele Ridge got started, the 49th Canadian Infantry Battalion came under severe artillery fire. However, it was the intense enemy machine-gun fire that stopped the advance. Private Cecil Kinross came to the conclusion that the only way to put an end to the machine-gun fire was to attack the nest head-on. He stripped off all his gear except for his rifle and cartridge belt, and then, in full view of the enemy, dashed toward the nest. Kinross charged into the emplacement and killed the six-man gun crew. He then seized the weapon and destroyed it. The action allowed his company to advance for 300 yards. Kinross continued fighting all day until he was wounded so severely he had to be evacuated from the battlefield. For his actions he was cited for the VC. As commander of a company of the 5th Canadian Mounted Rifles, Major George Pearkes had been ordered to capture Vapor Farm and the outlying defences of Passchendaele. But just before the advance got underway, a piece of shrapnel struck him in the left thigh with such force it knocked him down.


Some of those closest to him thought the advance should be called off, but Pearkes would not hear of it. Pearkes struggled to his feet and was able to drag himself forward. With some 50 troops, he reached the objective only to find that both flanks were dangerously exposed. The battalion on the left had failed to capture Source Farm and so his unit turned its attention to it and took it by storm. Pearkes then consolidated the position amid a ragged line of shell holes. And although his unit was reduced to fewer than 20 men, it managed to beat off a succession of German counterattacks until reinforcements arrived well after dark on the second day. By then, Pearkes, who was suffering from excruciating pain, was taken to a field hospital to have his leg looked at. For his gallantry, he was awarded the VC. By 6 November, one of the last pockets of resistance that prevented the complete Canadian occupation of Passchendaele village were a number of German machine-guns, and a pillbox located in a battered farmhouse known as Vine Cottage. The machine-guns were being used to control the approaches to the ruined house. Passchendaele village, by this time, was a burned-out skeleton of charred buildings and rubble-strewn streets. The Germans were using the stronghold to guard positions in and around the hamlet of Goudberg. As the number of casualties grew, the situation deteriorated into a standstill. To break the stalemate, Colin Barron, a Corporal with the 3rd Canadian Infantry Battalion, inched his way forward on his stomach until he was close enough to hurl several mills bombs into the machine-gun nest. Rushing forward he found he had killed most of the gun crew. He turned on the rest with his bayonet and took them prisoner. He then turned one of the captured guns on the fleeing enemy. This left his company free to smash its way into the house and capture the pillbox and proceed with the advance toward Goudberg. His actions earned him the VC. In another part of the village, a German machine-gun was systematically slaughtering members of the 27th Battalion at point blank range. A company commander asked for volunteers, and Private James Peter Robertson was one of the first to step forward and the very first to reach the gun. He charged forward into the open in the direct line of fire, ran around the flank, leapt over the barbed wire and killed four of the enemy gunners with his bayonet. When the rest tried to escape he turned the captured gun on them. Then, while carrying the machine-gun with him, he led a charge into Passchendaele. After returning to their own lines, the volunteers realized they had left two of their comrades behind, both of whom were wounded. Without waiting for orders, Robertson dashed out into No Man’s Land to rescue the men. He brought one of the wounded men back to his line, but when he went back to rescue the second he was hit by a bullet and fell. However, he did manage to bring the man back near his own line before a shell exploded, instantly killing him. It was the second VC to be awarded posthumously during the offensive.


The citation in the London Gazette on 18 December 1917, read, “For most conspicuous bravery and resource in action under critical and adverse conditions. Having gained a position he rallied the remnant of his own platoon and men of other companies, disposed them to command the ground in front, and inflicted heavy casualties upon the retreating enemy. "Later, he dispersed a counter-attack, thus enabling supporting troops to come up unmolested. He then personally communicated to Battalion Headquarters an accurate and valuable report as to the position on the Brigade frontage, and after doing so rejoined his command and carried on until relieved. His courage and splendid example inspired all ranks and coupled with his great gallantry and skill undoubtedly saved a very critical situation.” He was given the Freedom of the Burgh of Ayr in 1918. Following the war, Robert Shankland served as Secretary Manager for several Winnipeg firms. When WW II started, he re-enlisted and held the rank of Major. However, because he was into his 50s he was too old for combat duty. In December 1940, he was appointed Camp Commandant of the Canadian Army Headquarters in Britain. In 1946, he took his discharge and became Secretary of a leading securities firm in Vancouver. He died on 20 January 1968, age 80, at Shaughnessy, Vancouver, his body was cremated and his ashes scattered in the grounds of Mountain View Cemetery. He was married to Anne Stobe Haining at St Nicholas parish Church, Prestwick, Ayrshire, on 20 April 1920, and they had two sons, William and David.

Pine Street, Winnipeg, was renamed Valour Road in commemoration of the fact that three VC winners, including Robert Shankland, lived there. On 25 May 2009, the Victoria Cross and campaign medals awarded to Lieutenant Colonel Robert Shankland were sold at auction by Bonhams of Toronto. Despite public outrage at its sale by an anonymous seller, controversy was averted when the Canadian War Museum in Ottawa purchased the medal at auction for $240,000 in order to keep it in Canadian public hands forever. His battledress blouse with ribbons and his miniatures were on display in The Queen's Own Cameron Highlanders of Canada Museum at Minto Armoury in Winnipeg.

The Victoria Cross was on public display at The Manitoba Museum in Winnipeg, on loan from the Canadian War Museum as part of a display celebrating the 100th anniversary of the Queen's Own Cameron Highlanders of Canada.


Company Sergeant Major John Kendrick Skinner, VC, DCM, Croix de Guerre (France), 1st Battalion, King's Own Scottish Borderers, was born at Glasgow on 5 February 1883. He was the youngest son of Walter C Skinner, a Master Tailor, and Mary Kendrick Skinner, of 263 Maxwell Road, Glasgow. His siblings were Peter, Elizabeth, and Walter. He was educated at Melville Street School, Queen's Park Higher Grade School and Allan Glen's School in Glasgow. He was married to Annie E Y Skinner, who lived at 173 St Andrew's Road, Pollokshields, Glasgow. Enlisting at 16, he served in South Africa, where he was wounded three times. He was awarded the Queen's and King's Medals with five clasps.

Although wounded at Mons, he remained to take part in the combat at Bethune, but was wounded again and invalided home. After a spell in the Records Office at Portland, he was at the Front again when the first battle for Hill 60 was fought. Once more he was wounded. In May 1915, when the King visited Glasgow, he was one of the soldiers decorated at Glasgow Green with the DCM. He was then sent to Gallipoli where he sustained a bullet wound in the shoulder. On 18 August 1917, at Wijdendrift when his company was held up by machine-gun fire, although wounded in the head, he collected six men and worked round the left flank of three block-houses from which machine-gun fire was coming. He succeeded in bombing and taking the first block-house single-handedly. Then leading his men towards the other two block-houses he cleared them, taking 60 prisoners, three machine-guns and two trench mortars. He was 34 years old and received the Victoria Cross for "most conspicuous bravery and good leading" during the Battle of Passchendaele. The citation read, "For most conspicuous bravery and good leading. Whilst his company was attacking, machine gun fire opened on the left flank, delaying the advance. Although C.S.M. Skinner was wounded in the head, he collected six men, and with great courage and determination worked round the left flank of three blockhouses from which the machine gun fire was coming, and succeeded in bombing and taking the first blockhouse single-handed.


Then, leading his six men towards the other two blockhouses, he skilfully cleared them, taking sixty prisoners, three machine guns, and two trench mortars. The dash and gallantry displayed by this warrant officer enabled the objective to be reached and consolidated." CSM Skinner received the medal from King George V at an investiture in Buckingham Palace on 26 September 1917. Following the investiture he was granted the customary fourteen days' leave after which he was posted to the Reserve Battalion in Edinburgh. By 1918 he had been wounded eight times and policy was that he should not have to serve at the front. After the investiture, he was sent to hospital and posted to the Reserve Battalion at Edinburgh. However, a few days later he was seen back with his Company. He had refused to go to Edinburgh and, although he had his leave warrant in his pocket. he bluffed his way onto a troopship and returned to Flanders, risking court martial to return to his men. When his CO asked why he taken such a risk he replied “I've got a bit of a bet on with CQMS Ross who has also been wounded eight times…we want to see who’ll get the 9th wound first.” He was killed in action at Vlamertinghe, Belgium, on 17 March 1918, age 35, by a sniper's bullet as he was trying to recover a wounded man from No Man’s Land, and is buried at Vlamertinghe New British Cemetery, Belgium. His funeral was remarkable. The South Wales Borderers' Padre, Reverend Kenelm Swallow, officiated at the ceremony in the pouring rain when his body was brought to the cemetery on a gun carriage drawn by a magnificent team of horses and then his body was carried to the grave by six brother VCs of the 29th Division. The ceremony took place on 19 March 1918. This account was written on 22 November 1917 by James Price Lloyd of the Welsh Regiment, who served with Military Intelligence. After the war, the Government destroyed all the archives relating to this propaganda (section MI 7b (1)). They were regarded as being too sensitive to risk being made public. However, these documents have survived in the personal records of Captain Lloyd. Many of these papers are officially stamped.

The Germans have placed great faith in the system of block-houses with which they have strengthened their defences on the Flanders Front, but hitherto these miniature fortresses have always yielded to the initiative of the British Soldier, and frequently the concrete castle has become a prison. The actions for which these two non-commissioned officers have been awarded the Victoria Cross prove that the block-house is by no means impregnable.


