Canadian Army Verified account @CanadianArmy #TributeTuesday #FWW Lt Harcus Strachan took out an enemy battery with his sword.
Victoria Cross - First World War, 1914-1918
Harcus Strachan was born in Borrowstounness, Scotland, on 7 November 1887. He immigrated to Canada in 1908 and enlisted in the Fort Garry Horse in 1915. He was commissioned the following year. In May 1917 Strachan was awarded the Military Cross after a raid near St. Quentin. Six months later, he earned the Victoria Cross in Masnières, France, 20 November 1917 in a similar action.
He took command of his squadron when the squadron leader was killed. Lieutenant Strachan led the squadron through the enemy line of machine-gun posts, and then, with the surviving men, led the charge on the enemy battery, killing seven of the gunners with his sword. With the German battery silenced, Strachan went on to cut telephone communications three kilometres behind the enemy line. He then rallied his men and fought his way back at night to his own lines, safely bringing in all his unwounded men, in addition to fifteen prisoners.
Strachan died in Vancouver, British Columbia, on 1 May 1982.
DHH - Victoria Cross Bios - Harcus Strachan
