World War I Victoria Cross Recipient. A native of Scotland, he received the award from British King George V on July 30, 1915 for his actions as a lance corporal in the 2nd Battalion, The Black Watch (Royal Highlanders) of the British Army on May 9, 1915 at the Battle of Aubers Ridge near Rue du Bois, France during World War I. Born the oldest of eleven children in Guardbridge, Fife, Scotland, his father tended sheep. In 1910 he enlisted in the British Army with the Black Watch and served in India for three years. Following the outbreak of World War I in July 1914, he was sent to France. He was later promoted to the rank of sergeant and following his service in France, his unit was reassigned t Mesopotamia where he was killed in combat at the age of 22 during the Battle of Karma against the Ottoman Army during the Siege of Kut Al Amara and his body was never recovered. His Victoria Cross citation reads: "On 9 May 1915 near Rue du Bois, France, Lance-Corporal Finlay led a bombing party of 12 men in the attack until 10 of them had fallen. He then ordered the two survivors to crawl back and he himself went to the assistance of a wounded man and carried him over a distance of 100 yards of fire-swept ground into cover, quite regardless of his own safety." In addition to the Victoria Cross, he was awarded the 1914 Star, the British War Medal, and the British Victory Medal. His Victoria Cross and other medals are on display at the Black Watch Museum in the Balhousie Castle at Perth, Scotland.
World War I Victoria Cross Recipient. A native of Scotland, he received the award from British King George V on July 30, 1915 for his actions as a lance corporal in the 2nd Battalion, The Black Watch (Royal Highlanders) of the British Army on May 9, 1915 at the Battle of Aubers Ridge near Rue du Bois, France during World War I. Born the oldest of eleven children in Guardbridge, Fife, Scotland, his father tended sheep. In 1910 he enlisted in the British Army with the Black Watch and served in India for three years. Following the outbreak of World War I in July 1914, he was sent to France. He was later promoted to the rank of sergeant and following his service in France, his unit was reassigned t Mesopotamia where he was killed in combat at the age of 22 during the Battle of Karma against the Ottoman Army during the Siege of Kut Al Amara and his body was never recovered. His Victoria Cross citation reads: "On 9 May 1915 near Rue du Bois, France, Lance-Corporal Finlay led a bombing party of 12 men in the attack until 10 of them had fallen. He then ordered the two survivors to crawl back and he himself went to the assistance of a wounded man and carried him over a distance of 100 yards of fire-swept ground into cover, quite regardless of his own safety." In addition to the Victoria Cross, he was awarded the 1914 Star, the British War Medal, and the British Victory Medal. His Victoria Cross and other medals are on display at the Black Watch Museum in the Balhousie Castle at Perth, Scotland.
Bio by: William Bjornstad
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See more Finlay memorials in:
Records on Ancestry
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