The VC diary for 21st January contains the stories of three VC recipients, two from the Great War and one from 1874. It begins with the VC recipient with the shortest name – Lala VC. He was born in 1876 in Kangra, India and was awarded the VC for his actions on 21st January 1916. He found an officer of another Regiment lying close to the enemy, and he dragged into a temporary shelter he had made, and in which he had already bandaged four wounded men. After bandaging his wounds, he heard calls from the Adjutant of his own Regiment who was lying in the open severely wounded. The enemy were only 100 yards away, and it seemed certain death to go out, but Lala insisted on going out, and offered to crawl back with him at once. When this was not permitted, he stripped off his own clothing to keep the wounded officer warm, and stayed with him until darkness fell, when he moved him to the shelter. He died in 1927 and was cremated in his hometown village of Parol, India. His medals are not publicly held. The second recipient is Samuel McGaw VC, who was born in Kirkmichael, Ayrshire in 1838. On 21st January 1874, at the Battle of Amoaful, Ashanti (now Ghana), he led his section through the bush in a most excellent manner and continued to do so throughout the day. He was badly wounded early in the engagement but this did not deter him. He died in 1878 in Larnaca, Cyprus and is buried in the British Cemetery, Kyrenia, Cyprus. His medal is displayed at the Lord Ashcroft Gallery, Imperial War Museum, London. The final recipient is John Alexander Sinton VC, born in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada. On 21st January 1916, Captain Sinton of the Indian Medical Service, was at Orah Ruins, Mesopotamia, when he attended the wounded under very heavy fire. He was shot through both arms and through the side, but refused to go to hospital, and remained all day, attending to his duties under heavy fire. He died in 1956 and is buried in Claggan Presbyterian Cemetery, Cookstown, County Tyrone, Ireland. His medal is displayed at the Army Medical Services Museum, Aldershot, Hampshire.
Posted on: Tue, 20 Jan 2015 06:03:40 +0000
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