1881–1949
Prospect Cemetery
Section 7 Lot 4196
Walter Leigh Rayfield born in Richmond-on-Thames, England, emigrated to Canada as a child and worked across North America before enlisting in the Canadian Expeditionary Force in July 1917. Serving with the 7th Battalion (British Columbia Regiment), Rayfield earned the Victoria Cross, the British Empire’s highest award for gallantry, for a series of extraordinary actions he performed during the Second Battle of Arras, September 2-4, 1918.
Amid fierce fighting east of the French city of Arras, Rayfield rushed ahead of his company to storm a German trench, personally bayoneting two soldiers and capturing 10 more. Later, under constant rifle fire, he located and neutralized a deadly sniper, then charged the trench so boldly that 30 enemy troops surrendered. His courage did not end there. He braved heavy machine-gun fire to rescue a wounded comrade. These acts of valour earned him the Victoria Cross, presented by King George V at Buckingham Palace in March 1919.
After the war, Rayfield served as Sergeant-at-Arms for the Ontario Legislature and later as Governor of Toronto’s Don Jail. He died in Toronto on February 19, 1949, and was laid to rest in Prospect Cemetery’s Veterans’ section. His medals, including the VC, are displayed at the Canadian War Museum, a tribute to a soldier whose bravery inspired a nation.
Sources:
• Canadian War Museum – Victoria Cross Recipients
• Walter Leigh Rayfield – Wikipedia
• Mount Pleasant Group – Walter L. Rayfield
• Veterans Affairs Canada – Walter Leigh Rayfield Biography
Photo: Canada. Dept. of National Defence/Library and Archives Canada/, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
