Henry Mareus "Harcus" Strachan (; 7 November 1884 – 1 May 1982) was a Scottish born

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

recipient of the

Victoria Cross The Victoria Cross (VC) is the highest and most prestigious award of the British honours system. It is awarded for valour "in the presence of the enemy" to members of the British Armed Forces and may be awarded posthumously. It was previously ...

, the highest and most prestigious award for valour in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to

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and

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forces.

Early life

Strachan was born in

Bo'ness Borrowstounness (commonly known as Bo'ness ( )) is a town and former burgh and seaport on the south bank of the Firth of Forth in the Central Lowlands of Scotland. Historically part of the county of West Lothian, it is a place within the Falki ...

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

and attended the

Royal High School, Edinburgh The Royal High School (RHS) of Edinburgh is a co-educational school administered by the City of Edinburgh Council. The school was founded in 1128 and is one of the oldest schools in Scotland. It serves 1,200 pupils drawn from four feeder primar ...

and the

University of Edinburgh The University of Edinburgh ( sco, University o Edinburgh, gd, Oilthigh Dhùn Èideann; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in post-nominals) is a public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Granted a royal charter by King James VI in 15 ...

before emigrating to Canada in 1905. He homesteaded a farm in the Chauvin district, near

Wainwright, Alberta Wainwright is a town in east-central Alberta, Canada. It is approximately southeast of Edmonton. Located west of the Alberta–Saskatchewan border, Wainwright is south of Vermilion in the Battle River valley. Highway 41, called the Buffal ...

.Edmonton Bulletin, 22 June 1921 Prior to winning the VC, Strachan was initiated into

freemasonry Freemasonry or Masonry refers to fraternal organisations that trace their origins to the local guilds of stonemasons that, from the end of the 13th century, regulated the qualifications of stonemasons and their interaction with authorities ...

in his birthplace, at the Douglas Lodge 409 Bo'ness, on 22 January 1917.

World War I

Strachan joined the

Canadian Expeditionary Force The Canadian Expeditionary Force (CEF) was the expeditionary field force of Canada during the First World War. It was formed following Britain’s declaration of war on Germany on 15 August 1914, with an initial strength of one infantry division ...

in July 1915. Strachan was 33 years of age, and serving in the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

with the

Canadian Cavalry Brigade The Canadian Cavalry Brigade was raised in December 1914, under its first commanding officer Brigadier-General J.E.B. Seely. It was originally composed of two Canadian and one British regiments and an attached artillery battery. The Canadian u ...

as a

lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations. The meaning of lieutenant differs in different militaries (see comparative military ranks), but it is often sub ...

The Fort Garry Horse The Fort Garry Horse is a Canadian Army Reserve armoured regiment based in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. It is part of 3rd Canadian Division's 38 Canadian Brigade Group. It traces its history to a cavalry regiment first formed in 1912 that first took ...

, when he performed the action for which he was awarded the VC. It has become traditional for the Garrys to hold a Regimental dinner every year on the anniversary of Strachan's unlikely cavalry exploit. The action occurred during the Battle of Cambrai. It occurred on 20 November 1917 at

Masnières Masnières () is a commune in the Nord department in northern France. Heraldry History Masnières figured into the 1917 Battle of Cambrai during which time it was briefly captured by the British on the first day of the battle, November 20, an ...

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, after Lieutenant Strachan took command of the mounted

squadron Squadron may refer to: * Squadron (army), a military unit of cavalry, tanks, or equivalent subdivided into troops or tank companies * Squadron (aviation), a military unit that consists of three or four flights with a total of 12 to 24 aircraft, ...

of Garrys when his commanding officer, 'B' Squadron leader Captain Campbell, was killed by machine gun fire. Believing that the 29th Division with tanks already held the village of Masnieres, Brig. Gen. Nelson of the 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, and approached the German front line at a gallop. B Squadron leader Capt. Campbell was killed, and Strachan took command, leading 'B' Squadron at the gallop across the countryside toward Rumilly. 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 ordered the recall of the 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 to give them the recall order. B Squadron led by Strachan, cut its way through a line of infantry in a heavily camouflaged road and found a four-gunned German field battery in front of them. They charged, and rode down or sabred the gunners. German infantry positioned beyond the guns fired on them and again Strachan led a charge, They broke the infantry but were under fire, taking more casualties as they rode towards Rumilly. Now with less than fifty men and only five unwounded horses, they sheltered in a sunken road 1,200 yards east of the town. Strachan realised there was to be no support, so he had the horses cut loose and he led the unit in a withdrawal towards the Canal. During this fighting withdrawal, B Squadron scattered four bodies of German troops. In short, 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. His citation reads: Strachan, having been promoted to captain, received his VC from King

George V George V (George Frederick Ernest Albert; 3 June 1865 – 20 January 1936) was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 6 May 1910 until Death and state funeral of George V, his death in 1936. Born duri ...

on 6 January 1918.

Later life

After the war, he returned to his farm in the Chauvin district, Alberta He ran as a

Liberal Liberal or liberalism may refer to: Politics * a supporter of liberalism ** Liberalism by country * an adherent of a Liberal Party * Liberalism (international relations) * Sexually liberal feminism * Social liberalism Arts, entertainment and m ...

candidate in the 1921 Alberta provincial election, in the Wainwright constituency, but was not elected, a victim of the Farmers' sweep. He went into banking. By 1930, he had moved to Calgary. In the 1930s he married Betsy Stirling and they had a daughter Jean.Postmedia "The Great War" website Strachan later commanded the 1st Battalion,

Edmonton Fusiliers The Edmonton Fusiliers was an infantry regiment of the Non-Permanent Active Militia of the Canadian Militia and later the Canadian Army. First raised in 1908 as part of the 101st Regiment Edmonton Fusiliers, it became a separate regiment in 192 ...

during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. After the war he retired and moved to Vancouver. Strachan eventually attained the rank of

lieutenant colonel Lieutenant colonel ( , ) is a rank of commissioned officers in the armies, most marine forces and some air forces of the world, above a major and below a colonel. Several police forces in the United States use the rank of lieutenant colone ...

. In 1967 he voiced his disdain for the U.S. proponents of the U.S.-Vietnam War. Strachan died on 1 May 1982, at the age of 97 years and 175 days, the record longest-lived recipient of the Victoria Cross.
Article on ww1.canada.com. Strachan's ashes were scattered near the Rose Garden Columbarium at Boal Chapel Memorial Gardens in North Vancouver (district municipality), North Vancouver, BC on 5 May. In September 2013 a lake in

Manitoba Manitoba ( ) is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada at the Centre of Canada, longitudinal centre of the country. It is Canada's Population of Canada by province and territory, fifth-most populous province, with a population o ...

was named "Harcus Strachan Lake" to commemorate his award of the Victoria Cross. (Winnipeg Free Press, 15 January 2014). On 20 November 2018, the McGregor Armoury in Winnipeg, home of the Fort Garry Horse, was renamed in honour of Harcus Strachan VC MC.

References

External links

*
Legion Magazine Article on Harcus StrachanHarcus Strachan's digitized service file
{{DEFAULTSORT:Strachan, Harcus Canadian World War I recipients of the Victoria Cross 1884 births 1982 deaths Scottish military personnel People educated at the Royal High School, Edinburgh People from Bo'ness Scottish emigrants to Canada Canadian recipients of the Military Cross Canadian Expeditionary Force officers Alumni of the University of Edinburgh Canadian Army personnel of World War II Fort Garry Horse

Early life

World War I

Later life

See also

References

Further reading

External links