- William Angus
William Angus (
28 February 1888 -14 June 1959 ) was a Scottish recipient of theVictoria Cross , the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces.Life before the war
He was born in
Carluke ,a small town inLanarkshire ,Scotland .After leaving school he was employed as a miner but was able to find himself a place as a professional footballer atCeltic FC in 1912.However he struggled to find himself in the starting XI and decided to join the army when the war began.In the army
He was 27 years old, and a
lance-corporal in theThe Highland Light Infantry (though serving in the 8thRoyal Scots ),British Army during the First World War when the following deed took place for which he was awarded the VC.Rescue
On
12 June 1915 atGivenchy ,France , Lance-Corporal Angus voluntarily left his trench under very heavy bomb and rifle fire and rescued a wounded officer who was lying within a few yards of the enemy's position. The lance-corporal had no chance of escaping the enemy's fire when undertaking this gallant deed, and in effecting the rescue he received about 40 wounds, some of them being very serious.Aftermath
After the rescue he taken to a military hospital in
Boulogne , where he learned of his award of theVictoria Cross . After 2 months in hospital he returned toLondon where he was given the Victoria Cross by King George V atBuckingham Palace on 30/08/1915.Back home
After he had returned to Carluke, he was given a hero's welcome and became president of
Carluke Rovers FC a position he held until his death in 1959, he lies at Wilton Cemetery, Wilton Road, Carluke, Lanarkshire, Scotland. Lair 36. Section O. Headstone.His Victoria Cross is displayed at theNational War Museum of Scotland "(Edinburgh Castle, Edinburgh, Scotland)".References
*
Monuments to Courage (David Harvey, 1999)
*The Register of the Victoria Cross (This England, 1997)
*Scotland's Forgotten Valour (Graham Ross, 1995)
*VCs of the First World War - The Western Front 1915 (Peter F. Batchelor & Christopher Matson, 1999)
*ForValourExternal links
* [http://www.forvalour.com/angus/ William Angus V.C.] "(biography and photos)"
* [http://www.victoriacross.org.uk/scolanar.htm Burial location of William Angus] "Lanarkshire"
* [http://www.victoriacross.org.uk/ccnwmsco.htm Location of William Angus's Victoria Cross] "National War Museum of Scotland, Edinburgh"
* [http://www.footballpoets.org/p.asp?Id=22351 William Angus poem by Mark Thomas] (Contributor to Football Poets)
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