In the case of Company Sergeant Major Skinner of the King's Own Scottish Borderers and his company, after going forward three hundred yards towards their objective, were checked by very heavy machine-gun fire from three block-houses on the left flank. He realised that a brief delay might mean the failure of the attack, and in spite of the fact that he was already wounded in the head, he hastily collected six men and dashed towards the block-houses. The first he bombed and captured single-handed. Then, leading his men against the remaining two, he skilfully cleared them, and captured sixty prisoners, three machine-guns and two trench mortars. By his prompt decisions and unhesitating gallantry he enabled his company to reach and secure its intended objective. His Victoria Cross is displayed at the Regimental Museum of The Kings Own Scottish Borderers, Berwick upon Tweed, Northumberland.

Lieutenant Archibald Bisset Smith, VC, Royal Naval Reserve, was born at Cosie Brae, Cults, Aberdeenshire, on 19 December 1878. He was the second son of William Smith, an Accountant, Wholesale Tea and Dry Goods Merchant, and Annie Smith, of 65 Loanhead Terrace, Aberdeen. William Smith could trace his ancestry back to Bold Peter Smith, a Jacobite killed at Culloden whose sword hilt became a treasured family heirloom. His siblings were Mary, Alexander, William and Alice. As a teenager, Archie Smith spent two years at Robert Gordon’s College, Aberdeen, from 1893 to 1895, before embarking on a career in the Merchant Navy.

In 1903, while serving with the New Zealand Shipping Company, he gained his master’s ticket (certificate No. 034635) and went on to serve aboard the Waikato, Rakaia, Waimate and Turakina before the war.

Archie Smith married Edith Clulee (nee Powell) in about 1914 in a ceremony which, family sources suggest, may have taken place aboard a ship en route to England. It was her second marriage and her son Alfred (born in 1900), by her first husband, took his stepfather’s surname. Archie and Edith are thought to have been introduced by her brother, a master mariner, then serving in the Union Steamship Co., in about 1906. At the time Edith was living in Port Chalmers with her parents, who had emigrated to New Zealand from Wales thirty years earlier.


During the war Smith served as captain aboard the Rakaia, Hurunui and Otaki. The latter, built by Denny’s of Dumbarton in 1907-8, was something of a trail-blazer.

She was the first merchant steamer to be fitted with triple expansion and turbine machinery. Her main peace-time cargo was New Zealand meat; she was built to carry 100,000 carcasses of frozen mutton. Archie Smith’s first voyage in command of the vessel was in June 1915, and, after a spell in command of Hurunui, he returned to Otaki for what would be her last assignment in February 1917. On board with him was his stepson, Alfred, serving as a Merchant Navy cadet. He survived the battle and spent the rest of the war in German hands. Many of the British-owned boats that linked New Zealand with the UK were lost during the First World War. Just weeks after war broke out, on 16 August 1914, the New Zealand Shipping Company's Kaipara was captured and sunk by the German auxiliary cruiser Kaiser Wilhelm der Grosse near Tenerife. Losses mounted alarmingly in 1917-18 when Germany stepped up its submarine warfare against Allied commerce. But one action stood out, the epic 1917 battle between the same company's Otaki and the German auxiliary cruiser Moewe (‘Seagull’). On 23 February 1917 Fregattenkapitan Nikolaus Burggraf und Graf zu Dohna- Schlodien addressed the crew of the armed commerce raider Moewe on the after deck. They had been at sea for sixty-three days and had taken their toll of Allied shipping to 92,000 tons, surpassing the outstanding success of their first cruise which had seen them feted as national heroes and their captain awarded the Iron Cross, first class, and the Pour le Merite, Germany’s highest honour. Dohna-Schlodien feared the net was closing in.


Only a week earlier he had narrowly evaded an armed British merchant cruiser. But before returning home, he told the Moewe’s assembled company that he wanted to reach the 100,000-ton mark of ships destroyed. His speech provoked loud cheers, the sound carrying across the grey waters of the Atlantic.

By the morning of 10 March Moewe had added two more victims to her score and taken her tally to 99,291 tons. But Dohna-Schlodien was growing anxious. The easy pickings of the South American trade routes were behind him. Blue skies had given way to a grey smother and wild seas where British warships regularly patrolled. As Moewe ploughed on, with 442 prisoners of war crammed into her holds, he ordered all guns and torpedo tubes to be manned. For hours she stuck to her course, lashed by squalls and Force 8 winds, until around 2.30pm, when a look-out spotted a grey shape through the murk.

Anxious to prevent his position being broadcast to any British warships in the area, Dohna-Schlodien altered course towards the ship, which immediately turned north. Dohna-Schlodien later wrote, "A merry chase now commences in a rough sea. The Englishman is going very steadily whilst we are rolling and labouring heavily. She is considerably larger than our vessel and is going so fast that we cannot overtake her, and once she even disappeared in a squall. When the weather clears she is 1,000m further ahead - a proof that she has smelt a rat..." The 'Englishman' was, in fact, the 9,575-ton New Zealand Shipping Company steamer ss Otaki whose master, Archibald Bisset Smith, a 38-year-old Scot with more than twenty years’ seagoing experience behind him, had indeed 'smelt a rat'. With a crew of seventy-one, the nine-year-old refrigerated cargo liner was bound for New York out of London, in ballast, when her look-outs sighted the Moewe some 350 miles east of Sao Miguel in the Azores.

According to a seaman aboard Otaki, Moewe was at first mistaken for another 'dirty old tramp' steamer. But Smith’s suspicions were aroused the moment she turned towards his ship. Although not a fighting man, he had a clear sense of his duty - and that was to save his ship. His best hope lay in trying to outrun his pursuer until darkness. But it was a tall order. Nightfall was more than three hours away and Smith must have known that if he were overhauled any contest was liable to be an unequal one. His only armament was a single 4.7-inch gun mounted on the stern poop deck, whereas the Moewe, a 4,788-ton freighter originally designed to carry bananas from Africa, boasted seven guns and two torpedo tubes. And while unaware of the precise disparity, Smith had already decided on the tactics that he felt offered the best chance of survival. Ordering the helm turned, Otaki drove into a head sea, thus giving his own gun team the opportunity to engage the chasing raider while making life as difficult as possible for the enemy gunlayers. At first unwilling to risk more damage to his already strained boilers, Dohna-Schlodien ordered only a slight increase in speed. The ship was pitching badly and taking heavy seas, but with the gap showing no sign of closing he was compelled to increase speed to 14 knots.


By around 4pm according to German accounts, or half an hour later according to the British version, the Moewe had closed to within 2.000m, five points to port astern of the Otaki. Dohna-Schlodien could wait no longer. He signalled Otaki to stop, firing a warning shot across her bows for good measure. That had usually been enough to cow her prey into submission. But Captain Smith was made of sterner stuff. His response was to order his gun team to open fire. Seconds later, and 'without showing a flag', according to a German account, a water-spout 500m short of the Moewe signalled Otaki’s intentions. Dohna-Schlodien promptly ordered, ‘All guns ready for action. Open fire!’ As Smith had hoped, however, the head sea made aiming difficult for the enemy, reducing to some extent the impact of Moewe’s superior armament. The raider's gunnery officer, Hermann A K Jung, wrote in his diary, 'Our gunlayer’s task was considerably bedevilled by the strong pitching of the ship. With the height above water only six metres, the muzzles of the two 15cm guns did such a dive in the direction of the rolling sea that it was really only chance to be thanked that we did not have any barrel bursts. For the same reason, the speed of fire of our quick-firer couldn’t be made full use of. On the other hand, the steamer was nearly twice as big as we were and, as a result, lay more steady in the water; and his gun, standing on the after deck, could be served more steadily and fired without hindrance..." According to Jung, the encounter lasted twenty minutes, although a seaman aboard Otaki claimed it was nearer an hour, in the course of which the Moewe registered twenty-two hits on the steamer. In return, Able Seaman Thomas Seamer counted eight direct hits out of nine shots fired at the raider. Though possibly exaggerated, there was no doubting the remarkable accuracy of Otaki’s single gun, nor the 'great damage' done to Moewe. Jung’s blow-by-blow account bears testament to the ferocity of the action. "Hit on the Moewe. Waterline. Forward penetration of the hull on the weather side. The shell explodes in the ship and kills two men. The splinters penetrate the hull on the lee side under water and tear two irregularly shaped holes in the hull; there is a fierce inrush of water; the Moewe begins to settle by the head and develops a 15 degrees list to port...

"Hit... in the signal bridge; no one hurt.

"Shot at the Moewe. 10m short. The splinters fly over the captain’s bridge without harming anyone.

"Hit on the Moewe. Two metres above the waterline in the engine room bunkers. A violent explosion in the bunker; the flash penetrates even the neighbouring boiler room and severely burns six stokers (four of them later died) and simultaneously strikes up through a ventilator on to the bridge, without doing any harm there. In the engine room bunker the coal sacks and baskets that are lying on top of the coals catch fire together with some material in the Indians’ quarters above the bunker. Several Indians are killed [or] badly wounded. Individual fragments penetrate the lee side above the waterline..."


