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Daily Record
2 days ago
- General
- Daily Record
Scots Victoria Cross hero who was last living WW2 recipient dies aged 105
John Cruickshank, who downed a German U-Boat while piloting a Catalina flying boat in June 1944, has passed away. A Scottish war hero has died at the age of 105. John Cruickshank was the last surviving recipient of the Victoria Cross award from World War Two. The flight lieutenant, from Aberdeen, had earned the honour for his attack on a German U-Boat, downing the enemy submarine in June 1944 despite having suffered significant injuries. He sustained 72 injuries, including wound to his lungs and 10 to his lower limbs, after spotting the sub ahead and going on the attack in the face of heavy gunfire. However, their bombs did not release, forcing Flt Lt Cruickshank to turn the aircraft around and attack again. On that occasion, he released the bombs himself, successfully destroying the submarine. Navigator John Dickson was killed while his co-pilot and two others members of the crew were seriously injured. Flt Lt Cruickshank refused medical attention after the attack and flew the aircraft back to its base at Sullom Voe in Shetland. He never returned to operational flying and left the RAF in 1946 for a career in banking. He was awarded the Victoria Cross, the highest recognition for valour that can be awarded to members of the British and Commonwealth Armed Forces. Join the Daily Record WhatsApp community! Get the latest news sent straight to your messages by joining our WhatsApp community today. You'll receive daily updates on breaking news as well as the top headlines across Scotland. No one will be able to see who is signed up and no one can send messages except the Daily Record team. All you have to do is click here if you're on mobile, select 'Join Community' and you're in! If you're on a desktop, simply scan the QR code above with your phone and click 'Join Community'. We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you don't like our community, you can check out any time you like. To leave our community click on the name at the top of your screen and choose 'exit group'. If you're curious, you can read our Privacy Notice. Flt Lt Cruickshank was praised for setting an example of "determination, fortitude and devotion to duty" when the honour was bestowed on him by King George VI. He rarely talked about his experiences, saying in 2008: "You don't get involved in that kind of thing thinking of any decorations or any recognition. It was regarded as duty." In 2013, he was given the opportunity to fly in an aircraft similar to the one he piloted during the war. Last year, a Catalina flying boat was flown over Flt Lt Cruickshank's home in Aberdeen to mark his 104th birthday. The BBC reports Flight Lieutenant Cruickshank's family said he died last week and a funeral would be held in private. The veteran's heroics took place on June 17, 1944, while protecting British vessels in the Norwegian Sea. He was the last to die of 181 people who received the country's highest military honour for their actions in the conflict, which ran from 1939 to 1945. The Telegraph reports he was born on May 20, 1920, in Aberdeen and was educated at Aberdeen Grammar School and at Daniel Stewart's College in Edinburgh. He joined the Commercial Bank of Scotland and in April 1939 he enlisted as a gunner in the Territorial Army. He was mobilised when war broke out and joined the 129th Field Regiment, Royal Artillery. In January 1941 he transferred to the Royal Air Force to train as a pilot. Following courses in Canada and the USA he was commissioned in the RAFVR and in March 1943 he joined No 210. In July he sighted and attacked a U-boat without result and in September spotted a boatload of 11 survivors in the Bay of Biscay and directed two warships to their rescue. After recovering from his wounds Cruickshank served at Headquarters, Coastal Command. He was released from the RAF and served for two years as ADC to the Lord High Commissioner to the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland. He returned to banking and in 1952 joined Grindlay's Bank with whom he established a reputation in the international field in Asia and Africa. He returned from South Africa to Scotland in 1977 to be the Administrator, Northern Division, North-West Securities until he finally retired in 1985.
