 walter potter ritchie vc (27 march 1892 &ndash; 17 march 1965) was a scottish recipient of the victoria cross, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to british and commonwealth forces. he was 24 years old, and a drummer in the 2nd battalion, the seaforth highlanders (ross-shire buffs, duke of albany's), british army during the first world war when the following deed took place for which he was awarded the vc. :on 1&nbsp;july 1916 north of beaumont hamel, france, drummer ritchie, on his own initiative, stood on the parapet of an enemy trench and, under heavy machine-gun fire and bomb attacks, repeatedly sounded the "charge" thereby rallying many men of various units who, having lost their leaders were wavering and beginning to retire. he also, during the day, carried messages over fire-swept ground. he later achieved the rank of drum-major. born in glasgow in 1892, he died in 1965 and was cremated in edinburgh. ==references==  *monuments to courage (david harvey, 1999) *the register of the victoria cross (this england, 1997) *scotland's forgotten valour (graham ross, 1995) *vcs of the first world war - the somme (gerald gliddon, 1994) ==external links== *location of grave and vc medal (edinburgh)  
1892_births 1965_deaths British_Army_personnel_of_World_War_I British_Army_recipients_of_the_Victoria_Cross British_Battle_of_the_Somme_recipients_of_the_Victoria_Cross Military_musicians People_from_Glasgow Scottish_drummers Seaforth_Highlanders_soldiers