David MacKay VC

Victoria Cross

The Victoria Cross is the highest military decoration awarded for valour "in the face of the enemy" to members of the armed forces of various Commonwealth countries, and previous British Empire territories....

 (23 November 1831 - 18 November 1880) was a Scottish

Scotland

Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...

 recipient of the Victoria Cross

Victoria Cross

The Victoria Cross is the highest military decoration awarded for valour "in the face of the enemy" to members of the armed forces of various Commonwealth countries, and previous British Empire territories....

 (VC), the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to United Kingdom

United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

 and Commonwealth

Commonwealth of Nations

The Commonwealth of Nations, normally referred to as the Commonwealth and formerly known as the British Commonwealth, is an intergovernmental organisation of fifty-four independent member states...

 forces.

Life

Born at Alterwall, Howe, Lyth, Scotland

Scotland

Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...

, the son of a farm labourer, he enlisted in the 93rd Highlanders (which became the 93rd Sutherland Highlanders and ultimately the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders

Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders

The Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders, 5th Battalion The Royal Regiment of Scotland is an infantry battalion of the Royal Regiment of Scotland....

) on 23 December 1850 and served in the Crimean War

Crimean War

The Crimean War was a conflict fought between the Russian Empire and an alliance of the French Empire, the British Empire, the Ottoman Empire, and the Kingdom of Sardinia. The war was part of a long-running contest between the major European powers for influence over territories of the declining...

.

The VC

He was awarded the VC for an action during the Indian Mutiny. His citation in the London Gazette

London Gazette

The London Gazette is one of the official journals of record of the British government, and the most important among such official journals in the United Kingdom, in which certain statutory notices are required to be published...

dated 24 December 1858 reads:

The medal

The whereabouts of the VC is unknown, Mackay sold it while he was still alive and it was auctioned around 1910.

Memorial

Mackay was awarded the VC in 1857 but was buried in Lesmahagow

Lesmahagow

Lesmahagow is a small town on the edge of moorland, near Lanark in the central belt of Scotland. It is also known as Abbey Green.-Etymology:The name is possibly a corruption of "Church of St Machutus"...

 cemetery in an unmarked grave. A ceremony was held at the cemetery on 14 November 1998 to unveil a marker erected near the grave.

External links

• Location of grave and VC medal (Strathclyde)
• Pte David MacKay VC (biography & VC action background)
• News Item (new memorial plaque)
• History of Argyll & Sutherland Highlanders