On 23 August 1918 east of Courcelle-le Compte, France, Private McIver was employed as a company-runner and under heavy artillery and machine-gun fire carried messages regardless of his own safety. Single-handed he pursued an enemy scout into a machine-gun post and having killed six of the garrison, captured 20 prisoners and two machine-guns. Later he succeeded, at great personal risk, in stopping the fire of a British tank which was directed in error against our own troops. He was killed in action 10 days later[1] near Courcelles, France, on 2 September 1918.[2]
Born in Linwood, Renfrewshire, he spent much of his life in Newton (Cambuslang) and is commemorated in both towns.[3][4] In 2015, Kier Homes named a street in their Hawkhead Village development in Paisley, Hugh McIver Avenue, in memory of him.[citation needed]