Harcus Strachan

Harcus Strachan
Born 7 November 1884
Bo'ness, Scotland
Died 1 May 1982 (1982-06) (aged 97)
Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
Allegiance  Canada
Service/branch Canadian Expeditionary Force
Rank Lieutenant-Colonel
Unit The Fort Garry Horse
Commands held 1st Battalion, Edmonton Fusiliers
Battles/wars World War I
World War II
Awards Victoria Cross
Military Cross

Henry Mareus "Harcus" Strachan VC, MC (/ˈstrɔːn/; 7 November 1884 – 1 May 1982) 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.

Early life

Strachan was born in Bo'ness, Scotland and attended the Royal High School, Edinburgh and the University of Edinburgh before emigrating to Canada in 1905. He homesteaded a farm in the Chauvin district, near Wainwright, Alberta.[1]

World War I

Strachan joined the Canadian Expeditionary Force in July 1915.[2]

Strachan was 33 years of age, and serving in the First World War with the Canadian Cavalry Brigade as a lieutenant in The Fort Garry Horse, when he performed the action for which he was awarded the VC. It has become traditional for the Garrys to hold a parade every year on the anniversary of Strachan's unlikely cavalry exploit.

During the Battle of Cambrai on 20 November 1917 at Masnières, France, Lieutenant Strachan took command of the mounted squadron of Garrys when the 'B' Squadron leader, Captain Campbell, approaching the German front line at a gallop, was killed by machine gun fire [3].

Believing that 29th Division with tanks already held the village of Masnieres, Brig. Gen. Nelson of 88th Brigade, ordered the Fort Garry Horse to advance across the St Quentin Canal. On approaching the river bridge in front of Masnieres, the Garrys could see that the town was still held by the enemy and that the bridge across the St Quentin Canal was broken. The Garrys then found the Hampshire Regiment were crossing, in single file, over the lock gates. Tearing up a wooden pier, they built a bridge suitable for horses to cross. By 4pm 'B' Squadron set out through a gap in the enemy wire.

After Capt. Campbell was killed, Strachen led 'B' Squadron at the gallop to Rumilly. However, due to the state of the crossing at Masnieres and the limited available daylight Major-Gen W. H. Greenly commanding 2nd Cavalry Division, ordered any large-scale cavalry action to halt and recalled units that had crossed the Canal.

Neither Lt. Col. RW Patterson, commanding the Fort Garry Horse nor mounted orderlies, could find 'B' Squadron who were south-east of Rumilly. Cutting their way through a heavily camouflaged road they found a four-gunned German field battery in front of them. Charging, they rode down or sabred the gunners. Beyond the guns, German infantry challenged them and again Strachan led the charge, breaking the infantry but remaining under fire as they rode towards Rumilly. Until after dark the squadron, now less than fifty men and with five unwounded horses, sheltered in a sunken road 1,200 yards east of the town. When Strachan realised there was to be no support, the horse were cut loose and he withdrew towards the Canal. In a fighting withdrawal, four bodies of German troops were scattered. [4]

Lieutenant Strachan led the squadron through the enemy line of machine-gun posts and then, with the surviving men, led the charge on the German battery, killing seven of the gunners with his sword. When all the gunners were killed and the battery silenced, he rallied his men and fought his way back at night on foot through the enemy's lines, bringing all unwounded men safely in, together with 15 prisoners.[5]

Strachan, having been promoted to captain, received his VC from King George V on January 6, 1918.

Later life

After the war, he returned to his farm in the Chauvin district, Alberta [6]

He ran as a Liberal candidate in the 1921 Alberta provincial election, in the Wainwright constituency, but was not elected, a victim of the Farmers' sweep. [7]

He went into banking. By 1930, he had moved to Calgary.[8] In the 1930s he married Betsy Stirling and they had a daughter Jean.[9] Strachan later commanded the 1st Battalion, Edmonton Fusiliers during the Second World War. After the war he retired and moved to Vancouver. Strachan eventually attained the rank of lieutenant colonel.

In 1967 he voiced his disdain for the U.S. proponents of the U.S.-Vietnam War. [10]

Strachan died on 1 May 1982, at the age of 97 years and 175 days, the record longest-lived recipient of the Victoria Cross.[11] Strachan's ashes were scattered near the Rose Garden Columbarium at Boal Chapel Memorial Gardens in North Vancouver, BC on 5 May.

In September 2013 a lake in Manitoba was named "Harcus Strachan Lake" to commemorate his award of the Victoria Cross. (Winnipeg Free Press, January 15, 2014).

References

  1. ↑ Edmonton Bulletin, June 22, 1921
  2. ↑ Canadian Great War Project
  3. ↑ Williams, Jeffery, Byng of Vimy, Pen and Sword Military, Barnsley, 2014 p.188
  4. ↑ ibid p.189
  5. ↑ "No. 30433". The London Gazette (Supplement). 14 December 1917. p. 13222.
  6. ↑ Edmonton Bulletin, June 22, 1921
  7. ↑ Edmonton Bulletin, June 22, 1921
  8. ↑ Private records indicating membership in Calgary organizations, with his address at the time listed as 2114 - 7 Ave SW, Calgary.
  9. ↑ Postmedia "The Great War" website
  10. ↑ Postmedia "The Great War" website
  11. ↑ Article on ww1.canada.com.

List of Canadian Victoria Cross recipients

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