Angus Buchanan, (11 August 1894 – 1 March 1944) was an English 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

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forces.

Early life

Buchanan was the son of a doctor from

Coleford, Gloucestershire Coleford is a market town in the west of the Forest of Dean, Gloucestershire, England, east of the Welsh border and close to the Wye Valley. It is the administrative centre of the Forest of Dean district. The combined population of the town's ...

. He was educated at Monmouth School, where he was head boy. In 1913 he went to

Jesus College, Oxford Jesus College (in full: Jesus College in the University of Oxford of Queen Elizabeth's Foundation) is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. It is in the centre of the city, on a site between Turl Street, Ship ...

to study classics. One of his tutors described him as "thoroughly Scotch and rather reserved, but a hard worker & likely to be a good influence in the Coll ge. He rowed for the college in 1914, played rugby and was Secretary of the Athletics Club. He then joined the army, where he served at

Gallipoli The Gallipoli Peninsula (; ; ) is located in the southern part of East Thrace, the European part of Turkey, with the Aegean Sea to the west and the Dardanelles strait to the east. Gallipoli is the Italian form of the Greek name (), meaning ' ...

and in

Mesopotamia Mesopotamia is a historical region of West Asia situated within the Tigris–Euphrates river system, in the northern part of the Fertile Crescent. Today, Mesopotamia is known as present-day Iraq and forms the eastern geographic boundary of ...

. He was awarded the Military Cross in 1916, and was mentioned four times in despatches.

Award of the Victoria Cross

Buchanan was 21 years old, and a temporary

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

in the 4th Battalion, South Wales Borderers,

British Army The British Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of the United Kingdom. the British Army comprises 73,847 regular full-time personnel, 4,127 Brigade of Gurkhas, Gurkhas, 25,742 Army Reserve (United Kingdom), volunteer reserve perso ...

during the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

when the action for which he received his

took place, in the attempts to relieve the British forces besieged at Kut. On 5 April 1916 at the Falauyah Lines he rescued two wounded men while under heavy enemy fire. The award was announced in a supplement to ''

The London Gazette ''The London Gazette'', known generally as ''The 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, i ...

'' of 26 September 1916: On 8 November 1917 he was invested with the Victoria Cross and the Military Cross at a ceremony on Durdham Downs, Bristol, by King

George V George V (George Frederick Ernest Albert; 3 June 1865 – 20 January 1936) was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 6 May 1910 until Death and state funeral of George V, his death in 1936. George w ...

. The ceremony was recorded by Pathé News (see External links). Buchanan had previously been awarded the Russian decoration of the Order of St. Vladimir 4th Class (with Swords) in July 1916.

Later life

Angus-Buchanan-bronze-bust-by-sculptor-Anthony-Smith

On 13 February 1917 Buchanan was shot in the head by a sniper and permanently blinded. He attributed his survival to the care of his

batman Batman is a superhero who appears in American comic books published by DC Comics. Batman was created by the artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger, and debuted in Detective Comics 27, the 27th issue of the comic book ''Detective Comics'' on M ...

, Private Mark Perry. He rejoined Jesus College after the war and read law, rowing for the college in 1919 despite his blindness. After graduating in 1921, he worked in a solicitor's office in Oxford before returning to Coleford to work until his death in 1944. In 1921 he attended Monmouth School for the ceremony marking the dedication of the school's war memorial, which he unveiled. Funds were raised in Coleford to mark his bravery and, at Buchanan's request, were used to purchase a

playing field Play is a range of Motivation#Intrinsic and extrinsic, intrinsically motivated activities done for recreation. Play is commonly associated with children and juvenile-level activities, but may be engaged in at any life stage, and among other high ...

for the use of the local children. Buchanan died on 1 March 1944 and was buried in Coleford Cemetery, next to the recreation field named in his honour. In addition to the playing field at Coleford, Buchanan is also remembered at Monmouth School, where the Upper Sixth Form boarding house, Buchanan House, commemorates him. His Victoria Cross was displayed at the Regimental Museum of The Royal Welsh in

Brecon Brecon (; ; ), archaically known as Brecknock, is a market town in Powys, mid Wales. In 1841, it had a population of 5,701. The population in 2001 was 7,901, increasing to 8,250 at the 2011 census. Historically it was the county town of Breck ...

but, following its purchase by Michael Ashcroft in 2013, is now in the Lord Ashcroft VC Collection at The

Imperial War Museum The Imperial War Museum (IWM), currently branded "Imperial War Museums", is a British national museum. It is headquartered in London, with five branches in England. Founded as the Imperial War Museum in 1917, it was intended to record the civ ...

References

Bibliography

External links

Pathe News coverage of Buchanan's investiture ceremony
{{DEFAULTSORT:Buchanan, Angus 1894 births 1944 deaths People from Coleford, Gloucestershire British Army personnel of World War I South Wales Borderers officers Recipients of the Military Cross British World War I recipients of the Victoria Cross Alumni of Jesus College, Oxford English solicitors English blind people Recipients of the Order of St. Vladimir, 4th class People educated at Monmouth School for Boys British Army recipients of the Victoria Cross Blind lawyers British lawyers with disabilities Burials in Gloucestershire Military personnel from Gloucestershire