Telegraph
25-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Telegraph
King and Queen to host veterans at Buckingham Palace VE Day tea party
The King and Queen are to line the corridors of Buckingham Palace with bunting to host a tea party for Second World War veterans. The King, Queen, Prince and Princess of Wales, Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh, Princess Royal and other members of the family will turn out in force to join the nation in celebrating the 80th anniversary of the end of the Second World War in Europe with a military flypast, and a service and concert at Westminster Abbey. Members of the public are invited to line the Mall on Monday, May 5, to watch a procession from the Armed Forces, music, and a flypast of modern and historic aircraft that will culminate with the Red Arrows. The Royal family will watch from the Buckingham Palace balcony, with veterans, the Prime Minister and other senior guests viewing it from the West Terrace in the garden. Shortly afterwards, the King and Queen will welcome around 50 guests – Second World War veterans and those who manned the Home Front – into the palace for a tea party, recreating the decorations of the era with bunting made from fabric recycled from the Royal estates. Guests will be drawn from British and Commonwealth Armed Forces veterans, Wrens, special operations executives and those who contributed to the war effort in Britain. All are now supported by the Royal British Legion and will be accompanied by their families or carers. The party will be attended by the Prince and Princess of Wales, the Edinburghs, Princess Royal and Sir Timothy Laurence and the Duke of Kent, whose father died in the Second World War and who, at 89, is the only working member of the Royal family with memories of living through the conflict. On May 8, the 80th anniversary of VE Day, the full working Royal family will attend a service at Westminster Abbey and the King and Queen will watch an evening concert of Second World War-era songs and stories from veterans at Horse Guards Parade. The younger generation, including Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis, is likely to attend some of the events. The week of commemorative events will see the King lead the nation in marking the event, likely to be the final landmark anniversary at which veterans, the youngest of whom are now in their late 90s, will be present. On VE Day itself, the young Princess Elizabeth and Princess Margaret were famously allowed to go out 'incognito' to join crowds in front of the palace for the celebrations. Queen Elizabeth II later recalled it as 'one of the most memorable nights of my life'. The government is encouraging the public to host their own VE Day 80 street parties, picnics and 'community get-togethers' to mark the anniversary. The London events, coordinated by DCMS, are designed to 'pay tribute to the millions of people across the UK and Commonwealth who served in the Second World War, telling the stories of those who fought, the children who were evacuated, and those who stepped into the essential roles on the Home Front'. The Monday procession will begin in Parliament Square when Big Ben strikes midday, with an as-yet-unnamed actor reciting extracts from Sir Winston Churchill's VE Day speech. Alan Kennett, a 100-year-old veteran who served in the Normandy campaign, will carry the 'Torch for Peace', a symbol of passing his generation's stories onto the next. A procession of the Household Cavalry Mounted Regiment and The King's Troop, Royal Horse Artillery will pass from Parliament Square, down Whitehall and past the Cenotaph – which will be dressed in Union Flags – through Admiralty Arch and up The Mall through to Buckingham Palace. They will be followed by a tri-service procession group featuring marching members of the Royal Navy, the Royal Marines, the British Army and the Royal Air Force. It will end with a fly past featuring the Red Arrows and 23 current and historic military aircraft. Mr Kennett, who travelled to Normandy with the Royal British Legion for D-Day 80, said: 'It is a huge honour to be part of the military procession to start the VE80 commemorations. 'I remember Battle of Britain pilot Johnnie Johnson bursting in and shouting 'the war is over'. A big party soon followed, filled with lots of drinking and celebrating the news. 'The 80th anniversary of VE Day brings back so many memories, and it will be such a privilege to be there with everyone.' The commemorations will also include Queen Camilla viewing the reinstated exhibition of ceramic poppies at the Tower of London on Tuesday, May 6. On the 8th, the Royal family will join the two-minute silence at Westminster Abbey, laying wreaths at the Grave of the Unknown Warrior and flowers at the Innocent Victims' Memorial. A concert that evening will be hosted by Zoe Ball, with performances of music from the 1930s and 40s and veterans telling their stories on stage. Lisa Nandy, Culture Secretary, said: 'VE Day 80 is a chance for us to come together and celebrate our veterans and ensure their legacy of peace is passed on to future generations. 'Whether by watching on TV or having a street party with neighbours, everyone can take part. 'This is one of the last chances we have to say thank you to this generation of heroes, and it is right that we do just that.'
