Second
Glaswegian and the first person from Glasgow's
east-end and the first Glasgow resident
to be awarded the VC in the 1st World War.. 22nd Oct 1914
.
The
Victoria Cross
is the highest and most
prestigious award for gallantry in the face
of the enemy that can be
awarded to British and Commonwealth forces.
The Victoria
Cross has
been bestowed
1,357 times since 1856.
World
War
I.......Story behind the VC award: Private Henry May was a
member of the 1st
Battalion Cameronians (Scottish Rifles).
At daybreak on 22nd October 1914 Henry
May was in a platoon
under the command of Lt.D.A.H.Graham.
This Platoon was acting
as covering party in a ditch to hold the enemy
in check while the main
part of the Cameronians entrenched positions
about 700 yards to the
rear. This took place on the eastern side of the
village of La
Boutillerie, France. During this time the
Germans who were only 50
yards to the front of the platoon, attacked them
in force which
resulted in them falling back, but not before
the trench-digging to the
rear was completed.
During the fighting L/Cpl
Lawton had been wounded, about a hundred
yards to the right of
Pte.May who quickly ran across the firing line
through a hail of
bullets. L/Cpl James McCall and Pte.James
Bell went
with Pte.May to assist. Pte.Bell took off the
wounded L/Cpl Lawton's
equipment but he was shot dead as Pte.May and
L/Cpl.McCall tried to
lift him to his feet. L/Cpl.McCall too was
knocked unconscious and
Pte.May then flattened himself to the ground
determined to fight to the
last.
At that moment he saw his platoon commander, Lt
Graham fall to the
ground with a bullet in his leg. Pte.May called
Pte.Bell to follow and
they ran over to their officer; the two men
carried him step by step,
zig-zagging as they stumbled on. When they had
covered about 300 yards
they reached a ditch where Pte.Bell was shot in
the hand and foot but
they managed eventually to reach safety.
Pte.May was exhausted but
struggled to drag Lt.Graham a little nearer
safety when Cpl.Taylor came to his
assistance. Lt.Graham, who
had lost a lot of blood by this time ordered the
two men to return to
their lines but they disobeyed him. Cpl.Taylor
lifted Lt.Graham onto
his shoulders but was then shot dead. Pte.May by
some supreme effort,
then dragged the wounded officer to the British
trenches and safety.
Pte May's heroism and utter disregard for the
safety of his own life
was in the true tradition of the holders of the
Victoria
Cross.
On 2nd of November 1914, eleven days after
Pte.May won his VC, he was
wounded by shrapnel during the attacks on the
town of Ypres. He was
attended to at a base hospital before being
invalided home. He was home
with his family in Glasgow in time for
Christmas. In mid-January 1915
he departed once more for France, and back to
the bloody war..
His
VC
was gazetted four months later on 19th April
1915.
Photo
from
Daily Record and Mail, Tuesday, April 20 1915 Extract
from Daily Record and Mail, April 20th 1915 Pte. Henry May ( 1st Cameronians
)
who has been awarded the Victoria Cross
for most conspicuous bravery on
October 22 last year. Our photograph shows
Private May, his wife and
one of his three children.
One of the 'Daily Record and Mail'
representatives had the pleasing
duty of conveying the glad tidings to
Mrs.May.
Naturally she was delighted
that the coveted distinction had been
awarded to her husband, but one thing she
would have preferred even
before the Victoria Cross, as she frankly
phrased it, " would be him comin' in
that door as weel as when he left."
Many woman with husbands at the war will
appreciate the sentiment thus
expressed. Private May has his home at 38
Colvend Street, Bridgeton,
Glasgow, a quiet thoroughfare in the
neighbourhood of Main Street and
adjacent to the bridge which connects with
the Rutherglen side of the
river. He has a family of three, the eldest
being a sunny little lady
of six summers, and the youngest, of the
same sex, eighteen
months. The hero is 29 years of age,
and is known in several of
the factories in the East-end.
