The Scottish War Graves Project

hampshire hog · Joined: 12 Sep 2009 Posts: 13

apanderson

Thank you, very very much for your offer!
i have e-mailed Falkirk Bereavment services, but as yet am waiting for them to get back to me!!!
thanks again
Gina

hampshire hog · Joined: 12 Sep 2009 Posts: 13

OK Just found an article in the NYTimes!

Rev John Robertson was Pastor, of City Temple Glasgow, and Editor of The Chistian Scotsman.
Paper dated: September 4, 1899

hampshire hog · Joined: 12 Sep 2009 Posts: 13

Found another Article in the NYTimes.....in 1918, he was Rev.DR Roberston, British Army Chaplain!!

i Cant see, that a REV, would write a book, based on Lies.....The Rev, atually says in the book, that he had seen Andrew Camerons VC!!!

Thanks
Gina

Tonym · Joined: 07 Oct 2007 Posts: 91 Location: East Sussex

Gina

I don't wish to doubt the word of the Vicar but there is a flaw in his statement that Queen Victoria agreed with the story and granted him the right to put the Royal Arms on the cover, so why no Royal Arms but a reproduction of the Victoria Cross?

I also somehow think that Queen Victoria would have been personally aware of having invested a man twice with highest award for Valour that she herself commissioned, so I think that she would have been very unamused

If you study that reproduction you will see that between the bar that the ribbon is threaded through and the top of the cross there is a space of approx. three quarters of an inch, I have measured it on copy of the V.C. that I have; there is no space between the ribbon and the top of the cross that your man is wearing.

If the Vicar did meet such a man I would suggest that the man could spin a good yarn which earned him free beer whereever he went and the Vicar made a few coppers out of his book.

I will take it all back if you can prove me wrong.

Tony

hampshire hog · Joined: 12 Sep 2009 Posts: 13

thanks for your reply!!

The two crosses, was the apparent VC, and the other cross, was that he found god!!

i have alot of doubt in this too....but want to get to the bottom of this!!
thanks again
Gina

hampshire hog · Joined: 12 Sep 2009 Posts: 13

i shall check the book, when i have it back, for the royal coat of arms!!

thanks

David McNay · Posted: Fri Sep 18, 2009 5:33 am Post subject:

It seems very clear that this man never won the Victoria Cross. The thread on the Great War Forum has links to articles in the newspapers where it seems this man had made fraudulent claims to winning it.

The list of VC winners is easily available and this man does not appear on it. I'm sorry to say but this man appears to have tried to "big up" his military service by adding medals he was not entitled to. Men still do this today, and I'm sorry to say that I have little respect for men who do this. Men died winning these medals and to claim ownership of one you are not entitled to shows a lack of respect for those who earned it fair and square.

I'm sure your man was a brave individual, but he loses respect in my eyes by claiming to have won something he wasn't entitled to.

I'm sure the author of this book believed him to have won it, but this is quite clearly not true. I don't think we'll ever know if he was genuinely unaware of the deception or if he knew and joined in so he could make some money from his book. I would like to think it was the former, but I don't think we shall ever know.