John Robert Osborn

Company Sergeant Major John Robert Osborn, VC (2 January 1899 − 19 December 1941) was a Canadian soldier. Osborn was a recipient of the Victoria Cross (VC), the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces. He was born in Norfolk, England, and served in the Royal Navy during the First World War.

Details Osborn was born in England and came to Canada in 1920, after serving in the First World War with the Royal Naval Division. Many myths surround Osborn's World War I service though records point to Osborn having a short military service with him getting wounded by gas near Flesquières in March 1918. Osborn was injured in an accident resulting in him having to quit farming and find other work. He went from job to job, never staying long, before finally settling in Winnipeg, Manitoba, in 1933, where he enlisted in the militia.

Osborn was the first Canadian awarded a Victoria Cross in the Second World War. His was the only Victoria Cross awarded for Battle of Hong Kong.

Legacy Tributes in Hong Kongalt=A statue of a soldier in a metal helmet with a circular rim, holding a rifle with a bayonet. The statue is positioned on a plinth hidden by bushes and is facing outwards over a wall. A hill is shown in the background.

image1 = Hong Kong Park statue.jpg width1 = 150 alt1 = A statue of a soldier holding a bayonet on a square stone plinth. There is a plaque at the base of the plinth. The statue is surrounded by a low hedge and there are trees in the background. caption1 = Statue of an anonymous World War I soldier from statuary collection of Eu Tong Sen. In 2005, a plaque remembering Osborn's sacrifice was unveiled on the Hong Kong Trail parallel to where he fell. The supposed spot where he died is marked by a pile of rocks nearby the sign, but is relatively inaccessible due to heavy foliage. His name is engraved on the memorial hall of Sai Wan War Cemetery in Hong Kong.

Tributes in Canada:

In 2005, Historica Canada created a Heritage Minute honouring his heroic sacrifice. Osborn Avenue, a residential street in Brantford, Ontario, is named after him. His medals are displayed in the Canadian War Museum. There is an ANAVets unit in Winnipeg, Manitoba, named after him: ANAF John Osborn VC unit #1. The St. Vital Victorias junior ice hockey team in Winnipeg is named in memory of Osborn and his Victoria Cross. Tributes in UK:

John R. Osborn VC is also commemorated on the war memorial at Holy Trinity Church, Balsham, Cambridgeshire.