Military officers are often depicted as uncaring, insensitive brass responsible for the deaths of many of their men because of callous decisions made in the heat of battle. Generally, the low-ranking soldier is portrayed as the true hero in war.
Hugh Marshall Dyer and George Anderson Wells are two notable exceptions. The two Manitobians wrote significant military history, but their true and lasting legacy to Canada was a concern for the welfare of soldiers.
Over 100 men of their small community alone failed to return from the First World War. St. Mark's Anglican Church in Minnedosa today displays a blood and battle-stained Red Cross flag, a gift from the congregation's rector, Wells. It witnessed inspirational messages by Wells to thousands of Canadian soldiers going into battle during the First World War and participated in burial services he conducted for troops following those battles. A parishioner of Wells' during his years at St. Mark's and commanding officer of several those battles was Dyer.
Born 1861 in Kingston County, Cork, Ireland, to English parents from Devonshire, Dyer had a long Royal Navy ancestry. His father Hugh [McNeile] Dyer had fought with great distinction in the Baltic during the Chinese War and later served as Kilmainham Prison governor.
In 1881, Dyer emigrated to Minnedosa to homestead and returned in winter to Plymouth, England to marry his sweetheart Mary Pearson [Correction: Helen May Pearson].
In 1900, the Dyers moved onto a farm they called The Ranche on the outskirts of Minnedosa and the shore of today's Minnedosa Lake. They had five sons [Correction: there were only four children].
Wells grew up a fisherman, the same as his father and grandfather - believed to have been a pirate before leaving Devonshire, England for Salmon Cove of Conception Bay, Newfoundland, in the 1820s. The 125-ton family schooner, Sara Jane, was well-known to Newfoundlanders for decades. Before entering the ministry, Wells had worked on several Maritime schooners and seen much as a Boer War cavalry soldier.
A St. John's area native, he'd just married Charlotte McDonnel of Montreal before coming to Minnedosa in 1910. He'd served as student minister in nearby Clan-william and knew well the famous rector he was succeeding, Wharton Gill, author of A Manitoba Chore Boy.
Minnedosa was involved in the development of the 12th Manitoba Dragoons, active during the Northwest Rebellion, Boer War and both world wars.
A highly skilled horseman, Wells served with the Dragoons during his time in Minnedosa. Dyer had risen to captain of Minnedosa Squadron four years earlier and to major by 1913.
The 53-year-old Dyer left immediately with 75 Dragoons for Valcartier, Quebec, for further training. Wells was their chaplain. By October they were aboard the Lapland enroute to Salisbury Plains, England, for more training, then off to the front.
Sniper Terrence Cope expressed the feelings of fellow-dragoons when he wrote home; "Maj. Dyer is one of the best old man...any one of us would do anything for him."
His men affectionately called him 'Daddy Dyer'. He quickly forged the 12th Manitoba Dragoons, with their charging buffalo symbol, into a world-renowned regiment at Ypres and Festubert in 1915, Somme in 1916 and 1918, Hindenburg Line, Amiens, Pusuit to Mons as part of Canada's 5th Battalion.
Dyer's concern for his men was expressed by keeping soldiers' families properly informed of their condition. He wrote detailed letters to the parents of dragoons killed in action along with Wells, who conducted funeral services whenever possible.
At the height of the second battle at Ypres when Germany first used poison gas, much of the 'Fighting 5th' was cut off in Gravenstavel Ridge. Dyer, with his captain, crossed the field to order those soldiers to retire.
Despite being shot through both lungs and badly gassed, he delivered the order. He was credited with "saving thousands of Canadian lives" and awarded the Distinguished Service Order (DSO) and later the Cross of Saints Michael and George (CMG) and a military award (CB) [Order of the Bath].
Dyer almost died from bullet wounds, but recovered and returned to his regiment.
As lieutenant-colonel, Dyer commanded the 5th Battalion. In mid-1917, he was promoted to brigadier-general and given charge of the 7th Brigade, comprised of the Princess Pats, Royal Canadian Regiment, 42nd Royal Highlanders of Canada and 49th Edmonton Regiment.
In between the the wars, both men continued to write history. Dyer had the local Legion branch named for him, ran in a federal election, founded a Canadian Club branch and was inducted into Manitoba Agriculture College's Hall of Fame.
Wells helped servicemen adjust to civilian life and established bursaries for their children to attend university, served as principal and professor of St. John's College and School of Winnipeg and as a bishop of the Kamloops region of British Columbia.
On Christmas day, 1938, Dyer died. Ironically, the first Minnedosian killed in the Second World War was his grandson, Flying Officer John Phillip Dyer, Distinguished Flying Cross holder.
Wells entered the Second World War as Chaplain General of the Canadian Forces. But as army regulations required him to retire at age 60 in 1943, he became the Royal Canadian Navy's Chaplain of the Fleet and served until the end of the war.
Wells was Toronto's assistant bishop for the next six years, dying in retirement on April 10, 1965.
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