Lieutenant Harold Lothrop Borden (23 May 1876 – 16 July 1900) was from

Canning, Nova Scotia Canning is a village in northeastern Kings County, Nova Scotia located at the crossroads of Route 221 and Route 358. History The area was originally settled by Acadians who were expelled in 1755 during the Acadian Expulsion. After the Acad ...

and the only son of Canada's Minister of Defence and Militia,

Frederick William Borden Sir Frederick William Borden, (May 14, 1847 – January 6, 1917) was a Canadian politician. While he was the Minister for Militia and Defence, he was the father of the most famous Canadian casualty of the Second Boer War Harold Lothrop Borden. H ...

and related to future Prime Minister

Robert Laird Borden Sir Robert Laird Borden (June 26, 1854 – June 10, 1937) was a Canadian lawyer and politician who served as the eighth prime minister of Canada from 1911 to 1920. He is best known for his leadership of Canada during World War I. Borde ...

. Serving in the

Royal Canadian Dragoons The Royal Canadian Dragoons (RCD) is the senior armoured regiment of the Canadian Army by precedence. It is one of three armoured regiments in the Regular Force and forms part of the Royal Canadian Armoured Corps. The colonel-in-chief of The RC ...

, he became the most famous Canadian casualty of the

Second Boer War The Second Boer War ( af, Tweede Vryheidsoorlog, , 11 October 189931 May 1902), also known as the Boer War, the Anglo–Boer War, or the South African War, was a conflict fought between the British Empire and the two Boer Republics (the Sout ...

Queen Victoria Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until Death and state funeral of Queen Victoria, her death in 1901. Her reign of 63 years and 21 ...

asked F. W. Borden for a photograph of his son,

Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is not ...

Wilfrid Laurier Sir Henri Charles Wilfrid Laurier, ( ; ; November 20, 1841 – February 17, 1919) was a Canadian lawyer, statesman, and politician who served as the seventh prime minister of Canada from 1896 to 1911. The first French Canadian prime minis ...

praised his services, tributes arrived from across Canada, and in his home town a monument (by

Hamilton MacCarthy Hamilton Thomas Carlton Plantagenet MacCarthy (28 July 1846 – 24 October 1939) was one of the earliest masters of monumental bronze sculpture in Canada. He is known for his historical sculptures, in particular his Pierre Dugua, Sieur de Mons ...

) was erected to his memory.

Early life

Borden was born in 1876. He acquired an arts degree at

Mount Allison University Mount Allison University (also Mount A or MtA) is a Canadian primarily undergraduate liberal arts university located in Sackville, New Brunswick, founded in 1839. Like other liberal arts colleges in North America, Mount Allison does not parti ...

and was enrolled in medical school at

McGill University McGill University (french: link=no, Université McGill) is an English-language public research university located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Founded in 1821 by royal charter granted by King George IV,Frost, Stanley Brice. ''McGill Universit ...

when he enlisted in the war.

Military career

Borden's military career began in 1893, when he entered The King's Canadian Hussars. In 1897, as a member of

Queen Victoria's Diamond Jubilee The Diamond Jubilee of Queen Victoria was officially celebrated on 22 June 1897 to mark the occasion of the 60th anniversary of Queen Victoria's accession on 20 June 1837. Queen Victoria was the first British monarch ever to celebrate a Diamond ...

Contingent he received the

Jubilee Medal A jubilee is a particular anniversary of an event, usually denoting the 25th, 40th, 50th, 60th, and the 70th anniversary. The term is often now used to denote the celebrations associated with the reign of a monarch after a milestone number of y ...

. By 1899 he rose to the rank of Major in command of this corps. At the outbreak of the

Borden received a commission as lieutenant with the

1st Battalion, Canadian Mounted Rifles The 1st Battalion, Canadian Mounted Rifles, CEF, was an infantry battalion of the Canadian Army. Raised for service during the First World War as part of the Canadian Expeditionary Force (CEF), it was formed in November 1914, in Brandon, Manitob ...

(which shortly after his death became known as

The Royal Canadian Dragoons (Special Service Force) The Royal Canadian Dragoons (RCD) is the senior armoured regiment of the Canadian Army by precedence. It is one of three armoured regiments in the Regular Force and forms part of the Royal Canadian Armoured Corps. The colonel-in-chief of The RC ...

