Hugh Gordon Malcolm OG VC

So technically speaking it is the wrong war as Hugh Malcolm was involved in fighting in the Second World War. I think it's an interesting way to approach memory theory though, the fact that we ignore that which is on our very doorsteps. How can we berate Elizabeth for not understanding the events that led to the monuments at Thiepval if we ignore the memorials that we see around the College every day?

When I was a little girl my Dad used to be an officer in the Royal Observer Corps. He used to plot enemy planes (this was the middle of the Cold War and a nuclear attack was a more serious possibility than it seems today) and if they got too close to Britain a fighter squadron could be scrambled in order to shoot them down. The ROC has been disbanded now but he still often meets up with his old colleagues. Being into planes and such like they were really interested in Hugh Malcolm's story and so I have written it down to be included in one of their news emails. As always concise is not my strong point but I thought that I would cut and paste it here so that you all have a full account of this remarkable man.

Hugh Gordon Malcolm VC is the most recent of three OGs (ex pupils) from the school that I work at to be awarded the Victoria Cross. This was recently bought by Lord Ashcroft, a collector of VCs who owns some 169 of them, for £252,000 and is now on display in the Ashcroft Gallery of the Imperial War Museum. As I was taking a group of 6^th formers to London in November our school librarian and archivist asked me to take a photograph of it for the school archives.

If I was going to take some pupils then I decided I ought to find out as much as possible about the man before we left. Well, I was hooked. The more that I found out, the more questions I was left with and the more that I wanted to know.

Hugh Malcolm was born in Dundee, Scotland in 1917 and, having attended Glenalmond College, joined RAF Cranwell aged 19. From here he had a fairly typical RAF career, stationed in various places of the UK including Catterick. However, in 1939 the plane that he was flying crashed. Perhaps this is unsurprising since he is described in his RAF notes as ‘being above average but inclined to be over-confident’. However, the accident was genuinely not his fault and was down to the engine stalling. It seemed like his career was over but in typical Malcolm style he records the incident with a characteristic sunny disposition in his journal, ‘it just fell out’er me hands’! He was, however, hospitalised and in quite a serious condition. The left side of his skull would be permanently dented but he fell in love with one of the nurses, Helen and went on to marry her. This was followed by the birth of his daughter Carina in 1941.

He went on to make a good recovery and was soon back in operation with the RAF. He became known as an exceptional leader with one of his men claiming ‘we would have gladly followed Malcolm anywhere’ and having carried out several successful missions, including bombing a Luftwaffe base in a highly dangerous mission, he quickly moved up the promotion ladder eventually gaining the post of Wing Commander and being posted to Tunisia. It was here that he carried out another of these dangerous raids. Taking off from Bizerta Airfield for his third raid that week you’d be forgiven for thinking that he was an old hand at this now. However, there was a key difference. Hugh Malcolm and his crew were being sent out on the clearest of days with no cloud cover and no fighter cover. They knew that they were courting almost certain suicide but Malcolm was definite in his resolve. His sense of duty was absolute, the job needed doing and it would be done, whatever the consequence to his own life. All of the men were shot down on the way back, however, they had successfully carried out the mission given to them. His bravery was immeasurable and he was awarded a posthumous Victoria Cross, the only one awarded to an RAF officer for conduct in North Africa in the Second World War. Malcolm and the other men were buried in a mass grave in Beja War Cemetery along with their aircraft as it was too dangerous to remove their bodies. One of the propellers was used as a makeshift gravestone until they could be properly honoured after the war.

Described as a man who ‘radiated a joy of living and fighting which was irresistable’, it seems fitting that in 1943 the first Malcolm Club opened on the RAF base in Algiers. These social clubs, still called Malcolm Clubs in his honour, can now be found on every RAF base in the world. Hugh Malcolm left a fantastic legacy behind and one for which every serviceman posted abroad ought to be grateful.

However, this isn’t the end of the story. It’s all very interesting but why am I so fascinated? For over a year I have ignored the large painting of a man in a bomber jacket that hangs in the library of Glenalmond College. It never occurred to me to question who he was until now. Then I discovered more and more artefacts around the College. Also hanging in the library in small, inconspicuous black frames is a black and white photo and the citation which accompanied his Victoria Cross. These were donated by his wife Helen following his death as she wanted this remarkable man and his achievements to be remembered always by the pupils of his alma mater. And so I took it upon myself to take my 6^th form classes to the library to learn more about this incredible and courageous man. From there we headed to the chapel to see his name engraved upon the Second World War memorial. This is interesting in itself as traditionally War Memorials are arranged by rank but ours is arranged by alphabet only.

Yet the story is still not over. In fact this is where it gets particularly interesting (or frustrating depending upon how you look at things). During a chance conversation with the chaplain one day he told me that Hugh Malcolm was buried in the College graveyard. This was ridiculous, I knew that he was buried in Tunisia, all of my research using newspaper articles from the time and the Commonwealth War Graves’ records pointed to this fact. Anyway, they didn’t repatriate bodies during the Second World War. However, looking in the graveyard there is indeed a plot and a stone cross dedicated to Hugh Malcolm. What’s more, the chapel burial records state quite clearly in the chaplain of the time’s hand ‘buried at Glenalmond’. We’ll never get to the bottom of it but what an interesting twist in the tale!

I was so disappointed, therefore, when I got to the Imperial War Museum to find that whilst other holders of the VC had lots of information available, it was simply Malcolm’s medals on display. I was so saddened, I knew so much about this man and I wanted to share this knowledge and so I sought out a member of staff. It turned out I was looking in the wrong place and there was plenty of extra information available, oops! However, I was given the name and contact details of Lord Ashcroft’s PA. She has, in turn, sent me copies of everything that Lord Ashcroft owns: photographs, Malcolm’s personal journal, his flying licenses, his death certificate etc. When I started my journey through Hugh Malcolm’s life I never imagined that I’d have access to so many documents. In turn I have sent her photographs of his “grave” here at Glenalmond as well as the other memorials. Perhaps my photographs will now turn up in the Imperial War Museum!

So my job is complete. Malcolm’s wife wanted his memory to be kept alive by subsequent pupils and so I hope that I have done that. If you’re ever in London I really do recommend a visit to the Ashcroft Gallery. This is just one man’s story, there are 168 more equally inspiring men to learn about.