Arthur Herbert Lindsay Richardson
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Arthur Herbert Lindsay Richardson VC (23 September 1872 — 15 December 1932) 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.
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[edit] Details
Born in Southport, Lancashire in 1872, Richardson emigrated to Canada in 1898. After a period as a rancher he joined the North-West Mounted Police in 1894. At the outbreak of the Boer War in 1900 he joined the newly raised Lord Strathcona's Horse.
He was 27 years old, and a sergeant when the following deed took place for which he was awarded the VC.
On 5 July 1900 at Wolwespruit, Standerton, South Africa, a party of Lord Strathcona's Horse (38 in number) came into contact and was engaged at close quarters with a force of 80 of the enemy. When the order was given to retire Sergeant Richardson rode back under very heavy cross-fire, picked up a trooper whose horse had been shot and who was badly wounded and rode with him out of fire. This act of gallantry was performed within 300 yards of the enemy and Sergeant Richardson was himself riding a wounded horse.
Richardson was the first soldier to be awarded the Victoria Cross for actions committed while serving with a Canadian unit under British command.
He re-joined the NWMP in 1901 and served until 1906. After his wife's death in 1916, Richardson returned to Liverpool and died there in 1932.
[edit] The medal
His Victoria Cross is displayed at The Military Museums in Calgary, Alberta. His gravestone can be seen at the Liverpool Cathedral St. James Gardens.
[edit] References
- Monuments to Courage (David Harvey, 1999)
- The Register of the Victoria Cross (This England, 1997)
- Victoria Crosses of the Anglo-Boer War (Ian Uys, 2000)
