Special flying visit to honour war hero
Two sisters have flown from the United States on a personal journey to honour their cousin from Cambusnethan who died during the First World War in France.
Private William Johnstone Milne, was the first man from the Wishaw area to be awarded the Victoria Cross. He had emigrated to Canada prior to the war.
His cousins Nancy Watford and her sibling Mary Armes will lay a wreath in his memory today (June 1) at Newmains War Memorial after travelling to North Lanarkshire.
William signed up for the war effort in September 1915 at Moose Jaw in Saskatchewan, joining a Canadian Overseas regiment and shipped out to Europe where he saw active service for around a year and fought in France at the Battle of Vimy Ridge, where he showed incredible bravery by capturing two machine gun posts.
Canadian Corps captured the ridge which was crucial to the advances of the British Third Army to the south.
Private Milne was killed shortly after capturing the second machine gun and was awarded the VC for bravery posthumously.
His body was buried in a common grave and never recovered but he is commemorated on the Vimy Memorial at Givenchy-en-Gohelle, France.
News of the soldier’s death was published in the Wishaw Press on June 15, 1917, with the headline; “Our first VC, Posthumous honour, WishawCanadian’s Wonderful bravery.”
The article conveyed that his parents who lived at Steel’s Land, Cambusnethan had been informed by Telegram that he had been awarded the VC.
And the soldier who broke the tragic news of his death to the couple described him as a “good soldier” who showed “splendid devotion to duty”.
His father David was originally from Kincardineshire but had lived in the district from the early 1880s – he ran a carting contractor business.
The soldier’s mother had the maiden name McCormack and was from Newmains, her father worked for the Coltness Iron Company for over 50 years.
Private Milne had been born in Anderson Street, which was later renamed Cambusnethan Street following the merging of the burghs of Motherwell and Wishaw in 1920, as the former also had a street of the same name.
He attended Newmains Public School (Newmains Primary) and on leaving took up an apprenticeship as a moulder, he then worked for the Coltness Iron Company at a farm at Herdshill.
He left for Canada in 1900 where he worked on a farm owned by the son of a man named Mr Kikland from Newmains, before acquiring a plot of land himself.
He returned to Cambusnethan twice while on leave during the war.
His cousin Nancy’s husband Larry Roeder, a former US Diplomat, believes it is incumbent that those who gave their lives serving their countries should continue to be honoured and remembered.
He wrote to the British Legion requesting their assistance to lay a wreath at the War Memorial in Newmains, in a poignant mark of respect to his wife’s cousin Private Milne.
He said: “If we expect future generations to serve in battle, we must honour those who defended democracy in the past, especially now when that concept is under such serious threat in places like Ukraine.
“Nancy and Mary will visit the war memorial commemorating those who died in that struggle from Milne’s hometown of Cambusnethan, and lay a wreath.
“This is in honour of Private Milne of course, but also for any in Lanarkshire with whom he might have related or been a friend.
“I’ve participated in many such events abroad, most recently while serving in Egypt where I attended a ceremony at the site of the Battle of El-Alamein.
“My father was attached to the British 8th Army as an American ambulance driver. He survived, but many of his British friends did not.
“On the one hand, such events are personal, as it was for the many relatives of the dead I met at El-Alamein; but on the other hand, such events are a necessary societal service.”
The sisters also plan to visit their cousin’s former school and North Lanarkshire Heritage Centre where there are a number of small objects relating to their late cousin.