Gordon Muriel Flowerdew (2 January 1885 – 31 March 1918) was an English-born

Canadian Canadians () are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their being ''C ...

recipient of the

Victoria Cross The Victoria Cross (VC) is the highest and most prestigious decoration of the Orders, decorations, and medals of the United Kingdom, British decorations system. It is awarded for valour "in the presence of the enemy" to members of the British ...

, 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. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

and

Commonwealth A commonwealth is a traditional English term for a political community founded for the common good. The noun "commonwealth", meaning "public welfare, general good or advantage", dates from the 15th century. Originally a phrase (the common-wealth ...

forces, received for his actions at the Battle of Moreuil Wood.

Early life

He was born in Billingford,

Norfolk Norfolk ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in England, located in East Anglia and officially part of the East of England region. It borders Lincolnshire and The Wash to the north-west, the North Sea to the north and eas ...

, one of fourteen children of Arthur John Blomfield Flowerdew and Hannah Flowerdew (nee Symonds). He was educated at

Framlingham College Framlingham College is a public school ( boarding and day school) in the town of Framlingham, near Woodbridge, Suffolk, England. Together with its preparatory school and nursery at Brandeston Hall, it serves pupils from 3 to 18 years of age ...

Suffolk Suffolk ( ) is a ceremonial county in the East of England and East Anglia. It is bordered by Norfolk to the north, the North Sea to the east, Essex to the south, and Cambridgeshire to the west. Ipswich is the largest settlement and the county ...

, as were all nine of his brothers. At the age of 18, after a bout of pleurisy, he emigrated to

British Columbia British Columbia is the westernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Situated in the Pacific Northwest between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains, the province has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that ...

, where he took up ranching, settling in

Walhachin Walhachin is an unincorporated community in the Thompson Country region of south central British Columbia, Canada. The place is on a south shore bench of the Thompson River between Brassey and Jimmie creeks. The locality, off BC Highway 1, is by ...

, a community known locally as "little England".

Military career

When the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

broke out in September 1914, he enlisted as a private in

Lord Strathcona's Horse Lord Strathcona's Horse (Royal Canadians) (LdSH(RC)) is a regular armoured regiment of the Canadian Army and is Canada’s only tank regiment. Currently based in Edmonton, Alberta, the regiment is part of 3rd Canadian Division's 1 Canadian Mec ...

. He rose quickly through the ranks and was commissioned as an officer in 1916. By January 1918, Flowerdew was given command of C Squadron of Lord Strathcona's Horse. For most of the war, the

Canadian Cavalry Brigade The Canadian Cavalry Brigade was raised in December 1914, under its first commanding officer Brigadier-General J.E.B. Seely. It was originally composed of two Canadian and one British regiments and an attached artillery battery. The Canadian un ...

was not involved in much direct fighting, because of the static nature of the

trench warfare Trench warfare is a type of land warfare using occupied lines largely comprising Trench#Military engineering, military trenches, in which combatants are well-protected from the enemy's small arms fire and are substantially sheltered from a ...

on the Western Front. However, when the

Germans Germans (, ) are the natives or inhabitants of Germany, or sometimes more broadly any people who are of German descent or native speakers of the German language. The Basic Law for the Federal Republic of Germany, constitution of Germany, imple ...

launched

Operation Michael Operation Michael () was a major German military offensive during World War I that began the German spring offensive on 21 March 1918. It was launched from the Hindenburg Line, in the vicinity of Saint-Quentin, France. Its goal was to bre ...

and began a rapid advance in the spring of 1918, cavalry again became an important factor. In late March, as the Germans approached

Moreuil Moreuil () is a Communes of France, commune in the Somme (department), Somme Departments of France, department in Hauts-de-France in northern France. Geography Moreuil is situated on the D920 and D935 crossroads, some southeast of Amiens, on the ...

and threatened to cross the L'Avre River, the last natural barrier before

Amiens Amiens (English: or ; ; , or ) is a city and Communes of France, commune in northern France, located north of Paris and south-west of Lille. It is the capital of the Somme (department), Somme Departments of France, department in the region ...

, the Canadian Cavalry Corps was assigned the task of stopping them. As the Germans began to enter Moreuil Wood from the east,

Lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a Junior officer, junior commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations, as well as fire services, emergency medical services, Security agency, security services ...

Flowerdew's squadron rode around the wood and approached the Germans' flank from the north. Flowerdew's commanding officer, Brigadier General

Jack Seely John Edward Bernard Seely, 1st Baron Mottistone, (31 May 1868 – 7 November 1947), also known as Jack Seely, was a British Army general and politician. He was a Conservative Member of Parliament (MP) from 1900 to 1904 and a Liberal MP from 19 ...

