Henry May VC

Their names will be remembered for evermore

Private Henry May, a reservist with The Cameronians (Scottish Rifles), braved a "hail of lead" fighting to rescue first one soldier, and then another.

On 22 October, 1914, May's battalion was building trenches at La Boutillerie. A platoon was sent out to form a screen to protect those behind. May recalled advancing 800 yards to a ditch, and the platoon held back the enemy until the trenches were dug.

Rescue Under Fire

But when they tried to return, the Germans opened fire. Lance Corporal Lawton was shot, and May went to his aid. He later recalled: "I ran across the firing line, through a hail of lead, followed by two of my chums, Lance Corporal James McCall and Private James Bell."

Devotion to a Senior Officer

May and McCall pulled Lawton to his feet. The platoon commander, Lieutenant Graham, had followed them and fired back at the Germans, but Lawton was shot and died in May's arms. McCall had been shot too and was unconscious. May threw himself to the ground. Then Graham was shot. "He was behind me, I had to go back," recalled May. "It was great devotion that impelled me to rescue him. He had been so good to us." May and Bell retrieved Graham and zig-zagged a quarter of a mile when Bell was wounded. They were still 300 yards from the trenches. Another soldier, Corporal Taylor, came running from cover and shouted to May to lift Graham on to his shoulders - a moment later, Taylor was shot dead while holding Graham, who was hit by the same bullet. Graham told May to leave him, but May reached the trenches and sent out stretcher bearers

A Rapturous Welcome

May's wife Christina learned the news of his VC from journalists at her home in Bridgeton in April 1915, and the soldier received a rapturous welcome when he returned to Glasgow in August, carried aloft through the station. Modest about his actions, May later said: "I just did what any man in the regiment would have done to bring in a wounded man." Thanks to his rescue, Graham went on to become a decorated major-general.

Honoured in Bridgeton

King George presented the VC to May on 12 August, 1915. He was discharged from the Army on 28 August 1915, when his regular engagement of 13 years had expired. He rejoined in 1918 and attained the rank of Lieutenant. After the war, he resumed his work in textiles in Bridgeton, where he had been born, and lived with his wife and children. He is remembered in a series of granite paving slabs at Bridgeton Cross, inset with local VC holders' names.

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Amateur historian Jack Murray has compiled a special book on Henry May which you can download here: Henry May VC (PDF) [5MB] (opens new window)

Images:

• Henry May, holder of the Victoria Cross, from Bridgeton. Credit: The Times History of the War, Vol 10, p39
• The official descriptions of the deeds for which the Victoria Cross is awarded are always published in the government's journal of record, The London Gazette.
• Private May making his way to the assistance of the wounded Lt Graham, as imagined by popular illustrator Alfred Pearse in 1917. Credit: Hutchison & Co, (Publishers), 1917, Deeds that Thrill the Empire, Vol 2, p881.
• Portrait of Henry May VC, as an officer of the Royal Army Service Corps. He received a temporary commission as a second lieutenant in 1918. Credit: © IWM (Q80584) .