Major Major (commandant in certain jurisdictions) is a military rank of commissioned officer status, with corresponding ranks existing in many military forces throughout the world. When used unhyphenated and in conjunction with no other indicators ...

Charles Ferguson Hoey VC MC (29 March 1914 – 16 February 1944) 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 A commonwealth is a traditional English term for a political community founded for the common good. Historically, it has been synonymous with "republic". The noun "commonwealth", meaning "public welfare, general good or advantage", dates from the ...

forces.

Military career

Charles Ferguson Hoey was born on 29 March 1914, the son of Ferguson and Mary Rudyerd Hoey, of

Duncan Duncan may refer to: People * Duncan (given name), various people * Duncan (surname), various people * Clan Duncan * Justice Duncan (disambiguation) Places * Duncan Creek (disambiguation) * Duncan River (disambiguation) * Duncan Lake (d ...

, Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada. Grandson, through his mother, of Major General Charles Rudyerd Simpson CB, Colonel, The Lincolnshire Regiment. He started his education at

Queen Margaret's School Queen Margaret’s School is a Canadian school in Duncan, British Columbia, in the Cowichan Valley on Vancouver Island. It has some 345 students in its preschool and kindergarten, junior school and senior school divisions. It also teaches ridi ...

in Duncan, then attended Duncan Grammar School and Duncan High School. Hoey went to England in 1933 in order to pursue a military career. He first enlisted in the British Army as a

private soldier A private is a soldier, usually with the lowest rank in many armies. Soldiers with the rank of Private may be conscripts or they may be professional (career) soldiers. The term derives from the medieval term "private soldiers" (a term still us ...

in the Queen's Own Royal West Kent Regiment, before winning a cadetship to the Royal Military College, Sandhurst and went there in September 1935. He graduated in December 1936 and was commissioned as a

second lieutenant Second lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces, comparable to NATO OF-1 rank. Australia The rank of second lieutenant existed in the military forces of the Australian colonies and Australian Army until ...

in the Lincolnshire Regiment, later the Royal Lincolnshire Regiment, on 28 January 1937. He transferred to the 1st Battalion of the Lincolns, then stationed in India, and sailed for there in September 1937. He went to Burma with the 1st Battalion in 1942 and served there until his death in February 1944. He was awarded the Military Cross (MC) in July 1943 for his outstanding service at Maungdaw during a raid on a Japanese position.

Victoria Cross

He was 29 years old, and a Temporary

in the 1st Battalion, Lincolnshire Regiment, British Army during the Second World War when the following deed took place during the

Battle of Ngakyedauk A battle is an occurrence of combat in warfare between opposing military units of any number or size. A war usually consists of multiple battles. In general, a battle is a military engagement that is well defined in duration, area, and force ...

for which he was awarded the VC. On 16 February 1944 near the

Ngakyedauk Pass The Battle of the Admin Box (sometimes referred to as the Battle of Ngakyedauk or the Battle of Sinzweya) took place on the southern front of the Burma campaign from 5 to 23 February 1944, in the South-East Asian Theatre of World War II. Japan ...

, Arakan, Burma (now Myanmar), Major Hoey's company came under devastating machine-gun fire, but Major Hoey did not waver in his advance on the objective. Although wounded in the head and leg he went forward alone with a

Bren gun The Bren gun was a series of light machine guns (LMG) made by Britain in the 1930s and used in various roles until 1992. While best known for its role as the British and Commonwealth forces' primary infantry LMG in World War II, it was also use ...

and tackled a troublesome enemy strong point, destroying it and killing all the occupants, but he was mortally wounded. The citation reads as follows:

"In BURMA, on the 16th February, 1944, Major Hoey's company formed part of a force which was ordered to capture a position at all costs. After a night march through enemy-held territory, the force was met at the foot of the position by machine gun fire. Major Hoey personally led his company under heavy machine gun and rifle fire up to the objective. Although wounded at least twice in the leg and head, he seized a Bren gun from one of his men and, firing from the hip, led his company into the objective. In spite of his wounds the company had difficulty in keeping up with him, and Major Hoey reached the enemy strong post first, where he killed all the occupants before being mortally wounded. Major Hoey's outstanding gallantry and leadership, his total disregard of personal safety and his grim determination to reach the objective resulted in the capture of this vital position."

His remains are now interred at

Taukkyan War Cemetery The Taukkyan War Cemetery ( my, ထောက်ကြံ့ စစ်သင်္ချိုင်း) is a cemetery for Allied soldiers from the British Commonwealth who died in battle in Burma during the Second World War. The cemetery is in th ...

in Burma.

The medal

His Victoria Cross is displayed in the Galleries of the Royal Lincolnshire Regiment at the Museum of Lincolnshire Life in

Lincoln, England Lincoln () is a cathedral city, a non-metropolitan district, and the county town of Lincolnshire, England. In the 2021 Census, the Lincoln district had a population of 103,813. The 2011 census gave the Lincoln Urban Area, urban area of Lincoln, ...

Charles Hoey VC Memorial Park

Charles Hoey VC Memorial Park has been dedicated in downtown Duncan, B.C. This park is located along Canada Avenue between Trunk Road and Ingram Street. The Cowichan cenotaph, located within the park, is inscribed with the names of area residents killed in the two World Wars and the war in Korea. Charles F

Charles Hoey VC Memorial Park Inscription

References

External links