Scots Crimean War Hero Remembered

Sergeant James McKechnie was one of the first soldiers to be awarded the Victoria Cross, the UK and Commonwealth's highest military honour for valour "in the face of the enemy". He won the medal at the Battle of Alma in 1854 while with the Scots Guards during the Crimean War. The pole carrying the unit's colours was smashed, while under heavy fire. He dashed forward, brandishing a revolver, rallying his men round the flag. His action turned the tide, even though he was wounded in the battle. But after the war and leaving military service, he fell on hard times, as was the case with many former soldiers in those days. When he died in 1886, aged 56, he was buried in an unmarked pauper's grave in the Eastern Necropolis in Glasgow. A researcher in the Scots Guards association was looking into the story and thought it was high time that McKechnie was given a burial with the military honours he deserved. So this week, a group of serving and veteran Scots Guards gathered in the cemetery to see a granite headstone unveiled in Sgt McKechnie's memory. His VC is displayed in the Scots Guards regimental HQ.
Picture via Wikipedia.