[ Photgraph - Christina & Henry May
with their third child
Margaret,who was born 12 Jan 1914.]
( To see the full article from
this 1915
newspaper click
here )
His
Life...
Henry was a reservist and was also
a tenter (weaver's assistent)
with Forest Frew & Company, muslin
manufacturers close to
Rutherglen Bridge, Bridgeton, Glasgow. As a
reservist he joined the
colours at the outbreak of war. After his VC was
gazetted, he was told
that he was entitled to return home for a
short respite. He
arrived in Glasgow Central Train Station at
19.45 hours
on Saturday 31st July 1915 and was met by a
representative of the Lord
Provost and by friends and former
colleagues of Forrest Frew's
mill.
After leaving the train he was briefly carried
shoulder high by the
enthusiastic crowd.
On 4th August Henry was invited to
a civil reception and in replying to
the toast he said, "I feel proud to be
present. I only did what any
other soldier would have done. Plenty of
men have equalled what I
did." A week later he addressed a
group of Clyde munition
workers during a dinner break, telling them, "Stick
to your work
for the sake of our boys in the trenches." On the 12th August he travelled to London to
be
presented with his VC from the king at
Buckingham Palace. After the
ceremony he was mobbed again by an eager crowd
keen to shake him by the
hand.
Henry was discharged from the Army
on 28th August 1915 when his regular
engagement of thirteen years had expired. He
rejoined in 1918 and
attained the rank of Lieutenant.
King George V gave an Afternoon Party at
Buckingham Palace on the 26th June 1920
to Recipients of
the Victoria Cross. His Majesty was accompanied
by The Queen and
Members of the Royal Family. The Victoria Cross
Recipients assembled at
Wellington Barracks, and marched to the Garden
of the Palace via
Birdcage Walk, Horse Guards Parade and The Mall
preceded by the Band of
the Welsh Guards.
The King inspected the VC Recipients, who
afterwards filed past His
Majesty, and had the honour of being presented
to The King and Queen.......Oor Henry was
there! (The official list gave his rank
mistakenly as
Pte.May)
Extract from Daily Record and
Mail, June 28th 1920 Never
in the nation's history has
such a spectacle been presented as was
witnessed at Buckingham Place on
Saturday afternoon, when 324 heroes,
all decorated with the Victoria
Cross - soldiers and sailors who had
won the award for valour
during Britain's many wars of 61 years
- were entertained by
their King at a garden party at the Palace.
And Scotland was well represented in that
memorable and impressive
gathering. The men marched in stately files
across the lawn to be
received by the King and Queen. The little
bronze Cross was the only
passport required for this unique
function.
Each soldier and sailor was allowed to
invite two relatives or friends,
and in all, about a thousand persons were
admitted to the
grounds.
( see
newspaper article
from 1920 )
After the war.....
After the war he joined a hosiery
firm the Glasgow Manufacturing
Company in which he became a partner.
Many years later he took ill in his home and died
in Glasgow Royal
Infirmary on 26th July 1941 just days before
his 56th birthday. He
left a widow, Christina and four children.
His home address then was No.903 Cumbernauld Road,
Riddrie,
Glasgow.
His funeral took place at Riddrie Park Cemetary,
Glasgow and was the largest
seen in the East-end for a long
time. The commanding officer
of the Cameronians, Colonel C.B.Vandaleur
attended the funeral
along with four holders
of the VC: Sergeant John McAuley VC, DCM, 1st
Battalion Scots Guards.
Sergeant Robert Downie VC, 2nd Battalion Royal
Dublin Fusiliers
Private David Lauder VC, 4th Battalion Royal
Scots Fusiliers
Drum-Major Walter Ritchie VC, 2nd Battalion
Seaforth Highlanders. (
see newspaper article on his
death from 1941 ) .
Henry is
buried and has a family headstone at Riddrie
Park Cemetery, Glasgow, Section B. Lair
146.
