William Johnstone Milne

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William Johnstone Milne VC (December 21, 1892 – April 9, 1917), was a Canadian soldier in World War I who posthumously received the Victoria Cross for the highest gallantry against the enemy during action in France on 9 April 1917.

1 Details
2 The medal
3 See also
4 External links

[edit] Details

Milne was born December 21, 1892 in Scotland and moved to Canada in 1910. He worked on a farm near Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan before joining the army.

Milne was 24 years old, and a private in the 16th (Canadian Scottish) Battalion, Canadian Expeditionary Force. On 9 April 1917 near Thelus, France, during the Battle of Vimy Ridge, Milne saw an enemy machine-gun firing upon fellow troops. Crawling on hands and knees he managed to reach the gun, kill the crew, and capture the gun. Milne later repeated this action against a second enemy machine-gun crew, but was killed shortly afterwards.

Four soldiers earned the Victoria Cross in the Battle of Vimy Ridge, the others were Thain Wendell MacDowell, Ellis Wellwood Sifton and John George Pattison.