Sergeant Sergeant (abbreviated to Sgt. and capitalized when used as a named person's title) is a rank in many uniformed organizations, principally military and policing forces. The alternative spelling, ''serjeant'', is used in The Rifles and other uni ...

John Carmichael (1 April 1893 – 20 December 1977) was a British Army soldier and 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 (VC), the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and

Commonwealth A commonwealth is a traditional English term for a political community founded for the common good. Historically, it has been synonymous with "republic". The noun "commonwealth", meaning "public welfare, general good or advantage", dates from the ...

forces. Carmichael was 24 years old, and a

sergeant Sergeant (abbreviated to Sgt. and capitalized when used as a named person's title) is a rank in many uniformed organizations, principally military and policing forces. The alternative spelling, ''serjeant'', is used in The Rifles and other uni ...

in the 9th Battalion,

The North Staffordshire Regiment (The Prince of Wales's) The North Staffordshire Regiment (Prince of Wales's) was a line infantry regiment of the British Army, which was in existence between 1881 and 1959. The 64th (2nd Staffordshire) Regiment of Foot was created on 21 April 1758 from the 2nd Battalio ...

, during the First World War when the following deed took place for which he was awarded the Victoria Cross. On 8 September 1917, when excavating a trench near Hill 60,

Zwarteleen Zillebeke (also known as Zellebeck) is a village in the Flemish province of West Flanders in Belgium. It is a former municipality which is now part of Ypres. History On 3 March 1914 the then municipality was granted the arms of the last Lords o ...

, Belgium, Sergeant Carmichael saw that a grenade had been unearthed and had started to burn. Rather than simply throwing the bomb out of the trench and endangering the lives of the men working on top, he immediately rushed to the spot shouting for his men to get clear, put his steel helmet over the grenade and then stood on the helmet. The grenade exploded, blowing him out of the trench causing him serious injuries, but no one else was hurt. He could not walk for 3 years.

Freemasonry

He was initiated into Freemasonry in Lodge New Monkland, No. 88, (Airdrie, Scotland) on 9 January, Passed on 23 January and Raised on 27 March 1919.The Great War 1914-1918 Victoria Cross Freemasons. Granville Angell. 2014. pp.97 - 100.

The Medal

His VC is displayed at the

Staffordshire Regiment Museum The Staffordshire Regiment Museum is a military museum in Staffordshire, England, preserving the history of the Staffordshire Regiment (The Prince of Wales's), its antecedent regiments and its successor regiment, the Mercian Regiment, from 1705 ...

, Whittington Barracks, Lichfield, Staffordshire.

References

* Monuments to Courage (David Harvey, 1999) * The Register of the Victoria Cross (This England, 1997) * The Sapper VCs (Gerald Napier, 1998) * Scotland's Forgotten Valour (Graham Ross, 1995) *

VCs of the First World War - Passchendaele 1917 ''VCs of the First World War'' is a series of books that list the Victoria Cross recipients of the First World War. The series consists of 13 books written by four different authors, first published under the label Sutton Publishing Limited, part ...

(Stephen Snelling, 1998)

External links

Location of grave and VC medal
''(Strathclyde)''

'(cemetery & photo)'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Carmichael, John 1893 births 1977 deaths People from North Lanarkshire British World War I recipients of the Victoria Cross British Army personnel of World War I North Staffordshire Regiment soldiers Recipients of the Military Medal Royal Engineers soldiers Sherwood Foresters soldiers British Army recipients of the Victoria Cross Military personnel from Lanarkshire Burials in Scotland