Museum's 16 Victoria Crosses on public display for first time
Sixteen Victoria Crosses have gone on public display for the first time.
They were awarded soldiers from across Scotland and England who served with Highlands regiments between 1857 and 1917. Until now, replicas of the 16 medals have been on display at The Highlanders' Museum at Fort George near Ardersier. A number of the soldiers were awarded the Victoria Cross posthumously after being killed in action. They have been put on public display as part of events marking the 250th anniversary of Fort George. Created in 1856, the medal recognises acts of extreme bravery carried out under direct enemy fire. The medal is hand-made, traditionally using bronze taken from a gun captured in the Crimean War of the 1850s. The Highlanders' Museum's 16 crosses have until now been held in secure storage. The decision to put the real medals on public display follows a £2.9m project to revamp the museum that was completed in 2013. The Victoria Crosses were awarded to soldiers of the 72nd Ross-shire Buffs, 78th Highlanders, Seaforth Highlanders and The Queen's Own Cameron Highlanders. Glasgow-born Lt Andrew Bogle was the recipient of the first of The Highlanders' Museum's Victoria Crosses. A member of the 78th Highlanders, he was recognised for "conspicuous gallantry" in July 1857 during the Indian Mutiny. Lt Bogle, who was severely wounded, received his Victoria Cross from Queen Victoria at Windsor Castle in 1860. 'Line of duty' The last of the 16 was awarded to L/Cpl Robert McBeath. He was recognised for a lone attack on a nest of five machine gunners at the Battle of Cambrai in World War One on 20 November 1917. L/Cpl McBeath captured 33 German soldiers, including three officers. After the war, he emigrated to Canada and joined the North West Mounted Police. In October 1922, he was shot and killed by a man that he and another officer had stopped for driving erratically. L/Cpl McBeath was 24 years old. One of his few surviving relatives, his great-niece Marjorie Buntin, was among descendants of the men who attended an unveiling of the 16 medals at Fort George. She told BBC Scotland: "He was the illegitimate son of my great-grandmother and she gave him away to a woman who lived in Kinlochbervie. "He was brought up there and later lied about his age to join the army during the First World War. "After the war, he went back to Kinlochbervie but found it too quiet and so emigrated to Canada where he joined the Canadian police force and was shot in the line of duty." Ms Buntin said it was an honour to attend Friday's event. 'Mere mortals' Museum director Kirstin Mackay said the stories behind each of the medals told of "tremendous bravery in the face of true adversity". She said: "This is an invaluable part of Highland history and we are proud to have these Victoria Crosses in our collection." Curator Ann-Marie Peckham said: "Having the descendants of Victoria Cross winners together in the same room with the 16 decorations is a poignant way to remember the Victoria Cross winners and allows us to reflect on the actions for which they were awarded this decoration as well as the life stories of the men themselves." Maurice Gibson, chairman of the Highlanders' Museum board, added: "It makes mere mortals like me fully appreciate what these very brave men went through as they went about their business in the heat of battle". The other Victoria Cross recipients were: