Submitted by Bill Streeter
Bruce County has never had a soldier go off to war and return with a Victoria Cross. In fact, there have only been 99 Canadians ever awarded this prestigious medal. And there have been more than 1 million that went to war. In the whole British Commonwealth, there have only been 1,365 VC medals awarded and more than 20 million soldiers have gone to war. The standard is very demanding, requiring “Conspicuous Bravery, Gallantry, and Commitment to Duty”.
We all know about Billy Bishop from Owen Sound who has a museum and an airport named after him. Victoria Crosses are a big deal.
So, when I found the notes at the museum about John Pearson, I just had to research his story and write what I could learn about him.
I felt that I should tell the story.
John Pearson
1825 – 1892
Victoria Cross Recipient
Bruce County has not had a Victoria Cross recipient that was born here BUT we do have one that is buried here. He was John Pearson, and his grave is in the Eastnor Township cemetery just 3 km. south and west of Lion’s Head. His grave marker is very small, only about 20 inches high and 14 inches wide. It appears to have been carved from a good-sized rock found in the area. The inscription is small and totally fills the face of the stone. It reads:
John Pearson VC
Born Jan. 19, 1825
At Leeds Eng
Died April 18, 1892
Plain and simple, but that was not John Pearson. John was born in Leeds, Yorkshire England, and had a distinguished military career serving with the 8th King’s Royal Irish Hussars. From 1854 to 1856 he was in Crimea for the War against the Russians. His group battled at Balaclava and at Sebastopol. He was there for the “Charge of the Light Brigade” that turned the war in favour of the Allies. It was in Crimea that Florence Nightingale revolutionized battlefield nursing care with rigorous discipline in sterilizing surgical equipment and saving lives that would have been lost in prior wars.
Immediately after that war ended, the Hussars headed for India to put down the India Mutiny uprisings. It was in India that John was awarded the most prestigious medal in the British Commonwealth, the Victoria Cross. The following is from the citation telling of the events that lead to this award.
“Date of Act of Bravery, 17th of June 1858.
Four members of the 8th King’s Royal Irish Hussars were selected unanimously by their peers to be awarded the Victoria Cross for their actions in the gallant charge made by their Regiment at Gwallor, when supported by a division of the Bombay Home Artillery, and Her Majesty’s 95th Regiment, they routed the enemy, who were advancing against Brigadier Smith’s position, they charged through the rebel camp into two batteries, capturing two of the enemy’s guns, under a heavy and converging fire from the fort and town.”
“It was during this charge that the Rani of Jhansi was killed. Fleeing before the British Cavalry, a man of the 8th Hussars cut her down, she still tried to escape but she was dispatched by a bullet, putting an end to this fearless woman. During this action, Pearson was wounded by a sword cut to his right shoulder.”
Five years after the Charge at Gwallor, in November 1863, Pearson transferred to the 19th Hussars as a private, being promoted to Corporal the following month and made Sergeant on 6th August 1865. In October 1867 he was awarded the Meritorious Service Medal and was invalided home to England from Meerut India. After being in rehab in a hospital in England, he was discharged from the army as no longer fit for general army service. He was awarded a 15-pound annuity in his retirement.
He returned to civilian life and resided in Halifax Yorkshire until 1880. The adventure bug took hold, and he came to Northern Bruce Peninsula and acquired a farm near Little Pike Bay, nine miles west of Lion’s Head. He was 55 years old. We know that his wife Selina came with him and some of their 5 children.
John died in 1892 at 67 years of age. He was buried in the Eastnor Township Cemetery a few kilometers from his farm on Little Pike Bay Road. There is no evidence of any of his family remaining in the area.
In 1964, a large plaque honouring John was unveiled in Lion’s Head at the Cenotaph Park on Main Street. The unveiling was attended by area politicians and Legion dignitaries. More importantly, the grandchildren of John, living in Toronto, attended as well.
But the story did not end there. In November of 2004, the Military Medals of John Pearson were sold by auction in London England by the auction house of Morton and Eden. We know that there were five medals in the collection. The following were included:
– Victoria Cross
– Crimea Medal (1854-56) #2 clasps “Balaclava” – “Sebastopol”
– India Mutiny Medal (1857-58) #1 clasp, #Central India
– Army Long Service and Good Conduct Meritorious Service Medal
– Turkish Crimea Medal (1855-1856)
The winning bid was 78,000 British pounds ($131,000 C)
The group of medals was purchased on behalf of the Michael Ashcroft Trust, the holding institution for Lord Ashcroft’s Victoria Cross collection. This group of medals is now on display at the Imperial War Museum’s Lord Ashcroft Gallery in London England.
John Pearson is buried with his tiny gravestone in Northern Bruce Peninsula but “He Is Not Forgotten”.
WE WILL REMEMBER THEM
Researched and written by G. William Streeter June 2023, with the help of archive staff at the Bruce County Museum and Cultural Centre.
