Samuel Lewis Honey, (9 February 1894 – 30 September 1918) was a soldier in 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 ...

, and posthumous 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 military award for gallantry in the face of the enemy given to British and Commonwealth forces, during 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 ...

. He had already been awarded the Military Medal and Distinguished Conduct Medal for actions earlier in the war.

Early life

Samuel Lewis Honey was born on 9 February 1894 in Conn in Ontario to Reverend George Edward Honey and Metta Blaisdell. His father, originally from Boston, was a

Methodist Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a group of historically related denominations of Protestant Christianity whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's b ...

who moved his family from town to town as he took up a succession of ministries. Honey, who was known to his family as "Lew", attended schools in Drayton,

Princeton Princeton University is a private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and one of the nine ...

and

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

, all in Ontario. When he was 17, Honey went teaching at schools on the Six Nations Indian Reserve in Ontario. He then resumed his own education, attending Walkerton High School from which he graduated in mid-1914 with honours in several subjects. He returned to teaching for a brief period while planning to enter Victoria College at University of Toronto. However, with the First World War underway, he decided to join the

First World War

Honey enlisted on 22 January 1915 and was posted to the 34th Battalion of the

as a private. The battalion departed for England in October 1915, and by this time Honey had been promoted to

sergeant Sergeant (abbreviated to Sgt. and capitalized when used as a named person's title) is a rank in many uniformed organizations, principally military and policing forces. The alternative spelling, ''serjeant'', is used in The Rifles and other uni ...

. While in England he served as a physical fitness instructor, and briefly served with the

87th Battalion (Canadian Grenadier Guards), CEF The 87th Battalion (Canadian Grenadier Guards), CEF was a Household Foot Guards infantry unit in the Canadian Expeditionary Force during the First World War. History Based in Montreal, Quebec, the unit was authorized on September 15, 1915, ...

before being transferred to the 78th Battalion, which was engaged on the Western Front. He earned the

Military Medal The Military Medal (MM) was a military decoration awarded to personnel of the British Army and other arms of the armed forces, and to personnel of other Commonwealth countries, below commissioned rank, for bravery in battle on land. The award ...

for his actions in a raid on German trenches on 22 February 1917, providing cover for both his squad and another in the face of heavy grenade fire, having cleared a communications trench. Afterwards, Honey wrote that his entire party deserved recognition as well. In April 1917, he fought in the

Battle of Vimy Ridge The Battle of Vimy Ridge was part of the Battle of Arras, in the Pas-de-Calais department of France, during the First World War. The main combatants were the four divisions of the Canadian Corps in the First Army, against three divisions o ...

, earning the

Distinguished Conduct Medal The Distinguished Conduct Medal was a decoration established in 1854 by Queen Victoria for gallantry in the field by other ranks of the British Army. It is the oldest British award for gallantry and was a second level military decoration, ranki ...

(DCM) for leadership and maintaining morale in the face of extremely heavy fire. He was modest about his DCM, stating in correspondence that he was simply lucky. Recommended for a commission after the battle, Honey was subsequently selected for officer training. Sent to England, he spent time at Bramshott Camp as an instructor before taking an officer's course at Bexhill. He was commissioned as a lieutenant in October 1917 and returned to the 78th Battalion for duty. In late September 1918 at Bourlon Wood, the 78th Battalion participated in the

Battle of the Canal du Nord The Battle of Canal du Nord was part of the Hundred Days Offensive of the First World War by the Allies against German positions on the Western Front. The battle took place in the Nord-Pas-de-Calais region of France, along an incomplete portion of ...

. During the fighting on 27 September, Honey had to take command of his company due to all the other officers becoming casualties. He led the company in clearing German strongpoints and defending a number of counterattacks. Towards the end of the battle, he was wounded and died of these on 30 September 1918. He was buried in Pas de Calais in France, at the Queant Communal Cemetery. For his actions during the Battle of the Canal du Nord, Honey was awarded the Victoria Cross (VC). The VC, instituted in 1856, was the highest award for valour that could be bestowed on a soldier of the

British Empire The British Empire was composed of the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates, and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom and its predecessor states. It began with the overseas possessions and trading posts esta ...

. The citation for his VC, gazetted in early January 1919, read: There was no formal presentation of the VC to Honey's relatives, at their request. Instead, the medal was sent to Canada by the

War Office The War Office was a department of the British Government responsible for the administration of the British Army between 1857 and 1964, when its functions were transferred to the new Ministry of Defence (MoD). This article contains text from ...

. In turn, the

Governor General Governor-general (plural ''governors-general''), or governor general (plural ''governors general''), is the title of an office-holder. In the context of governors-general and former British colonies, governors-general are appointed as viceroy t ...

forwarded it on by mail to Honey's father. Plaques to his memory exist in several locations; Wescott United Church in Conn, Valour Place in Cambridge, Ontario, and the Galt Armoury.

Medals

His

is displayed at the

Canadian War Museum The Canadian War Museum (french: link=no, Musée canadien de la guerre; CWM) is a national museum on the country's military history in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. The museum serves as both an educational facility on Canadian military history, in a ...

in Ottawa, Canada, alongside his

British War Medal The British War Medal is a campaign medal of the United Kingdom which was awarded to officers and men of British and Imperial forces for service in the First World War. Two versions of the medal were produced. About 6.5 million were struck in si ...

and Victory Medal.

Notes

References

* *

External links

Samuel Lewis Honey's digitized service fileBiography at the ''Dictionary of Canadian Biography Online''Samuel Lewis Honey at the ''Canadian Virtual War Memorial''

* ttp://www.macleans.ca/switchboard/columnists/article.jsp?content=20041108_91841_91841 Peter Mansbridge "Pausing to Remember" in Maclean's {{DEFAULTSORT:Honey, Samuel Lewis Canadian World War I recipients of the Victoria Cross 1894 births 1918 deaths Canadian military personnel from Ontario Canadian military personnel killed in World War I Canadian recipients of the Distinguished Conduct Medal Canadian recipients of the Military Medal Canadian Expeditionary Force officers People from Grey County Winnipeg Grenadiers Winnipeg Grenadiers officers