What made the performance of Otaki’s gunners particularly remarkable was that for much of the time they were themselves under heavy fire. Jung saw one shell burst just below the gun platform and three more fell close by on the stern before a 10.5cm shell struck the gun pedestal. Momentarily, as smoke enveloped the gun, it seemed as though the crew had vanished, but suddenly four more men appeared and the gun continued firing. 'In the face of this obstinate defence', noted Jung, 'it is now going to depend on which of the two ships first manages to disable the other’s capacity to carry on the fight.'

K T Roussell’s painting of Otaki battling the Moewe on 10 March 1917. New Zealand Archives

Otaki, her midships hidden by a pall of coal-dust, was already hit on the waterline beneath her funnel. Then, in quick succession, five more shells penetrated her hull aft. Slowly but surely, she began to take water, but still she resisted, even though her sinking deck angle made it impossible for the gunners to aim. In an attempt to deliver the coup de grace, Moewe fired three torpedoes, but all missed. Not that it affected the outcome. Otaki's plight was by now hopeless. Shells were steadily pounding her. One struck the gun platform, the blast throwing two men off the poop deck. But once again an astonished Jung saw two more men take their places 'after setting the English (sic) Merchant flag on the flagstaff'. Otaki’s desperate defiance was almost over. With his ship sinking, Captain Smith gave his last orders 'to get all boats out and ready for leaving [the] ship as it was no good staying too long'. Jung recorded Otaki’s end, "At first black and then thick white smoke pours out from the after part of the English (sic) ship and completely veils the gun. The enemy fire ceases. The crew of the steamer take to the boats and lower them into the water. Fire is stopped at 4.30pm. Thirty-five 15cm and twenty-three 10.5cm shells had been fired. The steamer is now lying very severely down by the stern. The poop is submerged to the upper deck - the bows of the ship standing high out of the water..." Not everyone had abandoned ship. Four dead - apprentices Basil Kilner and William Martin who served the gun, Deck Boy R Keneston and the Third Engineer, A H Little - were left behind as the boats pulled away, along with three men, seen standing near the ship’s rail.


They were Captain Smith, Chief Officer Rowland McNish and the ship’s carpenter. As darkness fell and fire engulfed the wallowing Otaki, they each made their own decisions. According to the company’s historian, 'it was expected that they would all leap into the water together. In fact, only two jumped. Captain Bisset Smith turned away and is presumed to have gone down to his cabin. He was not seen again and no doubt preferred to die with his ship, which went down shortly afterwards, her flag still flying.' The two men who jumped were picked up, but another member of the crew, H J Willis, Otaki’s chief steward, who had missed the boats, was drowned. Among those saved was the master’s 17-year-old stepson, Alfred Smith. He had begged to be allowed to stay with him, but, wrote A B Seamer, 'was not allowed to do so'. Seamer added, "After we were in the boats for about two hours, the raider picked us up, but we did not like the idea of going on board as she was so badly damaged, and on fire and [had] a heavy list to port; they were trying to plug the holes up caused by the Otaki gun fire. The Moewe captain was very anxious and waiting for Captain Smith to come on board. I really believe they would have torn him limb from limb if they had got hold of him, but they did not have the chance." Undoubtedly feelings were running high aboard the raider, but such a reaction seems unlikely given Dohna-Schlodien’s chivalrous record. Indeed, Jung wrote, "Although his resistance as a merchant ship as against a war vessel cannot be reconciled with existing law of sea warfare, nevertheless, it must be admitted that he defended himself bravely." Bravely and skilfully. With a little more luck, Smith might even have beaten off his heavily armed opponent. By the end of the fight Moewe resembled a floating wreck. As the steamer’s survivors came aboard, the raider’s crew, who had also been forced to repel an attempted breakout by the prisoners, were heavily engaged fighting fires. Holed amidships and in the stern, she was low in the water and there were fears she would not survive. Ammunition and explosives were jettisoned and the fires burned throughout the night, during which she resembled, according to Jung, 'a smouldering volcano'. Not for three days was Moewe back in trim and able to continue her run north.

Her fretful voyage home ended at Kiel on 22 March. In a triumphant four- month cruise Moewe had accounted for twenty-two steamers (including two captured) and three sailing ships, making a grand total of 119,600 tons. Dohna-Schlodien had achieved his goal, but at some cost. In the fight with Otaki, five of his men were killed and as many as forty wounded. Otaki’s losses were fewer: five dead and nine injured. In return, they had given Germany’s leading commerce raider its greatest-ever scare. And while British and German versions vary slightly, both agree on the courage shown by Captain Smith, whom the faithful Seamer described as 'a true British hero'.

Both the Admiralty and Mercantile Marine agreed, though neither seemed to know how best to translate praise into recognition. As with Frederick Parslow, they were torn between rewarding gallantry and preserving the Merchant Navy’s civilian status. Their solution was to opt for a posthumous mention in despatches awarded on 16 November 1917 'for good services whilst on Transport Duties'. Oblivious of the difficulties surrounding her husband’s case, Edith Smith felt this reward was hardly commensurate with so brave a fight.


Armed with Seamer’s testimony, together with reports of the action taken from the Press, she urged the New Zealand government to press 'for proper recognition of my husband’s heroic action'. The result was a recommendation for the Victoria Cross put forward by the Mercantile Marine Awards Committee on 31 May 1918. The citation read, "For most conspicuous gallantry and devotion to duty when in command of the ss Otaki, on the 10th March, 1917. At about 2.30 pm on 10th March, 1917, the ss Otaki, whose armament consisted of one 4.7 inch gun for defensive purposes, sighted the disguised German raider Moewe, which was armed with four 5.9 inch, one 4.1 inch and two 22 pounder guns, and two torpedo tubes. The Moewe kept the Otaki under observation for some time and finally called upon her to stop. This Lieutenant Smith refused to do, and a duel ensued at ranges of 1,900 - 2,000 yards, and lasted for about 20 minutes. During this action the Otaki scored several hits on the Moewe, causing considerable damage, and starting a fire which lasted for three days. She sustained several casualties and received much damage herself, and was heavily on fire. Lieutenant Smith, therefore, gave orders for the boats to be lowered to allow the crew to be rescued. He remained on the ship himself and went down with her when she sank with the British colours still flying, after what was described in an enemy account as 'a duel as gallant as naval history can relate'." The difficulty was that the colours in this case were the Red Ensign, and not the White Ensign. Among those opposed to the award were officials at the Department of Naval Intelligence who argued that it was important to maintain the Merchant Navy’s civilian status not only for the sake of prisoners held by the Germans but to allow merchantmen as 'peaceful' vessels the 'free use of neutral ports'. And they concluded, "These questions of principle far outweigh any advantage to be gained by awarding a VC...however well the decoration may have been merited." The Admiralty agreed, though one official came up with a novel alternative. "A Knighthood", wrote William Evans, "which would give his widow such a title would be a very effective recognition if it was considered suitable..." Unimpressed by the wrangling, Rear Admiral N C Palmer, president of the Mercantile Marine Awards Committee, called for a change in the rules governing the award of the VC so that Merchant Navy officers and men could be made retrospectively eligible. In the end this was agreed, though the new warrant would have to wait until after the war, and even then the Admiralty insisted on maintaining the subterfuge by giving Smith and Parslow ante-dated commissions in the Royal Naval Reserve. It was, therefore, as Lieutenant Archibald Bisset Smith, RNR, that Otaki’s master eventually appeared in the London Gazette on 24 May 1919. The list of awards included six members of his gallant company: Chief Officer Rowland McNish, who received the DSO, Acting Leading Seaman Alfred Worth, RFR, and Able Seaman Ellis Jackson, RNVR, the two naval gunners who were each given a DSM, the ship’s carpenter and the two apprentices, Basil Kilner and William Martin, who were mentioned in despatches. William Martin is commemorated at Robert Gordon's College by the William E Martin Prize, awarded annually. Uniquely, the VC citation ended with the verdict delivered by an enemy officer, Graf zu Dohna-Schlodien, who stated that Archibald Smith’s defiant action was 'as gallant as naval history can relate'.


After the war Alfred Smith returned home and on 7 June 1919 accompanied his widowed mother to Buckingham Palace where she received her husband’s posthumous VC from King George V. On her death in 1951, Alfred Smith, who was said to have been deeply affected by his stepfather’s death and his own incarceration, sold the Victoria Cross, together with the British War Medal, Victory Medal and Mercantile Marine Medal, at Glendinings. They were bought by the New Zealand Shipping Company for £125. The medals were temporarily lodged in Robert Gordon’s College before being displayed in the officers’ dining saloon of a new Otaki, the fourth to carry that name, which was built two years later. When that ship was sold at the end of 1975, the Cross was brought ashore and, in August 1976 a replica was placed at the former NZ Shipping Company sports ground, the Maori Club at Worcester Park, while the original was held in the strongroom of the P&O Line, which had absorbed Smith’s former employers.

Archibald Bisset Smith, who was described by one of his crew as 'a kind and generous man...so brave and a great credit to the Mercantile Marine', is remembered on the Tower Hill Memorial dedicated to all those Merchant Navy officers and men who lost their lives in the war. His name also appears on the Aberdeen War Memorial and his parents' headstone in Rhynie Cemetery, where the inscription reads, "Commander SS Otaki who, on being attacked by the German Raider Moewe on the high seas, refused to surrender and went down with his ship, after a most gallant resistance."

