Hugh Cairns

Hugh Cairns , (4 December 1896 – 2 November 1918) 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.

Background He was born in Ashington, Northumberland, England. The Cairns family immigrated to Canada and settled in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan in 1911 when he was 15 years old. He was a member of the Christ Church Choir, and as a keen footballer, he played for the Christ Church Intermediate Boys Football club, reaching the championship of the Sunday School League, scoring one goal in 104 matches. He also played for the St. Thomas Church team when they won the Saskatoon League Championship in 1915.

Hugh and his elder brother Albert enlisted in the army in August 1915. Cairns was awarded the Distinguished Conduct Medal (DCM) for his actions at the Battle of Vimy Ridge in April 1917.

With the German surrender and armistice on 11 November, ten days later, Sergeant Cairns would prove to be the last of seventy-one Canadians to earn the Victoria Cross for his actions in the Great War. Cairns was also awarded the Légion d'honneur by the Government of France.

Cairns is buried in the Auberchicourt British Cemetery, seven kilometres east of Douai, France, roughly sixteen kilometres north of Cambrai, (Plot I, Row A, Grave 8).

Legacy His Victoria Cross is displayed at the Canadian War Museum in Ottawa, Canada.

In March 1936, the town of Valenciennes renamed a street in the vicinity of his actions on 1 November 1918 "Avenue du Sergent Cairns" The school is located on Cairns Avenue, however the street was not named for Hugh Cairns, but rather for Saskatoon pioneer John Cairns.