Alexander Young

Three shots fired at point-blank range failed to stop Alexander Young. On 13 August 1901, during the Second Boer War, Sergeant-Major Alexander Young of the Cape Mounted Police rode ahead of his own men at Ruiter's Kraal, closed with a retreating Boer force, shot one opponent and captured Commandant Erasmus after Erasmus fired at him three times at extremely close range. The action earned Young the Victoria Cross. Fifteen years later, after returning repeatedly to military service and fighting through several campaigns, he was killed on the Somme while serving as a lieutenant with the South African Scottish. VC and GC Association Alexander Young was born on 27 January 1873 at Clarinbridge in County Galway, Ireland, the son of William Young and Annie Young, née Barker. He was educated at the Model School in Galway. On 22 May 1890, at Renmore, he enlisted in the 2nd Dragoon Guards, the Queen's Bays, beginning a military career that would eventually connect Victorian cavalry service, colonial warfare in Africa and the industrial battlefields of the First World War. VC and GC Association Young served in Egypt and India and developed considerable skill as a horseman, becoming a riding instructor. By 1898 he had reached senior non-commissioned rank and took part in the Sudan campaign. He later commanded the Queen's Bays riding school at Canterbury, but his regular Army career was interrupted when he was seriously injured by a horse. He left regular service and returned to Ireland to recover. VC and GC Association Retirement did not last long. In August 1899 Young travelled to South Africa and joined the Cape Mounted Police. Within weeks the Second Boer War had begun. His cavalry experience was well suited to mounted police operations over the enormous distances of southern Africa. At Stormberg in December 1899, Young was wounded in the leg during the fighting but succeeded in riding back for medical treatment. In March 1900 he was mentioned for his conduct during operations associated with the saving of Bethulie Bridge. His reputation for courage was already established before the action that would make his name part of Victoria Cross history. VC and GC Association That moment came at Ruiter's Kraal, Cape Colony, on 13 August 1901. Toward the close of the engagement, Young and a small party rushed positions occupied by Commandant Erasmus and about twenty Boers. When the enemy withdrew toward another position, Young galloped approximately fifty yards ahead of his own men and closed with them. He shot one Boer and captured Erasmus despite the commandant firing three times at him at point-blank range. VC and GC Association For this act, Young was awarded the Victoria Cross, the foremost British award for gallantry in the presence of the enemy. His award was published in The London Gazette on 8 November 1901, issue 27373, page 7221. He received the Victoria Cross from Lord Milner, High Commissioner for South Africa, on 9 August 1902. VC and GC Association Young's Boer War service was also recognized by the Queen's South Africa Medal 1899-1902, with the clasps Cape Colony, Orange Free State and Transvaal, and the King's South Africa Medal 1901-1902, with the clasps South Africa 1901 and South Africa 1902. These clasp combinations are specifically recorded in the recipient profile maintained by the Victoria Cross and George Cross Association. VC and GC Association His military life in southern Africa continued after the Boer War. The National Army Museum records that Young later took part in operations connected with the Herero conflict in German South West Africa. He subsequently returned to civilian life, but in 1906 he again served during the Natal, or Bambatha, Rebellion. His participation in that campaign brought him the Natal Rebellion Medal 1906. The recipient-specific VC and GC Association record lists the medal among his awards, while a contemporary 1916 notice also referred to his medal for service during the 1906 rebellion. National Army Museum Collection When the First World War began, Young once again returned to active service. He took part in the campaign against German forces in South West Africa and later received a commission. He eventually joined the 4th South African Infantry Regiment, the South African Scottish, part of the 1st South African Infantry Brigade. The National Army Museum identifies him as a lieutenant of the South African Scottish in 1916. National Army Museum Collection Young's brigade served in Egypt before proceeding to the Western Front. By the spring of 1916 the South Africans had reached France, where they became part of the 9th Division and were drawn into the Battle of the Somme. For a man whose military life had begun on horseback in the Victorian Army, the trenches, artillery barrages and machine-gun warfare of France represented an entirely different form of combat. Yet Young, now in his forties, was again serving in the front line. VC and GC Association During the summer of 1916 Young was wounded in France and evacuated to Britain for treatment. Sources differ over the exact circumstances and timing of that wound, so it is safer not to attribute it to a particular act without further primary documentation. What is clear is that he recovered and returned to his battalion in time to resume active service on the Somme. A contemporary notice published shortly after his death confirms that he had been wounded and had rejoined his unit only a few weeks before he was killed. VC and GC Association His First World War service brought entitlement to the 1914-15 Star, the British War Medal 1914-1920, and the Victory Medal 1914-1919. These three awards are specifically recorded in Young's recipient profile alongside his earlier South African campaign medals. Together they represent the final phase of a military career that had begun more than twenty-five years earlier with the Queen's Bays. VC and GC Association On 19 October 1916, Alexander Young was serving with the South African Scottish near the Butte de Warlencourt during the continuing Somme operations. He was killed in action. The National Army Museum records his death there on that date, while the roll of the 4th South African Infantry likewise records Lieutenant Alexander Young VC as killed on 19 October 1916. National Army Museum Collection Young has no identified grave. His name is commemorated on the Thiepval Memorial in France, among those British and South African soldiers of the Somme who have no known grave. He is also remembered in Galway, where his name appears among the city's war dead. A contemporary notice published on 24 November 1916 recorded his death and identified him as Lieutenant Alexander Young VC of the South African Scottish Regiment. National Army Museum Collection Alexander Young's verified medal entitlement traces an extraordinary military journey: the Victoria Cross, Queen's South Africa Medal with Cape Colony, Orange Free State and Transvaal clasps, King's South Africa Medal with South Africa 1901 and South Africa 1902 clasps, Natal Rebellion Medal 1906, 1914-15 Star, British War Medal 1914-1920, and Victory Medal 1914-1919. The recipient-specific VC and GC Association record identifies all seven honours and the five Boer War clasps. VC and GC Association Yet Alexander Young VC should not be remembered only for the few minutes at Ruiter's Kraal that brought him Britain's highest award for battlefield gallantry. His life tells a much larger story. He began as a young cavalryman from County Galway, became a riding instructor and Sergeant-Major, fought in Africa, served with the Cape Mounted Police, earned the Victoria Cross under fire, returned for the Natal Rebellion, and answered the call to service again during the First World War. Even after injury, retirement and years of campaigning, he kept returning to military duty. His final journey took him from the mounted world of the Victorian Army to the trenches of the Somme. On 19 October 1916, Lieutenant Alexander Young VC, South African Scottish, was killed in action. His body was never identified, but his name survives at Thiepval, and his Victoria Cross remains a permanent testament to the extraordinary courage he displayed at Ruiter's Kraal fifteen years earlier.