Harold Lothrop Borden

Lieutenant Harold Lothrop Borden (23 May 1876 – 16 July 1900) was from Canning, Nova Scotia, and was the only son of Canada's Minister of Defence and Militia, Sir Frederick Borden, and was related to the future Prime Minister of Canada, Sir Robert Borden. Serving in the Royal Canadian Dragoons, he became the most famous Canadian casualty of the Second Boer War. Queen Victoria asked F. W. Borden for a photograph of his son, Prime Minister Wilfrid Laurier praised his services, tributes arrived from across Canada, and in his home town a monument (by Hamilton MacCarthy) was erected to his memory.

Military career

Borden's military career began in 1893, when he joined The King's Canadian Hussars, at that time an independent cavalry squadron. and posted to the 1st Battalion's "B" Squadron as officer commanding the 4th Troop. He was brought to the attention of Field Marshal Lord Roberts', the British commander-in-chief in South Africa, for repeatedly swimming with Richard Turner across the Vet River at Coetzee's Drift, to draw the fire of the Boers who were dug in on the north bank (5 May 1900).

Borden also fought with distinction at the Battle of Faber's Put (30 May 1900). The battle was one of the most desperate actions faced by Canadians while campaigning in South Africa: 27 killed, 41 wounded, and the loss of a large number of horses. Field Marshal Lord Roberts reported: "Lieut. H. L. Borden, gallant conduct in swimming the Vet River under fire, 5 May, and in capturing some of the enemy’s wagons on 30 May." In Halifax, Nova Scotia, the base of the South African War Memorial has a panel commemorating the Battle of Witpoort. There is also a memorial plaque to Borden at McGill University, Montreal, in the Strathcona Medical Building (now the Strathcona Anatomy and Dentistry Building). Borden was a medical student at McGill before joining the war effort. He is listed on the Memorial Arch at the Royal Military College of Canada. Finally, there is also a plaque to Borden and others who died at Witpoort at Braamfontein Cemetery in South Africa where he is buried.

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