Bissett-Smith and the Otaki subsequently entered the folklore of the Merchant Navy. In 1936 his family presented the Otaki Shield to his old school, Robert Gordon’s College in Aberdeen. It is awarded to the boy with the highest qualities of character, leadership and athletic ability. Two years later, to honour his connection with New Zealand (in addition to sailing for the New Zealand Company, he had married a Dunedin woman in 1914), the company added a travelling scholarship to the prize. The New Zealand government funded the Otaki Scholar’s stay in this country. Every year since then, with the exception of the Second World War years, the Otaki Scholar has visited New Zealand. He is also commemorated on Tower Hill Memorial.

On 8 March 1951 P&O were told that the Victoria Cross awarded posthumously to the Captain (Honorary Lieutenant RNR) Archibald Bisset Smith of Otaki had found its way to the auction rooms and would come up for sale on the following day.


At an informal Board meeting C B Sharpe, Publicity Manager, was instructed to buy the VC. "For some reason it was thought the 'Cross' would fetch about £25, I was authorised to bid up to £50 if necessary but to use my discretion in the last resort. When I reached the Glendinning & Co salerooms my first surprise was to find that the catalogue listed 225 items of medals and decorations and there was obviously a large market for them. There were about 50 people present some of whom were spectators. The two leading dealers representing Spink & Son and A H Baldwin had taken the seats to right and left at the head of a long table in front of the auctioneer’s rostrum. "I managed to grab a seat a little way along the table. When the auction got under way, it was soon obvious that Spink's and Baldwin's had settled in advance what they wanted. At no time did they bid against each other. "The first 21 lots were disposed off in a many minutes but items 11 and 12, of no particular significance realised £36 and £50 respectively without any competition and I realised with some alarm that if either of the top dealers was interested in the VC I might have difficulties. "The auctioneer then offered Lot 22 and after an extravagant build-up startled me by inviting an opening bid of £60 to which the Spink representative immediately agreed. The bidding had thus opened at £60 which was already in excess of my authorised limit. "My instant reaction was to lift my sights by £50 and join battle with the dealer. Up to this point no lot had exceeded £50 and the various bids were in £1 raises. Above £50 raises became £2 and my nod constituted a bid of £62. "Thereafter in a few tense moments (for me) the bidding raced to £100 (bid by Spink's) and I began to feel like a poker player holding 'four of a kind' against a possible 'straight flush'. From £100 the bids became £5 a time and when my calls at £105 and £115 were unhesitatingly covered I was feeling desperate before giving the nod for £125. "Mercifully the opposition quit. I had won. I learned later that my opponent from Spink’s had a firm resale offer and a further bid on his part would have left him without a margin. The remaining 203 lots were, for me, pure anticlimax though as a matter of interest a gold medal struck in 1811 during the Peninsular War fetched over £200. "After the sale was over I was accosted by an aggressive spectator who demanded to know whether I was a collector and on my denial retorted, 'I know you are not a dealer so by what right have you acquired this unique medal?' The Company’s special interest temporarily mollified him but when I added that we proposed to mount it in the wardroom of the Otaki then under construction, I thought he was going to have an apoplectic fit. 'What a disgraceful idea', he said and it was my turn to express astonishment. 'I beg your pardon, why?' 'The ship might sink!' he replied.


Eventually he calmed down on my assurance that his concerns were well-founded and that in the event of war we would remove the Cross for safe keeping. Such is the fanaticism of the Collector!" Captain Smith's VC hung in the dining rooms of Otaki 2 and 3 and is now on display in P&O's board room.

Lieutenant Harcus Strachan, VC, MC, The Fort Garry Horse, Canadian Cavalry Brigade, born at Bo'ness on 7 November 1884, was the third son of William Strachan, a Solicitor and Sheriff's Clerk, and Isabella Thomson Strachan, of Graham's Dyke Road, Holywood, West Lothian. His siblings were Howard, Alexander, Grace Mary, Norman Philip and May Isabella. He attended the Royal High School, Edinburgh and the University of Edinburgh before emigrating to Canada in 1908, after he bought a farm in Alberta. After enlisting in the Fort Garry Horse in 1915, he was commissioned the following year. In May 1917 he was awarded the Military Cross after a raid near St Quentin. Six months later, he earned the Victoria Cross in Masnières, France, on 20 November 1917 in a similar action.

Prior to winning the VC Harcus Strachan was initiated into freemasonry, at the Douglas Lodge 409 Bo'ness, on 22nd January 1917. November 1917 saw the beginning of the turning point in the fortunes of World War I. The Russian Revolution earned Germany peace with the Bolsheviks, which freed up enough troops from the east to bolster their Western Front strength to 177 divisions. This seriously upset the balance between the German and Allied forces, who had been forced to divert 11 divisions to the Italian Front and were thinly spread with few reserves. The Germans now had sufficient strength to plan an assault to deliver a knockout blow by striking at the Allies’ weakest point, aimed at splitting the French and British armies and forcing an armistice before the American presence could be felt.


In the aftermath of the capture of Passchendaele the Canadian Corps returned to the Lens front and trench warfare stalemate with one notable exception - a tank assault on the textile town of Cambrai. As an assault weapon, the tank had been vastly improved since its first appearance at the Somme in 1916 when the vehicles broke down due to mechanical failures or getting stuck in the mud.

On the morning of the attack the tanks rolled across no man’s land, followed by the infantry and the cavalry. The absence of the customary artillery barrage caught the Germans completely by surprise and the tanks and infantry advanced an unprecedented four miles to the enemy trenches between Gonnelieu and Hermies. The Fort Garry Horse in the vanguard of the cavalry brigade began riding into Masnieres and across the Sensee River bridge on the main street. The canal bridge beyond it collapsed under the weight of a tank which tumbled into the water. However, another bridge to the southwest had been repaired, allowing the Fort Garrys to ride across it that afternoon and push ahead to a German stronghold on a ridge beyond it. The regimental commander had been ordered to remain west of the canal because the infantry had been brought to a halt.

But the message was never received by B Company which was embroiled in a pitched battle in which the company commander was killed. Lieutenant Harcus Strachan immediately took over and led his troops through a gap in the barbed wire and charged towards Rumilly. Riding at full gallop, the troops assaulted a field gun battery. Strachan killed seven of the gunners with his sword. The company now halted to await news or sight of their regiment. But by nightfall it was obvious no support would be forthcoming, and by this time the Germans had the dismounted cavalrymen surrounded. The enemy made frequent attacks but were beaten back. By morning, with only five horses still unwounded, the company reduced to 50 men and their ammunition dwindling, they knew they could not hold out much longer. Strachan decided they should make a break for it and fight their way out. They cut three German telephone cable lines, then taking a compass bearing from Rumilly tower in the distance, Strachan collected the horses and stampeded them eastwards. Believing they were under a renewed cavalry attack, the Germans machine-gunned the unfortunate animals.


But the diversion allowed Strachan to lead his men to the British lines. Although the company was attacked four times, the men not only fought off the Germans but took several prisoners. Under Strachan’s leadership, B Company destroyed a gun battery, killed 100 Germans and captured another 15. Though the tanks had proved their worth as an offensive weapon, as a breakthrough the attack on Cambrai failed for lack of tank reserves and the infantry wallowing in the Flanders muck. The real stars of the show were the cavalry. The citation in the London Gazette on 18 December 1917 read, "For most conspicuous bravery and leadership during operations. He took command of the mounted squadron of his regiment when the squadron leader, approaching the enemy front line at a gallop, was killed. Lieutenant Strachan led the squadron through the enemy line of machine-gun posts, and then, with the surviving men, led the charge on the enemy battery, killing seven of the gunners with his sword. All the gunners having been killed and the battery silenced, he rallied his men and fought his way back at night through the enemy’s line, bringing all unwounded men safely in, together with 15 prisoners. The operation – which resulted in the silencing of an enemy battery, the killing of the whole battery personnel and many infantry, and the cutting of three main lines of telephone communication two miles in rear of the enemy’s front line – was only rendered possible by the outstanding gallantry and fearless leading of this officer". It has become traditional for the Garrys to hold a parade every year on the anniversary of this unlikely cavalry exploit. Having been promoted to Captain, he received his VC from King George V on 6 January 1918. The Royal High School of Edinburgh recorded that "The 24th of January 1918, is now one of the great dates in the history of the School, for on that day Captain Strachan was welcomed by a large gathering, and presented with a saver rose-bowl, on the occasion of his having gained the Victoria Cross. On the invitation of the Rector, Colonel Rose, DSO, took the chair, and called upon the Reverend Dr Kelman to make the presentation. Dr Kelman congratulated the School upon the high honour won by a Former Pupil. Captain Strachan had led his squadron of Fort Garry Horse through the German lines at Cambrai, put a battery out of action, killing seven gunners with his own hand, cut the enemy's communications two miles behind their own front, and during the night brought back his unwounded men and prisoners in safety. We were apt to spoil great deeds with many words, but he (Dr Kelman) would content himself with quoting from the speech made by President Lincoln on the field of Gettysburg. 'The world will little know or long remember what we say here, but it will never forget what he did here.' Captain Strachan, on rising to reply, received a typical School ovation. He expressed his pleasure at renewing his acquaintance with the old School, and at the progress it had obviously made during recent years. He would never forget the splendid welcome he had received, and he would always cherish the token which the School had graciously presented to him. Votes of thanks were proposed by Colonel Robertson, VC, and Mr J Aikman Smith, CA.


