John Carmichael

Covering a live grenade, he shielded men working beside him.

John Carmichael was born at Glenmavis, near Airdrie, on 1 April 1893, the son of Alexander Carmichael, a quarry worker, and Janet, née Harrison. He attended New Monkland School and worked in a quarry before joining the Royal Engineers in June 1915. His service took him through the Sherwood Foresters to the 9th Battalion, North Staffordshire Regiment, in early 1917.

On 8 September 1917, near Hill 60 at Zwarteleen in the Ypres sector, Carmichael was digging a trench with other men when a grenade was unearthed and began to burn. With no time to carry it clear, he put his steel helmet over it and stood on the helmet. The explosion threw him out of the trench and severely wounded him. His intervention protected the men working alongside him and earned the Victoria Cross. He spent a prolonged period in hospital recovering from his injuries. King George V presented the decoration on 22 June 1918.

A public subscription raised about £1,000 for him after the war. He invested in a poultry farm and built a bus business which eventually operated forty vehicles, alongside two farms. In April 1931 he married Margaret Russell Lockhart Aitken. During the Second World War he served as a lieutenant in the Lanarkshire Home Guard and later became president of the Coatbridge branch of the British Legion.

Carmichael sold his bus company in 1967 and retired to Glenmavis. He died at home on 26 December 1977 and was buried in New Monkland Cemetery. His wife died six weeks later. His sister donated his medals to the Staffordshire Regiment Museum in May 1978.

Victoria Cross citation Second Supplement to The London Gazette of 16 October 1917. 17 October 1917, Numb. 30338, p. 10677

For most conspicuous bravery. When excavating a trench, Sjt. Carmichael saw that a grenade had been unearthed and had started to burn. He immediately rushed to the spot and, shouting to his men to get clear, placed his steel helmet over the grenade and stood on the helmet. The grenade exploded and blew him out of the trench. Sjt. Carmichael could have thrown the bomb out of his trench, but he realised that by doing so he would have endangered the lives of the men working on the top. By this splendid act of resource and self-sacrifice Sjt. Carmichael undoubtedly saved many men from injury, but it resulted in serious injury to himself.