John Weir Foote

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Photo by Terry Macdonald - Oct 1993

Rev. John Weir Foote, VC , CD (May 5, 1904—May 2, 1988) was a 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 British and Commonwealth forces. Major Foote is the only member of the Canadian Chaplains' Services ever to be awarded the Victoria Cross.

1 Early life
2 Victoria Cross
3 Later life
4 External links
5 References

[edit] Early life

John Weir Foote was born in Madoc in eastern Ontario on May 5, 1904. He was educated at the University of Western Ontario in London, at Queen's University in Kingston and at Presbyterian College and McGill University in Montreal. He entered the Presbyterian ministry in 1934, serving congregations in Fort-Coulonge, Quebec, and Port Hope, Ontario.

In December 1939, after the outbreak of the Second World War, he enlisted in the Canadian Army. He was posted to The Royal Hamilton Light Infantry (Wentworth Regiment) (RHLI) as the Regimental Chaplain with the rank of Honorary Captain.

[edit] Victoria Cross

He was 38 years old when, as padre of the RHLI, when (during the Dieppe Raid) he performed the following deed for which he was awarded the Victoria Cross:

On 19 August 1942 at Dieppe, France, Captain Foote coolly and calmly during the eight hours of the battle walked about collecting the wounded, saving many lives by his gallant efforts and inspiring those around him by his example. At the end of this gruelling time he climbed from the landing craft that was to have taken him to safety and deliberately walked into the German position in order to be taken prisoner so that he could be a help to those men who would be in captivity until May 5, 1945.

His VC award was gazetted after the Second World War in 1946. Prior to his death, John Foote donated his medals to the Royal Hamilton Light Infantry where it is held at the RHLI Heritage Museum at the John W Foote VC Armoury.

[edit] Later life

Later achieving the rank of Major, he remained with the Canadian Chaplains' Services at CFB Borden until being demobilized in 1948. He won a seat in the Legislative Assembly of Ontario in the 1948 provincial election and served as the Progressive Conservative Member of Provincial Parliament (MPP) for Durham. He was first appointed to serve as Deputy Commissioner for the Liquor Control Board of Ontario, then into the cabinet after the 1951 election as Ontario Minister of Reform Institutions, but stepped down in 1957, following a number of heart attacks. He retired from the provincial legislature in 1959.

He made his home with his wife, the former Edith Sheridan (1898-1986), in Cobourg, Ontario, until his death on May 2, 1988. He is buried in Union Cemetery, Cobourg.

The Royal Canadian Legion branch in Grafton, Ontario was renamed the James Foote V.C. C.D. Branch 580 in 1982.

The James Street Armoury in Hamilton, Ontario,^[1] where the RHLI is now based, along with 11th Field Hamilton-Wentworth Battery, was renamed the John W. Foote VC Armoury in his memory.