Hugh Cairns (VC)

Sergeant Hugh Cairns, VC, DCM (04 December 1896 – 02 November 1918), army service number 472148, was a Canadian soldier of the First World War and a recipient of the Victoria Cross. Born in Ashington, Northumberland, England, he moved to Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, with his family in 1911 and worked as a plumber before enlisting in the Canadian Expeditionary Force in August 1915. Serving with the 46th Battalion (South Saskatchewan), he fought in France from August 1916 onward. He earned the Distinguished Conduct Medal for capturing enemy guns under heavy fire at Vimy Ridge in April 1917, and France later named him a Chevalier of the Legion of Honour. During the assault on Valenciennes on 01 November 1918, he carried out several single-handed attacks against enemy machine-gun posts before sustaining fatal wounds, dying the following day at age 21.

His official Victoria Cross citation, promulgated in the London Gazette on 31 January 1919 (Supplement 31155):

"For most conspicuous bravery before Valenciennes on the 1st of November, 1918, when a machine gun opened on his platoon. Without a moment's hesitation, Sergeant Cairns seized a Lewis gun and single-handed, in the face of direct fire, rushed the post, killed the crew of five, and captured the gun. Later, when the line was held up by machine-gun fire, he again rushed forward, killing twelve enemy and capturing eighteen and two machine guns. Subsequently, when the advance was held up by machine guns in a sunken road, he rushed forward and killed the crews and captured two guns. Later again, when the battalion was consolidating, he went forward with a patrol to a courtyard where he found 60 of the enemy, who surrendered to him. While he was disarming them, a German officer shot him, but Sergeant Cairns killed the officer and shot and bayoneted several others, holding out until his patrol arrived, when he collapsed from loss of blood. He died of his wounds on the following day."

Cairns lies buried at Auberchicourt British Cemetery in France.