(The 1931 speech made by Manitoba Premier John Bracken, upon presenting Hugh M. Dyer with a painting of himself, at the Armoury in Minnedosa, Manitoba.)
There could not be a better proof of the esteem and confidence and liking in which General Hugh Marshall Dyer held by all who have had the chance to know him best than the fact that every man who passed through the 5th Battalion, under his command in the Great War, speaks of him as "Daddy Dyer". That expresses most convincingly what the men who shared hardships and life and death perils with him at the front thought of him and of how the survivors from their number think of him still. His friends who live around his home, his neighbors in this Minnedosa district, his fellow-citizens of Manitoba, hold him in like manner in high regard for his sterling qualities as a man.
Since his coming to Manitoba 50 years ago, when he was this Province in its small beginnings, for it was only just coming to the end of its first ten years, he has shared the trials and triumphs of a western pioneer. Coming as he does from a family in Devonshire whose record is associated with the British Navy, in which his father was a Captain, the young man found himself so far inland from the sea that he could not possibly hope to live up to the naval traditions of his family, and at the same time he could not possibly have imagined that a time would come when he would have occasion to give proof of his great qualities as a soldier on battlefields in historic regions of Europe in a world war more terrible than all preceding wars since the beginning of history.
In peace as in war he has proved himself a man worthy of the respect of his fellow-men. He has always acted on the belief that every man should be treated on the basis of his merits as a man. He has always shown himself generous to a fault in appreciating the work of others. He has had experience in contrasts of politics, and there too he never failed to furnish practical evidence that he was guided by fair-mindedness, by the senses of common duties and common interests which it is the duty of every good citizen to serve faithfully and to the best of his ability. Throughout the whole half century since he came to Manitoba as a young man, in 1881, he has never failed in faithful readiness to do a man’s work in the service of his adopted country. In 1906 he was appointed a member of the first Board of the Manitoba Agricultural College, and continued to be an active and most valuable member of that Board until he went to the War. In 1908 he was elected Chairman of the Board and also representative of the Agricultural College on the Council of the University of Manitoba, both of which positions he held until he resigned them when he volunteered for military service in August, 1914.
As an army man, General Dyer knows that a soldier does not consider it the greatest pleasure in the world to stand at attention and be inspected. And I am sure there never was a soldier who liked that experience less than General Dyer would like to have to submit to the ordeal of having his services as a soldier all gone over in public here today. He is a man as modest as his is courageous and faithful in the discharge of his duty. But it is my duty today, sir, to recount in brief outline General Dyer’s military record in the Great War. First, however, I must say that all who know General Dyer will agree with me in believing that among the well deserved honors he has won, he will value especially the honor that is being done him today in the presentation of his portrait to the Mayor of Minnedosa and the Reeves of Odanah and Minto, to be hung in the Minnedosa Post Office by permission of the Federal authorities - a portrait subscribed for by his neighbors and friends of this community, of the Town of Minnedosa and the Rural Municipalities of Odanah and Minto, and many others who are, like General Dyer, old timers of the Minnedosa district. Not the least of the reasons for which General Dyer will value this honor with heartfelt appreciation, I am sure, will be because the school children of the district have contributed their mites toward the funds for the portrait, and he find pleasure, I know, in their presence here today in the ceremony in his honor. I would like to propose to General Dyer, Mr. Chairman, that he should venture to suggest, and I beg to associate myself with him in the suggestion and request, that a half-holiday may be given to the school children by way of additional celebration of this happy occasion.
As I have stated, Mr. Chairman, I must not conclude my remarks without recounting in brief outline General Dyers’ record in the Great War. For a number of years before the War he had been a Major in the Militia. In the War, not only he but two of his four sons served with distinction, both of them were wounded - as was he himself - one more seriously than his father or his brother. The future General Dyer volunteered for overseas service in August, 1914, and he was gazetted Major of the 5th Battalion on September 22nd, 1914. He was wounded in the Second Battle of Ypres on April 23, 1915. Rejoining the Battalion in France on January 6, 1916, and Brigade Commander of the 7th Infantry Brigade on June 9, 1917. On September 12, 1918, he was transferred to England for duty, in command of the Canadian troops in the Seaford area.
General Dyer received the following awards and decorations:- The Distinguished Service Order was conferred on him January 14, 1916, and on July 26, 1917, he was granted in addition the Bar to that decoration. I think I should explain more particularly to the school children present that the granting of the Bar is equivalent to a second granting of the Distinguished Service Order. It means that General Dyer won that decoration, of which he has so much reason to be proud, twice over. I will quote from the official warrant which states that he was granted the Bar to the Distinguished Service Order. It says: "For conspicuous gallantry and devotion to duty. His fine leadership and foresight of possible contingencies enabled his Battalion to assail and capture its objectives in spite of almost impossible obstacles. At all times he showed a spirit of indomitable courage which communicated itself in marked degree to his officers and men. He assisted personally to dress the wounded under heavy shell fire, setting a splendid example to all ranks." Could any man have a finer record of courage and of noble behaviour? In addition to the Distinguished Service Order, General Dyer was made Companion of the Most Distinguished Order of St. Michael and St. George, on the 1st of January, 1918, and on the succeeding New Year’s Day His Majesty the King conferred upon General Dyer the honor of making him a Companion of the Most Honorable of the Bath. To return to the distinctions which he won during the actual progress of the War, I must not forget to note that he was mentioned in dispatches on January 1, 1916, January 4, 1917, December 28, 1917, May 28, 1928, and December 31, 1918.
For the benefit of the school children, who when they look upon the portrait of General Dyer will see him wearing the decorations conferred on him by His Majesty the King, I think I should perhaps say something about the Distinguished Service Order and the two Orders of Knighthood of which King George made General Dyer a member when he conferred upon him those decorations.
The Distinguished Service Order, which is an order of military merit, was founded on September 6, 1886 by Queen Victoria, to recognize the special services of officers in the Army and Navy. The Badge is a white and gold cross with a red centre bearing the Imperial Crown surrounded by a laurel wreath. The ribbon is red, edged with blue.
The Most Distinguished Order of St. Michael and St. George, was founded in 1818 by the Prince Regent who was afterwards George IV, in commemoration of the British Protectorate of the Ionian Isles, and its Charter declares that its membership was to consist of those who, holding high and confidential situation in the Mediterranean, had given services rendered to the Empire in overseas regions. The Order has a Chapel of its own in St. Paul’s Cathedral in London, which was dedicated in 1906. The Star of the decoration of the Order has seven rays of silver with a small ray of gold between each two, and in the centre a red St. George’s Cross bearing a medallion of St. Michael in combat with satan, the whole surrounded by a blue fillet with the motto "A presage of a better era".
The Most Honorable Order of the Bath, which is perhaps the Order of Knighthood most widely known throughout the world, was established by George I in 1725, to consist of the Sovereign, the Grand Master and 36 Knights Companions. Its real origin has been traced back as far as the fourteenth century. In 1815 additional classes of members were established, to commemorate the auspicious termination of the long and arduous contest in which the Empire had been engaged in the Napoleonic Wars. Only a very limited number have been admitted to the great honor of membership in this Order, and it is with distinction which speaks for itself in proof of the splendid record of General Dyer during the Great War that he should have been selected to receive this highly coveted distinction at the hands of His Majesty the King.
E-mail Val with your comments!
Return to Family Profiles Page
Return to Val's Family Photos Page
This FREE homepage hosted by 