William Dick-Cunyngham
William Dick-Cunyngham | |
|---|---|
The Gordon Highlanders | |
| Battles/wars | Second Anglo-Afghan War Second Boer War |
| Awards | Victoria Cross |
Background
Dick-Cunynigham was the youngest son of Sir William Hanmer Dick-Cunyngham, 8th Baronet of Prestonfield and Lambrughton. The family lived at Prestonfield House in south Edinburgh.[1]
Military career and VC details
He was 28 years old, and a
For the conspicuous gallantry and coolness displayed by him on the 13th December, 1879, at the attack on the Sherpur Pass, in Afghanistan, in having exposed himself to the full fire of the enemy, and by his example and encouragement rallied the men who, having been beaten back, were, at the moment, wavering at the top of the hill.[2]
In 1899 he was appointed in command of the 2nd Battalion Gordon Highlanders, which was sent to South Africa for the Second Boer War.
While in South Africa, he was mortally wounded in action at the siege of Ladysmith on 6 January 1900 and died the following day, 7 January.
Medal and memorials
His Victoria Cross is displayed at the Gordon Highlanders Museum, Aberdeen, Scotland.[3]
His grave is in Ladysmith Cemetery in South Africa. and his name appears on the Boer War Memorial in Cheltenham England.[4]
He is also memorialised with his siblings in
References
- ^ Edinburgh Post Office Directory 1854
- ^ "No. 25027". The London Gazette. 18 October 1881. p. 5140.
- ^ "The Victoria Cross". The Gordon Highlanders Museum. Retrieved 16 September 2017.
- ^ Edwards, Martin (2004), Cheltenham Boer War Memorial, retrieved 13 February 2015
- Monuments to Courage(David Harvey, 1999)
- The Register of the Victoria Cross (This England, 1997)
- Scotland's Forgotten Valour (Graham Ross, 1995)
External links
