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In the famous photograph, Maj. David Currie holds a pistol in his right hand as several vanquished Germans soldiers march past, their arms raised in surrender. It is Aug. 19, 1944 and Currie and his small battle group of Sherman tanks and infantrymen have held fast under 36 hours of constant attacks from a trapped and desperate German army.
The image is, in the words of the army’s official historian C.P. Stacey, “as close as we are ever likely to come to a photograph of a man winning the Victoria Cross.”
The medals of Lt. Col. David Currie, including his Victoria Cross, at left.
Now that Victoria Cross is for sale. Starting bid? $500,000. The sale takes place Sept. 27 in London through the auctioneer, Dix Noonan Webb
“It’s a very rare occurrence,” says Tanya Ursual, a military antiquarian in Kemptville who is acting as the auction house’s Canadian agent. In 27 years in the business, Ursual says, she’s handled about 10 Victoria Crosses through her company, Medals of War.
Currie’s story is special, she says.
“It’s the kind of things movies are made of, except it’s a real story. In spite of all odds, in the face of enormous danger, you make a choice that you will not be defeated. He’s a Canadian hero who, arguably, changed the course of the war.”
Curry’s VC was one of only 12 awarded to Canadians fighting in a Canadian units in the Second World War and the only Canadian VC from the bitter fighting of D-Day and Normandy. The simple bronze cross, embossed with ‘For Valour’ and hung from a plain purple ribbon, is the British Commonwealth’s highest award for gallantry in the face of the enemy.
A native of Sutherland, Sask., Currie worked as a mechanic and welder before the war and had only had 10 days of combat experience before being ordered to hold a key road leading out of the Falaise Pocket where a German army lay trapped.
“During the next 36 hours the Germans hurled one counter-attack after another against the Canadian force but so skilfully had Major Currie organised his defensive position that these attacks were repulsed with severe casualties to the enemy after heavy fighting,” his official citation reads.
“Throughout three days and nights of fierce fighting, Major Currie’s gallant conduct and contempt for danger set a magnificent example to all ranks of the force under his command.”
“The blocking action there is unbelievable,” said Tim Cook, a historian at the Canadian War Museum and author of a two-volume history of Canadians in the Second World War. “This is closing the Falaise Gap. You’ve got hundreds of thousands of soldiers fighting away and it all comes to Currie and this small battle groups of the South Alberta Regiment and the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders holding this small town.
“The Germans are fighting for their lives. They’re in this collapsing pocket and they’re being torn apart by artillery and Typhoons (fighter bombers). There’s this tremendous sense of desperation on the part of the Germans.”
Over the course of the battle, Currie’s force inflicted 800 casualties, destroyed seven tanks and took 2,100 prisoners. Currie’s force took heavy casualties too. Every other officer in his command was killed or wounded. Currie himself slept for only one hour during the entire battle.
A portrait of Lieutenant Colonel David Currie VC.
After the war, Currie went to work with a pulp and paper company but in 1959 was appointed Sergeant at Arms by prime minister John Diefenbaker. He and his wife, Isabel, lived quietly in Riverview Park until his death on June 24, 1986.
Isabel sold his medals after his death, said grandson David Currie. Isabel Currie is 105 and now lives in an Ottawa nursing home.
“It was always a bit of a family secret, but the money she got is what is supporting her now and the good care she is getting,” the younger David Currie said.
The family only learned of the auction a few days ago. Isabel is the only person who knows who the buyer was, he says.
Ursual would not identify the medal’s current owner.
“My client would appreciate my respecting his privacy as much as possible,” she said. “He hasn’t given me a reason for his decision to sell. Certainly he was in contact with the family when he purchased the medals from them and he has been a great steward of those medals and loved them and cared for them.”
The sale is taking place in England, but the medals can’t be taken out of the country without an export permit because they are considered cultural property.
The export rule doesn’t stop a foreign buyer from purchasing the medals, so long as they stay in Canada.
“A wealthy benefactor could potentially purchase them and donate them to a Canadian organization,” she said.
Major David V. Currie, VC, of the South Alberta Regiment in a Humber I scout car, Halte, Netherlands, November 12, 1944 (MIKAN 3227188)
“In my 27 years in the business, I have seen all types of clients. They motivations for buying are different for each individual.”
The Canadian War Museum won’t say if it is considering bidding on the Currie medals. “We never comment on something like that,” said spokeswoman Yasmine Mingay.
“There’s debates in Canada whether gallantry medals should be sold,” said Cook. “Of course, they are awarded to individuals to do with as they like, but you also run into situations like this. Maybe not all things are for sale. How do you put a price tag on this?”
David Currie says the family hopes his grandfather’s medals can stay in Canada, preferably on public display.
“We would definitely like to see them at the war museum,” he said.
bcrawford@postmedia.com
Twitter.com/getBAC
For Valour
Sixteen Canadians were awarded the Victoria Cross during the Second World War, 12 of whom while serving with Canadian units. Here are their locations, according to historians with the Canadian War Museum.
Sgt. Aubrey Cosens – Queen’s Own Rifles of Canada Museum.
Maj. David Vivian Currie – Private collection.
Rev. John Weir Foote – Royal Hamilton Light Infantry Museum.
Lt. Robert Hampton Gray – Private collection
Flight Lt. David Ernest Hornell – Royal Canadian Air Force, Winnipeg.
Lt. Col. Charles Cecil Ingersoll Merritt – Canadian War Museum
Pilot Officer Andrew Charles Mynarski – Royal Canadian Air Force. Winnipeg
Sgt. Maj. John Robert Osborn – Canadian War Museum.
Pvt. Ernest ‘Smokey’ Smith – The Seaforth Highlanders of Canada Museum.
