Stewart McPherson VC (1819 – 7 December 1892) 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 ...

soldier in

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

and a 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 ...

, 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. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

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 ...

military forces.

Life

Stewart McPherson was born in

Culross Culross (/ˈkurəs/) (Scottish Gaelic: ''Cuileann Ros'', 'holly point or promontory') is a village and former royal burgh, and parish, in Fife, Scotland. According to the 2006 estimate, the village has a population of 395. Originally, Culross ...

in 1819, the son of Mungo McPherson and Mary Smith. He left Geddes Public School in the village at 15 and became an apprentice weaver in nearby

Dunfermline Dunfermline (; sco, Dunfaurlin, gd, Dùn Phàrlain) is a city, parish and former Royal Burgh, in Fife, Scotland, on high ground from the northern shore of the Firth of Forth. The city currently has an estimated population of 58,508. Accord ...

, but he was soon lured by adventure and foreign travel. In December 1839, he walked to

Stirling Stirling (; sco, Stirlin; gd, Sruighlea ) is a city in central Scotland, northeast of Glasgow and north-west of Edinburgh. The market town, surrounded by rich farmland, grew up connecting the royal citadel, the medieval old town with its me ...

to join the British Army's

78th Highlanders The 78th (Highlanders) Regiment of Foot was a Highland Infantry Regiment of the Line, raised in 1793. Under the Childers Reforms it amalgamated with 72nd Regiment, Duke of Albany's Own Highlanders to form the Seaforth Highlanders in 1881. Hi ...

, which were later known as the

Seaforth Highlanders The Seaforth Highlanders (Ross-shire Buffs, The Duke of Albany's) was a line infantry regiment of the British Army, mainly associated with large areas of the northern Highlands of Scotland. The regiment existed from 1881 to 1961, and saw servic ...

Ross-shire Buffs, Duke of Albany's. He married a Culross girl, Elizabeth Haig, in 1848, and the couple went on to have six children - Stewart, Sarah, Eliza, Robina, Ferguson, and McGregor. McPherson saw action in

Persia Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...

and

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

before arriving in Bengal, India. He was approximately 38 years old, and now a colour-sergeant. During his time here, his actions during the

Siege of Lucknow The siege of Lucknow was the prolonged defence of the British Residency within the city of Lucknow from rebel sepoys (Indian soldiers in the British East India Company's Army) during the Indian Rebellion of 1857. After two successive relief att ...

in the

Indian Mutiny The Indian Rebellion of 1857 was a major uprising in India in 1857–58 against the rule of the British East India Company, which functioned as a sovereign power on behalf of the British Crown. The rebellion began on 10 May 1857 in the fo ...

earned him the Victoria Cross. His citation reads: McPherson was presented with his award by

Queen Victoria Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until Death and state funeral of Queen Victoria, her death in 1901. Her reign of 63 years and 21 ...

in December 1880, at

Windsor Castle Windsor Castle is a royal residence at Windsor in the English county of Berkshire. It is strongly associated with the English and succeeding British royal family, and embodies almost a millennium of architectural history. The original cast ...

. Only three weeks after receiving his award, he discharged himself from the army and returned to Scotland, where he was appointed superintendent of the

Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...

Industrial Schools based in Bailieston. A decade later, the family moved again to Culross where they bought a house in Low Valleyfield. As a reminder of his time in India, it was named Lucknow Villa and it was there that he died, aged 70, in 1892.

Burial

McPherson was laid to rest in his town near

. He was buried in the Fife County Cemetery, in the shadow of

Culross Abbey Culross Abbey is a former Cistercian abbey in Culross, Scotland, headed by the Abbot or Commendator of Culross. Part of it is still used as the local parish church by the Church of Scotland. History The abbey was founded in 1217 by Malcolm I, M ...

, but his grave became overgrown. About 143 years after being awarded the Victoria Cross a local woman, Janis Ellis, showed businessman Alan Johnson the war hero's last resting place and he decided his valour should be recognized in his home village. The Fife Council awarded an £1800 grant from the common good fund to pay for a new Indian granite stone - quarried less than 60 miles from Lucknow. The grave lies to the north-west of the church entrance. A plaque was also unveiled inside Culross Parish Church at a ceremony which was attended by two of his descendants, Mrs. Lylian Edge and Mr Stuart Lamberton, as well as senior Army personnel. His Victoria Cross is displayed at the Regimental Museum of Queens Own Highlanders, Fort George, Inverness-shire, Scotland.

References

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 36 ...

(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 fol ...

(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) * ''Scotsman'' Wed 27 September 2000

External links

Location of grave and VC medal
''(Fife)'' {{DEFAULTSORT:McPherson, Stewart 1822 births 1892 deaths People from Culross British recipients of the Victoria Cross Seaforth Highlanders soldiers Indian Rebellion of 1857 recipients of the Victoria Cross British military personnel of the Anglo-Persian War British Army recipients of the Victoria Cross zh:斯图尔特·麦克弗森