Cairns, Hugh Victoria Cross Recipient

Cairns, Hugh (1896-1918). Cairns, Born in Ashington, Northumberland, England, was the last Canadian to win the Victoria Cross in World War I. Serving with the 46th Battalion (Saskatchewan Dragoons), he was awarded the Victoria Cross on November 1, 1918, for single-handedly rushing two machine gun posts, killing seventeen enemy soldiers and capturing three guns. Subsequently, although wounded, he and his patrol opened fire on a German unit, killed several of the enemy and forced fifty to surrender. Unfortunately, Sergeant Cairns died on November 2 as a result of wounds received while fighting at Valenciennes, a town about twenty mile from Mons.

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