VICTORIA CROSS
Graham Pitchfork concludes his series in which he recounts the exploits of the airmen awarded the Victoria Cross, with a tribute to the last surviving air VC recipient, Fg Off John Cruickshank
JOHN CRUICKSHANK
John Alexander Cruickshank was born in Aberdeen in May 1920 and educated at the city’s grammar school. He enlisted as a gunner in the Territorial Army in April 1939 and was mobilised when war broke out, then joining the 129th Field Regiment, Royal Artillery. But seeking a more active role in the war, he transferred to the RAF to train as a pilot in July 1941. After completing his initial training at Scarborough, Yorkshire, Cruickshank sailed from the Clyde in Scotland to Canada.
