Barrie Advance

 

November 23, 2008

 

The highest award for bravery in the face of an enemy that can be awarded to members of British and Commonwealth forces is the Victoria Cross.

 

The V.C. was first awarded by Queen Victoria in 1856 and since then 1,356 medals have been awarded, with three people being awarded the medal twice.

The Grey & Simcoe Foresters regiment of Barrie and Owen Sound holds the distinction of having the youngest Canadian soldier* to win the Victoria Cross as a part of their regimental history � Tommy Holmes.

Born in Montreal in 1898, Holmes moved with his family to Owen Sound in 1903. In 1915, he enlisted in the 147th Grey Infantry Battalion, a composite battalion formed from members of the 31st Grey Regiment, one of the predecessor regiments of the Grey & Simcoe Foresters. Holmes lied about his age in order to join, as he was only 17 years old at the time.

Two years later, Holmes was serving with the 4th Canadian Mounted Rifles, 2nd Central Ontario Regiment, at Passchendaele, Belgium. On Oct. 26, 1917, Holmes' unit was pinned down due to heavy machine-gun fire. On his own accord, Holmes ran alone and under heavy fire, up to a pillbox bunker and threw two grenades inside it.

He then ran back to his comrades, armed himself with another grenade and raced back out to the pillbox again. After he lobbed the third grenade, knocking out two machine-gun crewmen, the 19 remaining occupants of the bunker surrendered.

Holmes received his Victoria Cross from King George V on Dec. 31, 1918, at Buckingham Palace.

After the war, Holmes worked for the Toronto Harbour Commission where in 1936, he showed his heroism again when he helped to save the lives of three people whose boat capsized in the harbour.

Tommy Holmes died Jan. 4, 1950 and is buried at Greenwood Cemetery in Owen Sound.

In 1986, the Owen Sound Armoury, home to A Company, The Grey & Simcoe Foresters, was re-named the Thomas Holmes V.C. Memorial Armoury.

*Editor�s note: Although Sgt. Thomas Ricketts is now recognized as the youngest Canadian to win the V.C., winning it only six months past his 15th birthday in 1918, he won it serving with the Newfoundland Regiment. Newfoundland didn't join the Canadian Confederation until 1949, so Holmes still technically qualifies as the youngest Canadian soldier to win the V.C.

To see the full Barrie Advance article, go to - http://www.simcoe.com/article/54769