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i was just wondering but my name is scattergood and some of my distent relatives were called laidaw and wondered if by any chance we to could be related and we also have been to see his grave and its in a very nice peaceful place

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From Colin Fenning


Sun 25 September 2005


Beyond the call of duty: Victor Laidlaw with the Victoria Cross awarded to his grandfather Daniel Laidlaw, above. Photograph: Jon Savage 

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Noble gift echoes tunes of glory

WILLIAM LYONS ARTS CORRESPONDENT wlyons@scotlandonsunday.com

A VICTORIA Cross, awarded for one of the most famous acts of gallantry of the First World War, will be gifted to the nation today.

Scottish piper Daniel Laidlaw defied poison gas and his own fear to climb from his trench, play 'Blue Bonnets over the Border' and inspire troops to advance on the enemy during the Battle of Loos.

He was awarded the ultimate battlefield honour and went down in the history books as the Piper of Loos.

Today, on the 90th anniversary of the battle, the piper's grandson, Victor Laidlaw, will donate his Victoria Cross - worth £100,000 - to the National Museums of Scotland.

The medal, one of only 74 awarded to Scots during the conflict, and arguably the most famous, will be handed over at a low-key ceremony at the Loos Museum, Belgium.

Speaking ahead of the handover, Laidlaw, 56, from Inverness, said: "It will be very emotional. It is something my father should be doing not me. But it is the right thing to do, there is no doubt about that. It is always difficult with something like this. My late father, who was also a piper, represented my grandfather for many, many years at official functions like the VC centenary."

Laidlaw said his father was adamant the medal should eventually go on display, but that the piper's regiment, the Kings Own Scottish Borderers, could not accept it.

He said: "My father was quite adamant that these things should not be hidden in vaults. The regiment had great difficulty with this because of insurance problems.

"Over the years I had a number of conversations with the regiment about displaying it in their museum in the Borders but it was very small and not generally accessible to the public."

Instead, an arrangement was reached to donate the medal - one of only 11 VCs gifted to the nation - to the National War Museum at Edinburgh Castle.

Daniel Laidlaw was born in 1875 in Little Swinton, Berwickshire. He joined the 2nd Battalion, Durham Light Infantry (DLI) on April 11 1896, and was immediately posted to India, where he served for two years until June 1898.

After returning to Britain he transferred to the KOSB as a piper and 17 years later found himself in the middle of one of the most savage battles of the First World War.

But it wasn't until an assault near Loos and Hill 70 on the morning of September 25 1915, that he made his way into the history books. During the worst stages of a bombardment on German trenches, Piper Laidlaw saw that his men were shaken by the effects of gas.

With complete disregard for his own safety, he mounted the parapet, marched up and down and played 'Blue Bonnets Over the Border' on his pipes, inspiring the regiment, the 7th Battalion King's Own Scottish Borderers to advance.

The official entry in the London Gazette, November 18 1915, read: "During the worst of the bombardment, Piper Laidlaw, seeing that his company was badly shaken from the effects of gas, with absolute coolness and disregard of danger, mounted the parapet, marched up and down and played company out of the trench. The effect of his splendid example was immediate and the company dashed out to the assault. Piper Laidlaw continued playing his pipes until he was wounded."

Allan Carswell, principal curator of military history at the National Museums of Scotland, said: "Victoria Crosses are extremely rare in comparative terms. They are the highest form of award for gallantry awarded by the British Crown. There have only ever been about 1,300 awarded. In military museum terms they really are the things the vast majority of our public will recognise and respond to.

"What makes it additionally interesting is that it is a very archetypical Scottish story. It is awarded to a piper doing exactly what pipers in Scottish regiments are best known for which is encouraging the men into an attack."

Clive Fairweather, a former commanding officer of the King's Own Scottish Borderers, described it as a very generous gesture. He said: "The VC is such a significant medal, and as the years go by it becomes even more significant. The fact that the museum is to have possession of it is a magnificent gesture as quite often people want to keep these things at home.

"In the Officers' Mess at the King's Own Scottish Borderers there still hangs a very vivid painting of the Piper of Loos which I think has inspired generations subsequently.

"I have a very vivid picture of him standing there playing the pipes walking along unscathed but nevertheless under heavy fire encouraging other people. You can't get more of an exemplar of grace, coolness under fire, than the Piper of Loos."

From the article page II

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In yesterday Scotsman paper it was told the medal is to be donated to the Edinburgh castle war museum by his grandson colfen@blueyonder.co.uk for more information,and link to that news page

From : http://www.victoriacross.org.uk/bblaidla.htm indication is that the Victoria Cross won by Piper Daniel Laidlaw was presented to the National War Museum in Edinburgh Castle, Scotland by the recipient's grandson,Victor Laidlaw.

Moved by Rich Farmbrough 20:23 25 August 2006 (GMT).

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