The latter as Treasurer of the Royal High School Club, and as one for many years interested in the School athletics, recalled the fact that Captain Strachan had, at the Games in 1902, created a School record by throwing the Cricket ball 109 yards. The inscription on the rose-bowl was as follows, 'To Captain Harcus Strachan, VC, MC, from the Pupils and Staff of the Royal High School, as a token of their pride in the splendid achievement which has gained for him the Victoria Cross, and which has added new lustre to his Alma Mater. 24th January 1918'." After the war, he farmed in Edmonton before going into banking. He later commanded the 1st Battalion, Edmonton Fusiliers during the Second World War. After the war he retired and moved to Vancouver, having eventually attained the rank of Lieutenant Colonel. He died in Vancouver, British Columbia, on 1 May 1982, and his ashes were scattered near the Rose Garden Columbarium at Boal Chapel Memorial Gardens in North Vancouver, BC on 5 May 1982. In September 2013 a lake in Manitoba was named "Harcus Strachan Lake" to commemorate his award of the Victoria Cross.

Lieutenant James Edward Tait, VC, MC, 78th (Winnipeg Grenadiers) Battalion, Canadian Infantry, was born at Briar Bank, Greenbrae, Dumfries on 27 March 1888. He was the second son of James Bryden Tait, a Stonemason, and Mary Johnstone Tait, of 4 Geddes Place, Maxwelltown, Dumfries. His siblings were William, Mary, Frank, Robert and Margaret. He attended Laurieknowe School, and later Dumfries Academy. James was working as a Civil Engineer when he was enlisted and commissioned on 4 February 1916 at Winnipeg. He married Jessie Spiers Aitken in August 1916 in Winnipeg. She lived at 19 Burnell Street, Winnipeg, Manitoba and, later, at 2440 El Camino Real, West Arcadia, California, USA.

He arrived in England in 1916, and in France in February 1917 and was awarded his Military Cross for actions when taking part in the capture of Vimy Ridge in April 1917. He published an article called ‘The Vimy Ridge’ on 28 July 1917 in a periodical called Canada. He was involved in the capture of a German post and during the action was severely wounded. He was wounded again in April 1918 and in July 1918. James won his VC over a period of three days between 8 and 11 August.


By late afternoon of 8 August 1918 the Canadian advance to the south-east of Amiens had reached Beaucourt, near Le Quesnel and north of the road to Roye. To the south of Beaucourt Wood the landscape was very open and devoid of cover. Because of this the Canadians lost heavily from machine-gun fire coming from the direction of Fresnoy-en-Chaussée as well as the northern edge of Le Quesnel. As a result any idea of a frontal attack was ruled out. The right flank of the 12th Brigade in particular was strongly attacked by fire coming from Beaucourt Wood and it left a company from each of the 38th and 78th Battalions in order to deal with it. The 78th Battalion took on the enemy machine guns at the north end of the wood and with artillery and tank support overcame them when they then formed a defensive flank. it was during this action that James Tait, in command of 'C' Company, won his VC when he knocked out an enemy machine-gun post single-handed. In addition, his men captured a dozen machine guns and twenty prisoners. The 72nd Battalion, despite heavy rifle and machine-gun fire, succeeded in passing through the lines of the 78th Battalion to reach its final objective at about 6.15 pm, a dozen miles from its starting point. The rest of the 12th Brigade dealt successfully with enemy resistance and reached the southern edge of the wood to the south of Caix at about 4.45 pm. In this section of the battlefield the day had been a most successful one, with considerable territorial gains and the capture of 13,000 prisoners. The citation read, "For most conspicuous bravery and initiative in attack. The advance having been checked by intense machine gun fire, Lieutenant Tait rallied his company and led it forward with consummate skill and dash under a hail of bullets. A concealed machine gun however, continued to cause many casualties. Taking a rifle and bayonet, Lieutenant Tait dashed forward alone, and killed the enemy gunner. inspired by his example, his men rushed the position, capturing twelve machine guns and twenty prisoners. His valorous action cleared the way for his battalion to advance. later, when the enemy counter-attacked our positions under intense artillery bombardment, this gallant officer displayed outstanding courage and leadership, and, though mortally wounded by a shell, continued to direct and aid his men until his death." He died in action at Hallu on 11 August 1918 and was probably first buried in the village prior to being moved to Fouquescourt British Cemetery. This account was written on 29 November 1918 by James Price Lloyd of the Welsh Regiment, who served with Military Intelligence. After the war, the Government destroyed all the archives relating to this propaganda (section MI 7b (1)). They were regarded as being too sensitive to risk being made public. However, these documents have survived in the personal records of Captain Lloyd. Many of these papers are officially stamped. "On 18 July 1918 the great Allied attack, which was to be the turning point of the war, was launched against the two shoulders of the Chateau-Thierry salient. "Three weeks later a second blow was struck, in front of Amiens.


"The Germans, if they suspected that the British Army would assume the offensive on this front, certainly did not anticipate that anything more than a small local enterprise would be attempted. They were destined to be disagreeably surprised. During the night of 7 August Marshal Foch's orders went out. when day dawned on the 20 mile front between Morlancourt and Morsuil, French, British, Australian and Canadian soldiers sprang out of their trenches to the attack, and with them went a great company of tanks. "By three o'clock in the afternoon they had advanced to an average depth of five miles on the whole front, and had taken 7,000 prisoners and 100 guns.

"The Canadians, who pressed forward across the rich level plain of the Santerre Plateau, had their share of hard fighting. The story has already been told of the men of the 22nd Battalion of the Quebec Regiment, who came that evening to Caix, and of one of their officers who led his company against a post of machine-guns in Urely and died while charging at the head of his men against a German field-gun beyond Meharicourt. "Meanwhile, a little to their right, the 78th Battalion of the Manitoba Regiment was being confronted with a difficult task. As in the case of the 22nd it was found that every wood and copse and nearly every building concealed groups of machine-gunners, who fought their weapons with a desperate courage. Once, near Beaucourt, the Battalion was checked by heavy machine-gun fire from a wood on the right flank. The Colonel at once ordered one of his company commanders to deflect his company to the right and take the wood. "Lieutenant James Edward Tait, who was in command, took his company across the open bullet-swept ground towards the wood. Men fell dead and wounded all around him, but their leader went on unfalteringly. As they drew near the wood, Lieutenant Tait caught sight of one of the hidden machine-guns. Calling to his men to follow him, he snatched a rifle and bayonet from a wounded comrade, and ran forward alone towards the gun. "When the survivors came up, they found that Lieutenant Tait had shot the gunner and captured the gun. "The other machine-guns in Beaucourt Wood went the way of the first. The Germans stuck to their posts to the end, but they could not stop the Canadians now. Shouting and cheering, they charged after their leader into the heart of the wood. Twelve machine-guns they took there, and sent 20 prisoners, all that were left of the garrison, marching back from Beaucourt Wood.


"On 12 August when the Canadians finally reached Hallu, which is 1½ miles south of Chaulnes, the Germans counter-attacked. Lieutenant Tait was the soul of his company in defence, as he had been the soul of the attack in Beaucourt Wood.

"When the storm of shell beat down upon the Canadian positions, his coolness and cheerfulness were the admiration of all ranks of his company. Heedless of his own peril he walked calmly about from post to post to give confidence to his men. While doing so, he was hit and badly wounded by a bursting shell, but, in spite of the pain of his wounds, he continued to encourage his men until he died." He had already won the Military Cross, and had been wounded four times previously. His VC was presented to his widow Jessie, by His Excellency the Lieutenant Governor of Manitoba. His decorations, consisting of the VC, MC, BWM and VM, are in the collection of the Glenbow Museum, Calgary, Alberta and he is commemorated on the Laurieknowe School War Memorial and on the Maxwelltown Memorial in Scotland.

Sergeant Ross Anderson Tollerton, VC, Queen's Own Cameron Highlanders, was born in the Constabulary Office at Hurlford, Ayrshire on 6 May 1890. He was the son of James Tollerton, a Police Constable, a Sergeant, then a Sherriff Officer, and Janet Anderson Tollerton, of 61 East Road, Irvine. His siblings were Thomas, James, Eleanor Louisa, Alexander, Janet and Margaret. Educated at Irvine, he joined the 1st Cameron Highlanders, age 15, and served time in South Africa and India. On leaving the army in 1912 he went to work in the Irvine shipyard and was an Engine Keeper there at the time of his marriage to Agnes Muir on 26 December 1913 at his address of 4 Kirkgate, Irvine.

Ross was on the reserve list when he was recalled to the Cameron Highlanders at the outbreak of WW1 in August 1914. Barely a month later, on 14 September 1914, the Cameron Highlanders were involved in an attack on the German lines in the Aisne Valley.


The Highlanders were subjected to heavy machine gun fire and lost 600 men that morning. Tollerton’s commanding officer, Lieutenant J S M Matheson was severely wounded but still lying in the enemy’s firing line. Private Tollerton proceeded to place Lieutenant Matheson over his shoulder and moved him to a place of greater safety. He then rejoined his company's firing line.

Now completely surrounded by the Germans and with no hope of immediate rescue, Private Tollerton returned to his commanding officer and remained with him for three days, with only water to sustain them and both now wounded, until they were both rescued. The citation read, "For most conspicuous bravery and devotion to duty on 14th September 1914 at the battle of the Aisne. He carried a wounded officer under heavy fire, as far as he was able to a place of safety, then, although himself wounded in the head and hand, he struggled back to the firing line, where he remained till his battalion retired, when he returned to the wounded officer and lay beside him for three days until they were both rescued."