Footnote
:-Henry May's
former platoon
commander Lt.D.A.H. Graham
whose life he saved, later became a
Major General winning the DSO and the MC. He
eventually became Colonel
of the regiment!
.
Webmaister : What an
honour! That I can
pay tribute to this 1st World War hero
and remind the world about this Bridgeton
boy in my website.
Over 20,000
Glaswegians were killed during World
War 1, these men died in some of the
bloodiest battles ever fought in the history
of modern warfare.
"A year ago I was contacted by
the Secretary of the
"Cameronians" Scottish Rifles Memorial
Club, who was under
the impression Henry May was buried in
an unmarked grave in Riddrie Park
Cemetery. I was able to tell him
that Henry May is buried in the
same grave as his two children, whose names
appear on the headstone, but May's
does not. I have a book showing a b/w picture
of the headstone which displays
the word 'May' on the base.
Note that Henry May died in 1942 and from
previous research into VC holders
that died of natural causes during WWII, a
number were buried in unmarked
graves or had headstones that were not marked.
I can only assume that owing to
WW II call-up there was a severe shortage of
stonemasons during the war. This
could be the reason why May's name does not
appear on the headstone. I've just
had a look at your website and it is very
pleasing that you have a site on 'old
east-end of Glasgow', it makes reading it a
very personal experience. I'll add
your Henry May webpage to my 'Links'
page later this week"
Webmaister
: Any
information you need to know about the Victoria
Cross can be found at Iain'swebsite....a
truly wonderful, historical archive.
Extract from e-mail
Dec.2002,
Ron McPhee, London,
England
"Aye Webmaster, ye have fair did
the big fella proud, and
to think that he went to your school, ye must
have walked on the same boards as
he did, a great story, Fair brings a
lump tae yer throat, I wonder if the
descendants are around.......... a great bit
of work!"
Extract from
e-mail
26th.Dec.2002, Charlie McDonald, Glasgow,
Scotland Excellent
bit
on Henry May VC. He still has relatives living
in the Parkhead area he was
the great uncle of Helen Hall and Marion Hall
who both went to Riverside School
in the 1960's. His great nephew George Hall
lives below me in Whitby Street.
His gravestone is broken and we intend to get
it restored and his name and
Victoria Cross engraved on it sometime in the
summer 2003
Extract from e-mail
5th.Dec.2003, L/Cpl Murray, Aldershot,
England
"I
was delighted to find your article on my
great great grandfather
Henry May who won the VC in WW1. I am
currently researching his
life and achievement and would also like to
set up some sort of
memorial to him. I am currently serving in
the armed forces and have
just returned from Iraq which has inspired
me to research into him.
Many kind thanks, L/CPL Murray, 101
MWD SP Unit, Buller Bks,
Aldershot, GU11 2DQ"
Extract from e-mail
26th.Jan.2004, Joe Carr,
Cornwall,
England
"...hope the GlesgaPals
website goes on
forever it has given so much joy to my sisters
and myself. I hope to
write to you again soon with info on Nuneaton
St, Gretna St, Plaza
Cinema, Springfield & Riverside schools. I
was born in Gretna
Street.
Both Henry May VC and my uncle Jim from Nuneaton
Street served in the
Cameronians as I did from 1954-56. My uncle was
killed in action 20th
Oct. 1918. I have a website showing some of my
army
photos it would interest those
who served in the
1950's all photos were taken with my first
camera."
"...my dads gran was
Henry May's wifes sister
his name is Thomas Hall his grans name was
Marion Dewar I really
enjoyed your website and have printed most of
its pages to show the
rest of our family."
Extract from
guestbook 11 June 2005, Morag Catania,
Toronto, Canada. aged
56( e-mail tba )
I
was researching Harry May and the
victoria cross. He was my mother's
second
cousin (her grandmother was Harry's
aunt). She has made a family tree with
names and dates, including Harry's
parents, uncles, cousins and
grandfather.
