Major-General David Stewart of Garth
Just before heading up the stairs to Gallery 4 visitors will see the painting of someone who, on first glance, might not look like a
November 27, 2019
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Leanor Blackhall
Sergeant David Finlay
- Category - Soldier Stories
Black Watch Soldier Stories
Sergeant David Finlay was one of 14 Black Watch soldiers to have been awarded the Victoria Cross, the highest British medal for gallantry in the face of the enemy.
He was born on 29 January 1893 in Guardbridge, Fife and left formal education aged 14. Finlay gained employment as a ploughman but keen to join the army he enlisted with The Black Watch in 1910 and served in the 2nd Battalion.
His battalion was stationed in India when the First World War broke out but by October 1914 had arrived on the Western Front.
On 9 May 1915, during an action at Aubers Ridge, Finlay was tasked with leading a bombing party of 12 men in an attack on a German position. Within hours, 10 of the 12 in his group sadly became casualties. With his men’s safety in mind Finlay ordered the two surviving men to crawl back to safety behind British lines. Disregarding his own wellbeing Finlay went to the assistance of a wounded man and carried him over 100 yards of fire-swept ground to safety. It was for this courageous act that he was presented with the Victoria Cross by King George V in July 1915. His bravery saw him promoted to Corporal and, later, to Sergeant on 27 June 1915.
By January 1916 the 2nd Battalion had been redeployed to Basra, Mesopotamia. On 21 January the men were ordered to assault a Turkish position along the Tigris River. It was during this attack that Finlay was killed, fighting with the same courage and valour that had earned him his Victoria Cross in 1915. Sergeant David Finlay was 23 years old when he died.
Although his grave is unknown Finlay is commemorated on the Basra memorial and on the Monzie war memorial in Fife. In 2019 his memorial in Guardbridge was rededicated and moved to sit alongside the village’s war memorial.
We are honoured to have Lance Corporal Finlay’s Victoria Cross on display in gallery five.
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4 thoughts on “Sergeant David Finlay”
For the past few years I have been carrying out research into the exact method of engraving on the reverse of Victoria Crosses and on the reverse of lower ribbon suspension bars. An excellent example of the method of engraving is the one above on the Victoria Cross awarded to David Finlay. I would be grateful if you could supply me with the engraving on other Black Watch VC holders held in your Museum – Edwards; Farquharson; Melvin; Spence and Thompson.
Through my website on the award of the Victoria Cross I specialise in displaying the location of VCs when held in the public domain, world-wide. Therefore, I include a web page on the Black Watch Museum.
Regards,
Iain Stewart
http://www.victoriacross.org.uk
I recently did a Black Watch pilgrimage tour for relatives of their ancestors who served in the Black Watch during WW1. Had the great pleasure of taking David Finlay’s great nephew Robert around the Black Watch Memorials and Battlefield locations of the Black Watch in Belgium and France.
I am hoping to visit the Museum myself in the next couple of weeks before meeting my customers again at the Western Front Association meeting in Dundee.
Regards,
Andy Oliver
http://www.greatwartourshull.co.uk
Visited Moonzie Kirk today 13th August 2024 saw on the Memorialm the inscription for David Finlay the letter C from is VC not legible
I also wonder why he is on MOONZIE War Memorial as he was born quite a distance away in Guardbridge could it be a Parsh boundary thing or possibly he worked on a farm in that area as a ploughman
Hi David, thank you for your comment. Sergeant David Finlay’s connection to Moonzie Kirk could indeed be due to several factors. His father was a shepherd who moved around the area, and David himself left school at 14 to work as a ploughman. Additionally, he married his wife in Cupar in 1915, which may have influenced the decision to commemorate him at Moonzie. These local ties and personal connections likely played a role in his name being included on the Moonzie War Memorial.