Robert McBeath Robert Gordon McBeath , VC ( 22 December 1898 – 9 October 1922 ) born in Kinlochbervie , Sutherland was a Scottish recipient of the Victoria Cross , the highest and most prestigious medal that can be awarded to members of British military forces . Following the end of World War I McBeath married and emigrated to Canada where he was killed in the line of duty while working as a police officer in Vancouver , British Columbia . First World War . McBeath was a 19 years old lance - corporal in the 1 / 5th Battalion , The Seaforth Highlanders ( Ross - shire Buffs , Duke of Albany ' s ) of the British Army during the First World War when the following deed took place for which he was awarded the VC . On 20 November 1917 during the Battle of Cambrai in France , Lance - Corporal McBeath volunteered to deal with a nest of machine - gunners that checked the advance of his unit and which had caused heavy casualties . He moved off alone , armed with a Lewis gun and a revolver . Finding that several other machine - guns were in action , McBeath attacked them with the assistance of a tank and drove the gunners to ground in a deep dug - out . McBeath rushed in after them , shot the first man who opposed him and then drove the remainder of the garrison out of the dug - out . He captured three officers and 30 men . McBeath ' s award was published in the London Gazette on 11 January 1918 , which reads : For most conspicuous bravery when with his company in attack and approaching the final objective , a nest of enemy machine - guns in the western outskirts of a village opened fire both on his own unit and on the unit to the right . The advance was checked and heavy casualties resulted . When a Lewis gun was called for to deal with these machine - guns , L / Corpl . McBeath volunteered for the duty , and immediately moved off alone with a Lewis gun and his revolver . He located one of the machine - guns in action , and worked his way towards it , shooting the gunner with his revolver at 20 yards range . Finding several of the hostile machine - guns in action , he , with the assistance of a tank , attacked them and drove the gunners to ground in a deep dugout . L / Corpl . McBeath , regardless of all danger , rushed in after them , shot an enemy who opposed him on the steps , and drove the remainder of the garrison out of the dug - out , capturing three officers and 30 men . There were in all five machine - guns mounted round the dug - out , and by putting them out of action he cleared the way for the advance of both units . The conduct of L / Corpl . McBeath throughout three days of severe fighting was beyond praise . Canada . After the war , McBeath and his wife moved to Canada , where he joined the British Columbia Provincial Police . On August 12 , 1921 , he joined the Vancouver Police Department . On October 9 , 1922 , while walking the beat on Granville and Davie Street s with his partner , Detective R . Quirk , McBeath stopped and arrested a man named Fred Deal for impaired driving . While escorting the prisoner to the nearest call - box , the man pulled a handgun from his pocket and shot both officers ; MacBeath ' s partner survived , but McBeath died almost instantly . He was 23 years old . Fred Deal was arrested later that day and was subsequently sentenced to death . The sentence was reduced to life imprisonment on appeal because Deal had been beaten while in custody . Deal served only 21 years before being released and deported to his native Jacksonville , Florida , where he died a few years later . Funeral . Robert McBeath was given what was called at the time “ the largest official funeral in Vancouver history . ” Posthumously . A Vancouver Police Marine vessel is named the " R . C . McBeath VC " in honour of Robert McBeath , as is a housing development , McBeath Court , in his home town of Kinlochbervie . McBeath is buried in the Masonic Section , Plot 193 , Lot 6 , of Mountain View Cemetery in Vancouver . The headstone shows his name as " MacBeath " , although his surname is spelled " McBeath " on all other documents except the Vancouver coroner ' s report . McBeath ' s Victoria Cross is displayed at the Regimental Museum of Queen ' s Own Highlanders , Fort George , Highland , near Inverness in Scotland .