On 18 May 1915 at Glasgow Green a crowd of 50,000 saw Private Tollerton receive his Victoria Cross from His Majesty King George V. His act of bravery is also depicted in this painting by Allen Stewart. Ross Tollerton was returned to the Western Front and survived the war, reaching the rank of Sergeant. After he was demobilised in 1919, Ross became the Janitor of Bank Street School, Irvine and also joined the Irvine Company of the Royal Scots Fusiliers, a Territorial Army (reserve) unit and became its Sergeant Major. When the town War Memorial was unveiled in April 1921, Ross was invited to lay the first wreath. Ross married Agnes Muir later in life and due to this they had no children during their marriage, although Agnes had one son, Robert, from a previous relationship.


Ross Tollerton never fully recovered from his injuries and died of stomach cancer on 7 May 1931. He had turned 41 years old the day before. Ross Tollerton VC is buried in Knadgerhill Cemetery, Irvine and his grave is maintained and cared for by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission. Lieutenant J S M Matheson sent a wreath. His widow died in 1939 at the age of 78 when his Victoria Cross was passed over to his brother, Alexander Tollerton. It was Alexander's widow who eventually gave it to Cameron's Own Highland Museum in 1956 on long-term loan and it remains there to this day.

Sergeant James Youll Turnbull, VC, 17th Battalion (Glasgow Commercials), Highland Light Infantry, was born at Glasgow on 24 December 1883. He was the youngest son of James Turnbull, a Joiner, and Elizabeth Turnbull, of 7 Kenmure Street, Glasgow. His siblings were John, Thomas, Gavin, Amelia and Elizabeth. James was intelligent, had an outgoing personality, a love of the outdoors and bore a fine physique. He demonstrated his sporting prowess as a keen cricketer, and playing rugby for Cartha Queens Park RFC.

He was a member of the 3rd Lanarkshire Rifle Volunteers where he loved the military training and camaraderie associated with the Battalion, which was ultimately to play a bigger part in his life than he could have imagined. Before World War I, he was working as a Drapery Warehouseman. The Battle of the Somme was a series of battles, commencing with the Battle of Albert. It was fought to gain possession of one of the strongest parts of the German line, known as the Leipzig Redoubt, and the 15th, 16th and 17th HLI, in the trenches before Thiepval, all went into the attack. Ninety minutes after going over the top on the first day of the Somme, James must have known his chances of survival were poor. In the British trenches the whistles had sounded at 7.23 am. Officers were first up the ladders, quickly followed by the men of The Highland Light Infantry. Six days of artillery bombardment left No Man's Land "with an awful stillness" as the Glasgow regiment made their way towards a former quarry turned into a German stronghold called the Leipzig Salient.


The 16th and 17th Battalions had been ordered to attack and, as they reached the German wire, the guns opened up. In the first hour and a half of the battle, the 16th lost 19 officers and 492 men out of 800. The 17th consolidated on the Salient and held it. The Glasgow men were the only British unit to capture and hold a German position. The 17th lost 22 officers and 447 from the ranks. James, an army reservist and amateur sportsman before the war, was known to his fellow soldiers as an athletic, forthright personality who took care of his men "to the risk of being court-martialled for insubordination where their welfare was concerned". In the chaos of the attack on the Leipzig Salient, one officer had given the order "every man for himself". From his position at the tip of the wedge of troops attacking the Salient, James must have realised how hopeless his situation was, yet he pressed on. German machine guns and snipers cut down men from three sides.

He was known as a keen cricketer and could throw grenades further than any man in the battalion. A journalist serving with him recalled how James organised four men to keep carrying grenades to him, from an abandoned German arms cache. When he had to wait for bombs, he resorted to turning machine guns on the Germans, holding the entire flank at bay for 18 hours and, according to the journalist, Lance Corporal J McKechnie, "saving the battalion".

The HLI official history recounts, "It was hopeless, yet it was necessary to hold on till nightfall. Turnbull shouldered the responsibility." Having made it into the trenches of the German lines, James and his HLI bombers found themselves in a maze. They had driven the Germans back, but the advance was painfully slow. Late in the afternoon a sniper picked James off, killing him instantly. A soldier with him later wrote, "It was chasing Germans round corners at the head of the communication trench that we lost Sergeant Turnbull VC." He was 32 years old and is buried in Lonsdale Cemetery, Authuille. The citation read, "For most conspicuous bravery and devotion to duty, when, having with his party captured a post apparently of great importance to the enemy, he was subjected to severe counter-attacks, which were continuous throughout the whole day. Although his party was wiped out and replaced several times during the day, Sergeant Turnbull never wavered in his determination to hold the post, the loss of which would have been very serious. Almost, single-handed, he maintained his position, and displayed the highest degree of valour and skill in the performance of his duties. Later in the day this very gallant soldier was killed whilst bombing a counter-attack from the parados of our trench."


The ground held by James and his comrades was the most northerly point reached on the first day of the Somme battles and testament to the severity of the battle lay in the carpet of bodies that lay around the quarry that was the Granatloch. His father and sister received his VC at Buckingham Palace in 1917 and invited his old comrades to view it in Glasgow. The Outpost, magazine of the 17th battalion, wrote, "Without worrying about anyone of higher rank he took charge of the whole operations around in his immediate storm centre. He won his honour dearly".

Captain Samuel Thomas Dickson Wallace, VC, 'C' Battery 63rd Brigade, Royal Field Artillery, was born at Moffat on 7 March 1892. He was the elder son of John William Wallace, a Farmer, and Catherine Wallace, of Wallace Hall, Glencairn, Dumfries. His siblings were Quintin and Katherine. He was 25 years old, when the deed took place for which he was awarded the VC. The citation read, "On 20 November 1917 at Gonnelieu, France, when the personnel of Lieutenant Wallace's battery were reduced to five, having lost their Commander and five Sergeants, and were surrounded by enemy infantry, he maintained the firing of the guns by swinging the trails close together, the men running and loading from gun to gun.

This bench is in the grounds of St Andrews church, Moffat.


He was in action for eight hours firing the whole time and inflicting severe casualties on the enemy. Then, owing to the exhausted state of his men, he withdrew when the infantry supports arrived, taking with him all essential gun parts and all wounded." He later achieved the rank of Captain. He died at Thornhill on 2 February 1968, age 75, and is buried in Moffat Cemetery. His Victoria Cross is displayed at the Royal Artillery Museum, Woolwich.

Captain Joseph (Joe) Watt, VC, Royal Navy, was born at Gardenstown, Banffshire, on 25 June 1887. He was the son of Joseph Watt, a Fisherman, and Margaret Anderson Watt, of 63 Main Street, Gardenstown. His siblings were Elizabeth, William, Margaret, Helen, Barbara, Ann, Georgina, Joseph, George and James Alexander. The large family of Joseph and Margaret Watt lived in the fishing village of Gardenstown on the Moray Firth. Joseph, senior, was a fisherman of many years service and Margaret was also employed in the fish industry. At age ten his father was lost at sea in an accident, and the family moved to Fraserburgh in Aberdeenshire where his mother married again.

He learned the fishing trade from an early age and served aboard the White Daisy before purchasing a stake in the drifter Annie. The war changed life in the community as most of the men volunteered for service with the Royal Navy on the patrol service, hunting for enemy shipping and submarines, often in small drifters and trawlers similar to the ones they sailed in every day. Joe was no exception, being rated a skipper in the patrol service, and marrying Jesse Ann Noble in the days before his posting overseas. Transferred to Italy in 1915, he served on drifters in the Adriatic Sea, enduring boring patrol work keeping Austrian submarines from breaking into the Mediterranean Sea. During this time he was highly commended, for his role in the operation to evacuate the remnants of the Serbian Army following their defeat and retreat to Albania in January 1916 for which he was later awarded the Serbian Gold Medal for Good Service. Shortly before Christmas 1916, Watt's drifter, HM Drifter Gowanlea was attacked by an Austrian destroyer sortie, which was attempting to break the line of drifters and allow submarines to escape into the Mediterranean.


Although hit several times by shellfire, the drifter was not seriously damaged and the crew unhurt. It was, however, a mild precursor to a major raid planned against the Otranto Barrage as the drifter line was now called. On 15 May 1917 Skipper Watt and his crew of eight men and a dog were patrolling peacefully in the Otranto Strait on the lookout for any suspicious activity following an increase in submarine sightings. Unknown to the allied line, the Austrians had planned a major operation against the barrage, utilising the Rapidkreuzers SMS Saida, Helgoland and SMS Novara under Admiral Miklós Horthy with two destroyers and three submarines. These ships fell upon the drifter line during the night and sank 14 trawlers and drifters which were helpless to reply, as well as two destroyers. One Victoria Cross; two Distinguished Service Orders; six Distinguished Service Crosses; five Conspicuous Gallantry Medals; eighteen Distinguished Service Medals; and 31 Mentioned-in-Despatches were awarded for the action. Deckhand Frederick Lamb of the Gowanlea received the CGM for continuing to fire her gun despite being wounded. Two other crew members were awarded the DSM.

