| Cyrus Wesley Peck |
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Cyrus Wesley Peck, VC, DSO & Bar ( April 26 , 1871 – September 27 , 1956 ) 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. Peck was one of seven Canadian to be awarded the Victoria Cross for his actions on September 2 , 1918 . The other six Victoria Cross recipients were Claude Joseph Patrick Nunney , William Metcalf , John Francis Young , Walter Leigh Rayfield , Bellenden Hutcheson and Arthur George Knight . Born in Hopewell Hill, New Brunswick , he was 47 years old, and a Lieutenant Colonel in the 16th (Canadian Scottish) Bn., Canadian Expeditionary Force - Commander during the First World War when the following deed took place for which he was awarded the VC. On 2 September 1918 at Cagnicourt , France , when Lieutenant Colonel Peck's command, after capturing the first objective, was held up by enemy machine-gun fire, he went forward and made a personal reconnaissance under very heavy fire. Returning, he reorganised his battalion and pushed them forward. He then went out, under the most intense artillery and machine-gun fire and intercepted the tanks, giving them the necessary directions, pointing out where they were to make for, and thus paving the way for an infantry battalion to push forward. To this battalion he subsequently gave the necessary support. Interestingly, he was also an elected Member of the Canadian House Of Commons . He was elected in 1917 as a Unionist for the riding of Skeena . He was defeated in 1921 . In 1924 , he was elected to the Legislative Assembly Of British Columbia for the riding of The Islands . A member of the British Columbia Conservative Party , he was re-elected in 1928 . Grave/memorial at New Westminster Crematorium, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Range 23. Block 54. Lot B. Headstone. His Victoria Cross is displayed at the Canadian War Museum ''(Ottawa, Canada)''. EXTERNAL LINKS
This page has been from the Victoria Cross Reference with permission. |
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