Only WWII chaplain to win Victoria Cross was a Canadian Presbyterian Orangeman

The Rev John Weir Foote was the only chaplain in the Second World War to be awarded the Victoria Cross.

The son of Gordon and Helena Foote, John Weir Foote was born on May 5 1904 in Madoc, halfway between Toronto and Ottawa. He was educated at the University of Western Ontario, London; at Queen’s University, Kingston; and at McGill University, Montreal. He then entered the Presbyterian ministry, serving congregations in Fort-Coulonge, Quebec, and Port Hope, Ontario.

In August 1929 he married Edith Sheridan. In 1934 he joined the Orange Institution, being initiated into Fraserville LOL No 46 in Ontario. In December 1939 he enlisted in the Canadian Chaplain Services and was posted to the Royal Hamilton Light Infantry.

In August 1942 he participated in the ill-fated Dieppe Raid (Operation Jubilee), being firmly of the view that where his men went, he too should go. Prior to landing on the beaches at Dieppe, he gathered those aboard HMS Glengyle (an infantry landing ship), together for prayer.

The objectives of the raid included seizing and holding a major port for a short period, both to prove that it was possible and to gather intelligence. Upon retreat, the Allies also wanted to destroy coastal defences, port installations and strategic buildings. The raid was intended to boost morale and demonstrate the firm commitment of the British to open a second front in western Europe.

None of these objectives were realised. Allied support fire was grossly inadequate, and the raiding force was largely trapped on the beach by obstacles and German fire.

Less than 10 hours after the first landings, the last Allied troops had all been either killed, evacuated, or left behind to be captured by the Germans. Instead of a demonstration of resolve, the fiasco revealed to the world that the Allies could not expect to invade France for a long time.

The raid demolished the preposterous proposition that a combination of surprise and tanks would be sufficient for a successful amphibious assault against occupied France.

Two years later, the D-Day landings would be backed up by massive artillery support, air superiority, and unrelenting, overwhelming firepower – three essential factors absent at Dieppe. (One might also add accurate intelligence regarding the enemy’s defences.)

The troops committed to the raid were overwhelmingly Canadian. Some 5,000 Canadian infantrymen were supported by the Calgary Regiment of the 1st Canadian Tank Brigade, 1,000 British Commandos and 50 US Rangers. The assault began at 5am but within six hours Allied commanders were obliged to call off the operation, as their troops were pinned down on the beaches by well-directed German firepower. Only small parties penetrated Dieppe itself. Of the 27 tanks landed, only 15 managed to cross the sea wall.

Of the 4,963 Canadians who took part in the raid, 3,367 were killed, wounded or taken prisoner. All seven Canadian battalion commanders were wounded. British infantry casualties amounted to 275. The Royal Navy lost one destroyer and 33 landing craft, and 550 casualties. The RAF lost 106 aircraft, the RAF’s worst day during the entire Second World War, compared to 48 lost by the Luftwaffe. German ground casualties were just 591.

Despite the unfolding military disaster and under heavy enemy fire, Captain Foote calmly moved about the beaches during the battle with a total disregard for his personal safety, assisting medics with the wounded, administering first aid, and carrying the wounded back to the landing craft, thereby saving many lives.

As fighting ended, and with re-embarkation ordered, Foote climbed from the landing craft that would have taken him to safety, waded ashore, and voluntarily stayed with the 1,900 Canadian troops who were stranded on the beach, and were soon to be taken prisoner so that he could minister to them in captivity.

Those successfully evacuated from Dieppe recounted the heroic exploits of ‘an unknown padre’ who had single-handedly saved the lives of at least 30 men. Eventually the 6ft 3 tall padre was identified as Foote. For almost three years he was held in various German PoW camps, where he sustained morale and provided Christian ministry to all, irrespective of denomination. He conducted services from a pulpit made out of Red Cross boxes. Much to the annoyance of the German authorities, all services were concluded with the singing of ‘God Save the King’.

After Foote was finally liberated on April 25 1945, those who shared his captivity informed the Allied authorities of the immense courage and leadership provided by Capt Foote who on numerous occasions, and at great risk to himself, vigorously protested to the German authorities at the appalling conditions the men were expected to endure.

A genuinely humble and modest man, Foote was worried he might be reprimanded for allowing himself to be captured on the beach at Dieppe. Instead, he became the first Canadian chaplain to be awarded the Victoria Cross. ‘I simply did my job as I saw it,’ Foote told the Montreal Star in 1946. ‘It was a very ordinary piece of work.’

He was presented with his award at a private investiture by King George VI.

Foote remained with the army until 1948, retiring with the rank of lieutenant colonel. He was then elected to the Legislative Assembly of Ontario as a Progressive Conservative and served in the Ontario cabinet between 1951 and 1957.

A life-long Orangeman, his other principal interests were gardening, golf, fishing and music. He died on May 2 1988, two days before his 84th birthday.

The funeral service was held at St Andrew’s Presbyterian Church, Cobourg, and he was buried with full military honours. His local branch of the Royal Canadian Legion was renamed the Lt Col John Weir Foote VC Branch in his honour, while the Royal Hamilton Light Infantry Heritage Museum, to whom he donated his VC, is based at the Lt Col John Weir Foote VC CD Armoury, at Hamilton, Ontario.