, had ordered a cavalry charge. Riding into the fire of five infantry companies and an artillery battery, the squadron suffered atrocious casualties (more than half of the men in C Squadron were killed), and Flowerdew himself was fatally wounded. However, the cavalry charge so unnerved the Germans that they were never able to capture Moreuil Wood, and their advance turned into a retreat in early April. His actions in "The Last Great Cavalry Charge" led to the award of the Victoria Cross. Flowerdew lived long enough to be made aware of the success of the charge. Seely wrote to his sister, referring to "when your brave young brother met his death at the moment of victory to which he had contributed the largest share".

Citation

Flowerdew's VC was one of twenty awarded during the battles of the German and Allied offensives in the Amiens area in 1918.

Alfred Munnings Sir Alfred James Munnings, (8 October 1878 – 17 July 1959) is known as having been one of England's finest painters of horses, and as an outspoken critic of Modernism. Engaged by Lord Beaverbrook's Canadian War Memorials Fund after the Gre ...

, who was then a largely unknown

war artist A war artist is an artist either commissioned by a government or publication, or self-motivated, to document first-hand experience of war in any form of illustrative or depictive record.Imperial War Museum (IWM)header phrase, "war shapes lives" ...

, created an oil painting ''Charge of Flowerdew's Squadron'' which depicts this cavalry charge. The canvas was formerly at the

Imperial War Museum The Imperial War Museum (IWM), currently branded "Imperial War Museums", is a British national museum. It is headquartered in London, with five branches in England. Founded as the Imperial War Museum in 1917, it was intended to record the civ ...

in London; it is now in the collection of the

Canadian War Museum The Canadian War Museum (CWM) () is a National museums of Canada, national museum on the military history of Canada, country's military history in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. The museum serves as both an educational facility on Canadian military hist ...

in Ottawa. Flowerdew is buried at Namps-au-Val Cemetery in France located 11 miles south-east of Amiens (plot I, row H. grave 1).

Legacy

His posthumously awarded VC was donated by his mother to Framlingham College in England. It had been on loan to, and displayed by, Lord Strathcona's Horse (Royal Canadians) at their gallery in

The Military Museums The Military Museums is a reorganization of the former Museum of the Regiments in Calgary, Alberta, announced by Sophie, Countess of Wessex, on June 3, 2006. The new museum comprises the former Museum of the Regiments as well as the relocated N ...

Calgary Calgary () is a major city in the Canadian province of Alberta. As of 2021, the city proper had a population of 1,306,784 and a metropolitan population of 1,481,806 making it the third-largest city and fifth-largest metropolitan area in C ...

, Alberta, from 1990 to 2002. The medal was returned to the college in 2002, returning to be displayed on the 2018

Moreuil Wood The Battle of Moreuil Wood (30 March 1918) was an engagement of World War I that took place on the banks of the river Avre in France, where the Canadian Cavalry Brigade attacked and forced the German 23rd Saxon Division to withdraw from Moreuil ...

Military Parade and commemoration. Lieutenant Flowerdew is a character in the play ''Mary's Wedding'', by Canadian playwright

Stephen Massicotte Stephen Massicotte (born April 18, 1969 in Trenton, Ontario) is a Canadian playwright, screenwriter and actor from Calgary, Alberta. Personal life Massicotte is an atheist."I thought the world would be colder when I became an atheist, but after ...

. The climax of the play takes place during the charge at Moreuil Wood.Canadian Theatre Encyclopedia
/ref>

References

External links

Gordon Flowerdew's digitized service file
* , a featured article on Duty & Valour
Biography at the ''Dictionary of Canadian Biography Online''
* *

Royal Alberta Museum The Royal Alberta Museum (RAM) is a museum of human and natural history in Downtown Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, located north of City Hall. The museum is the largest in western Canada with more than exhibition space and in total. The museum w ...

"Strathcona's Horse: A Western Heritage" (2000)

Canadian Great War Project
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Flowerdew, Gordon 1885 births 1918 deaths People from Billingford, Breckland People educated at Framlingham College Military personnel from Norfolk English emigrants to Canada Lord Strathcona's Horse soldiers Lord Strathcona's Horse officers Canadian Expeditionary Force officers Canadian military personnel from British Columbia Canadian World War I recipients of the Victoria Cross Canadian military personnel killed in World War I