John Alexander Cruickshank
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John Alexander Cruickshank is a Scottish recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces.
Details
He was 24 years old, and a Flying Officer in the 210 Squadron, Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve during the Second World War when the following deed took place for which he was awarded the VC.
On 17/18 July 1944 Flying Officer Cruickshank, on anti-submarine patrol in the North Atlantic, was attacking a U-boat in a hail of flak shells when one burst inside the aircraft, causing a great deal of damage. One member of the crew was killed and two wounded, and although he too had been hit - it was later found that he had 12 wounds, two serious wounds to his lungs and ten penetrating wounds to his lower limbs - Flying Officer Cruickshank went in again, releasing his depth charges, which straddled the U-boat perfectly, and it sank. On the hazardous 5 1/2-hour return journey the flying officer several times lost consciousness, but insisted on helping to land the Catalina.
In March 2004 the Queen unveiled the first national monument to Coastal Command at Westminster Abbey, London. Cruickshank said in a interview after the ceremony: 'When they told me that I was to get the VC it was unbelieveable. Decorations didn't enter my head. Four VC's were awarded to Coastal Command in thr war; the others were posthumous.
He is a living recipient. He later achieved the rank of Flight Lieutenant.
please update if you know where his medal is publicly displayed
Reference
- British VCs of World War 2 (John Laffin, 1997)
- Monuments To Courage (David Harvey, 1999)
- The Register of the Victoria Cross (This England, 1997)
- SCOTLAND'S FORgotten VALOUR (Graham Ross, 1995)
- Symbol of Courage:A History of the Victoria Cross (Max Arthur, 2004)
External links
- John Cruickshank (http://www.magicnet.net/~westham/vc06.html)
- U-742 (http://uboat.net/boats/u742.htm) (details on the U-boat from this action)
This page has been migrated from the Victoria Cross Reference (http://www.victoriacross.net) with permission.