Gordon Flowerdew
Encyclopedia
Gordon Muriel Flowerdew VC
(January 2, 1885 – March 31, 1918) was a Canadian
recipient of the Victoria Cross
, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British
and Commonwealth
forces, received for his actions at the Battle of Moreuil Wood
.
in Lord Strathcona's Horse (Royal Canadians)
, Canadian Army during the First World War
when the following deed, nicknamed "The Last Great Cavalry Charge", took place. For his actions in this battle he was awarded the VC.
Flowerdew's VC was one of twenty awarded during the battles of the German and Allied offensives in the Amiens area in 1918.
, Norfolk
(England
) and educated at Framlingham College
in Suffolk
.
He emigrated to British Columbia
, where he took up ranching. He was homesteaded briefly in Queens Bay
. When the war broke out in 1914, he enlisted as a private in Lord Strathcona's Horse. He rose quickly through the ranks and was commissioned as an officer in 1916. In January 1918 Flowerdew was given command of C Squadron of, Lord Strathcona's Horse.
For most of the war, the Canadian Cavalry Brigade was not involved in much direct fighting, because of the static nature of the warfare. However, when the Germans launched Operation Michael
and began a rapid advance in the spring of 1918, cavalry again became an important factor. In late March, as the Germans approached Moreuil
and threatened to cross the L'Avre River
, the last natural barrier before Amiens
, the Canadian Cavalry Corps was assigned the task of stopping them. As the Germans began to enter Moreuil Wood from the east, Flowerdew's squadron rode around the wood and approached the Germans' flank from the north. Flowerdew ordered a cavalry charge.
Riding into the fire of five infantry companies and an artillery battery, the squadron suffered atrocious casualties (more than half of the men in C Squadron were killed), and Flowerdew himself was fatally wounded. However, the cavalry charge so unnerved the Germans that they were never able to capture Moreuil Wood, and their advance turned into a retreat in early April.
Alfred Munnings
, who was then a largely unknown war artist
, created an oil painting which depcits this cavalry charge. The canvas was formerly at the Imperial War Museum
in London; but it is now in the collection of the Canadian War Museum
in Ottawa.
Buried at Namps-au-Val Cemetery, France. 11m SW of Amiens. Plot I. Row H. Grave 1. Headstone (shows age 39).
Victoria Cross
The Victoria Cross is the highest military decoration awarded for valour "in the face of the enemy" to members of the armed forces of various Commonwealth countries, and previous British Empire territories....
(January 2, 1885 – March 31, 1918) was a Canadian
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
recipient of the Victoria Cross
Victoria Cross
The Victoria Cross is the highest military decoration awarded for valour "in the face of the enemy" to members of the armed forces of various Commonwealth countries, and previous British Empire territories....
, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
and Commonwealth
Commonwealth of Nations
The Commonwealth of Nations, normally referred to as the Commonwealth and formerly known as the British Commonwealth, is an intergovernmental organisation of fifty-four independent member states...
forces, received for his actions at the Battle of Moreuil Wood
Battle of Moreuil Wood
The Battle of Moreuil Wood was an engagement of World War I that took place on the banks of the Arve River in France, where the Canadian Cavalry Brigade attacked and forced the German 23rd Saxon Division to withdraw from Moreuil Wood, a commanding position on the river bank...
.
Details
He was 33 years old, and a lieutenantLieutenant
A lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer in many nations' armed forces. Typically, the rank of lieutenant in naval usage, while still a junior officer rank, is senior to the army rank...
in Lord Strathcona's Horse (Royal Canadians)
Lord Strathcona's Horse (Royal Canadians)
Lord Strathcona's Horse is a regular armoured regiment of the Canadian Forces. Currently based in Edmonton, Alberta, the regiment is part of Land Force Western Area's 1 Canadian Mechanized Brigade Group...
, Canadian Army during the First World War
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
when the following deed, nicknamed "The Last Great Cavalry Charge", took place. For his actions in this battle he was awarded the VC.
Flowerdew's VC was one of twenty awarded during the battles of the German and Allied offensives in the Amiens area in 1918.
Further information
He was born in BillingfordBillingford, Breckland
Billingford is a village and civil parish in the Breckland district of Norfolk, England, on the River Wensum, and between Norwich and Fakenham. According to the 2001 census it had a population of 223 in 91 households.-External links:...
, Norfolk
Norfolk
Norfolk is a low-lying county in the East of England. It has borders with Lincolnshire to the west, Cambridgeshire to the west and southwest and Suffolk to the south. Its northern and eastern boundaries are the North Sea coast and to the north-west the county is bordered by The Wash. The county...
