George Harry Mullin

George Harry Mullin VC, MM (15 August 1891 – 5 April 1963) was an American-born Canadian soldier who earned the Victoria Cross and Military Medal during the First World War. Born in Portland, Oregon, he moved with his family to the Moosomin district of Saskatchewan when he was about two years old. After serving in the Canadian militia, Mullin enlisted at Winnipeg on 14 December 1914 in the 32nd Battalion, Canadian Expeditionary Force, under service number 51339. He subsequently transferred to the reinforcements for Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry in early 1915 and served on the Western Front as a scout and sniper. An official PPCLI reinforcement roll confirms his service number, his previous militia service with the 15th Horse, and that he was taken on strength at Winnipeg on 14 December 1914.

Mullin fought through some of the regiment's hardest actions. At Sanctuary Wood on 2 June 1916, during the Battle of Mount Sorrel, he was wounded and evacuated to England before later returning to his unit. On 8 December 1916, near Vimy Ridge, he took part in an early-morning raid led by Lieutenant A. A. McDougall. Mullin guided the ten-man patrol toward a German sentry post, shot one of the sentries during the ensuing fight, and then helped carry the severely wounded McDougall back to the PPCLI lines. His conduct during this patrol and raid was recognized with the Military Medal. The regimental account is preferable here to the later specialist account that dates the action to 16 December and places it in the La Folie sector.

On 30 October 1917, during the fighting near Passchendaele, Mullin performed the action for which he received the Victoria Cross. A German pillbox was holding up the Canadian advance and inflicting heavy casualties. Mullin attacked from the flank, destroyed a sniper position with grenades, climbed onto the pillbox, shot two machine-gunners with his revolver, then rushed another entrance and forced the remaining ten members of the garrison to surrender. The official citation identifies him as No. 51339 Sergeant George Harry Mullin, MM, Canadian Infantry, and records that he captured the position single-handedly despite intense enemy fire that riddled his clothing with bullets.

His Victoria Cross citation, published in The London Gazette on 11 January 1918, reads:

"For most conspicuous bravery in attack, when single-handed he captured a commanding 'Pill-box' which had withstood the heavy bombardment and was causing heavy casualties to our forces and holding up the attack. He rushed a sniper's post in front, destroyed the garrison with bombs, and, crawling on top of the 'Pill-box,' he shot the two machine-gunners with his revolver. Sjt. Mullin then rushed to another entrance and compelled the garrison of ten to surrender. His gallantry and fearlessness were witnessed by many, and, although rapid fire was directed upon him, and his clothes riddled by bullets, he never faltered in his purpose, and he not only helped to save the situation, but also indirectly saved many lives."

Mullin underwent officer training and was commissioned in August 1918, serving for the remainder of the war as an officer. After returning to Saskatchewan, he resumed farming and continued his militia service, eventually attaining the rank of major. In 1934 he was appointed Sergeant-at-Arms of the Saskatchewan Legislative Assembly, an appointment recorded in the Assembly's official journal as that of "Major George Harry Mullin, V.C., M.M."

During the Second World War, Mullin again volunteered for military service and served with the Veterans Guard of Canada. Regimental accounts record him as serving as a captain until 1946, including duty connected with the guarding of enemy prisoners and internment facilities. He returned to the Saskatchewan Legislature after the war, and the Assembly's journal for 31 January 1947 records his reappointment as Sergeant-at-Arms under the title "Captain George Harry Mullin, V.C., M.M." He continued his association with the Legislature until the end of his life and died in Regina on 5 April 1963.

I would publish that version rather than the existing one. The most important historical change is the Military Medal paragraph. I would specifically delete the sentence that says he “dragged his wounded commander out of a bomb crater under fire.” The evidence supports helping carry Lieutenant McDougall back after the 8 December raid, not that more dramatic formulation.

For the catalogue entry, the reviewer is correct about the War Medal 1939-1945. Veterans Affairs Canada distinguishes the normal silver medal from the British cupro-nickel issue, and the Canadian War Museum states explicitly that medals awarded to Canadians were struck at the Royal Canadian Mint in .800 silver. So if your catalogue has separate national variants, Mullin should use the Canadian silver issue, not an explicitly British/UK cupro-nickel variant. This changes the medal catalogue assignment, not the ribbon image.