By Emily Monks-Leeson

Private Cecil John Kinross was born in the village of Harefield, England, in 1896. He moved with his family to Lougheed, Alberta, in 1912. Kinross served with the 49th (Edmonton) Battalion during the Battle of Passchendaele.

Private Cecil John Kinross, VC, undated (MIKAN 3217741)

On October 30, 1917, Kinross and his company came under heavy German artillery and machine-gun fire. As casualties in his unit increased, Kinross advanced alone over open ground with only his rifle and a bandolier of ammunition, and destroyed a German machine-gun nest. His citation in the London Gazette states that his “superb example and courage instilled the greatest confidence in his company, and enabled a further advance of 300 yards to be made and a highly important position to be established.”

For his actions, Kinross was awarded the Victoria Cross. Seriously wounded in the arm and head, he was sent to Orpington Hospital, England, and later returned to Alberta. Kinross died in 1957. Mount Kinross in Jasper National Park is named in his honour.

Lieutenant Hugh McKenzie was born in 1885 in Inverness, Scotland. He immigrated to Canada in 1911. McKenzie enlisted with the Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry as a private in August 1914. By January 1917, he had been commissioned as a second lieutenant. On October 30, 1917, McKenzie was in command of a machine-gun section accompanying infantry in an attack against German positions. When all officers and most non-commissioned officers of the company were killed or wounded, McKenzie took command of the remaining infantry. Using flanking and frontal attacking parties, McKenzie captured a machine-gun pill box that had inflicted heavy casualties. His actions saved the lives of many men, but he himself was killed leading the frontal attack.

Lieutenant Hugh McKenzie, VC, undated (MIKAN 3218971)

War diary of the 7th Canadian Machine Gun Company, October 30, 1917, page 16 (MIKAN 2004833)

Lieutenant McKenzie received the Victoria Cross and the French Croix de guerre for his actions. His body was never recovered. McKenzie’s name appears, along with the names of 56,000 other soldiers from Britain, Australia, Canada, and India with no known graves, on the Menin Gate memorial. In his citation in the London Gazette , his name is misspelled as “Mackenzie.”

Major George Harry Mullin was born in Portland, Oregon, in 1892. He immigrated with his family to Moosomin, Saskatchewan, at the age of two. Mullin enlisted in December 1915 and served in the scout and sniper section of the Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry. As a sergeant at the Battle of Passchendaele, Mullin single-handedly captured a German pill box that had caused heavy casualties among the Canadian troops. His citation in the London Gazette recounts how Mullin:

… rushed a sniper’s post in front, destroyed the garrison with bombs, and, crawling on to the top of the “Pill-box,” he shot the two machine-gunners with his revolver. Mullin then rushed to another entrance and compelled the garrison of ten to surrender. … [Mullin] not only helped to save the situation, but also indirectly saved many lives.

London Gazette, no. 30471, 11 January 1918

Sergeant Mullin was awarded the Victoria Cross for his actions, finishing the war as a lieutenant. He was appointed as Sergeant-at-Arms of the Saskatchewan legislature in 1934. He served in the Veterans Guard during the Second World War. Major Mullin died in Regina, Saskatchewan, in 1963.

Sergeant Mullin, VC, Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry, January 1918 (MIKAN 3219321)

Library and Archives Canada holds the Canadian Expeditionary Force (CEF) service files for Private Cecil John Kinross, Lieutenant Hugh McKenzie and Major George Harry Mullin. Complete digital copies are available in the Personnel Records of the First World War database.

Emily Monks-Leeson is an archivist in Digital Operations at Library and Archives Canada.