Eric Stuart Dougall
Major Eric Stuart Dougall (c1886-1918)
1919 Obituary [1]
MAJOR ERIC STUART DOUGALL, B.A. (Cantab.), V.C., M.C., killed in action on 14th April, 1918, aged 32, was educated at Tonbridge School and Pembroke College, Cambridge, of which he was an exhibitioner.
He gained his Blue for athletics, and was elected Secretary of the C.U.A.C.
He then became an engineering pupil under Mr. A. G. Lyster, Past President Inst. C.E., of the Mersey Docks and Harbour Board, where he was universally esteemed and liked, and after four years there, went to Bombay as an Assistant Engineer to the Bombay Port Trust, and three years later was placed on the permanent staff.
In January, 1916, he obtained leave of absence, and returned to England to apply for a commission, being gazetted to the Royal Field Artillery in the following July, and then proceeded to France, where he saw much service on the Somme, and later in the Ypres district.
In May, 1917, he was appointed acting Captain, and in June he won the M.C. at the battle of Messines. It was a particularly gallant feat which gained him the V.C. In the words of the official report, he "rallied and organised the infantry and, although exposed to rifle and machine-gun fire, fearlessly walked about as though on parade, giving orders and encouraging everyone. He inspired the infantry with the assurance, ‘so long as you stick to your trenches I will keep my guns here.' Four days later he was killed while directing the fire of his battery."
Major Dougall was elected a Student of the Liverpool Engineering Society, 18th November, 1908, and had already shown great promise as an engineer.