The following are my remarks made at the service to commemorate the 90th anniversary of Captain Charles S. Rutherford earning his Victoria Cross:
Today, we gather to honour a great man and his actions – Capt Charles S. Rutherford and the actions for which he was awarded the Victoria Cross in 1918 – 90 years ago. We are not gathered on the exact anniversary of him earning the VC but we are gathered mid way between his actions of August 9th, which earned him a Military Medal and those of August 26, 1918 for which he received the Victoria Cross.
Charlie, as he was known, was born in this area, raised here, spent part of his working life here, retired here and is buried in Union Cemetery, just north of where we stand today. The Legion hall just east of here proudly carries his name and honours his memory. When Charlie passed away in June 1989 he was laid to rest with full military honours, the last VC holder from WW1. The Legion took part and was host to almost 400 who came to mourn.
Charles Smith Rutherford was born January 8, 1892, the second of four sons – Wallace, Charles, Arthur and Alex. He worked on the family farm until his enlistment in the Queens Own Rifles, as a private, in March 1916. He transferred to the 5th Canadian Mounted Rifles with whom he saw action at Ypres, was wounded at the Somme and on his return to France in 1917 he fought at Vimy Ridge. He was wounded again in fighting near Amiens. At Passchendaele he served under another Canadian hero, Major Pearkes, receiving the Military Medal for his conduct and a recommendation to be commissioned.
Commissioned as a Lieutenant and leading No. 9 Platoon Charlie describes the actions which would earned him the Military Cross:
“On August 9th, 1918 I went into battle and with my Company we captured two towns, the first Arvillers, the German Division Headquarters where I managed to get a paymaster and a lot of German money. The Germans were clearing out as they knew we were coming. The only things that they left behind were a box of pigeons and 300 new machine guns. This was on the Amiens Front. Then we captured a little town called Bangor and that was as far as we were to go. I was given the Military Cross for capturing these two towns.”
The London Gazette of the day adds this to the picture:
“The coolness and determination which he displayed in clearing up the village and his marked control over his men at all times cannot be too highly commended.”
Moving forward to August 26, 1918 at Monchy Le Preux – we’ll let Charlie once again pick up his story:
“it was very dark and raining. At 3 a.m. guns began to fire on Monchy. I started with my men and about 3 miles up the road we ran into 4 field guns. We captured about 20 men who came out of their dugout and surrendered. Then we went on towards Monchy. It was quite a high hill and had been fought over many times because it was a very important spot from which you could see for miles. When we got in front of Monchy our guns were still firing on the town and I said to my Sergeant that I would run over to A Company to see how they were getting along.
I was gone about 10 minutes. When I came back I couldn’t see any of my men. I thought they had gone into the town as the barrage had lifted,I ran there as hard as I could to catch up with my men but, when I got within 100 yards of the town, all that I could see were Germans. I decided to go up and do the best that I could with them.
All I had was a loaded revolver in my hand. I walked right up to the band of Germans who had come out of their dugout and demanded that they surrender as my prisoners. One German spoke English and said “We prisoners, no! You prisoner.” They asked me to go into their dugout to consult with their officers. I declined. The man then went in and when he came out he gave an order for the Germans to drop their rifles. They did.”
Through a masterly bluff, Charlie had captured about 40 prisoners single handedly without a shot fired. His men soon caught up to him and took the prisoners in hand.
After the war Rutherford returned home to Colborne where he met and married Helen Haig in 1921. The couple established a dairy farm in Vernonville, a small hamlet close to Colborne. They had four children, Andrew, Isabella, Rosemary and Dora.
In 1934 Rutherford was appointed by the Mitchell Hepburn Government as Sergeant-at-Arms in the Ontario Legislature and in 1939 he was made Postmaster in Colborne. In 1940 after the outbreak of WW2 Rutherford joined the Veteran Home Guard. Rutherford was sent to the Bahamas where part of his duty was to guard the Duke and Duchess of Windsor. He was discharged at the end of World War Two with the rank of Captain.
In 1955 Charlie left Colborne to go to Keswick on Lake Simcoe. There he and his brother-in-law ran a General and Drygoods store. In 1979 he returned to his hometown to retire. He settled into retirement on the same property that he had attended school on as a boy. The Legion welcomed him back with a motorcade and celebration dinner.
It was at this dinner that Eileen Argyris, editor of the Colborne Chronicle first met Charlie. Like so many who met and interacted with this gentle man he left a lasting impact on her. In her tribute after his passing she summed up eloquently what appeared to be Charlie’s philosophy of life:
“For Charlie, it seemed to me, life’s challenges were simply there to be met, whether they were planned for or took one by surprise.” Simple, direct and unadorned was the way that Charlie lived his life. To know Charlie was to develop a sense that he treated his heroism as a regular course of events not befitting any hoopla.
In honouring Charlie and his actions, we pause to remember and honour all of those who have responded to the call of Canada, to her defense. From those who took up arms in WW1, to WW2 to Korea, to numerous peacekeeping missions and now to those serving in Afghanistan a tradition of duty and honour has been passed that serves to keep this country free. We remember Charlie and we will remember them.
