Benjamin Handley Geary

At Hill 60 near Ypres in April 1915, a 23-year-old British officer found himself defending a shattered shell crater through a night of artillery fire, bombing attacks and mounting casualties. Benjamin Handley Geary refused to give ground. He fought with rifle and hand grenades, organized ammunition and reinforcements, and repeatedly exposed himself to danger so that, by the light of enemy flares, he could see where the next attack was coming from. By dawn he had been shot in the head, but the position had held. His actions earned him the Victoria Cross and secured his place among the most remarkable British gallantry award recipients of the First World War.

Benjamin Handley Geary VC was born in Marylebone, London, on 29 June 1891. He was educated at Dulwich College Preparatory School and St Edmund's School, Canterbury, before entering Keble College, Oxford, in 1910. At Oxford he was a keen sportsman, playing rugby and hockey and serving in the University's Officers' Training Corps. He received his BA in 1914 and was working as an assistant master at Forest School in Essex when Europe descended into war.

Geary was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant in the 4th Battalion, East Surrey Regiment, Special Reserve, on 15 August 1914. He sailed for France in September and was attached to the regular 1st Battalion, East Surrey Regiment on the Western Front. Less than a year after leaving the classroom, he would face the action for which his name became famous.

On 20 and 21 April 1915, during the desperate fighting for Hill 60 near Ypres, Belgium, Geary held the left crater with his platoon, men of the Bedfordshire Regiment and reinforcements who reached the position during the evening and night. Heavy German artillery fire wrecked the defences, after which repeated bomb attacks filled the crater with dead and wounded. Geary continued to direct the defence, firing a rifle, throwing grenades and exposing himself to locate German assaults in the light of flares. Between attacks he concentrated on keeping ammunition and reinforcements moving forward.

The official Victoria Cross citation, published in The London Gazette, Issue 29328, page 10154, on 15 October 1915, opened by praising Geary's "most conspicuous bravery and determination" and recorded that the repeated attacks were repulsed largely through his personal gallantry and example. Shortly before daylight on 21 April he suffered a severe gunshot wound to the head. The wound destroyed the sight of his left eye, damaged the sight of his right eye and also caused some hearing loss. King George V personally presented Geary with the Victoria Cross at Buckingham Palace on 9 December 1915.

For many men, such wounds would have ended active military service. They did not end Geary's. After recuperating in England, he undertook ground duties with the Royal Flying Corps and returned to France in September 1916 as a Squadron Recording Officer. He later served as an instructor and was appointed Acting Captain. In January 1918, despite continuing medical limitations, he rejoined the 1st Battalion, East Surrey Regiment in Italy. He was confirmed in the rank of Captain that April and subsequently returned with the battalion to France.

War nearly claimed him again. While commanding D Company during operations in August 1918, Geary suffered another serious wound, this time to the torso. He was carried from the front by German prisoners and received a blood transfusion that helped save his life. He left the British Army after the war with the rank of Captain, having served on the Western Front and in Italy despite the devastating injuries he had suffered at Hill 60.

Geary's life then moved in a very different direction. He studied theology at Wycliffe Hall, Oxford, entered Holy Orders and served in the Church of England. He became a temporary Chaplain to the Forces in 1923 and later served as a Chaplain to the Forces before resigning his commission in 1927. He subsequently emigrated to Canada, where he became involved in a peace mission promoting international friendship and later worked in a number of civilian organizations.

When the Second World War brought another generation into conflict, Geary returned to military service. He joined the Canadian Army as a Major, commanded an educational unit at Camp Borden and travelled throughout Ontario on recruiting duties. His Canadian Army service continued until his discharge on 27 December 1946. Thus, the young East Surrey officer who had survived Hill 60 in 1915 served his adopted country more than a quarter of a century later during another world war.

In civilian life Geary became a familiar figure at Queen's Park. He served as Sergeant-at-Arms of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario from 1947 to 1971, having previously worked with the Ontario Securities Commission. He also served as the Legislature's Official Historian until 1962 and maintained associations with organizations including the Canadian Corps of Commissionaires and the Canadian National Institute for the Blind.

Geary's honours reflected service extending from the trenches of the First World War to Canada in the Second World War and beyond. In addition to the Victoria Cross, his verified honours included the 1914 Star with clasp, British War Medal 1914-1920, Victory Medal, Canadian Volunteer Service Medal, War Medal 1939-1945, King George VI Coronation Medal 1937, Queen Elizabeth II Coronation Medal 1953 and Canadian Centennial Medal 1967. His surviving medal group is associated with the Canadian War Museum in Ottawa.

Major Benjamin Handley Geary VC died at Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario, on 26 May 1976, aged 84. He was buried in St Mark's Anglican Church Cemetery at Niagara-on-the-Lake. Today his Victoria Cross medal set is preserved by the Canadian War Museum, ensuring that the story of the young officer who held the crater at Hill 60 remains connected to the medal awarded for his courage there.