David Stuart McGregor VC (16 October 1895 – 22 October 1918) was a

Scottish Scottish usually refers to something of, from, or related to Scotland, including: *Scottish Gaelic, a Celtic Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family native to Scotland *Scottish English *Scottish national identity, the Scottish ide ...

recipient of the

Victoria Cross The Victoria Cross (VC) is the highest and most prestigious decoration of the Orders, decorations, and medals of the United Kingdom, British decorations system. It is awarded for valour "in the presence of the enemy" to members of the British ...

, 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. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

and

Commonwealth A commonwealth is a traditional English term for a political community founded for the common good. The noun "commonwealth", meaning "public welfare, general good or advantage", dates from the 15th century. Originally a phrase (the common-wealth ...

forces. A soldier with

The Royal Scots The Royal Scots (The Royal Regiment), once known as the Royal Regiment of Foot, was the oldest and most senior infantry regiment of the line of the British Army, having been raised in 1633 during the reign of Charles I. The regiment existed co ...

during the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, he was posthumously awarded the VC for his actions on 22 October 1918, during the

Hundred Days Offensive The Hundred Days Offensive (8 August to 11 November 1918) was a series of massive Allied offensives that ended the First World War. Beginning with the Battle of Amiens (8–12 August) on the Western Front, the Allies pushed the Imperial Germa ...

Early life

David Stuart McGregor was born on 16 October 1895 in

Corstorphine Corstorphine (Scottish Gaelic: ''Crois Thoirfinn'') ( ) is an area of the Scottish capital city of Edinburgh. Formerly a separate village and parish to the west of Edinburgh, it is now a suburb of the city, having been formally incorporate ...

, to the west of

Edinburgh Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. The city is located in southeast Scotland and is bounded to the north by the Firth of Forth and to the south by the Pentland Hills. Edinburgh ...

. His father, also named David, was in the clothing trade. Educated at

George Watson's College George Watson's College is a co-educational Private schools in the United Kingdom, private day school in Scotland, situated on Colinton Road, in the Merchiston area of Edinburgh. It was first established as a Scottish education in the eighteenth ...

and then

George Heriot's School George Heriot's School is a private primary and secondary day school on Lauriston Place in the Lauriston area of Edinburgh, Scotland. In the early 21st century, it has more than 1600 pupils, 155 teaching staff, and 80 non-teaching staff. It was ...

, in 1911 he began working at the

Commercial Bank of Scotland The Commercial Bank of Scotland Ltd. was a Scotland, Scottish commercial bank. It was founded in Edinburgh in 1810, and obtained a royal charter in 1831. It grew substantially through the 19th and early 20th centuries, until 1958, when it merge ...

. Two years later he joined the

Territorial Force The Territorial Force was a part-time volunteer component of the British Army, created in 1908 to augment British land forces without resorting to conscription. The new organisation consolidated the 19th-century Volunteer Force and yeomanry in ...

, serving in the Midlothian Royal Field Artillery.

First World War

Following the outbreak of the First World War in the summer of 1914, McGregor enlisted, as did so many other young British men of his generation, in the British Army. He was commissioned into the

6th Battalion, Royal Scots The 6th Battalion, Royal Scots, was a unit of Britain's part-time Territorial Force. Beginning as a Volunteer unit formed from teetotallers in the city of Edinburgh in 1867, it later became affiliated to the Royal Scots. During World War I it ser ...

, a

(TF) unit. He was initially sent to Egypt with his battalion but by 1916 was serving on the Western Front. After receiving specialist training, he was posted to the

Machine Gun Corps The Machine Gun Corps (MGC) was a Regiment, corps of the British Army, formed in October 1915 in response to the need for more effective use of machine guns on the Western Front (World War I), Western Front in the World War I, First World War. Th ...

(MGC). On 22 October 1918, during the

, McGregor, attached to the MGC's 29th Battalion, 29th Division, was commanding a section of machine guns in support of a battalion advancing near Hoogemolen, in Belgium. However, the battalion came under heavy machine gun fire from a nearby hill which stopped further movement forward. Despite being under fire, McGregor was instrumental in getting the advance restarted by bringing forward his guns and directing their fire onto the Germans until he was killed. For his actions on 22 October he was posthumously awarded the

(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 comprised the dominions, Crown colony, colonies, protectorates, League of Nations mandate, mandates, and other Dependent territory, territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom and its predecessor states. It bega ...

. The citation for McGregor's VC read: McGregor's body was recovered and he is buried in the Stasegem Communal Cemetery in

West Flanders West Flanders is the westernmost province of the Flemish Region, in Belgium. It is the only coastal Belgian province, facing the North Sea to the northwest. It has land borders with the Dutch province of Zeeland to the northeast, the Flemis ...

, four kilometres to the east of Kortrijk. A memorial stone and plaque on the boundary of George Heriot's School, at the junction of Lauriston Place and Heriot Place, was unveiled on the 100th anniversary of his death, 22 October 2018.

Victoria Cross

King George V George V (George Frederick Ernest Albert; 3 June 1865 – 20 January 1936) was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 6 May 1910 until his death in 1936. George was born during the reign of his pa ...

presented McGregor's VC to his parents on 15 February 1919, in a ceremony at

Buckingham Palace Buckingham Palace () is a royal official residence, residence in London, and the administrative headquarters of the monarch of the United Kingdom. Located in the City of Westminster, the palace is often at the centre of state occasions and r ...

. In 1976, his VC was donated to the Royal Scots and is displayed at the Royal Scots Museum in

Edinburgh Castle Edinburgh Castle is a historic castle in Edinburgh, Scotland. It stands on Castle Rock (Edinburgh), Castle Rock, which has been occupied by humans since at least the Iron Age. There has been a royal castle on the rock since the reign of Malcol ...

, Scotland.

Notes

References

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Mcgregor, David Stuart 1895 births 1918 deaths Military personnel from Edinburgh People educated at George Heriot's School British Army personnel of World War I British World War I recipients of the Victoria Cross Royal Scots officers British military personnel killed in World War I Machine Gun Corps officers British Army recipients of the Victoria Cross Scottish military personnel killed in action