Charles Smith Rutherford

One Canadian soldier. Three gallantry awards. Three extraordinary tests of courage. Charles Smith Rutherford, VC, MC, MM, went from the ranks of the Canadian Expeditionary Force to the highest award for battlefield valour, leaving behind one of the most remarkable Canadian military records of the First World War. From Passchendaele to Amiens and finally Monchy-le-Preux, Rutherford repeatedly proved himself under fire, earning the Military Medal, Military Cross and Victoria Cross before the war was over.

Charles Smith Rutherford was born on 9 January 1892 near Colborne, Ontario, and grew up in rural Northumberland County. A farmer before the war, he enlisted in Toronto on 2 March 1916 as a private with the 83rd Battalion of the Canadian Expeditionary Force, associated with The Queen's Own Rifles of Canada. After reaching England and passing through the 23rd Reserve Battalion, he was sent to France and joined the 5th Canadian Mounted Rifles Battalion, part of the 3rd Canadian Division. Rutherford was wounded twice during his First World War service, yet returned to the fighting and steadily rose through the ranks.

His first major gallantry recognition came during the terrible fighting at Passchendaele in 1917. By then a sergeant, Rutherford distinguished himself during the 5th Canadian Mounted Rifles' advance. The battalion war diary recorded his Military Medal as being awarded for gallantry and devotion to duty during the advance at Passchendaele. The Military Medal was subsequently officially announced, and Canada's Department of National Defence also identifies Passchendaele as the action for which Rutherford earned the MM. Unlike his later Military Cross and Victoria Cross, his Military Medal was not accompanied by a detailed individual narrative citation in the London Gazette.

Rutherford's qualities as a soldier soon carried him from the ranks into commissioned service. He was commissioned as a lieutenant in April 1918 and returned to the 5th Canadian Mounted Rifles. During the Battle of Amiens in August 1918, at Arvillers, he earned the Military Cross. His platoon was ordered forward with a tank to clear a village while the Canadian right flank was dangerously exposed for more than 4,000 yards. Rutherford successfully cleared the position, inflicted losses on the enemy and took prisoners. His official Military Cross citation particularly praised his coolness, determination and control of his men throughout the operation. The award was published in the London Gazette, issue 31119, in January 1919.

Yet the action that made Charles Smith Rutherford one of Canada's legendary Victoria Cross recipients came only weeks later. On 26 August 1918, during the Battle of the Scarpe near Monchy-le-Preux, France, Lieutenant Rutherford was commanding an assaulting party when he found himself well ahead of his men and confronted by a heavily armed German force outside a pillbox. Rather than withdraw, he advanced toward them with his revolver and, through extraordinary nerve and what his official citation called a "masterly bluff," convinced the enemy soldiers that they were surrounded. The entire group of 45 men, including two officers and three machine guns, surrendered to him.

Rutherford was not finished. He persuaded one of the captured German officers to stop the fire of a nearby machine gun, buying time for his own soldiers to advance. When he saw another Canadian assaulting party pinned down by machine gun fire from a second pillbox, Rutherford attacked again with a Lewis gun section. That position also fell, bringing another 35 prisoners and additional machine guns into Canadian hands. In a single sequence of actions, Rutherford had played a central role in the capture of approximately 80 enemy soldiers while helping open the way for the Canadian advance. His Victoria Cross citation praised his "most conspicuous bravery, initiative and devotion to duty" and stated that his conduct contributed materially to the capture of the main objective while inspiring the troops around him. The award was published in the London Gazette, issue 31012, and Rutherford received the Victoria Cross from King George V at Buckingham Palace on 23 November 1918.

That distinction is important to Rutherford's story. His Victoria Cross was not earned at the Canal du Nord, as is sometimes incorrectly stated. His action occurred a month earlier at Monchy-le-Preux during the Canadian offensive east of Arras. The Canadian Corps would not begin its Battle of the Canal du Nord operations until late September 1918. Rutherford's VC therefore belongs firmly within the fighting of the Second Battle of Arras and Canada's Hundred Days.

Rutherford returned to Canada after the First World War and resumed civilian life, but public service remained a major part of his career. He became Sergeant-at-Arms of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario, serving from 1935 to 1941. During his tenure he became the first Ontario Sergeant-at-Arms to eject a member from the chamber, an incident contemporary reporters described as part of an exceptionally turbulent parliamentary scene. He also became postmaster at Colborne, an appointment preserved in Library and Archives Canada's official postmaster records.

When the Second World War began, Rutherford once again volunteered for military service, this time with the Veterans Guard of Canada. His duties included service in Canada and a posting connected with the Bahamas, and he eventually retired with the rank of Captain. His service across the two world wars was reflected in a medal group that, in addition to his VC, MC and MM, included the British War Medal 1914 to 1920, Victory Medal 1914 to 1919, Defence Medal, Canadian Volunteer Service Medal, War Medal 1939 to 1945, King George VI Coronation Medal, Queen Elizabeth II Coronation Medal, Canadian Centennial Medal and Queen Elizabeth II Silver Jubilee Medal. The Victoria Cross and George Cross Association records this complete group and confirms his final rank as Captain.

Despite the exceptional decorations attached to his name, Rutherford remained closely tied to his community and to Canadian veterans. He lived long enough to attend major gatherings of Victoria Cross recipients, including the 1967 gathering at Government House in Ottawa, where he was photographed among some of Canada's most celebrated recipients of the VC and George Cross.

Captain Charles Smith Rutherford, VC, MC, MM, died in Ottawa on 11 June 1989 at the age of 97. He was buried at Colborne Union Cemetery with military honours. From a farmer who enlisted as a private in 1916 to a commissioned officer who captured scores of enemy soldiers through courage, leadership and sheer nerve, Rutherford's life remains an extraordinary chapter in Canadian military history. His three gallantry awards tell only part of the story. The greater legacy is the conduct behind them: courage at Passchendaele, leadership at Arvillers, and an almost unbelievable display of initiative at Monchy-le-Preux that earned him the Victoria Cross and secured his place among Canada's most remarkable First World War soldiers.