Colin Fraser Barron (20 September 1893 – 15 August 1958) was a Canadian 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 and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English ...

and

Commonwealth A commonwealth is a traditional English term for a political community founded for the common good. Historically, it has been synonymous with " republic". The noun "commonwealth", meaning "public welfare, general good or advantage", dates from th ...

forces. He was born at Boyndie,

Banffshire Banffshire ; sco, Coontie o Banffshire; gd, Siorrachd Bhanbh) is a historic county, registration county and lieutenancy area of Scotland. The county town is Banff, although the largest settlement is Buckie to the west. It borders the Mora ...

, Scotland, a son of Margaret Walker Barron, a domestic servant. He was raised in a large household by his grandparents Joseph Barron & Mary (née Reid) Barron along with his brother Alexander Barron and many other half-siblings and aunts and uncles. He emigrated to Canada in 1910, and enlisted in the Canadian Expeditionary Force in 1914. Barron was 24 years old, and a

Corporal Corporal is a military rank in use in some form by many militaries and by some police forces or other uniformed organizations. The word is derived from the medieval Italian phrase ("head of a body"). The rank is usually the lowest ranking non- ...

in the 3rd (Toronto) Battalion, CEF during the First World War when he was awarded the Victoria Cross. On 6 November 1917 at the

Second Battle of Passchendaele The Second Battle of Passchendaele was the culminating attack during the Third Battle of Ypres of the First World War. The battle took place in the Ypres Salient area of the Western Front, in and around the Belgian village of Passchendaele, be ...

, Belgium, when his unit was held up by three machine-guns, Corporal Barron opened fire on them at point-blank range, rushed the guns, killed four of the crew and captured the remainder. He then turned one of the captured guns on the retiring enemy, causing severe casualties. This action produced far-reaching results and enabled the advance to continue. He later achieved the rank of

sergeant-major Sergeant major is a senior non-commissioned rank or appointment in many militaries around the world. History In 16th century Spain, the ("sergeant major") was a general officer. He commanded an army's infantry, and ranked about third in th ...

, and during the Second World War he served with the

Royal Regiment of Canada , battle_honours = See #Battle honours , website = , identification_symbol = , identification_symbol_label = Tactical recognition flash , nickname = Royals , battles ...

. He is buried in Veteran's Section 7, grave 3562 at Prospect Cemetery,

Toronto, Ontario Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...

, Canada.Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/7033973/colin-fraser-barron : accessed 19 May 2022), memorial page for Colin Fraser Barron (20 Sep 1893–15 Aug 1958), Find a Grave Memorial ID 7033973, citing Prospect Cemetery, Toronto, Toronto Municipality, Ontario, Canada ; Maintained by Find a Grave .

References

External links

Colin Barron digitized personnel file

Legion Magazine Article on Colin Barron

Colin Fraser Barron profile on the ''Directorate of History and Heritage'' (DND)
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Barron, Colin Fraser Canadian World War I recipients of the Victoria Cross 1893 births 1958 deaths People from Banff and Buchan Scottish emigrants to Canada Canadian Expeditionary Force soldiers Queen's Own Rifles of Canada soldiers Canadian Army personnel of World War II Canadian Army soldiers Canadian military personnel of World War I Royal Regiment of Canada Royal Regiment of Canada soldiers Scottish military personnel Burials in Ontario

References

Further reading

External links