SGT Robert Downie (on the left of picture) was born in 1891. He joined the army at 19 and was a regular with the Royal Dublin Fusiliers at the start of the first world war. In October 1916, during the Battle of the Somme, he was awarded the Victoria Cross for exceptional bravery. He was later also awarded the Military Medal.

On his homecoming, he arrived at Glasgow Central Station to be met by hundreds of people who carried him shoulder-high to a taxi. Springburn Road was decorated with flags and bunting and lined with hundreds more people, and his achievement was widely reported in the Glasgow press.

He lived quietly in Carleston Street, Springburn, until his death in 1968. Football fans at Celtic Park regularly saw him on a Saturday as he worked as a cashier at the turnstiles. A modest man, he often played down his bravery, saying he won the medals for having 'shot the cook'.

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Robert Downie