The Vimy Pilgrimage Award is an educational program that takes twenty Canadian youth to Europe for one week to learn about Canada’s efforts and the First World War. I was fortunate enough to be chosen to go this year and I was truly moved and honored to go with such a wonderful group of people. To learn more about the award and my experience, go check out my other articles.
Before going on the the pilgrimage, all the participants had to research a Canadian soldier who died in the First World War, write his biography and tribute to him. Then, during the experience, we got to visit each of our soldiers’ graves and read these two articles. Today, I wanted to share with you a little bit of the story of Sergeant Hugh Cairns, from Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, the last recipient of the Victoria Cross Award of the First World War. This award is the highest honor that can be bestowed on a soldier of the British Empire. (I also wrote about it in my essay for my application, and that’s where I got to know Hugh Cairns.)
Hugh Cairns was born on the fourth of December, 1896, in Ashington, England, the third of eleven children. He moved to Canada with his family in May 1911. He had completed his education in England before coming, so he was apprenticed as a plumber and later set up his own business. In his spare time, he would sing in his church choir and play soccer. He was a very keen soccer player, he played for his church team, where he won the Saskatoon league championship in 1915.
(Image Source) Here’s a photo of Hugh Cairns in school. Back row; third from the left.
He enlisted with his brother, Albert on August 2, 1915, in the Canadian Expeditionary, in Saskatoon. (Some sources say he enlisted with two of his brothers). He was sailed to Britain in June, 1916, but as soon as they arrived, they were split up, in order to provide enforcements to other units. Cairns and his brother were put into the 46th (South Saskatchewan) Battalion and embarked for France in August 1916, as part of 10th Brigade, 4th Canadian Division.After the victory at Vimy Ridge, Cairns was awarded the Distinguished Conduct Medal for his vital role in another battalions attack and withdrawal against the Germans, east of the ridge in June 1917. After his arrival in France, Cairns had fought in majority of the battles of the Canadian Corps, he had worked his way to sergeant by August 1918.
Cairns also received a posthumous Victoria Cross Award, the highest and most prestigious award that can be given to a member of military; Cairns was the last soldier to receive this award in the First World War. On November 1, 1918, the battalion that Cairns was serving with, in Valenciennes, France, was put under fire by a German machine gun, when his platoon arrived. Cairns single-handedly, with a Lewis light machine gun, attacked the enemy position and killed the crew. He later charged the German position again, killing 12 of the enemy and capturing 18 others as well as two machine guns. When resistance was encountered by enemy machine gun and artillery, Cairns led a successful effort to outflank and eliminate the defenders, though he was wounded in the shoulder. His party inflicted many casualties, captured 50 of the enemy and all their guns.
After consolidating their position, Cairns and two other men went and patrolled the area. To their surprise, they found a barn full of Germans. They broke the door down and forced everyone to lay their arms down and surrender. While the German officer in charge was walking past Cairns, he shot Cairns in the stomach. Even though his legs were buckling, Cairns still managed to shoot back with his Lewis gun. The Germans picked their guns up again, and a melee broke, in which Cairns got wounded one more time: in the wrist; he collapsed a moment later because of blood loss and exhaustion. While the rest of Cairns’s team kept the Germans at bay, he was carried out the door on a stretcher. But the Germans still managed to kill one of the stretcher bearers and wound Cairns again. On that day alone, he led four skirmishes that cost the lives of 50 soldiers. Hugh Cairns died in a hospital because of his wounds the following day, nine days before the end of the War.
There is a principal street named after him in Valenciennes (Avenue du Sergent Cairns), a special medallion struck in his honour, and the French Republic announced to have conferred the Legion of Honour upon him. He is believed to be the first time that a French town has bestowed so much honor on someone lower than the officer-rank. In Saskatoon, a statue is erected in his memory, as well as an elementary school is named after him. The statue is known as the ‘Footballer’s Memorial’, and is in Kinsmen Park.
I thought this project to add so much to the trip, since getting to know one of the soldiers who sacrificed their life for the freedom we have today really makes you understand the cost of such a horrible catastrophe.
As my tribute, I wrote a letter to him, so be sure to keep your eyes peeled as it will be the next post in this series….