Hampden Cockburn
Template:Short description Template:Infobox military person Hampden Zane Churchill Cockburn (19 November 1867 – 12 July 1913) was a Canadian soldier who won the Victoria Cross, the most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces,<ref name=":0">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> for his actions during the Battle of Leliefontein during the Second Boer War.
Early lifeEdit
Born in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, Cockburn was a graduate of Upper Canada College in Toronto. On 20 November 1891, Cockburn joined the Canadian Militia and was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant with The Governor General's Body Guard.<ref name=":0" />
Second Boer WarEdit
When the Second Boer War broke out in 1899, Cockburn, then a 32-year-old lieutenant, volunteered for service in The Royal Canadian Dragoons, Canadian Militia, and was posted to South Africa with the regiment, where the action took place for which he was awarded the VC.
On 7 November 1900, during the Battle of Leliefontein near the Komati River, a large force of Boer commandos sought to encircle a retreating British column whose rearguard comprised two troops of Royal Canadian Dragoons and two 12-pounder guns of "D" Battery, Royal Canadian Field Artillery.<ref name=DND>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Cockburn and Lieutenant Richard Turner commanded a small group of troopers who repulsed the Boers at close range, allowing the two field guns to escape capture. Sergeant Edward Holland of the Royal Canadian Dragoons, ably assisted them with good machine-gun work, finally fleeing in the face of superior Boer force with the machine gun under his arm to avoid its capture.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> All the men under Cockburn's command were either killed, wounded or captured. Cockburn was also wounded during the action.
Following the battle, three men of the Royal Canadian Dragoons were awarded the Victoria Cross: Cockburn, Turner and Holland.
The citations were published in the London Gazette of 23 April 1901. Cockburn's read:
Return to CanadaEdit
Following the Boer War, Cockburn returned to Canada, and eventually achieved the rank of major. He died in a horse-riding accident in Grayburn, Saskatchewan,<ref name=DND /> in 1913, and was buried at St. James Cemetery, Toronto, Ontario, with a headstone at Hill A, Section S 1/2, Lot 11.
MedalEdit
Cockburn's Victoria Cross and sword were, for many years, displayed in the lobby of his alma mater, Upper Canada College. In 1977, the school had a high-quality copy made for display, and moved the original to safe-keeping.
GalleryEdit
- Cockburn VC f&b.JPG
Obverse and reverse of Cockburn's Victoria Cross
- Lt. Hampden Cockburn, Royal Canadian Dragoons.jpg
Cockburn as a lieutenant
- Cockburn Family Plot photo by Djuradj Vujcic.jpg
The grave site of Cockburn (and his parents) at St. James Cemetery, Toronto
ReferencesEdit
SourcesEdit
- Monuments to Courage (David Harvey, 1999)
- The Register of the Victoria Cross (This England, 1997)
- Victoria Crosses of the Anglo-Boer War (Ian Uys, 20