John Alexander Cruickshank
VC (born 20 May 1920) is a Scottish former banker, former
Royal Air Force
The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) an ...
officer, and a
Second World War
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...
recipient of the
Victoria Cross
The Victoria Cross (VC) is the highest and most prestigious award of the British honours system. It is awarded for valour "in the presence of the enemy" to members of the British Armed Forces and may be awarded posthumously. It was previously ...
(VC), the highest award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and
Commonwealth forces. Cruickshank was awarded the VC for sinking a German U-boat and then, despite serious injuries, safely landing his aircraft. He is the last living recipient to have been awarded the VC during the Second World War.
Early life
Born on 20 May 1920 in
Aberdeen
Aberdeen (; sco, Aiberdeen ; gd, Obar Dheathain ; la, Aberdonia) is a city in North East Scotland, and is the third most populous city in the country. Aberdeen is one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas (as Aberdeen City), and ...
, Scotland, Cruickshank was educated at the
Royal High School,
Edinburgh
Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian on the southern shore of t ...
,
Aberdeen Grammar School
Aberdeen Grammar School is a state secondary school in Aberdeen, Scotland. It is one of thirteen secondary schools run by the Aberdeen City Council educational department.
It is the oldest school in the city and one of the oldest grammar school ...
and
Daniel Stewart's College.
['The New V.C. Apprentice Banker and Territorial Before the War', ''Scotsman'' (2 September 1944), p. 4.] He was apprenticed to the
Commercial Bank
A commercial bank is a financial institution which accepts deposits from the public and gives loans for the purposes of consumption and investment to make profit.
It can also refer to a bank, or a division of a large bank, which deals with co ...
in
Edinburgh
Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian on the southern shore of t ...
.
Military service
Within a year, on his father's suggestion, he joined the
Territorial Army, enlisting in the
Royal Artillery
The Royal Regiment of Artillery, commonly referred to as the Royal Artillery (RA) and colloquially known as "The Gunners", is one of two regiments that make up the artillery arm of the British Army. The Royal Regiment of Artillery comprises t ...
in May 1939; he served there until the summer of 1941 when he transferred to the
Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve.
He underwent flight training in Canada and the United States, earning his wings in July 1942. After further training, he was assigned to
No. 210 Squadron in March 1943, piloting
Consolidated PBY Catalina
The Consolidated PBY Catalina is a flying boat and amphibious aircraft that was produced in the 1930s and 1940s. In Canadian service it was known as the Canso. It was one of the most widely used seaplanes of World War II. Catalinas served w ...
flying boats, flying from
RAF Sullom Voe
Royal Air Force Sullom Voe or more simply RAF Sullom Voe is a former Royal Air Force station near the village of Brae, in the Shetland Isles of Scotland. It was a Flying boat base and was closely associated with the adjacent airfield of RAF ...
in
Shetland.
Sullom Voe, now known for its oil terminal, was a flying-boat base during the Second World War. It was used by 210 Squadron of
RAF Coastal Command
RAF Coastal Command was a formation within the Royal Air Force (RAF). It was founded in 1936, when the RAF was restructured into Fighter, Bomber and Coastal Commands and played an important role during the Second World War. Maritime Aviation ...
in its battle to keep the North Atlantic and Arctic sea lanes open for supply convoys. Flying Officer Cruickshank was twenty-four years old when he piloted a Consolidated Catalina anti-submarine flying boat from Sullom Voe on 17 July 1944 on a patrol north into the Norwegian Sea. The objective was to protect the British Home Fleet as it returned from the unsuccessful
Operation Mascot raid on the
German battleship ''Tirpitz''. There the "Cat" caught a
German Type VIIC U-boat on the surface.
At this point in the war U-boats had been fitted with anti-aircraft guns as an attempt to counter the aerial threat. Cruickshank attacked the U-boat, flying his Catalina through a hail of flak. His first pass was unsuccessful, as his depth charges did not release. He brought the aircraft around for a second pass, this time straddling the U-boat and sinking it. All 52 crew members were lost. The U-boat was thought to be
''U-347'', as Cruickshank's VC citation states, but the boat was actually
''U-361''.
The German anti-aircraft fire had been deadly accurate, killing the navigator and injuring four others, including both Cruickshank and less seriously wounded second pilot Flight Sergeant Jack Garnett. Cruickshank was hit in seventy-two places, with two serious wounds to his lungs and ten penetrating wounds to his lower limbs. Despite this, he refused medical attention until he was sure that the appropriate radio signals had been sent and the aircraft was on course for its home base. Even then, he refused
morphine
Morphine is a strong opiate that is found naturally in opium, a dark brown resin in poppies (''Papaver somniferum''). It is mainly used as a pain medication, and is also commonly used recreationally, or to make other illicit opioids. T ...
, aware that it would cloud his judgement. Flying through the night, it took the damaged Catalina five and a half hours to return to Sullom Voe, with Garnett at the controls and Cruickshank lapsing in and out of consciousness in the back. Cruickshank then returned to the cockpit and took command of the aircraft again. Deciding that the light and the sea conditions for a water landing were too risky for the inexperienced Garnett to put the aircraft down safely, he kept the flying boat in the air circling for an extra hour until he considered it safer, when they landed the Catalina on the water and taxied to an area where it could be safely beached.
