Tank officer turns tables on enemy

And ex-joiner defies shelling to fix bridge

Three Stirling soldiers received medals after showing bravery under fire.

Tank commander Lt John Henderson was awarded the Military Cross for his `remarkable gallantry’ – and escape from the enemy.

The brave 24-year-old was the son of Mr William Henderson, motor engineer, Stirling.

According to the citation, Lt Henderson was fighting in his tank for four hours without infantry assistance. Finally, his tank was set on fire and he and his crew were taken prisoner.

`They were removed under escort but managed to turn the tables and capture the escort, returning eventually to the (British line) with 10 prisoners,’ added the citation.

Before joining the Army, Lt Henderson studied at Glasgow Technical College, gaining a B.Sc and joining the Officer Training Corp. He received a commission in April 1915 in the A&SH, and was transferred to the Machine Gun Corp before later being put in charge of a tank. He was wounded at the time of the action for which he won a medal.

A Stirling joiner received the Distinguished Conduct Medal for his role in helping to repair an old enemy footbridge across the Somme canal, river and marsh, at Cizancourt between the night of August 30, 1918, to the morning of September 2, 1918.

The work was carried out under machine gun and rifle fire and occasionally heavy shelling, and it was due to the `magnificent example’ set by L/Cpl John Henderson, that repair of the strategically important 500-yard bridge was completed.

According to the Observer: “The bridge was right out in no-man’s land and he had to work ahead of the covering party.

`On the night of the September 1/2, when nearing the east bank, he volunteered and went forward to within 15 yards of an enemy post to make sure the bridge was complete.’

And on the following night, he volunteered to mend the heavy bridge across the canal while under `very heavy’ shrapnel and trench mortar fire.

L/ Cpl Henderson’s parents lived at 24 Bruce Street. He was 23 and enlisted in June, 1915. Before joining the Army he worked as a joiner with Mr MacPherson, Forth Street, Stirling.

Meanwhile, at a ceremony in Bannockburn, Military Medallist Sgt William Elliot, Royal Warwicks, was presented with an award by the Local Hero Fund Committee. Audience members were told how on December 3, 1917, he used his Lewis Gun to break up several attacks by the Germans on his position.