THE VICTORIA CROSS AWARDED TO CAPTAIN ANGUS BUCHANAN, 4TH BN, SOUTH WALES BORDERERS, HAS BEEN ACQUIRED BY THE LORD ASHCROFT VC COLLECTION. |
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6 December 2013 |
The Victoria Cross, Military Cross and campaign medals awarded to Captain Angus Buchanan, 4th Bn, South Wales Borderers, have been acquired by the Lord Ashcroft Trust the holding institution for the Lord Ashcroft VC Collection. The group will go on display in the Lord Ashcroft Gallery housed in the Imperial War Museum, London. The Angus Buchanan VC group had previously been on a long loan to the South Wales Borderers Museum in Brecon, Powys.
For the award of the Victoria Cross [ London Gazette, 26 September 1916 ], Falauiyah Lines, Mesopotamia, 5 April 1916, Lieutenant ( T / Captain ) Angus Buchanan, 4th Bn, South Wales Borderers.
For most conspicuous bravery ( Falauiyah Lines, Mesopotamia ). During an attack an officer was lying out in the open severely wounded about 150 yards from cover. Two men went to his assistance and one of them was hit at once. Captain Buchanan, on seeing this, immediately went out and, with the help of the other man, carried the wounded officer to cover under heavy machine gun fire. He then returned and brought in the wounded man, again under heavy fire.
Angus Buchanan was invested with his Victoria Cross by King George V at Durdham Down, Bristol on the 8th November 1917.
For the award of the Military Cross
[ London Gazette, 3 June 1916 ], Cape Helles, Gallipoli, 7 January 1916, Lieutenant Angus Buchanan, 4th Bn, South Wales Borderers
On 13th February 1917 Angus Buchanan was hit by a sniper's bullet to the right temple. He received immediate attention on the battlefield before evacuated to a casualty clearing station and then to India where surgeons managed to save his life but not his sight. Buchanan was cared for by his batman, Private Perry, to whom he later gave the credit for his survival. Angus Buchanan died on the 1st March 1944 in the Gloucester Royal Infirmary which stated that his death was as a result of his wounds received during the First World War. He was buried in Coleford Cemetery Churchyard, Gloucestershire. |
Iain Stewart, 6 December 2013