William Anderson VC (28 December 1882 – 13 March 1915) was a Scottish recipient of the

Victoria Cross The Victoria Cross (VC) is the highest and most prestigious award of the British honours system. It is awarded for valour "in the presence of the enemy" to members of the British Armed Forces and may be awarded posthumously. It was previously ...

, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

and Commonwealth forces. He was posthumously awarded the VC during the First World War for his actions during the

Battle of Neuve Chapelle The Battle of Neuve Chapelle (10–13 March 1915) took place in the First World War in the Artois region of France. The attack was intended to cause a rupture in the German lines, which would then be exploited with a rush to the Aubers Ridge a ...

in March 1915.

Early life

Anderson was born in

Dallas, Moray Dallas ( gd, Dalais ) is a small rural village in Moray, Scotland. It is located south west of Elgin just off the B9010 road. It has a population of between 150 and 200. Etymology The name ''Dallas'' was first recorded in 1226 as ''Dolays My ...

in Scotland on 28 December 1882 to Alexander and Bella Anderson. The family later moved to

Forres Forres (; gd, Farrais) is a town and former royal burgh in the north of Scotland on the Moray coast, approximately northeast of Inverness and west of Elgin. Forres has been a winner of the Scotland in Bloom award on several occasions. There a ...

, where he was educated at Forres Academy. After completing his education, he moved to

Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...

and was employed as a car conductor with the Corporation Tramways for several years. In 1905, Anderson enlisted in the

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...

, joining the 2nd Battalion,

Yorkshire Regiment The Yorkshire Regiment (14th/15th, 19th and 33rd/76th Foot) (abbreviated YORKS) is an infantry regiment of the British Army, created by the amalgamation of three historic regiments in 2006. It lost one battalion as part of the Army 2020 defence ...

, also known as the Green Howards, for a seven-year period of service; his brother James was already serving with the battalion. William would spend time in

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Medit ...

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the Atlantic Ocean, South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the ...

, and British India, on the North West Frontier. After his period of service ended, Anderson returned to Glasgow and was employed in the Elder Hospital in

Govan Govan ( ; Cumbric?: ''Gwovan'?''; Scots: ''Gouan''; Scottish Gaelic: ''Baile a' Ghobhainn'') is a district, parish, and former burgh now part of south-west City of Glasgow, Scotland. It is situated west of Glasgow city centre, on the south ba ...

. By this stage, he was engaged and planned to

emigrate Emigration is the act of leaving a resident country or place of residence with the intent to settle elsewhere (to permanently leave a country). Conversely, immigration describes the movement of people into one country from another (to permanentl ...

to South Africa.

First World War

Anderson was still living in England, having not yet completed his move to South Africa, when the First World War broke out. As he was a reservist, he was soon called up to the British Army. In November 1914, he rejoined the 2nd Battalion, Yorkshire Regiment, the battalion that he had previously served with, which was now on the Western Front in France as part of the 7th Division. By this stage, he was an acting

corporal Corporal is a military rank in use in some form by many militaries and by some police forces or other uniformed organizations. The word is derived from the medieval Italian phrase ("head of a body"). The rank is usually the lowest ranking non- ...

. In March 1915, the 7th Division was involved in the

. It entered the fighting on 11 March, during which time Anderson was one of a group of men involved in a bombing raid. He was involved in another bombing raid the next day, when his company tried to retake ground lost to the Germans the previous day. It was for this action that he was awarded the Victoria Cross (VC). The VC, instituted in 1856, was the highest award for valour that could be bestowed on a soldier of the

British Empire The British Empire was composed of the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates, and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom and its predecessor states. It began with the overseas possessions and trading posts e ...

. The citation read as follows: His VC award was gazetted in May 1915, but by then Anderson was dead, having been killed in action on 13 March 1915. His remains were never found, and he is commemorated on the

Le Touret Memorial The Le Touret Memorial is a World War I memorial, located near the former commune of Richebourg-l'Avoué, in the Pas-de-Calais region of France. The memorial lists 13,389 names of British and Commonwealth soldiers with no known grave who were kill ...

Medal

As Anderson's parents were deceased, his brother Alexander was presented with Anderson's VC by Lieutenant General Francis Davies, the former commander of the 7th Division, in a ceremony at Edinburgh Castle on 19 May 1920. Several years later, the VC was donated to the

Green Howards Regimental Museum The Green Howards Regimental Museum is the museum of the Green Howards infantry regiment of the British Army. It is located in the old Trinity Church in the centre of the market place of Richmond in the Richmondshire district of North Yorkshire, ...

Richmond, Yorkshire Richmond is a market town and civil parish in North Yorkshire, England, and the administrative centre of the district of Richmondshire. Historically in the North Riding of Yorkshire, it is from the county town of Northallerton and situated on t ...

. He is remembered on the Forres War Memorial and on 15 March 2015, a commemorative tablet in Anderson's honour was laid at the war memorial at Dallas, where he was born.

Notes

References

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External links

Burial location of William Anderson
"France"

"Green Howards Museum" * {{DEFAULTSORT:Anderson, William British World War I recipients of the Victoria Cross Green Howards soldiers British Army personnel of World War I British military personnel killed in World War I 1880s births 1915 deaths People from Moray British Army recipients of the Victoria Cross