WW1 Canadian VC recipient William Johnstone Milne
The story of Canadian First World War Victoria Cross recipient William Johnstone Milne.
Credit: National Defence Canada
70 men from Canada received the Victoria Cross, Britain’s highest award for gallantry, during the First World War. As part of the Centenary Commemorations the people of the United Kingdom marked their gratitude to those courageous men by presenting a bronze memorial plaque to their home country engraved with their names. The plaque is now displayed at the British High Commission Ottawa. This archive tells their stories.
Name: William Johnstone Milne
DOB: 21 December 1892
Place of Birth: Cambusnethan, Scotland
Date of Action: 9 April 1917
Place of Action: Vimy Ridge, France
Rank: Private
Regiment: 16th Infantry Battalion, Canadian Expeditionary Force
William Johnstone Milne was born in Cambusnethan Scotland, on 21 December 1892 but emigrated in 1910 to Canada where he worked as a farmer. He enlisted in the Canadian Expeditionary Force in Saskatchewan in 1915.
Private Milne was posthumously awarded the Victoria Cross for his actions on 9 April 1917 at Vimy Ridge, where Milne’s 16th Infantry Battalion was part of the successful Canadian attack on German positions. His citation explains further:
For most conspicuous bravery and devotion to duty in attack.On approaching the first objective, Pte. Milne observed an enemy machine gun firing on our advancing troops. Crawling on hands and knees, he succeeded in reaching the gun, killing the crew with bombs, and capturing the gun. On the line re-forming, he again located a machine gun in the support line, and stalking the second gun as he had done the first, he succeeded in putting the crew out of action and capturing the gun. His wonderful bravery and resource on these two occasions undoubtedly saved the lives of many of his comrades. Pte. Milne was killed shortly after capturing the second gun.
Private Milne’s body was never found, but he is commemorated on the Vimy Memorial in France.