Malcolm’s medal joy
Top French medal for 91-year-old veteran
A Bathgate WWII veteran was officially presented with France’s highest honour by the country’s Consul General last week.
The Royal British Legion hosted a special ceremony at their Bathgate club where Malcolm McCuaig received the Legion D’honneur.
French Consul General Emmanuel Cocher pinned the medal to Malcolm’s chest in recognition of his bravery in helping to defeat Hitler’s army in France.
Malcolm said: “It’s a great honour for me to have received the award.”
Bathgate Royal British Legion Branch Chair Cameron McConnachie said: “It was a very special occasion and made even better by the fact Malcolm never expected to receive the Legion D’honneur.”
West Lothian war hero Malcolm McCuaig had France’s top honour presented to him in person last week.
French Consul General Emmanuel Cocher turned up to the Royal British Legion’s club in Bathgate to meet the 91-year-old WWII veteran.
And he presented Malcolm, from Bathgate, with the Legion D’honneur for his bravery in helping overcome Hitler’s German troops in France.
The medal, which Malcolm received in the post weeks ago, was officially handed over at a ceremony on Friday.
And Malcom said: “It’s a great honour for me to have received the award.
“When I initially got the medal through the post, it was a huge surprise, so for the French Consul General to come and present it to me was very nice.”
Cameron McConnachie, chair of the Bathgate Royal British Legion branch, said: “The catering staff put on a nice meal for Malcolm, his family and the Consul General.
“Malcolm had come to me and said that the Consul General would be presenting him with the medal, so we arranged to host him.
“It was a very special occasion and made even better by the fact Malcolm never expected to receive the Legion D’honneur. He had a great time with his wife Jean and daughter Janis.”
Bathgate Councillor Harry Cartmill was instrumental in getting Malcolm recognised after a chance meeting with the Consul General outside the Scottish Parliament in 2014.
Councillor Cartmill told stories of Malcolm’s bravery over lunch but never heard any more about the Legion D’honneur until this year.
He said: “The presentation went very well. I started proceedings with a few words of welcome for the Consul General ong his first visit to Bathgate
“He then officially presented the medal to Malcolm and delivered a powerful speech on how the French nation owes such a debt to men and women like Malcolm.”
Last month, The West Lothian Courier spoke to Malcolm about his experiences during WWII. He told us of how he joined the army as a 16-year-old as part of a bet in 1941 before going on to serve in France, Belgium, the Netherlands and the Far East.
Malcolm recalled the Germans spraying bullets and bombs over the trenches as British troops advanced through Arromanches, Bayeux, Caen and Calais.
And he revealed how close he was to becoming a prisoner of war – or worse – after getting lost in the French countryside and hiding away in a small holding.
He said: “We heard traffic going up and down one morning. We had a peep through the window and it was German trucks. We stayed another few days and luckily they seemed to get pushed back.”
The French nation owes such a debt to men and women like Malcolm