Daredevil war hero is honoured in Glasgow
THE memory of a daredevil First World War hero has again been honoured as a special ceremony was held in Glasgow.
Sergeant Major John Skinner was awarded a Victoria Cross (VC) by King George V during an investiture at Buckingham Palace on September 26, 1917.
It was the second time the monarch had decorated Skinner, having presented him with the Distinguished Conduct Medal (DCM) at Glasgow Green two years earlier.
The Sergeant Major also received the Croix de Guerre in recognition of his VC heroism. Yesterday a First World War centenary paving stone in his memory was unveiled by Lord Provost Eva Bolander, witnessed by proud relatives, outside the People’s Palace.
The Kings Own Scottish Borderer, who lied about his age in order to sign up when he was 16, was described by Sir Beauvoir de Lisle, the KOSB’s Commanding Officer, as “the bravest man I met in a war won by brave men”.
It was Sergeant Major Skinner’s bravery at Passchendaele on August 16, 1917, that earned him the Victoria Cross.
Soldier-journalist Lieutenant James Price Lloyd in a press release for the War Office recounted his bravery.
He wrote: “In spite of the fact that Skinner had been wounded in the head, he hastily collected six men and dashed towards the block houses. The first he captured single-handed. He reappeared laboriously carrying two machine guns, one under each arm.”
Sergeant Major Skinner was born to Walter and Mary Skinner in Maryhill.
His Great nephew Stewart Skinner, 70, travelled from Sydney, Australia, to attend the ceremony. He said: “I always get goosebumps when I talk about him. By all accounts, as well as being incredibly brave, he was full of mischief: drunk on duty, drunk in charge of a horse, women in barracks.
“The King apparently asked him, when he pinned the VC on his tunic: ‘How did you manage to keep all these prisoners?’ and he replied: ‘Once I get hold of something I don’t let go’.”
Sergeant Major Skinner was fatally shot in Belgium on March 17, 1918, at the age of 35 years, when trying to rescue a wounded man.
At his funeral on March 19, his coffin was carried 17 miles for burial, ignoring the rule that the dead were to be buried near the trenches.
A total of nine VCs attended the funeral, understood to be the only time six VCs have acted as pall-bearers, and therefore unique in British military history.