Bellenden Seymour Hutcheson

Through shot and shell, a doctor refused to abandon his men.

Captain Bellenden Seymour Hutcheson VC MC crossed a battlefield swept by machine-gun fire to reach men who could no longer help themselves. An American physician serving with the Canadian Army Medical Corps, he earned the Victoria Cross near Cagnicourt, France, on 2 September 1918. His extraordinary courage lay in remaining beside the wounded when every moment exposed him to death. (canada.ca)

Born in Mount Carmel, Illinois, on 16 December 1883, Hutcheson graduated from Northwestern University Medical School and established himself as a physician. In 1915, while the United States remained outside the First World War, he volunteered for Canadian service. He became medical officer to the 75th Battalion, Canadian Expeditionary Force, taking his medical skills into the fighting on the Western Front. (canada.ca, thediscoverblog.com)

During the Allied offensive of August 1918, Hutcheson earned the Military Cross for treating wounded soldiers under fire. Within weeks, his devotion to his patients would bring him the British Empire’s highest award for gallantry. (gov.uk)

On 2 September, the 75th Battalion advanced against the Drocourt-Quéant defences near Cagnicourt. Hutcheson accompanied the attack through intense artillery, machine-gun and rifle fire. As casualties fell, he moved among them, remaining on the exposed battlefield until every wounded man had received attention.

One officer lay seriously wounded beneath a storm of fire. Hutcheson dressed his injuries, then enlisted Canadian soldiers and German prisoners to carry him to safety. The evacuation party itself suffered heavy casualties, but the officer was brought out.

Almost immediately, Hutcheson saw a wounded sergeant ahead of the Canadian positions. He rushed forward in full view of the enemy, reached the man and sheltered him in a shell hole while treating his wounds. These rescues formed part of a succession of courageous acts through which his composure and medical care saved lives. (canada.ca)

King George V presented Hutcheson with both the Victoria Cross and Military Cross at Buckingham Palace on 22 May 1919. After the war, he married Frances Young, a nurse from Nova Scotia, and returned to Illinois. They had one son. In Cairo, Hutcheson continued his medical career at St Mary’s Hospital, served as City Health Officer and also worked as a railway surgeon. His life remained devoted to caring for others long after his battlefield service ended. (vcgca.org)

Hutcheson maintained his Canadian friendships, returning for battalion reunions while rarely discussing the deeds that had made him famous. He died in Cairo on 9 April 1954, aged 70, and was buried in Rose Hill Cemetery, Mount Carmel. His Victoria Cross passed into the keeping of the Toronto Scottish Regiment, preserving the story of an American doctor whose service with Canada was distinguished by an unwavering commitment to the wounded. (thediscoverblog.com, vcgca.org)