Gordon Flowerdew was born in Billingford, England, in 1885, educated at Framlingham College, Suffolk, emigrated to Canada in 1903, and homesteaded north of Duck Lake, Saskatchewan. He moved to British Columbia sometime after 1910, and in 1914 he enlisted as a private in Lord Strathcona's Horse. He was commissioned an officer in 1916 and given command of C Squadron in 1918. Lieutenant Gordon Muriel Flowerdew was awarded his Victoria Cross posthumously.
On 30 March 1918, in the Bois de Moreuil, France, Lieutenant (acting Captain) Flowerdew, 33 years old, was commanding C Squadron of Lord Strathcona’s Horse, a unit of the Canadian Cavalry Brigade. His squadron was ordered to charge two entrenched lines of enemy, each about 60 strong, having machine guns at their centre and flanks. One line was about 200 yards behind the other. Flowerdew ordered one troop, under Lt Harvey, VC, to dismount and provide covering fire while Flowerdew, leading the remainder of the squadron, charged, passing over both lines and killing many of the enemy. Although the squadron had about 70 percent casualties, the survivors then established
themselves in a position where later they were joined, after much hand-to-hand fighting, by Lieutenant Harvey's party. Lieutenant Flowerdew was dangerously [fatally] wounded through both thighs during the operation but continued to cheer on his men.
From the Online Encyclopedia of Saskatchewan and Lt. Flowerdew's VC Citation
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