Major Frederick Albert Tilston – Royal Canadian Military Institute
Cpl Frederick George Topham – Canadian War Museum
Capt. Paul Triquet – Le Royal 22e Régiment Museum
查看原文...
The image is, in the words of the army’s official historian C.P. Stacey, “as close as we are ever likely to come to a photograph of a man winning the Victoria Cross.”
The medals of Lt. Col. David Currie, including his Victoria Cross, at left.
Now that Victoria Cross is for sale. Starting bid? $500,000. The sale takes place Sept. 27 in London through the auctioneer, Dix Noonan Webb
“It’s a very rare occurrence,” says Tanya Ursual, a military antiquarian in Kemptville who is acting as the auction house’s Canadian agent. In 27 years in the business, Ursual says, she’s handled about 10 Victoria Crosses through her company, Medals of War.
Currie’s story is special, she says.
“It’s the kind of things movies are made of, except it’s a real story. In spite of all odds, in the face of enormous danger, you make a choice that you will not be defeated. He’s a Canadian hero who, arguably, changed the course of the war.”
Curry’s VC was one of only 12 awarded to Canadians fighting in a Canadian units in the Second World War and the only Canadian VC from the bitter fighting of D-Day and Normandy. The simple bronze cross, embossed with ‘For Valour’ and hung from a plain purple ribbon, is the British Commonwealth’s highest award for gallantry in the face of the enemy.
A native of Sutherland, Sask., Currie worked as a mechanic and welder before the war and had only had 10 days of combat experience before being ordered to hold a key road leading out of the Falaise Pocket where a German army lay trapped.
“During the next 36 hours the Germans hurled one counter-attack after another against the Canadian force but so skilfully had Major Currie organised his defensive position that these attacks were repulsed with severe casualties to the enemy after heavy fighting,” his official citation reads.
“Throughout three days and nights of fierce fighting, Major Currie’s gallant conduct and contempt for danger set a magnificent example to all ranks of the force under his command.”
“The blocking action there is unbelievable,” said Tim Cook, a historian at the Canadian War Museum and author of a two-volume history of Canadians in the Second World War. “This is closing the Falaise Gap. You’ve got hundreds of thousands of soldiers fighting away and it all comes to Currie and this small battle groups of the South Alberta Regiment and the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders holding this small town.
“The Germans are fighting for their lives. They’re in this collapsing pocket and they’re being torn apart by artillery and Typhoons (fighter bombers). There’s this tremendous sense of desperation on the part of the Germans.”
Over the course of the battle, Currie’s force inflicted 800 casualties, destroyed seven tanks and took 2,100 prisoners. Currie’s force took heavy casualties too. Every other officer in his command was killed or wounded. Currie himself slept for only one hour during the entire battle.
A portrait of Lieutenant Colonel David Currie VC.
After the war, Currie went to work with a pulp and paper company but in 1959 was appointed Sergeant at Arms by prime minister John Diefenbaker. He and his wife, Isabel, lived quietly in Riverview Park until his death on June 24, 1986.
Isabel sold his medals after his death, said grandson David Currie. Isabel Currie is 105 and now lives in an Ottawa nursing home.
“It was always a bit of a family secret, but the money she got is what is supporting her now and the good care she is getting,” the younger David Currie said.
The family only learned of the auction a few days ago. Isabel is the only person who knows who the buyer was, he says.
Ursual would not identify the medal’s current owner.
“My client would appreciate my respecting his privacy as much as possible,” she said. “He hasn’t given me a reason for his decision to sell. Certainly he was in contact with the family when he purchased the medals from them and he has been a great steward of those medals and loved them and cared for them.”
The sale is taking place in England, but the medals can’t be taken out of the country without an export permit because they are considered cultural property.
The export rule doesn’t stop a foreign buyer from purchasing the medals, so long as they stay in Canada.
“A wealthy benefactor could potentially purchase them and donate them to a Canadian organization,” she said.
Major David V. Currie, VC, of the South Alberta Regiment in a Humber I scout car, Halte, Netherlands, November 12, 1944 (MIKAN 3227188)
“In my 27 years in the business, I have seen all types of clients. They motivations for buying are different for each individual.”
The Canadian War Museum won’t say if it is considering bidding on the Currie medals. “We never comment on something like that,” said spokeswoman Yasmine Mingay.
“There’s debates in Canada whether gallantry medals should be sold,” said Cook. “Of course, they are awarded to individuals to do with as they like, but you also run into situations like this. Maybe not all things are for sale. How do you put a price tag on this?”
David Currie says the family hopes his grandfather’s medals can stay in Canada, preferably on public display.
“We would definitely like to see them at the war museum,” he said.
bcrawford@postmedia.com
Twitter.com/getBAC
For Valour
Sixteen Canadians were awarded the Victoria Cross during the Second World War, 12 of whom while serving with Canadian units. Here are their locations, according to historians with the Canadian War Museum.
Sgt. Aubrey Cosens – Queen’s Own Rifles of Canada Museum.
Maj. David Vivian Currie – Private collection.
Rev. John Weir Foote – Royal Hamilton Light Infantry Museum.
Lt. Robert Hampton Gray – Private collection
Flight Lt. David Ernest Hornell – Royal Canadian Air Force, Winnipeg.
Lt. Col. Charles Cecil Ingersoll Merritt – Canadian War Museum
Pilot Officer Andrew Charles Mynarski – Royal Canadian Air Force. Winnipeg
Sgt. Maj. John Robert Osborn – Canadian War Museum.
Pvt. Ernest ‘Smokey’ Smith – The Seaforth Highlanders of Canada Museum.
Major Frederick Albert Tilston – Royal Canadian Military Institute
Cpl Frederick George Topham – Canadian War Museum
Capt. Paul Triquet – Le Royal 22e Régiment Museum
查看原文...