(England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
) and educated at Framlingham College
Framlingham College
Framlingham College is an independent, coeducational boarding and day school in the town of Framlingham, near Woodbridge, Suffolk, England. Together with its preparatory school, Brandeston Hall and Little Bears Nursery it serves pupils from 2 1/2 to eighteen years of age.-History of Framlingham...
in Suffolk
Suffolk
Suffolk is a non-metropolitan county of historic origin in East Anglia, England. It has borders with Norfolk to the north, Cambridgeshire to the west and Essex to the south. The North Sea lies to the east...
.
He emigrated to British Columbia
British Columbia
British Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's provinces and is known for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu . Its name was chosen by Queen Victoria in 1858...
, where he took up ranching. He was homesteaded briefly in Queens Bay
Queens Bay, British Columbia
Queens Bay is an uncorporated settlement and former steamboat landing on the west shore of Kootenay Lake, in British Columbia, Canada, north of that lake's West Arm and located on the bay of the same name.-References:...
. When the war broke out in 1914, he enlisted as a private in Lord Strathcona's Horse. He rose quickly through the ranks and was commissioned as an officer in 1916. In January 1918 Flowerdew was given command of C Squadron of, Lord Strathcona's Horse.
For most of the war, the Canadian Cavalry Brigade was not involved in much direct fighting, because of the static nature of the warfare. However, when the Germans launched Operation Michael
Operation Michael
Operation Michael was a First World War German military operation that began the Spring Offensive on 21 March 1918. It was launched from the Hindenburg Line, in the vicinity of Saint-Quentin, France...
and began a rapid advance in the spring of 1918, cavalry again became an important factor. In late March, as the Germans approached Moreuil
Moreuil
Moreuil is a commune in the Somme department in Picardie in northern France.-Geography:Moreuil is situated on the D920 and D935 crossroads, some southeast of Amiens, on the banks of the Avre River.-Population:-History:...
and threatened to cross the L'Avre River
Avre
Avre may refer to:*Avre , a river in northwestern France, tributary of the Eure*Avre , a river in northern France, tributary of the Somme*Armoured Vehicle Royal Engineers, a military vehicle of the British Army...
, the last natural barrier before Amiens
Amiens
Amiens is a city and commune in northern France, north of Paris and south-west of Lille. It is the capital of the Somme department in Picardy...
, the Canadian Cavalry Corps was assigned the task of stopping them. As the Germans began to enter Moreuil Wood from the east, Flowerdew's squadron rode around the wood and approached the Germans' flank from the north. Flowerdew ordered a cavalry charge.
Riding into the fire of five infantry companies and an artillery battery, the squadron suffered atrocious casualties (more than half of the men in C Squadron were killed), and Flowerdew himself was fatally wounded. However, the cavalry charge so unnerved the Germans that they were never able to capture Moreuil Wood, and their advance turned into a retreat in early April.
Alfred Munnings
Alfred Munnings
Sir Alfred James Munnings KCVO, PRA was known as one of England's finest painters of horses, and as an outspoken enemy of Modernism...
, who was then a largely unknown war artist
War artist
A war artist depicts some aspect of war through art; this might be a pictorial record or it might commemorate how "war shapes lives." War artists have explored a visual and sensory dimension of war which is often absent in written histories or other accounts of warfare.- Definition and context:A...
, created an oil painting which depcits this cavalry charge. The canvas was formerly at the Imperial War Museum
Imperial War Museum
Imperial War Museum is a British national museum organisation with branches at five locations in England, three of which are in London. The museum was founded during the First World War in 1917 and intended as a record of the war effort and sacrifice of Britain and her Empire...
in London; but it is now in the collection of the Canadian War Museum
Canadian War Museum
The Canadian War Museum is Canada’s national museum of military history. Located in Ottawa, Ontario, the museum covers all facets of Canada’s military past, from the first recorded instances of death by armed violence in Canadian history several thousand years ago to the country’s most recent...
in Ottawa.
The medal
His posthumously awarded Victoria Cross was donated by his mother to Framlingham College in England. It had been on loan to, and displayed by, the Strathcona Museum from 1990 to 2002. The medal was returned to the college in 2002.External links
- Biography at the Dictionary of Canadian Biography Online
- Gordon Muriel Flowerdew (service/personal details, photographs, citation, relevant documents, burial information)
- Find a Grave Profile of Gordon Flowerdew
- Royal Alberta MuseumRoyal Alberta MuseumThe Royal Alberta Museum is located in Edmonton, Alberta and was named the Provincial Museum of Alberta until 24 May 2005 when Queen Elizabeth II visited, bestowing royal patronage. It has a natural history exhibit, a wildlife exhibit, an entomology exhibit, a Native Culture exhibit, as well as...
: "Strathcona's Horse: A Western Heritage" (2000)