John MacLaren Erskine

Serjeant John MacLaren Erskine VC (13 January 1894 – 14 April 1917) was a British Army soldier and a Scottish recipient of the Victoria Cross (VC), the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces.

Erskine was born in January 1894 to William and Elizabeth Erskine. He was 22 years old, and a serjeant in the 5th Battalion, The Cameronians (Scottish Rifles), British Army during the First World War, when he was awarded the VC for his actions on 22 June 1916 at Givenchy, France.

Citation

He was killed in action at Arras, France, on 14 April 1917 and, as his body was never found, his name is commemorated in Bay 6 of the Arras Memorial.

The Medal His Victoria Cross is displayed at the Cameronians Regimental Museum, in Hamilton Low Parks Museum, Hamilton, Lanarkshire, Scotland.