John Robert Osborn

A grenade had landed among his men, and this time there was no time to throw it back. Company Sergeant-Major John Robert Osborn had only seconds to act. He shouted a warning, threw himself onto the grenade, and gave his life to save the soldiers around him. His sacrifice on Mount Butler during the Battle of Hong Kong made him the first Canadian to earn the Victoria Cross in the Second World War.

John Robert Osborn, VC, was born on 2 January 1899 at Foulden, Norfolk, England. Long before his name became inseparable from the defence of Hong Kong, Osborn had already experienced one world war. During the First World War he served in the Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve and with Hawke Battalion of the 63rd Royal Naval Division, one of the Royal Navy formations that fought as infantry on the Western Front. His First World War medals were named to him as R.901 J.R. Osborn, A.B., R.N.V.R. During his wartime service he was gassed, and the resulting respiratory problems continued for years afterward.

In March 1920, suffering from lung pain and fainting spells attributed to the effects of his wartime gassing, Osborn emigrated to Canada on medical advice. He initially worked in the Canadian National Railway yards in Toronto before moving west to Wapella, Saskatchewan, where he worked on a farm. He later returned to railway work in Manitoba. In 1926 he married Margaret Elizabeth Nelson, and together they raised five children. The quiet civilian life of a railway worker did not end his connection with military service. In 1933 he joined The Winnipeg Grenadiers, then a unit of Canada's Non-Permanent Active Militia. His previous military experience proved valuable, and he developed a reputation as a strict, highly disciplined and capable trainer of soldiers.

When the Second World War began, Osborn went on active service with the Winnipeg Grenadiers. His Canadian Army service number was H/6008, and he served as a Warrant Officer Class II and Company Sergeant-Major. The Grenadiers performed overseas garrison duty in Bermuda with B Force and Jamaica with Y Force before being selected as part of C Force, Canada's reinforcement for the British colony of Hong Kong. In late 1941 the Canadians crossed the Pacific, arriving in Hong Kong on 16 November. They had only a few weeks to prepare before Japanese forces attacked on 8 December 1941.

The decisive moment in Osborn's life came on 19 December 1941. A Company of the Winnipeg Grenadiers was ordered toward Jardine's Lookout and Mount Butler. Part of the company under Osborn's leadership attacked Mount Butler at the point of the bayonet and captured the summit. They held it for approximately three hours before superior Japanese numbers and fire from an exposed flank made the position impossible to maintain. As his men withdrew, Osborn remained behind with a small group and personally engaged the enemy to cover their retirement. He then crossed ground swept by rifle and machine-gun fire, helping stragglers reach the company's new position.

The fighting did not end there. Later that day A Company became isolated and surrounded. Japanese troops closed to grenade-throwing distance. Osborn repeatedly picked up grenades that landed among the Canadians and hurled them back before they exploded. Eventually another grenade landed where it could not be retrieved and returned in time. Osborn shouted a warning to his comrades and threw himself on it. The explosion killed him instantly. His action saved the lives of men around him. He was 42 years old.

For his leadership, courage and final act of self-sacrifice, John Robert Osborn was posthumously awarded the Victoria Cross. The official award appeared in Supplement No. 37517 to The London Gazette, published on 2 April 1946. The citation recounts his leadership in the capture and defence of Mount Butler, his single-handed covering action during the withdrawal, his repeated exposure to enemy fire while assisting his men, and his final sacrifice when the company was surrounded. It concluded that Osborn had displayed the "highest qualities of heroism and self-sacrifice."

The official Canadian military history of C Force makes an important point about the timing of the award. Although Osborn's Victoria Cross was not announced until 1946, his action on 19 December 1941 made him the first Canadian of the 1939 to 1945 war to earn the Victoria Cross.

Osborn's complete medal group reflects service in both world wars. It consists of the Victoria Cross, British War Medal, Victory Medal, 1939-45 Star, Pacific Star, Defence Medal, Canadian Volunteer Service Medal with Overseas Service Bar and Hong Kong Bar, and War Medal 1939-45. His medals are preserved on permanent display at the Canadian War Museum in Ottawa, ensuring that the physical record of his service survives alongside the story of his final action.

John Robert Osborn has no known grave. His name is commemorated on Column 25 of the Sai Wan Memorial in Hong Kong, among the Commonwealth servicemen who died in the defence of the colony and have no identified resting place. More than eight decades after the Battle of Hong Kong, his name remains associated not only with the Victoria Cross, but with the moment when a company sergeant-major chose the lives of the men around him over his own.