Remembering Canada’s last Victoria Cross winner: Lt. Robert Hampton Gray

Lt. Robert Hampton Gray has the distinction of being Canada’s last Victoria Cross winner.

Gray, also known as Hammy, was born on Nov. 2, 1917 in Trail, B.C., to John and Wilhelmina Gray. John Gray had served in the South Africa (Boer) War.

Upon graduating from the University of Alberta and the University of British Columbia, Gray had originally intended to attend medical school at McGill University in Montreal. Instead, Gray enrolled in the Royal Canadian Naval Volunteer Reserve, colloquially known as “The Wavy Navy,” at HMCS Tecumseh Naval Reserve Division in Calgary in 1940.

He trained as a naval pilot with the Royal Navy’s Fleet Air Arm in September 1941, including a course at No. 31 SFTS near Kingston.

Gray flew Hawker Hurricanes in the African campaign for two years with 747 Squa