John Leishman McDougall

Crossing water obstacles he gained the defended fort’s wall.

John Leishman McDougall grew up in Edinburgh in a family connected with the army. His father, Robert, served in the Royal Artillery and died from wounds during the Crimean War. McDougall himself enlisted in the 44th Regiment of Foot in January 1858.

The regiment's overseas service brought him to China during the allied expedition of 1860. On 21 August, British and French forces attacked the Taku forts guarding the approaches to the Peiho river. The defences included water obstacles and fortified gun positions that had to be crossed before an entry could be forced.

McDougall went forward with Lieutenant Robert Montresor Rogers of his regiment and Lieutenant Edmund Henry Lenon of the 67th Regiment. They crossed the ditches and entered the North Taku Fort through an embrasure, becoming among the first British troops established on its walls.

His Victoria Cross recognised his gallantry in overcoming those obstacles under fire. Brigadier General Francis Adams presented the decoration at Belgaum, India, in October 1862. His China Medal carried the Taku Forts 1860 clasp.

McDougall continued in the army until October 1867, when a lung condition led to his discharge after approximately nine years of service. He returned to Edinburgh without a pension. He died there on 10 March 1869 and was buried in a pauper's grave in Old Calton Cemetery.

A later memorial marked the grave. His Victoria Cross was stolen from a family home in 1960 and has not been recovered; the surviving original ribbon and suspension bar were preserved separately.

Official Victoria Cross citation

For distinguished gallantry in swimming the Ditches, and entering the North Taku Fort by an embrasure during the assault. They were the first of the English established on the walls of the Fort, which they entered in the order in which their names are here recorded, each one being assisted by the others to mount the embrasure.