When the RAF medical officer boarded the aircraft, he discovered Cruickshank had lost a great deal of blood, and had to give him a transfusion before he was stable enough to be transferred to hospital. John Cruickshank's injuries were such that he never flew in command of an aircraft again. For his actions in sinking the U-boat and saving his crew he received the Victoria Cross while Flight Sergeant Jack Garnett received the
Distinguished Flying Medal
The Distinguished Flying Medal (DFM) was a military decoration awarded to personnel of the Royal Air Force and other British Armed Forces, and formerly to personnel of other Commonwealth countries, below commissioned rank, for "exceptional va ...
.
Victoria Cross citation
The announcement and accompanying citation for the decoration was published in a supplement to ''
The London Gazette
''The London Gazette'' is one of the official journals of record or government gazettes of the Government of the United Kingdom, and the most important among such official journals in the United Kingdom, in which certain statutory notices are ...
'' on 1 September 1944, reading
Later life
Cruickshank left the RAF in September 1946 to return to his career in banking; he retired from this in 1977. In March 2004 the Queen unveiled the first national monument to Coastal Command at
Westminster Abbey
Westminster Abbey, formally titled the Collegiate Church of Saint Peter at Westminster, is an historic, mainly Gothic church in the City of Westminster, London, England, just to the west of the Palace of Westminster. It is one of the Unite ...
, London. Cruickshank said in an interview after the ceremony: "When they told me that I was to get the VC it was unbelievable. Decorations didn't enter my head." Four VCs were awarded to Coastal Command in the war; the others were posthumous.
He is vice chairman of
The Victoria Cross and George Cross Association along with
Rambahadur Limbu
Rambahadur Limbu, ( ne, रामबहादुर लिम्बू; born 8 July 1939) is a Nepalese Gurkha recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwe ...
. He celebrated his
100th birthday on 20 May 2020. He became the first recipient of the Victoria Cross to reach the age of 100, and the second member of the VC and GC Association after
Stuart Archer, a
George Cross recipient.
Awards
*
Victoria Cross
The Victoria Cross (VC) is the highest and most prestigious award of the British honours system. It is awarded for valour "in the presence of the enemy" to members of the British Armed Forces and may be awarded posthumously. It was previously ...
*
1939-1945 Star
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...
*
Atlantic Star
The Atlantic Star is a military campaign medal, instituted by the United Kingdom in May 1945 for award to British Commonwealth forces who took part in the Battle of the Atlantic, the longest continuous campaign of the Second World War.
Two cl ...
*
Arctic Star
The Arctic Star is a military campaign medal instituted by the United Kingdom on 19 December 2012 for award to British Commonwealth forces who served on the Arctic Convoys north of the Arctic Circle, during the Second World War.
The Second Wo ...
*
Defence Medal
*
War Medal 1939-1945
War is an intense armed conflict between states, governments, societies, or paramilitary groups such as mercenaries, insurgents, and militias. It is generally characterized by extreme violence, destruction, and mortality, using regular o ...
*
Queen Elizabeth II Coronation Medal (1953)
*
Queen Elizabeth II Silver Jubilee Medal (1977)
*
Queen Elizabeth II Golden Jubilee Medal (2002)
*
Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal
The Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal (french: Médaille du jubilé de diamant de la reine Elizabeth II) or The Queen's Diamond Jubilee Medal was a commemorative medal created in 2012 to mark the 60th anniversary of Queen Elizabeth II's ...
(2012)
*
Queen Elizabeth II Platinum Jubilee Medal
The Queen Elizabeth II Platinum Jubilee Medal (french: Médaille du jubilé de platine de la reine Elizabeth II) or The Queen's Platinum Jubilee Medal is a commemorative medal created to mark the 70th anniversary of Queen Elizabeth II's accessi ...
(2022)
*
Efficiency Medal
The Efficiency Medal was instituted in 1930 for award to part-time warrant officers, non-commissioned officers and men after twelve years of efficient service on the active list of the Militia or the Territorial Army of the United Kingdom, or ...
Since the
King George VI Coronation Medal
The King George VI Coronation Medal was a commemorative medal, instituted to celebrate the coronation of King George VI and Queen Elizabeth.
Issue
This medal was awarded as a personal souvenir of King George VI's coronation. It was awarded to t ...
in 1937, living Victoria Cross and
George Cross recipients are automatically eligible for any coronation and jubilee medals that are given following their being awarded the Victoria Cross or the George Cross.
References
;Specific
;General
*
British VCs of World War 2 (John Laffin, 1997)
*
Monuments to Courage
David Charles Harvey (29 July 1946 – 4 March 2004) was a 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 him over 3 ...
(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 fo ...
(This England, 1997)
*
Scotland's Forgotten Valour
''Scotland's Forgotten Valour'' is a 1995 book by Graham Ross, published by MacLean Press under . (The typography of the title on the book uses capitalisation to contrast emphasis ("SCOTLAND'S FORgotten VALOUR"), to communicate additional meanin ...
(Graham Ross, 1995)
*Symbol of Courage:A History of the Victoria Cross (Max Arthur, 2004)
*For Valour: The Air VCs (Chaz Bowyer, 1992)
External links
U-361''(details on the U-boat from this action)''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cruickshank, John Alexander
1920 births
Living people
British World War II bomber pilots
British World War II recipients of the Victoria Cross
Men centenarians
People educated at Aberdeen Grammar School
People educated at Stewart's Melville College
People educated at the Royal High School, Edinburgh
Military personnel from Aberdeen
Royal Air Force officers
Royal Air Force pilots of World War II
Royal Air Force recipients of the Victoria Cross
Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve personnel of World War II
Royal Artillery officers
Scottish airmen
Scottish bankers
Scottish centenarians
British Army personnel of World War II