McDougall, John (Morton Thomson)

Details
Category: 1918-19

John (Morton Thomson) McDougall - served as John Thomson

Machine Gun Corp

Clyde Royal Garrison Artillery and then 14th Light Armoured Motor Battery of the Machine Gun Corps
He is remembered with honour on
The Basra War Memorial (Thomson), the Scottish National War Memorial (Thompson), the Old Parish Church and Helensburgh War Memorial as McDougall, Column 4 Line 11.

The family home was at Alma Place, Helensburgh. The son of Lawrence and Mary Burns.
Siblings: William, Jennet, Dugald, Robert, Annie and Marion. William, his younger brother, also died in the war. Dugald and Robert were too young to go to war.
John McDougall gave up his apprenticeship as a gardener to the Johnson family at Rhu Arden, Upper Sutherland Crescent in the town to join the Clyde Royal Garrison Artillery in 1912. He was posted to the RGA Battery at Portkil, Kilcreggan in August 1914. A year later John was listed as a deserter. John was not really a deserter, he wrote later that he felt he was not contributing enough to the war effort and decided to join the Motor Machine Gun Service (part of the Royal Artillery) under the name of Thomson, his mother's maiden name.
John died at the Battle of Sharqat only three days before the end of the war in Mesopotamia. He was awarded the DCM, the citation reads: 'For conspicuous gallantry and devotion to duty near Huwaish on the 27th October, 1918. When his armoured car received a direct hit and was stopped, he jumped out, and under very heavy fire at close range tried to start the engine again'.
John also received the Victory Medal and the British War Medal. Pictured above (left) with his brother William.