Alexander Young, VC (27 January 1873 – 19 October 1916) was an Irish-born South African soldier and a recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest 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. A native of Oranmore,

County Galway "Righteousness and Justice" , anthem = () , image_map = Island of Ireland location map Galway.svg , map_caption = Location in Ireland , area_footnotes = , area_total_km2 = ...

, Young joined the

Queen's Bays The 2nd Dragoon Guards (Queen's Bays) was a cavalry regiment of the British Army. It was first raised in 1685 by the Earl of Peterborough as the Earl of Peterborough's Regiment of Horse by merging four existing troops of horse. Renamed several t ...

on 22 May 1890 at Renmore. He served for a time in India, and became a riding instructor. He first saw active service in the

Mahdist War The Mahdist War ( ar, الثورة المهدية, ath-Thawra al-Mahdiyya; 1881–1899) was a war between the Mahdist Sudanese of the religious leader Muhammad Ahmad bin Abd Allah, who had proclaimed himself the "Mahdi" of Islam (the "Guided On ...

, Second Boer War, and First World War.

VC details

Young was 28 years old and a sergeant-major in the Cape Police, South African Forces during the Second Boer War when the following deed took place for which he was awarded the VC.

First World War

Young served with the South African Scottish Regiment with the rank of lieutenant in the First World War. He was killed in action during the

Battle of the Somme The Battle of the Somme ( French: Bataille de la Somme), also known as the Somme offensive, was a battle of the First World War fought by the armies of the British Empire and French Third Republic against the German Empire. It took place bet ...

on 19 October 1916. His name is included on a list of war dead in St. Nicholas's church, Galway.

The medal

Young's Victoria Cross is held in Lord Ashcroft's VC collection.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Young, Alexander 1873 births 1916 deaths 19th-century Irish people Irish recipients of the Victoria Cross South African recipients of the Victoria Cross Second Boer War recipients of the Victoria Cross British Army personnel of the Mahdist War South African military personnel killed in World War I 2nd Dragoon Guards (Queen's Bays) soldiers People from County Galway South African Army officers Military personnel from County Galway