Leo Clarke, Fred Hall, and Robert Shankland, three recipients
of the Victoria Cross, lived on Pine Street in Winnipeg before
going off to serve in World War I. At the corner of Valour Road and Portage Avenue
is the golden lamp post and
citation plaque in honour the three Victoria Cross soldiers. It has been the
location for Ceremonies on November 11 to honour them. In November 2006, the new
Valour Plaza became the official site for
these ceremonies.
Start with these 3 Valour Road biographies -
- Cpl.
Leonard Clarke, (December 1,
1892 – October 19, 1916)
-
Sgt. Maj.
Frederick William Hall, (February 8,
1885 - April 24, 1915)
-
Lieut.
Robert Shankland,
(October 10, 1887 - January 20, 1968)
These are new for 2006:
In memory of
Corporal LEO CLARKE who died on October 19,
1916
Photo Collection relating to Leo Clarke.
In memory of Company
Sergeant Major FREDERICK WILLIAM HALL who died
on April 24, 1915
Photo Collection relating to Frederick William
Hall.
Valour Road is within the Sargent Park
School community and is about one kilometer west of our school. It runs
North-South from Wellington Ave. to Portage Ave., crossing Sargent Avenue, one
block south of Wellington.
The new
Valour Plaza is at the corner of Sargent and
Valour Road and was officially dedicated in November, 2005.
See the Central District web page "Valour
Plaza" to view the eight photos.
Read the Winnipeg Free Press (2005) article
"One Street, three great men: ... plaza forever
marks bravery in war."
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Lesson Planning and inquiry
Valour Road - Intermediate,
Valour Road - Secondary are lesson plans from
Histori.ca. The
minute
Valour Road
is part of the
Heritage Minute on Canadian Television and is
sponsored by
Histori.ca. The Heritage Minute for Valour Road was viewed as part of the
Remembrance Day program, November, 1999 at Sargent Park School.
In the weblink "Soldier
214384 - France and Flanders" / The 2nd. Canadian Infantry Battalion, the military assignment of the 2nd.
Battalion of three Valour Road soldiers is detailed and it gives expert
accounting of their mission:
It was ... during the
Battle of the Somme that the 2nd Battalion would win its first of two Victoria
Crosses during the Great War.
Corporal Leo Clarke, successfully beat back a German counter-attack after all
the men in his group had been killed. Although wounded himself, Clarke carried
the battle to the Germans and 'disposed' of 2 officers and 18 men. He even
captured one soldier. Clarke, was killed 3 weeks later.
(Note: "Heritage Minute" ... tells of 3 soldiers, all from the same block on
Pine St., in Winnipeg, Manitoba ... after the war the street is renamed Valour
Road in their honour. One (solider) ... was Cpl. Leo Clarke. The other two were
Sgt. Frederick Hall, 8th Battalion (Ypres
1915) and Capt. Robert Shankland,
43rd Battalion (Passchendaele
1917).
Victoria Cross information is also located at the
Imperial War Museum and offers a distinct
compellation in FAQ format. 2006 marks the One Hundred and Fiftieth anniversary
of the Victoria Cross. The
Imperial War Museum has a very fine collection of Victoria Crosses and George Crosses. The new permanent gallery devoted to displaying these medals was opened in May 1997.
Great War Web
Pages may have information on the 3 men.
The RCA
museum in
Shilo, Manitoba, has a
special feature
on Shilo. on "Manitoba's
Heroes: Our Victoria Cross Recipients" that highlights the
first three Valour Road VC's of the twenty Victoria Cross
recipients..
There are unique and unusual
references to Valour Road on many other web pages.
- A Brief History of Winnipeg mentions Valour Road.
- The Senate debate of
November 5, 1998, in Hansard, reports Senator Gildas
Molgat, refers to the three men from Valour Road in
Les
héros de la Première Guerre mondiale de la rue Pine, à
Winnipeg, au Manitoba, and
World
War I Heroes of Pine Street, Winnipeg, Manitoba.
- The Canadian
War Museum may have information
on the 3 soldiers - please do an enquiry.
- Veterans Week
2002
2003
2004
2005
"Lest We Forget"
Created on November 6, 2000,
revision date
November 03, 2006
