Stewart McPherson (VC)
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United KingdomStewart McPherson | |
|---|---|
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| Born | 1819 Culross, Fife |
| Died | 7 December 1892 (aged 72–73) Culross, Fife |
| Buried | Culross Abbey Cemetery |
| Allegiance | United Kingdom |
| Branch |  British Army |
| Rank | Colour-Sergeant |
| Unit | 78th Highlanders |
| Conflicts | |
| Awards | Victoria Cross |
Stewart McPherson VC (1819 – 7 December 1892) was a Scottish soldier in India and a recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth military forces.
Stewart McPherson was born in Culross in 1819, the son of Mungo McPherson and Mary Smith. He left Geddes Public School in the village at 15 and became an apprentice weaver in nearby Dunfermline, but he was soon lured by adventure and foreign travel. In December 1839, he walked to Stirling to join the British Army's 78th Highlanders, which were later known as the Seaforth Highlanders Ross-shire Buffs, Duke of Albany's.
He married a Culross girl, Elizabeth Haig, in 1848, and the couple went on to have six children - Stewart, Sarah, Eliza, Robina, Ferguson, and McGregor.
McPherson saw action in Persia, India and Ireland before arriving in Bengal, India. He was approximately 38 years old, and now a colour-sergeant. During his time here, his actions during the Siege of Lucknow in the Indian Mutiny earned him the Victoria Cross. His citation reads:
For daring gallantry in the Lucknow Residency on the 26th September, 1857, in having rescued, at great personal risk, a wounded Private of his Company, who was lying in a most exposed situation, under a very heavy fire. Colour-Serjeant McPherson was also distinguished on many occasions by his coolness and gallantry in action.[1]
McPherson was presented with his award by Queen Victoria in December 1880, at Windsor Castle. Only three weeks after receiving his award, he discharged himself from the army and returned to Scotland, where he was appointed superintendent of the Glasgow Industrial Schools based in Bailieston.
A decade later, the family moved again to Culross where they bought a house in Low Valleyfield. As a reminder of his time in India, it was named Lucknow Villa and it was there that he died, aged 70, in 1892.
