Alexander Roberts Dunn


Alexander Roberts Dunn VC was the first Canadian awarded 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. He was the first Canadian to command a British Army regiment.
He was born in York in 1833, the son of John Henry Dunn, and studied at Upper Canada College and at Harrow School, England. He purchased a commission in the Hussars in 1852.
Dunn was awarded the Victoria Cross for his actions at the Charge of the Light Brigade during the Battle of Balaclava on 25 October 1854 when he was 21 years of age and serving in the British Army's 11th Hussars. Dunn rescued a sergeant by cutting down two or three Russian lancers who had attacked from the rear. Later in the battle he killed another Russian who had been attacking a private.
He sold his commission at the end of the Crimean War but rejoined the Army in 1858 as a major in the 100th Regiment of Foot. He exchanged into the 33rd Regiment of Foot, in 1864 in which regiment he remained until his death in the Abyssinian War.
Dunn was promoted to the rank of colonel in 1864 and commanded the 33rd Regiment at the start of the 1868 Expedition to Abyssinia, but was killed in unusual circumstances during a hunting accident at Senafe before the military part of the campaign started.

Legacy

His grave had been neglected for many years. It was discovered after over a hundred years by Canadian Army Forces for the United Nations Mission to Ethiopia and Eritrea during their mission as peacekeeping force to the Eritrea-Ethiopia war of 1998-2000. The discovery as narrated by Ben Mitchell of the Canadian Armed Forces is:
His grave after the discovery was repaired in 2001 by a group of Canadian Forces engineers from CFB Gagetown.
For over 50 years his medals were on display in the main foyer of his old school, Upper Canada College, in Toronto. In 1977, due to a number of recent thefts and "losses" of Victoria Cross medals the school replaced the VC with a copy and moved the original to their bank safe deposit box.
A memorial, Alexander Dunn Park, located on Bellrock Drive, dedicated to Colonel Alexander Roberts Dunn, V.C., was erected in Ottawa, Ontario assisted by Royal Canadian Legion Branch 638.