The SMS Novara following the battle of the Otranto Straits

Gowanlea was confronted by the Helgoland, which demanded the surrender of the tiny ship and ordered the crew to abandon ship prior to sinking. Instead, Joe ordered his crew to open fire on their large opponent with the drifter’s tiny 6-pounder guns. Gowanlea was quickly hit by four heavy shells, seriously damaging the boat and wounding several crewmen. The other drifters around Gowanlea followed her example but were also subject to heavy fire, three sinking and the last lurching away seriously damaged. The Austrian cruisers headed for home but were engaged on their return by British, Italian and French units and became involved in the inconclusive battle of the Otranto Barrage. For Joe and the survivors on their battered boats and in the water the fight now was with the sea, as Gowanlea, despite her own heavy damage and casualties moved amongst the wreckage, rescuing wounded men and providing medical attention to those in most need.


In particular Watt saved the wounded crew of the sinking drifter Floandi who otherwise may have drowned. There was some dispute at the time as to whether the award of the Victoria Cross was appropriate given the defeat suffered by the barrage despite the resistance against overwhelming odds. In the event, Joe was the only recipient of the men put forward from the drifter crews although several other men were given the Conspicuous Gallantry Medal or the Distinguished Service Medal, including three from Gowanlea's crew. Joe was characteristically uncomfortable with his award, commenting on a request for an interview post-war with the words, "There has been too much said already and it should get a rest. I'm ashamed to read the exaggerations which have been printed". He was moved from drifters shortly after the action, becoming sick and spending the remainder of the year in hospital in Malta before being brought home to receive his award at Buckingham Palace and serve on light duties as a Chief Skipper. The citation read, "For most conspicuous gallantry when the Allied Drifter Line in the straits of Otranto was attacked by Austrian light cruisers on the morning of the 15 May 1917. When hailed by an Austrian cruiser at about 100 yards range and ordered to stop and abandon his drifter Gowanlea, Skipper Watt ordered full speed ahead and called upon his crew to give three cheers and fight to the finish. The cruiser was then engaged, but after one round had been fired, a shot from the enemy disabled the breech of the drifter's gun. The gun's crew, however, stuck to the gun, endeavouring to make it work, being under heavy fire all the time. After the cruiser had passed on Skipper Watt took the Gowanlea alongside the badly damaged drifter Floandi and assisted to remove the dead and wounded."

Joe Watt returned to Fraserburgh after the war and refused point blank to ever speak of his war experience again, even to his wife. His boat Annie had been lost in the war to a sea mine, and so he bought Benachie as a replacement, on board which he once forgot to remove his cap on meeting the Duke of Kent, an omission which mortified him for years afterwards. He served on several other fishing vessels over the next twenty years before joining the Navy again as a drifter captain to serve in the Second World War, which he spent on uneventful duties in home waters accompanied by his son who had been wounded in the Battle of France serving with the Gordon Highlanders and invalided out of the army. He was on occasion heard to complain that he had been refused foreign service due to his age, which he seemed to feel should be an advantage rather than a hindrance. Joe Watt died of cancer at home in Fraserburgh, Aberdeenshire, on 13 February 1955, age 67 and was buried alongside his wife and in-laws at Kirktown Cemetery in Fraserburgh. His passing was remarked on by a local politician who visited him and said of the experience that "He had wonderful faith and courage". Joe always shunned the fame generated by his award, kept the medal in a drawer full of junk on board his boat. Many of the locals who requested to see the medal were surprised to see it being kept in such a place. His VC medal was placed in auction in April 2012 and was sold at Spink in London for £204,000. He also received the French Croix de Guerre and the Italian Silver Medal for Military Valour.


Private George Wilson, Highland Light Infantry, was born at Edinburgh on 29 April 1886. He was the son of James Wilson, a Merchant Seaman, and Mary Wilson, of 1 Wilkie's Court, Edinburgh. On 14 September 1914, during the main Battle of the Aisne, the King's Royal Rifle Corps was reinforced by the 2nd Worcestershire Regiment and 2nd Highland Light Infantry to stem the advance of the Germans until the Royal Artillery began to operate. Later in the day, these three battalions were able to advance up the eastern slopes of the Beaulne Spur, where they managed to hold on. During this period of fighting, a remarkable deed of heroism took place. At Verneuill the 2nd HLI came into action for the first time since Mons, and had been involved for only an hour when Private George Wilson spied a couple of Germans and informed his officer. The officer was incredulous and took up his glasses to take a closer look but he was immediately shot dead. Wilson quickly avenged his killing by taking aim and shooting the two Germans.

He then advanced about a hundred yards and saw eight more Germans. He charged them at once making noises as though he was accompanied by a strong group. The Germans immediately surrendered and in doing so gave up two prisoners from the Middlesex Regiment. It was then when he was going forward that he came across the scores of wounded and dead who had previously been part of the attacking force who had been caught by German machine-gun fire. George Wilson was so incensed by the terrible massacre that he virtually went berserk and together with a volunteer from the KRRC set out to destroy the German machine-gun position. After only a hundred yards Wilson's colleague was shot dead by the machine-gun. Wilson took steady aim and killed the machine gunner, and then wiped out the whole of the enemy position, eventually getting to within ten yards of the gun. At this point the German officer in charge of the Maxim emptied his revolver in the direction of Wilson, but missed and Wilson immediately bayoneted him. But even then Wilson was not satisfied, turning the machine-gun round he fired 750 rounds at the enemy. Throughout this time he was a victim of heavy shellfire which eventually forced him back to his own lines where he promptly fainted.


When he came round he discovered that no one had thought of retrieving the Maxim so he set off again to bring back the gun. It took two more trips to carry back the remaining two and a half cases of ammunition as well. He still had one more task to carry out and this was to fetch the body of his colleague from the KRRC who had been shot seventeen times. George Wilson's action must rank as one of the most effective and courageous in the early months of the First World War. His Victoria Cross was gazetted on the 5th December 1914, but Wilson had already received it from King George V who had visited the HLI on the 3rd December 1914. The citation read, "Private Wilson went with a rifleman to try to locate a machine-gun which was holding up the advance of the 2nd Battalion, Highland Light Infantry. When the rifleman was killed, Private Wilson went on alone and, when he reached his target shot six of the enemy, bayoneted the officer and then captured the gun." The following account is from Heroes of the Great War by G. A. Leask "Private Wilson was selling newspapers in the streets of Edinburgh up to within forty-eight hours of the declaration of war. He was twenty-nine years of age, well set-up and fair. He had joined the Highland Light Infantry ten years earlier. He served part of his time at Edinburgh Castle, under the shadow of which he made his home. After serving three years with the Colours, he went into the Reserve, and had just completed seven years as a reservist when he was called back to his regiment. During part of the period he was in the Reserve, he worked in the coal-pits at Niddrie. Then he again took up the selling of newspapers, an occupation he had followed before enlisting at the age of seventeen. He sold many evening papers to the soldiers outside the Castle, and few who saw him at this time could have foreseen that a few years later all Scotland would be ringing with his amazing exploit in France. "There are many stories told about 'Geordie' by the newsboys of Edinburgh, who were delighted when "one of us did for eight Germans", as one of them put it on hearing the news. Wilson was always a 'good pal,' always willing to give a helping hand. He once stopped a runaway horse in the Lawnmarket, Edinburgh, and his sister, on hearing of this brave act, said he ought to have the VC, little dreaming that he would one day write to her from France to announce that he had actually been recommended for the great prize. "A very serious illness he went through is still remembered by his chums. They thought at the time that he would not leave the hospital alive. He pulled through, however, and lived to make Scotland proud of him. It is said that Wilson remarked to a friend before leaving for the Front that he would not return to Scotland if he did not bring back the Victoria Cross. "In a letter to his sister, he wrote, "I am recommended for bravery for capturing a machine-gun and going into the German firing-line and shooting an officer and six men, and turning their gun on them, and carrying in a mate of the King's Royal Rifles who was riddled with bullets."


"This was his own modest way of describing his great deeds. In another letter to his sister, Wilson, who is one of a family of eight orphans, wrote, "If it's God's will I will return quite safe and sound back to Bonnie Scotland beside my ain folk. I am both meek and humble, God's my only Saviour." "A man of his regiment once referred to Private George Wilson as a 'rough diamond'. He showed himself to be a soldier to the finger-tips, daring, impetuous, and absolutely fearless. His blunt speech was another characteristic, as he did not stand upon useless ceremony or consider convention when there was stern work to do. One account of his VC deed stated that Wilson went into the wood to capture the German gun after being expressly forbidden by his officer to do so. This was exactly the thing he would do, knowing the permission was denied out of consideration for his own safety. "After the battle of the Marne, the Germans retreated in hot haste to the River Aisne, pursued by the Allied armies. Before each side settled down to trench warfare it fought for positions, and the British advanced and retreated. During one of the retreats the Highland Light Infantry, supported by the King's Royal Rifles, acted as rearguard, and with wonderful doggedness contested every inch of ground. "On 14 September 1914, the Highland Light Infantry reached Verneuil, and hastily dug themselves in. The pressure of the enemy was, however, very severe, and to relieve the situation a party of sixteen men, under the leadership of Sir Archibald Gibson Craig, charged the Germans, only to be swept away by the fire of a machine-gun in a wood. This gun commanded the trenches, and matters began to assume a very serious aspect. "Meantime George, who was in the trenches, had been using his powers of observation. His sharp eyes detected the enemy moving among the trees in the wood already referred to. He at once informed his officer that he could see at least two Germans. The officer could not credit this, but, as Wilson persisted in his statement, he levelled his field-glasses and at the same moment was struck down with a mortal wound. "The men who were standing around were deeply affected, for the dead officer was greatly beloved. Wilson set his teeth, and, taking careful aim at the enemy in the wood, he fired and one of the Germans fell. Wilson raised his rifle a second time, a second shot rang out, and the other German fell. This success excited the hero to further action and he sprang forward to seek more targets. His companions, more cautious, cried to him to come back. "It's no use; there's a machine-gun there!" was their warning. "He was in no mood to study prudence. He dashed forward, his bayonet fixed to his rifle, his finger at the trigger. On he went, heedless of the risk he was running, until he came to a hollow. In this sheltered position he saw eight Germans all armed, and in their midst two British soldiers whom they had taken prisoner. Not in the least daunted he shouted: "Come on men! Charge!" He had calculated that the Germans would think that he was the advance-guard of a body of Highland soldiers, and, true enough, the enemy flung up their hands, while the two prisoners found themselves at liberty.


