Allegiance British Empire Role Armed force officer Awards Victoria Cross Name Arthur Lindsay Rank Sergeant | Battles/wars Second Boer War Service/branch Canadian Army Years of service 1900 - 1902 Battles and wars Second Boer War | |
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Buried at St James's Cemetery, Liverpool Other work Royal Canadian Mounted Police officer Died December 15, 1932, Liverpool, United Kingdom Place of burial St James Cemetery, Liverpool, United Kingdom | ||
Arthur Herbert Lindsay Richardson VC (23 September 1872 – 15 December 1932) 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.
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Born in Southport, Lancashire, in 1872, Richardson emigrated to Canada in 1891. After a period as a rancher, he joined the North-West Mounted Police in 1894. At the outbreak of the Second Boer War in 1900 he joined the newly raised Strathcona's Horse.
Richardson was 27 years old and a sergeant when the deed, for which he was awarded the VC, took place. His was the first Victoria Cross awarded by King Edward
The commander of his unit, Lieutenant Agar Adamson, reported:
On the 5th July, 1900, at Wolve Spruit, about 15 miles north of Standerton, a party of Lord Strathcona's Corps, only 38 in number, came into contact, and was engaged at close quarters, with a force of 80 of the enemy. When the order to retire had been given, Sergeant Richardson rode back under a very heavy cross-fire and picked up a trooper whose horse had been shot and who was wounded in two places and rode with him out of fire. At the time when this act of gallantry was performed, Sergeant Richardson was within 300 yards of the enemy, and was himself riding a wounded horse.
Richardson was the first soldier to be awarded the Victoria Cross for actions committed while serving with a Canadian unit under British command.
He re-joined the NWMP in 1902 and served until ill health forced him to retire in 1907. After his wife's death in 1916, Richardson returned to Liverpool and died there in 1932.
The medal
His Victoria Cross is displayed at The Military Museums in Calgary, Alberta. His gravestone can be seen at the Liverpool Cathedral St. James Gardens.