Harry's sister Sarah married a David
Lawson and they had two boys who died
very
young. His sister Molly married and had
twins, my mother does not remember the
names. Nessie married Bob Greene (my
mother spelled it with an e) and they
had
a daughter, Heather. My mother's name is
Sarah May Douglas, nee Anderson.
Extract from e-mail 22nd Sept 2014,
David Crawford, Millport, Scotland
At
the Battlefield of Boutillerie on a cold and
sodden day a British soldiers fate was sealed,
his name was Pte Henry May.
An officer you see, lay injured on the field, Pte
May he showed true courage for his nerve it did
not yield
He carried Lt Graham,, tho blood and
sweat perspired, he fell not once, but twice, as
the German gunners fired.
Other comrades came to aid,but none were left
aive. Twas Gods grand plan that May and
Graham,were the ones that should survive.
Amid the bullets, bombs and
darkness, he never knew what ground he`d
gained, but Pte May did spy a ditch,and shelter
was obtained.
To his chagrin Pte May found on the arrival of
daylight, with a ittle
bit of extra push, the British lines would have
been in sight.
Pte May delivered his comrade to the
safety of the ranks, there was
plenty of hoorah back slapping and the occasional
word of thanks.
but what no one seemed to notice, in the hoorah
that followed to boot,
was that Pte May had shrapnel
in his face and he`d been shot three
times on the foot.
When Pte May eventually got home,
for his wife and weans to see he had
no idea that his Sovereign and Country would award
him the coveted V.C.
He stood at a dinner and stated that as sure as
his name was Henry May that he only did what any
other British Sodier would dae.
Never in British history has such a
sight been seen in front of His Royal Majesty and
of course Her Majesty The Queen.
When 324 heroes recieved the Victoria Cross for
Gallantry and Valour but at such a terrible loss.
This is just a humble token of words
that are put into rhyme. But the
unselfish show of Valour from these men are etched
in stone and time.
For without you Bravery and Courage we would not
be allowed to give our children the freedom of
choice that we have,
nor the "FREEDOM" in which we now live....Rest in
peace O Valiant ones.
Penned
by Bro David D Crawford, Past Master
Lodge Ballater No1432 (Glasgow)
.
Henry May was first from
Glasgow's east-end to be awarded the VC in
World War 1,
the only
holder of the Victoria Cross born in Bridgeton
district of Glasgow.
The first Glasgow born person to be
awarded the VC in WW1 was Capt. Harry Sherwood Ranken.
He was born in Glasgow and lived here till he was
eight when his family
moved away for his father's work. But he returned
to Glasgow to study
medicine when he was 17 and worked in Glasgow
Western Infirmary for a
number of years before joining the Army Medical
Corp in 1909.
.
During the fighting L/Cpl
Lawton had been wounded, about a hundred
yards to the right of
Pte.May who quickly ran across the firing line
through a hail of
bullets. L/Cpl James McCall and Pte.James
Bell went
with Pte.May to assist. Pte.Bell took off the
wounded L/Cpl Lawton's
equipment but he was shot dead as Pte.May and
L/Cpl.McCall tried to
lift him to his feet. L/Cpl.McCall too was
knocked unconscious and
Pte.May then flattened himself to the ground
determined to fight to the
last.
Extract
from Daily Record and Mail, April 20th 1915
He
arrived in Glasgow Central Train Station at
19.45 hours
on Saturday 31st July 1915 and was met by a
representative of the Lord
Provost and by friends and former
colleagues of Forrest Frew's
mill. 
King George V gave an Afternoon Party at
Buckingham Palace on the 26th June 1920
to Recipients of
the Victoria Cross. His Majesty was accompanied
by The Queen and
Members of the Royal Family. The Victoria Cross
Recipients assembled at
Wellington Barracks, and marched to the Garden
of the Palace via
Birdcage Walk, Horse Guards Parade and The Mall
preceded by the Band of
the Welsh Guards. 
Sergeant John McAuley VC, DCM, 1st
Battalion Scots Guards.