"Thus one man by his amazing audacity had captured eight Germans and set free two of his comrades. By this time his cautious companions had ventured out, and Wilson shouted to them to assist with the prisoners. "Wilson now acted impetuously for the third time that day. Not content with the heroic exploits already accomplished he wanted more. His companions were amazed to see him dash off. Again they called to him to stop. This time he paused for a second to shout, "What is it?" They cried, "Look!" "Wilson turned and saw a sight calculated to unnerve the bravest soldier. The Maxim gun in the wood had commenced once again to deal out death. His comrades were falling in large numbers. As his companions were dashing to cover, Wilson asked if they could not seize the gun. Being told that this was impossible, Wilson reflected for a moment, then turning to a private of the King's Royal Rifles who was nearest to him, coolly remarked: "Mon, I'm angry wi' yon gun - and I'm gaun to stop it!" "Having said this he made for the wood. To reach the gun he had to crawl and dodge amid a perfect hurricane of bullets which was being directed onto the British position. The rifleman to whom Wilson had spoken followed, and shortly overtook him. Very soon the two men were discovered and the rifleman fell badly wounded. "Wilson now proceeded alone and managed to dodge the bullets by dashing from haystack to haystack. All the while he was inwardly raging. He remarked that the sight of the brave man on the grass spurred him on. He was determined to reach the gun and put it out of action, if for no other reason than to avenge the poor rifleman. He did not pause to reflect that some might have characterized the undertaking as dare-devilry; all he thought about was how to silence the murderous gun. "He reached another haystack, levelled his rifle, took careful aim, and the German behind the Maxim fell dead. Wilson's shooting that day was unerring. Another German took the place of the dead man and started a stream of bullets. Wilson exposed himself to make sure of his aim; his rifle clicked, and a second operator fell. A third man started to fire the gun, only to meet the fate that had befallen his predecessors. A fourth and a fifth and a sixth German fell. Wilson's shooting has been described as uncanny, and to its deadly accuracy the hero owed his life. Had he missed once, the operator at the Maxim would no doubt have speedily riddled him with bullets. "Wilson waited for a few minutes after the sixth man fell. Then having come to the conclusion that the gun's entire crew had been killed, he crept forward to secure his prize. A German officer rose in his path. Wilson remained cool at this alarming development. The German fired point-blank, but luckily missed, and Wilson quickly bayoneted him. This was the narrowest of Wilson's many escapes, for the officer's bullet had all but grazed his head. "With the Maxim in his possession, Wilson's troubles, far from being over, started afresh. He had gained the prize for which he had risked his life, but was not to be allowed to retain it undisputed. Wilson observed a large number of Germans approaching. Instead of losing heart and beating a speedy retreat, the brave Scottish hero instantly slewed the gun round and opened fire. He worked the gun as skilfully as he had handled his rifle, mowing down hundreds of the enemy.


"He was fired at by the German artillery as well as by the infantrymen, and as the place became unpleasantly warm, Wilson decided it was time to advance to the rear. He estimates, however, that he fired 750 bullets, and accounted for about 300 of the enemy before he was forced to desist.

"The Scottish lion reached the British lines unscathed, notwithstanding the shells that continually burst around him. Then the terrible strain he had endured told on his strength and he fainted. On recovering, his first words were, had the gun been brought in? Being told that it had not been fetched, he said nothing, but staggered up, and again went out to face the shells. He soon returned carrying the Maxim gun on his shoulders. "There's the gun, sir!" he said, saluting his officer. "Even this did not satisfy him and he must needs go to fetch the ammunition, which he succeeded in bringing back. It really seemed as though he was bent on tempting Fate. Having successfully accomplished his purpose, and, incidentally, achieved the greatest individual feat of bravery in the war up to that day, Wilson remembered the comrade who had started off with him, and without a word to anybody of his intentions, faced the shrapnel yet again. He found his pal still living, though riddled with seventeen bullets, and dragged him to the trench, where he died the next day. "Thank God you got the gun," were the poor fellow's last words to Wilson. "Later in the campaign Wilson was an inmate of one of the hospitals in France. One day there was some slight commotion in the ward. Presently Private George Wilson became aware that something unusual was happening. A little procession was approaching his cot. In the centre was one with a kindly face, wearing a full-dress field uniform. The officer was, somehow, familiar - where had he seen him before? Then he remembered - it was His Majesty, King George. He recognized him from photographs he had seen. The King was on a visit to his brave troops in France. He came to Wilson's side, and, pinning the Victoria Cross on the hero's breast, remarked warmly that he had done the bravest deed ever accomplished on the battlefield.


"If there's such a thing as two VCs," His Majesty is reported to have said, "you have earned them. You're not a very big man, but you have a very big heart." Wilson's Victoria Cross is displayed at the Museum of The Royal Highland Fusiliers, Glasgow. He died of tuberculosis at Craigleith Hospital on 22 April 1926 aged only 39, and is buried in Piershill Cemetery in Edinburgh. A ceremony organised by the Royal Highland Fusiliers took place on 21 August 2003 in Piershill Cemetery, Edinburgh, to place a memorial stone over his previously unmarked grave. (Two further memorial stones were placed on either side of Wilson's, commemorating Lieutenant John Grieve, 2nd Dragoon Guards, who won his Victoria Cross at Balaclava during the Crimean War, and Private James Davis, 42nd Regiment (The Black Watch) who was awarded the VC during the Indian Mutiny. These two turfstones were to be taken to their respective cemeteries at a later date - Inveresk Old Cemetery, Lothian, and North Merchiston Cemetery, Edinburgh)

Private William Young, VC, 8th Battalion, East Lancashire Regiment, was born at Maryhill, Glasgow on 1 January 1876 He joined the Army as soon as he was old enough, aged 15, served his enlistment term, went on to the Reserve, and settled in Preston with his family, where he was working at the Gas Works when World War I broke out. Recalled to the Army, he sailed for France in September 1914. He was wounded in November, returned to duty and was gassed in the spring of 1915. His eyesight was affected, and he spent most of 1915 recovering. He had only been back in the trenches for a very short time, near a position nicknamed “Little Z” east of Foncquevillers. Conditions were dreadful – wet December weather had made the trenches virtually a frozen swamp, the situation requiring platoon reliefs every 24 hours.

He was 39 years old when the deed took place for which he was awarded the VC. On 22 December 1915, east of Fonquevillers, France, Private Young saw from his trench that one of his company's NCOs was lying wounded in front of the wire.


Acting without orders and heedless of his exposure to enemy fire, he climbed over the parapet and went to the rescue of his sergeant. He was hit by two bullets, one shattered his jaw and the other entered his chest. Undeterred, he went on and, with another soldier who came to assist, brought the wounded Sergeant back to safety. Later Private Young walked back to the village dressing station to have his injuries attended to. The citation read, "For most conspicuous bravery. On seeing that his Serjeant had been wounded he left his trench to attend to him under very heavy fire. The wounded Non-Commissioned Officer requested Private Young to get under cover, but he refused, and was almost immediately very seriously wounded by having both jaws shattered.

Notwithstanding his terrible injuries, Private Young continued endeavouring to effect the rescue upon which he had set his mind, and eventually succeeded with the aid of another soldier. He then went unaided to the dressing station where it was discovered that he had also been wounded by a rifle bullet in the chest. The great fortitude, determination, courage, and devotion to duty displayed by this soldier could hardly be surpassed" He later underwent months of treatment, including reconstruction surgery by Captain Harold Gillies. Private Young returned home to a hero’s welcome on Wednesday 19 April 1916.

The homecoming was filmed by Preston film maker Will Onda. To express the town’s admiration for Private Young a fund of £562 was raised to support his family. Private Young left Preston on 25 April 1916 to continue his treatment. After a series of operations he did not react well to the anaesthetic and died at 8.55 am on Sunday 27 August 1916 of heart failure at the Cambridge Military Hospital in Aldershot. William had married a local girl – Mary Simmons, they had nine children and lived at 7 Heysham Street. During Private Young’s funeral procession in Preston thousands lined the streets to pay their respects to the town’s hero. He was buried in Preston Cemetery with full military honours.


He is buried in Preston (New Hall Lane) Cemetery. His Victoria Cross is displayed in the Lancashire at War exhibition at The Museum of Lancashire, Preston, Lancashire. Sources: Commonwealth War Graves Commission; Ancestry; Regimental Museums; Glasgow Police Heritage Society; Imperial War Museum; Soldiers Died in the Great War Database; National Collection of War Art (NCWA) at Archives New Zealand; Steve Ripley; Robert Gordon's College.

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