Roll of Honour - Victoria Cross Winners

We record with pride and gratitude the names of members of Our Communities who served their King and Country

Please feel free to submit for inclusion any Alberta Veteran, they need not be of an ancestor but must include the community they lived in at the time they entered into the service.

Victoria Cross Winners

The Victoria Cross was awarded for most conspicuous bravery or some daring or pre-eminent act of valour or self-sacrifice or extreme devotion to duty in the presence of the enemy. There have been 1,351 Victoria Crosses and 3 Bars awarded worldwide, 94 to Canadians (Canadian-born or serving in the Canadian Army or with a close connection to Canada).
 

BAZALGETTE, Ian Willoughby
A mountain peak in Jasper National Park is named for this winner of the Victoria Cross.
HARVEY, Frederick Maurice Watson - Fort MacLeod Frederick Maurice Watson Harvey was born in Athboy, County Meath, Ireland, and came to Canada in 1908 where he worked as a surveyor in northern Alberta and High River. He settled in Fort Macleod ca. 1911. Fred enlisted in the Canadian Mounted Rifles in 1915. He became a lieutenant in 1916 and went overseas, soon transferring to Lord Strathcona's Horse (Royal Canadians). During the First World War Fred was awarded the Victoria Cross, Military Cross and Croix de Guerre. From 1923 to 1927 he taught physical education at the Royal Military College in Kingston, and in 1938 was promoted to lieutenant colonel and became commanding officer of LdSH(RC) at Currie Barracks in Calgary. In 1940 he was promoted to brigadier and commander of the 13th Alberta Military District. Fred retired in 1946, and was honorary colonel of the LdSH(RC) from 1958 to 1966. He lived in Calgary from 1938 on, was an avid equestrian who took part in horse shows.
KERR, George Fraser

KERR, John Chipman (1887-1963). Born in Fox River, Nova Scotia, Kerr was serving with the 49th Battalion, Canadian Expeditionary Force, at Courcelette, France, on September 16, 1916. Advancing about thirty yards into an enemy position Kerr found himself under attack. Although wounded, Kerr moved along the trench in full view of the enemy. After tossing grenades and firing his rifle at the enemy beneath him, Kerr chased his victims into their dug-out. He took 62 prisoners.

Mount Kerr in Jasper National Park is named after this winner of the Victoria Cross.

KINROSS, Cecil John - Lougheed
Excerpt from the Edmonton Journal

- Pte. Cecil John Kinross, 21, a farmer-soldier from Lougheed, 180 km southeast of Edmonton, answered the call. The devil-may-care young company runner stipped off all his equipement except his rifle and bandoleer. Oblivious to the threat to his personal safety, he charged across the open ground in broad daylight to flank the enemy machine-gun. He killed the crew of six with his rifle and wrecked the enemy gun.
- Kinross was born February 17, 1896, near Stirling, Scotland. The family immigrated to Alberta in 1912 and settled on a farm near Lougheed. In October 1915, he enlisted in the 51st Battalion and was later drafted into Edmonton's 49th.
- Kinross was discharged from the Canadian army for medical reasons on January 23, 1919.
- A few days later, Edmontonians packed the old Pantages Theatre ... and some 3,000 more were turned away at a civic reception for Kinross.
- In 1956, he was invited to London with other VC winners for the 100th anniversary of the Victoria Cross. The VC heroes attended a memorial service at Westminster Abbey. They were inspected by the queen in Hyde Park.
- A year later, on June 21, 1957, he died alone in his hotel room in Lougheed. He was a lifelong bachelor.
- He was buried with full military honors in the prairie soil. The final salute was a sharp crack of rifles above his grave by a military honor guard from Wainwright.
- In 1951, one of the most spectacular mountain peaks in Jasper National Park was named after him. Mount Kinross is a 2,731 metre peak a few kilometres northwest of Jasper townsite.
- The Royal Canadian Legion in Lougheed proudly bears his name and inside hangs a big picture of Cecil John Kinross, one of the youngest men to win the Victoria Cross.

For corrected and additional information about Cecil John Kinross click here

MCKEAN, George Burdon
Mount McKean in Jasper Nation Park is named after this winner of the Victoria Cross.
PATTISON, John George
Mount Pattison in Jasper Nation Park is named after this winner of the Victoria Cross. John George Pattison, 1875-1917
ROBERTSON, Peter - Medicine Hat
Private Peter Robertson was born October 26, 1883, in Nova Scotia. He had moved to Medicine Hat at the age of 16, taking a job with the C.P.R., later attaining the rank of Engineer. In 1915, he enlisted in the 13th Canadian Mounted Rifles. He was killed at the battle near Pashendeale, and for his selfless devotion to commrades and for his heroic efforts in battle, he received the Victoria Cross.
ZENGEL, Raphael Louis
Mount Zengel in Jasper Nation Park is named after this winner of the Victoria Cross.

Annette Bame Peebles, Alberta Provincial Coordinator

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