John Francis Young
Encyclopedia
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 14, 1893, Kidderminster
Kidderminster
Kidderminster is a town, in the Wyre Forest district of Worcestershire, England. It is located approximately seventeen miles south-west of Birmingham city centre and approximately fifteen miles north of Worcester city centre. The 2001 census recorded a population of 55,182 in the town...
, 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...
- November 7, 1929, Sainte-Agathe-des-Monts
Sainte-Agathe-des-Monts, Quebec
Sainte-Agathe-des-Monts is a town in the province of Quebec in the regional county municipality of Les Laurentides, in the administrative region of Laurentides, also known as the "Laurentians" or the Laurentian Mountains...
, Quebec
Quebec
Quebec or is a province in east-central Canada. It is the only Canadian province with a predominantly French-speaking population and the only one whose sole official language is French at the provincial level....
), 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. Young was one of seven Canadians to be awarded the Victoria Cross for his actions on September 2, 1918. The other six Victoria Cross recipients were Claude Joseph Patrick Nunney
Claude Joseph Patrick Nunney
Private Claude Joseph Patrick Nunney VC DCM MM was a 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...
, William Metcalf
William Metcalf
William Metcalf may refer to :* William Henry Metcalf , World War I soldier* William Metcalf , American steel producer...
, Cyrus Wesley Peck
Cyrus Wesley Peck
Cyrus Wesley Peck VC DSO and Bar 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...
, Walter Leigh Rayfield
Walter Leigh Rayfield
Walter Leigh Rayfield VC 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. Rayfield was one of seven Canadian to be awarded the Victoria Cross for his actions on...
, Bellenden Hutcheson and Arthur George Knight
Arthur George Knight
Arthur George Knight VC , 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. Knight was one of seven Canadian to be awarded the Victoria Cross for his actions on 2...
.
Young's bravery in battle
John Francis Young was 25 years old, and a privatePrivate (rank)
A Private is a soldier of the lowest military rank .In modern military parlance, 'Private' is shortened to 'Pte' in the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth countries and to 'Pvt.' in the United States.Notably both Sir Fitzroy MacLean and Enoch Powell are examples of, rare, rapid career...
in the 87th (Canadian Grenadier Guards) Battalion, Canadian Expeditionary Force
Canadian Expeditionary Force
The Canadian Expeditionary Force was the designation of the field force created by Canada for service overseas in the First World War. Units of the C.E.F. were divided into field formation in France, where they were organized first into separate divisions and later joined together into a single...
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 took place for which he was awarded 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....
.
Action
Dury
Dury may refer to:Places* Dury, Aisne, France* Dury, Pas-de-Calais, France* Dury, Somme, France* Dury, Shetland, ScotlandPeople* Baxter Dury, British musician* Graham Dury, British cartoonist* Ian Dury, English singer and songwriter...
-Arras Sector, France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, when his company had suffered heavy casualties, Private Young, a stretcher-bearer, went forward to dress the wounded in open ground swept by machine-gun and rifle fire. He did this for over an hour displaying absolute fearlessness, and on more than one occasion, having used up all his stock of dressings, he made his way to company headquarters for a further supply before returning to the battlefield. Later in the day he organised and led stretcher-bearers to bring in the wounded whom he had dressed. He spent a full hour rescuing well over a dozen men.
Mustard gas was present in the battle which damaged one of Young's lungs. This later led to him catching tuberculosis.
Pre- and Post-war
John Francis Young was born in KidderminsterKidderminster
Kidderminster is a town, in the Wyre Forest district of Worcestershire, England. It is located approximately seventeen miles south-west of Birmingham city centre and approximately fifteen miles north of Worcester city centre. The 2001 census recorded a population of 55,182 in the town...
, England, January 14, 1893. He emigrated to Canada prior to World War I
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...
and worked as a packer for a Montreal tobacco company named Imperial Tobacco.
He received his 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....
from King George V
George V of the United Kingdom
George V was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 6 May 1910 through the First World War until his death in 1936....
at Buckingham Palace
Buckingham Palace
Buckingham Palace, in London, is the principal residence and office of the British monarch. Located in the City of Westminster, the palace is a setting for state occasions and royal hospitality...
on April 30, 1919.
After the war, having attained the rank of Sergeant, Young returned to his old job in Montreal. Some years later he developed tuberculosis
Tuberculosis
Tuberculosis, MTB, or TB is a common, and in many cases lethal, infectious disease caused by various strains of mycobacteria, usually Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Tuberculosis usually attacks the lungs but can also affect other parts of the body...
and was admitted to a sanatorium
Sanatorium
A sanatorium is a medical facility for long-term illness, most typically associated with treatment of tuberculosis before antibiotics...
in Sainte-Agathe-des-Monts, Quebec, where he died November 7, 1929. He was buried in Mount Royal Cemetery, Montreal. His grave, marked with a somewhat weather-worn headstone, is in Section L/2, plot 2019.
The medal
The medal is not on public display. It is said to be locked in a vault, in the possession of one of Young's grandsons.Special Honours
The Canadian Grenadier Guards' Junior Ranks mess has been re-named the "John Francis Young Club" in his honour and still bears his name. Also in Young's honour, members are required to briefly come to attention or execute a proper halt upon entering the Club.After the war, Young continued to serve in the Regiment, rising to the rank of Sergeant. There is a memorial plaque in his memory permanently on display the Sergeants' mess, as well. He is remembered still and honoured as one of the outstanding heroes of the Regiment's history.