Tribute to a hero killed before he got his VC
EVEN among the nightmarish horrors of the First World War trenches, it was a day from hell.
At 5.30am, Sergeant Louis McGuffie narrowly escaped the bullet which killed his commanding officer and suddenly found himself in charge of a platoon of men as the bloody battles of the dying weeks of the war raged around him.
Many would have cowered at the prospect but over the course of that day, the 25-year-old from Wigtown rose to the challenge, single-handedly storming dugouts, capturing a string of German prisoners and rescuing British PoWs.
Those incredible actions earned him the Victoria Cross.
But having escaped the bullets and bombs that day, Sgt McGuffie, a labourer before the war, was killed by a shell just a week later and never knew of the glory he had secured.
Later this month, 100 years after his brave exploits, a memorial to the soldier will be unveiled in his home town.
Events marking his valour will take centre stage at the Wigtown Book Festival.
Mike Morley, who will appear at the festival to launch a book he has co-written with historian Jack Hunter about the war hero, said: ‘He did an extraordinary thing for an ordinary guy.
‘Had we not written the book very little would have been known about McGuffie because there is very little left on official records about him.’
Sgt McGuffie had a basic education and left school at 13 when he became a general labourer. He enlisted at the age of 21 with The King’s Own Scottish Borderers when the war broke out.
He survived an injury in Gallipoli in 1915, and served in Africa and the Middle East before ending up, in autumn 1918, with his battalion on the frontline near Wytschaete, Belgium.
The fateful day was September 28, 1918. The citation for his Victoria Cross read: ‘He, single-handed, entered several enemy dugouts and took many prisoners, and during subsequent operations dealt similarly with dugout after dugout, forcing one officer and 25 other ranks to surrender. During the consolidation of the first objective he pursued and brought back several of the enemy who were slipping away, and he was also instrumental in rescuing some British soldiers who were being led off as prisoners.
‘Later in the day, when in command of a platoon, he led it with the utmost dash and resource, capturing many prisoners. This very gallant soldier was subsequently killed by a shell.’
He was laid to rest at Zandvoorde British Cemetery, near Ypres. His mother Catherine went to Buckingham Palace to receive her son’s Victoria Cross. On her return, a town band met her at the station and a parade and civic reception were organised.
The soldier’s father, Edward, died in 1917 from a cerebral haemorrhage while his brother Robert was wounded six times and lost an arm in the war.
Colonel Angus Loudon, president of the King’s Own Scottish Borderers Association, said the VC awarded to Sgt McGuffie was still a source of pride to soldiers a century later.
He added: ‘People such as Sgt McGuffie were selfless in their disregard for their own safety in pursuit of looking after their own comrades.’
Mike Morley and Jack Hunter will appear at the Wigtown Book Festival to discuss their book, Louis McGuffie VC: Wigtown’s War Hero, on Friday, September 28, at 4.30pm. Tickets £8.00. For details see: wigtownbookfestival.com
‘Led platoon with dash and resource’