16 August 2025 , 21:07
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The last surviving recipient of the Second World War Victoria Cross from Britain, Flight Lieutenant John Cruickshank, has passed away at the age of 105.
Flight Lieutenant Cruickshank, from Aberdeen, received the VC for bravery during an attack on an enemy submarine that left him seriously injured.
A total of 181 people received Britain’s highest military decoration for their actions during the war.
The RAF captain’s family told the BBC he died last week and that a funeral would be held in private, the news outlet reported on Saturday.
Flt Lt Cruickshank was the captain of a Catalina flying boat with 210 Squadron, flying submarine-hunting missions from RAF Sullom Voe, in the Shetland Islands, Scotland.
On July 17 1944, aged 24, he was sent on a patrol to protect the British Home Fleet as it returned from an attack on the German battleship Tirpitz.
Air Marshal Sir John Lapsley (1916 - 1995, right), retiring Commander-in-Chief of RAF, Coastal Command, with former Flight Lieutenant John Cruickshank (left), the command’s only surviving VC, November 1969. Picture: Getty
A U-boat was spotted on the surface near Norway and the aircraft he was captaining and piloting launched an offensive.
The first bombs failed to release but Flt Lt Cruickshank turned the plane to face enemy fire and attack again.
He dropped depth charges during the second attempt, sinking the U-boat.
Flt Lt Cruickshank sustained 72 injuries including two to his lungs and 10 to his lower limbs during the assault.
The navigator was killed, three other crew members were severely injured, and the badly damaged aircraft was filled with fumes from exploding shells.
After the victory, Flt Lt Cruickshank left the cockpit but refused painkillers and continued to advise his second pilot who had taken control.
Flight Lieutenant John Cruickshank with Victoria Cross stamps. Picture: Alamy
The surviving crew members spent five and a half hours flying back to Sullom Voe.
Despite losing consciousness multiple times during their return, he assisted the second pilot with the landing which took an hour.
In 2013, Flt Lt Cruickshank said: "It was just normal, we were trained to do the job and that was it.
"I wouldn’t like to say I’m the only one that has an amazing story, there are plenty of other stories coming from that time.
"It wasn’t that wonderful in those days, I can tell you that. We could only think in those days there were better days to come."
After the war ended Flt Lt Cruickshank returned to his career in banking.
Politics Editor