William H Anderson VC

Their names will be remembered for evermore

Few people could be said to have a face "wreathed in smiles" while engaged in battle, but Lieutenant Colonel William Anderson did. He was such an inspiration to his men, they recalled, that if ever a man deserved the VC, it was Anderson.

In March 1918, Anderson, known as Bertie, was in France commanding the 12th Battalion, The Highland Light Infantry. On 24 March, at Bois Faviere woods, near Maricourt, the battalion was attacked and was forced to withdraw with heavy losses.

A double Counter-attack

Early the next day, the enemy closed in, but Anderson led the counter-attack and 70 Germans were captured. However, enemy numbers were overwhelming and, by late morning, the battalion had retreated, having become divided into three groups. One of these groups was led by Anderson. They counter-attacked again, in late afternoon. According to his VC citation, Anderson "made his way across the open in full view of the enemy and succeeded in gathering the remainder of the two right companies. He personally led the counter-attack and drove the enemy from the wood." The Allies' original line was restored. However, Anderson's bravery cost him his life - he died behind enemy lines.

Anderson's fellow officers wrote glowing tributes. One remarked: "If you could have seen Colonel Anderson counter-attacking thousands of Germans with a mere handful of men, you would believe in the British Army for all time. If ever a man won the VC, it was Colonel Anderson." Another wrote: "I was with him when we counter-attacked that day. He was cheering me on and his face was wreathed in smiles at the way the counter-attack was progressing. His last words to me were, 'Carry on with those on the left', and the last I saw was the swing of his stick and going on."

Leadership Praised

The moral support he provided to his men was so great that when just a handful of them were outnumbered by thousands of the enemy, they did not hesitate to counter-attack under his leadership. General Foch, Chief of the General Staff, praised Anderson while addressing the Scottish forces on the battlefields and urged them "in the name of Colonel Anderson to go forward in the path he trod without fear".

Records describe Anderson as a "genial and cultured gentleman". The eldest of four brothers who died during the war, they were the sons of a Glasgow accountant. Bertie, who was married with two sons, was buried at Maricourt and is commemorated on at least 12 memorials along with his brothers. In 2007, his great grandson, Robin Scott-Elliot, turned the family's story into a book, The Way Home.

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Images:

• Lieutenant Colonel William Herbert Anderson, VC, from The Outpost, 1918.
• The officers of the 17th Highland Light Infantry, at Mar Lodge, Troon during training in 1915. William Anderson is third from the left in the front row. Credit: Glasgow Chamber of Commerce Yearbook, 1915. Private Collection.
• Bearsden monumental inscription at New Kilpatrick Church Cemetery. Credit: Antony Blair, Glasgow.