John Brunton Daykins VC MM (Ormiston Farm,

Hawick Hawick ( ; ; ) is a town in the Scottish Borders council areas of Scotland, council area and counties of Scotland, historic county of Roxburghshire in the east Southern Uplands of Scotland. It is south-west of Jedburgh and south-south-east o ...

, 26 March 1883 – 24 January 1933, Edinburgh) 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.

Life

Daykins was born in

in 1883 to John and Bessie Daykins, but he moved with his family to

Jedburgh Jedburgh ( ; ; or ) is a town and former royal burgh in the Scottish Borders and the traditional county town of the Shires of Scotland, historic county of Roxburghshire. History Jedburgh began as ''Jedworð'', the "worth" or enclosed settlem ...

when he was a child. In 1914 he enlisted with the

Lothians and Border Horse The Lothians and Border Horse was a Yeomanry regiment, part of the British Territorial Army. It was ranked 36th in the Yeomanry order of precedence and was based in the Scottish Lowland area, recruiting in the Lothians – East Lothian (Hadd ...

and he was at Loos, the Battle of Vimy Ridge and the

battle of Ypres The Battle of Ypres was a series of engagements during the First World War, near the Belgian city of Ypres, between the German and the Allied armies (Belgian, French and British colonial forces). During the five engagements, casualties may have su ...

. After this he was discharged after suffering from

Trench fever Trench fever (also known as "five-day fever", "quintan fever" (), and "urban trench fever") is a moderately serious infectious disease caused by the bacterium '' Bartonella quintana'' and transmitted by body lice. From 1915 to 1918 between one-f ...

. He refused to be labelled as "unfit" and on the third attempt he successfully re-enlisted again in the

York and Lancaster Regiment The York and Lancaster Regiment was a line infantry regiment of the British Army that existed from 1881 until 1968. The regiment was created in the Childers Reforms of 1881 by the amalgamation of the 65th (2nd Yorkshire, North Riding) Regiment of ...

and served in

Battle of Passchendaele The Third Battle of Ypres (; ; ), also known as the Battle of Passchendaele ( ), was a campaign of the First World War, fought by the Allies of World War I, Allies against the German Empire. The battle took place on the Western Front (World Wa ...

and again on Vimy Ridge. He was in the 2/4th Battalion at

Solesmes, Nord Solesmes (; Picard: ''Solinmes'') is a commune in the Nord department in northern France. Population Heraldry Education The city is home to: * the École Saint-Joseph. * the ' Institution Saint Michel: Collège and Lycée', a Catholic S ...

in France on 30 October 1918 with a dozen of his platoon. John Daykins VC welcomed at Jedburgh Town Hall

They rushed a machine-gun and during subsequent severe hand-to-hand fighting Daykins 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. When he returned to Jedburgh he was made a burgess. In 1924 he inherited his family's Howden farm when his father died.

Death and legacy

John Brunton Daykins Memorial on 100 WW1 2018

Daykins died in 1933 after an accident with a shotgun. He was unmarried and his medals went to his sister. Elizabeth Daykins gave his medals to the York and Lancaster Regimental Museum which is within

Clifton Park Museum Clifton Park and Museum is a city park and municipal museum located in Clifton Park, Rotherham, South Yorkshire, England. Clifton Park Museum is located in Clifton House and is one of several publicly owned museums and visitor attractions admi ...

, in Rotherham,.There is a street in Hawick named for him and Jedburgh decided to lay a commemorative paving stone in 2018. A commemorative event was scheduled to take place in his adopted town of Jedburgh and at

where he earned is VC on the centenary of his bravery.

References

*''

Monuments to Courage David Charles Harvey (29 July 1946 – 4 March 2004) was a British historian and author. He is notable for his seminal work, ''Monuments To Courage'', which documents the graves of almost all recipients of the Victoria Cross, a task that took ...

'' (David Harvey, 1999) *''

The Register of the Victoria Cross ''The Register of the Victoria Cross'' is a reference work that provides brief information on every Victoria Cross awarded until the publication date. Each entry provides a summary of the deed, along with a photograph of the recipient and the f ...

'' (This England, 1997) *''Scotland's Forgotten Valour'' (Graham Ross, 1995) *'' VCs of the First World War – The Final Days 1918'' (Gerald Gliddon, 2000)

External links

Location of grave and VC medal
''(Border, Scotland)'' * {{DEFAULTSORT:Daykins, John Brunton British World War I recipients of the Victoria Cross 1883 births 1933 deaths British Army personnel of World War I York and Lancaster Regiment soldiers Recipients of the Military Medal People from Hawick Military personnel from the Scottish Borders British Army recipients of the Victoria Cross British Yeomanry soldiers People from Jedburgh