Valour Road’s forgotten hero

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This article was published 01/11/2023 (708 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Many Winnipeggers are familiar with the story of Frederick Hall, Leo Clarke and Robert Shankland, the three men from the 700 block of Pine Street who earned the Victoria Cross in the First World War. The street was later renamed Valour Road to honour them.

There was another young man from Pine Street, just nine houses down from that fabled block, who also served in the war. His brief time at the front and agonizing death did not earn him any high-ranking medals and his sacrifice has been forgotten.

Carl Mather was born in Morden, Man., on Feb. 28, 1895, to Thomas and Bertha Mather. He was the second youngest of five children. By 1906, the family had relocated to Sherbrook Street in Winnipeg and in 1913 they moved to a newly constructed home at 669 Pine St.

Carl lived at home as he attended the University of Manitoba and was entering his third year of studies when he took leave in October 1915 to enlist with the 44th Battalion.

After basic training at Camp Hughes near Brandon, the battalion set sail from Halifax to Liverpool in April 1916. They made their way to France on June 20 and four days later Mather was transferred to the 8th Battalion and sent off to the front lines. Another member of the 8th was fellow Pine Street resident Frederick Hall.

Sadly, Mather’s time at the front was short-lived. On July 23rd, 1916, he arrived at No. 3 casualty clearing station described as “dangerously wounded” with gunshot wounds to the shoulder and face. His mother was informed by telegram of her son’s condition three days later.

Likely due to his grave condition, Mather was never transferred to a general hospital. He died at the station near the front on Aug. 2, 1916, at the age of 21 and is buried in the Lijssenthoek Military Cemetery in Belgium. His military headstone includes the inscription: “Carl was a 3rd year university student. 1916 class. My love to all at home.”

The Mather family remained at 669 Pine St. until the late 1930s, which was long enough to see the name of their street change.

During the war, Hall, Clarke, and Shankland each earned a Victoria Cross, which is awarded for “most conspicuous bravery or some daring or pre-eminent act of valour, self-sacrifice or extreme devotion to duty in the presence of the enemy”. Only Shankland returned alive.

There were just 70 Victoria Crosses awarded to Canadian soldiers in the First World War, which made the fact that three went to men who had lived on the same block a remarkable coincidence. The street name was changed to Valour Road in 1925 and the trio have been immortalized in history books, a Heritage Minute, on murals, and most recently on a postage stamp.

For Carl Mather, there were no such accolades.