Very proud
to have one of my photos published in the February 2016 edition of Esprit de Corps military magazine. “A treasure
for all Canadians” is the title of an article featuring Cecil Kinross, a
Canadian soldier who won the Victoria Cross medal for his actions during the
First World War. The medal is now on
display for public viewing in the office of Edmonton Mayor Don Iveson,
following a ceremony on Nov. 9, 2015 in City Hall.
My photo shows the unveiling ceremony that day with Mayor Iveson, members of the
Kinross family, and Captain Rick Dumas, the event organizer and author of this
article. In his article, Captain Dumas
notes that Private Kinross served with the 49th Battalion – now
known as the Loyal Edmonton Regiment.
On Oct. 30,
1917, Private Kinross was at Passchendaele, Belgium, where the 49th
Battalion lost 75 per cent of its soldiers that morning. By that evening, only 145 of almost 600 men
remained standing. It was during that
battle that 19-year-old Cecil Kinross earned Canada’s highest military
decoration: the Victoria Cross.
Shortly
after 49th Battalion launched their attack, they endured a ferocious
enemy artillery barrage. Their advance
was then bogged down by machine gun fire.
Kinross surveyed the situation, tossed his equipment on the ground except
for his rifle and ammunition and moved alone over open ground in broad daylight. He charged the enemy machine gun and killed
the crew of six. His action encouraged
his comrades who rallied and advanced 300 yards to capture an important
position.
Kinross was
seriously wounded that day, and did not return to frontline duties. After the war, he returned home to Lougheed,
Alberta, located about 2-hours east of Edmonton. In 1951, a 2,640-metre
mountain in Jasper National Park was named Mount Kinross in his honour. The peak is located 24 kilometres northwest
of Jasper, Alberta. Cecil Kinross passed
away in Lougheed on June 21, 1957 at 59 years of age.
I offer my
thanks to Captain Dumas and members of the Loyal Edmonton Regiment for inviting
me to cover this significant event.
Grant Cree is an
Edmonton-based photojournalist focusing on photo and video event coverage to
help clients connect with their audiences. www.grantcree.ca 780-940-3228
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