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{{short description|Recipient of the Victoria Cross}}
{{Infobox military person
|name = James Edward Tait
|image = James Edward Tait VC.jpg
|caption =
|birth_date = 27 May 1888
|death_date = 11 August 1918 (aged 30)
|birth_place= [[Dumfries]], [[Scotland]]
|death_place= [[Amiens]], [[France]]
|placeofburial=Fouquescourt British Cemetery
|nickname =
|allegiance={{UK}}<br>{{flag|Canada|1868}}
|serviceyears = 1916 - 1918
|rank = [[Lieutenant]]
|branch = [[Canadian Expeditionary Force]]
|commands =
|unit = [[Imperial Yeomanry]]<br>[[78th Battalion, CEF]]
|battles = [[World War I]]
* [[Western Front (World War I)|Western Front]]
** [[Hundred Days Offensive]]
*** [[Battle of Amiens (1918)|Battle of Amiens]] {{KIA}}
|awards = [[File:UK Victoria Cross ribbon bar.svg|30px]] [[Victoria Cross]]<br>[[Military Cross]]
|laterwork =
}}
'''James Edward Tait''' {{post-nominals|VC|MC}} (27 May 1888 – 11 August 1918), was a [[Scottish people|Scottish]]/[[Canadians|Canadian]] recipient of the [[Victoria Cross]], the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to [[United Kingdom|British]] and [[Commonwealth of Nations|Commonwealth]] forces.

==Background==
Tait was born on 27 May 1888 in [[Maxwelltown]] (Dumfries),<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.cmp-cpm.forces.gc.ca/dhh-dhp/gal/vcg-gcv/bio/tait-je-eng.asp|title = Victoria Cross Bios - James Edward Tait|date = 14 April 2022}}</ref> Scotland to James Bryden Tait and Mary Johnstone. He married Jessie Spiers Aitken from California.<ref name=CWGC>[http://www.cwgc.org/find-war-dead/casualty/616614 Tait, James Edward], Commonwealth War Graves Commission</ref> He joined the [[Canadian Expeditionary Force]] in February 1916.

==World War I==
Tait was 30 years old, and a [[lieutenant]] in the 78th (Winnipeg Grenadiers) Battalion, [[Canadian Expeditionary Force]], during the [[World War I|First World War]].

He died in action on 11 August 1918 in [[Amiens]], [[France]]. He was awarded the VC for his actions that day.

===VC citation===
{{Quote|For most conspicuous bravery and initiative in attack. The advance having been checked by intense machine-gun fire, Lt. Tait rallied his company and led it forward with consummate skill and dash under a hail of bullets. A concealed machine gun, however, continued to cause many casualties. Taking a rifle and bayonet, Lt. Tait dashed forward alone and killed the enemy gunner. Inspired by his example his men rushed the position, capturing twelve machine guns and twenty prisoners. His valorous action cleared the way for his battalion to advance. Later, when the enemy counter-attacked our positions under intense artillery bombardment, this gallant officer displayed outstanding courage and leadership, and, though mortally wounded by a shell, continued to aid and direct his men until his death.|[[The London Gazette]], 24 September 1918<ref>{{London Gazette|issue= 30922|date=27 September 1918|page=11429 |supp=y}}</ref>}}

Lieutenant James Edward Tait was also awarded the Military Cross at the Battle of Vimy Ridge. The citation for this award is as follows:
"For conspicuous gallantry and devotion to duty. Early in an assault he was wounded, and all the other officers killed or wounded, but he led his company with great fearlessness and determination through intense fire to the objective, and, although unable to walk, supervised its consolidation, finally crawling back alone, to leave for others the four bearers."

[[File:James Tait's Victoria Cross.JPG|thumb|James Tait's Victoria Cross at the Glenbow Museum in Calgary]]

Due to his previous work with the Hudson Bay Railway survey, a siding south of Lynn Lake, Manitoba was named [[Jetait]] in his honour. Lieutenant Tait also has an island named after him in the Winnipeg River, Manitoba between the Pinawa Marina and the Pinawa Sailing Club.

Tait is buried at Fouquescourt British Cemetery which is located 16 miles south of Albert, France (special memorial, grave 8).<ref name=CWGC/> His Victoria Cross is displayed at the [[Glenbow Museum]] in [[Calgary, Alberta]], Canada.

==References==
{{Reflist}}

== Further reading ==
*[[Monuments to Courage]] (David Harvey, 1999)
*[[The Register of the Victoria Cross]] (This England, 1997)
*[[Scotland's Forgotten Valour]] (Graham Ross, 1995)

==External links==
* [http://www.bac-lac.gc.ca/eng/discover/military-heritage/first-world-war/personnel-records/Pages/item.aspx?IdNumber=266204 James Eward Tait's digitized service file]
* [http://www.cmp-cpm.forces.gc.ca/dhh-dhp/gal/vcg-gcv/bio/tait-je-eng.asp James Edward Tait] ''(service/personal details, photograph, citation, relevant documents, burial information)''
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20070311014925/http://www.legionmagazine.com/features/victoriacross/05-09.asp?id=print Legion Magazine]

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tait, James Edward}}
[[Category:1886 births]]
[[Category:1918 deaths]]
[[Category:Canadian World War I recipients of the Victoria Cross]]
[[Category:Canadian military personnel killed in World War I]]
[[Category:Scottish emigrants to Canada]]
[[Category:Canadian Expeditionary Force officers]]
[[Category:Scottish military personnel]]
[[Category:People from Dumfries]]
[[Category:Canadian recipients of the Military Cross]]
[[Category:British Yeomanry soldiers]]
[[Category:Winnipeg Grenadiers]]
[[Category:Winnipeg Grenadiers officers]]

James Edward Tait - Revision history

Bot at 11:39, 15 December 2022