Gordon muriel flowerdew biography of mahatma gandhi

Artist Alfred Munnings Title English: Charge of Flowerdew's Squadron Description English: Nearly three-quarters of the Canadian cavalry involved in this attack against German machine-gun positions at Moreuil Wood on 30 March 1918 were killed or wounded.

Unable to break the trench deadlock and of little use at the front, cavalry remained behind the lines for much of the war. In 1910, he moved to British Columbia and joined a militia unit, the British Columbia Horse. Like many other young Britons, he had come to Canada at the turn of the century to seek his fortune without giving up his British roots and had volunteered to fight for the empire in 1914.

Titled “Charge of Flowerdew’s Squadron,” the 1918 work is held by the Canadian War Museum. The regiment sailed to Britain in May 1915 and later embarked for France, part of the Canadian Cavalry Brigade (CCB), commanded by British Brigadier-General J.E.B. McAvity, Lord Strathcona’s Horse (Royal Canadians): a record of achievement ([Toronto], 1947).

At the top, they saw two lines of German infantrymen deployed in the open some 300 metres to their front, supported by artillery and machine guns. Tragically, but also typically, he died carrying on a military tradition centuries-old but set in a different, industrialized style of warfare.

William Rawling

General Register Office (London), Reg.

of births, Diss (Norfolk), 2 Jan. Date 1918 Medium oil on canvas Dimensions Height: 50.7 cm (20 in). During the German offensives of March and April 1918, however, the cavalry played an essential role in the open warfare that temporarily confronted the retreating British forces. In summer 1911 he joined the Regiment of Cavalry (31st Regiment, British Columbia Horse), and at the annual militia camp the following year he distinguished himself by setting records in shooting competitions and steeplechasing.

Framlingham College register, ed.

Victoria Cross

Flowerdew was picked up and carried to a field ambulance, but with wounds in his legs and chest, he died the next day. 14, University of Toronto/Université Laval, 2003–, accessed December 30, 2025, https://www.biographi.ca/en/bio/flowerdew_gordon_muriel_14E.html.

NA, RG 150, Acc. 1992–93/166. Width: 61.3 cm (24.1 in). (SeeCanadian Expeditionary Force.)

On 21 March 1918, the Germans launched the first and largest of five offensives they would mount that year. C Squadron, still mounted and under the command of now-Lieutenant Flowerdew, was ordered to gallop around the northeast corner to prevent German reinforcements from entering the wood.

The troop was confronted by two lines of Germans, “each about sixty strong, with machine guns in the centre and flanks.” Given the choice between retreat and attack, either of which might lead to substantial losses, Flowerdew chose the latter.