) and allotted to the 1st Battalion, "B" Squadron as officer commanding the 4th Troop. He was brought to the attention of Field Marshal Lord Roberts', the British commander-in-chief in South Africa, for repeatedly swimming with Richard Turner across the

Vet River The Vet River ( af, Vetrivier) is a westward-flowing tributary of the Vaal River in central South Africa. Its sources are between Marquard and Clocolan and the Vet River flows roughly northwestwards to meet the Vaal at the Bloemhof Dam near Hoopsta ...

at Coetzee's Drift, to draw the fire of the Boers who were dug in on the north bank (5 May 1900). Borden also fought with distinction at the Battle of Faber's Put (30 May 1900). The battle was one of the most desperate actions faced by Canadians while campaigning in South Africa: 27 killed, 41 wounded, and the loss of a large number of horses. Field Marshal Lord Roberts reported: "Lieut. H. L. Borden, gallant conduct in swimming the Vet River under fire, 5 May, and in capturing some of the enemy’s wagons on 30 May." The death of Lieutenant Harold Lothrop Borden at

Witpoort Witpoort is a suburb of Midrand in Gauteng, South Africa, just west of Blue Hills. It is located in Region A of the City of Johannesburg Metropolitan Municipality. It was the site of the Battle of Witpoort during the Second Boer War The S ...

on 16 July 1900 occurred when Lieutenant

John Edgar Burch Lieutenant John Edgar Burch (February 8, 1874 – July 16, 1900) was an officer of the Canadian Militia (now the Canadian Army). Serving with the 1st Canadian Mounted Rifles (later The Royal Canadian Dragoons) during the Boer War, he was killed i ...

and he, while assisting the

Royal Irish Fusiliers The Royal Irish Fusiliers (Princess Victoria's) was an Irish line infantry regiment of the British Army, formed by the amalgamation of the 87th (Prince of Wales's Irish) Regiment of Foot and the 89th (Princess Victoria's) Regiment of Foot in ...

and some New Zealanders withstand a Boer assault on Witpoort ridge, led a counter-attack. It was successful, but Boer marksmen, standing less than 200 metres away, shot them as they stood up to lead the assault. Lord Roberts reported to the War Office that Borden and Burch "were killed while gallantly leading their men in a counter attack upon the enemy's flank at a critical juncture of his assault upon our position."

Legacy

Borden is commemorated with various monuments and plaques. In his home town,

is a statue by

. In

Halifax, Nova Scotia Halifax is the capital and largest municipality of the Canadian province of Nova Scotia, and the largest municipality in Atlantic Canada. As of the 2021 Census, the municipal population was 439,819, with 348,634 people in its urban area. The ...

the base of the South African War Memorial has a panel commemorating the

Battle of Witpoort The Battle of Witpoort was a battle during the Second Anglo-Boer War. Major Frederick Henry Munn commanded the detachment of the Royal Irish Fusiliers at Witpoort which was attacked on 16 July 1900, his orders being to "hold his position a ...

. There is also a memorial plaque to Borden at

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-most populous city in Canada and List of towns in Quebec, most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian ...

, in the Strathcona Medical Building (now the Strathcona Anatomy and Dentistry Building). Borden was a medical student at McGill before joining the war effort. He is listed on the Memorial Arch at the

Royal Military College of Canada '') , established = 1876 , type = Military academy , chancellor = Anita Anand ('' la, ex officio, label=none'' as Defence Minister) , principal = Harry Kowal , head_label ...

. Finally, there is also a plaque to Borden and others who died at Witpoort at

Braamfontein Cemetery Braamfontein (English: ''blackberry spring'', or more prosaicly ''blackberry springs''; also known as Braam) is a central suburb of Johannesburg, in South Africa, seat of the Constitutional Court of South Africa and some of South Africa's major ...

in South Africa where he is buried.

Gallery

HaroldBorden2ndBoerWar.jpg, Harold Borden Monument,

Witpoort2ndBoerWar.jpg,

, Harold Borden Monument, Canning, Nova Scotia VetRiver2ndBoerWar.jpg, Battle of Cortzee Drift (Vet River), Harold Borden Monument, Canning, Nova Scotia Province House War Memorial.JPG,

South African War Memorial (Halifax) The South African War Memorial is a memorial located in the courtyard of Province House in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. History On October 19, 1901, the Prince of Wales (the future George V) laid the cornerstone for the monument. (This was t ...

, Province House,

Nova Scotia Nova Scotia ( ; ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the four Atlantic provinces. Nova Scotia is Latin for "New Scotland". Most of the population are native Eng ...

BattleAtWitpoortSouthAfrica1900.jpg,

2 William G Stairs RMC Arch.jpg, Memorialized on the Royal Military College Memorial Arch.

References

External links

Image of Monument to British Soldiers who died in Battle of Witpoort
* ttp://alh-research.tripod.com/Light_Horse/index.blog?topic_id=1113481 Battle of Cortzee Drift*
Battle of Faber's Put

Poem to Borden
by Florence Sherk
Veterans Affairs Canada
{{DEFAULTSORT:Borden, Harold 1876 births 1900 deaths People from Kings County, Nova Scotia People of New England Planter descent Canadian military personnel of the Second Boer War Cornell family Military history of Nova Scotia The Royal Canadian Dragoons officers Canadian military personnel killed in the Second Boer War Canadian military memorials and cemeteries Monuments and memorials in Nova Scotia Canadian Militia officers Canadian military personnel from Nova Scotia