A VICTORIA Cross winner who was blinded in action will be remembered at a special service on Armistice Day.

Coleford war hero Captain Angus Buchanan officially unveiled the Monmouth School for Boys war memorial almost a century ago, having been head boy there.

And staff, students and families of the fallen have been invited to the memorial’s rededication on Monday, November 11, exactly 100 years after the plan for the monument was first conceived.

The Old Monmothians decided to erect the memorial in 1919 to honour the 76 old boys who died in the First World War.

And the VC winner, who also won the Military Cross, was guest of honour at its unveiling in 1921, saying in his speech that the simple granite cross would “never be an ornament, but always a true and lasting monument to those who gave their lives”.

A total of 143 old boys and staff died in conflicts in the 20th century, with the 76 from the Great War all named on the memorial, which stands next to the cloisters behind the school chapel.

The special service will recall Angus Buchanan’s extraordinary life before, during and after the Great War, said a school spokesperson.

He was wounded on four separate occasions, losing his sight when he was hit by a Turkish sniper’s bullet on the fourth occasion in 1917 in Mesopotamia.

He had previously been awarded the MC for bravery at Helles in Gallipoli on January 7, 1916, when in command of B Company, South Wales Borderers 4th Battalion, in trenches east of Gully Ravine.

Then on April 5, 1916, in the fighting in Mesopotamia, the 21-year-old won the VC for “most conspicuous bravery” saving two wounded men from no-man’s land under heavy enemy fire despite being wounded in the arm.

His citation read: “During an attack an of?cer was lying out in the open severely wounded about 150 yards from cover.

“Two men went to his assistance and one of them was hit at once.

“Captain Buchanan, on seeing this, immediately went out and, with the help of the other man, carried the wounded of?-cer to cover under heavy machine-gun ?re.

“He then returned and brought in the wounded man, again under heavy ?re.”

After being blinded in action on February 14, 1917, Captain Buchanan was forced to relinquish his commission. A newsreel film shows him being invested with the Victoria Cross and Military Cross at a ceremony in Bristol, by King George V, on November 8, 1917.

He later recovered sufficiently to return to Oxford University to study law, and then established himself as a solicitor in his home town, where as a youngster he had attended St John’s Boys School before going to Monmouth School.

He went on to be considered one of the best salmon ?sherman in the area and had a detailed knowledge of the River Wye and played bridge.

Captain Buchanan, who his home town’s recreation ground is named after, died in Gloucester Royal In?rmary on March 1, 1944, aged 49, and was buried with full military honours at Coleford Church. His gravestone says he “died of old wounds”, having never fully recovered from his war injuries.

Monmouth School for Boys is calling on families whose relatives are named on its war memorial to get in touch so they can be part of the 100-year anniversary event.

They should contact Claire Howes by e-mail at [email protected]

The service of dedication and act of remembrance, which will include The Royal Welsh regiment and the school chapel choir, will start at 10am and finish around 12.45pm.