Filip Konowal

Filip Konowal
Portrait commissioned for the Beaverbrook Collection of War Art
Allegiance	Imperial Russia, Canada
Years of service	1915–1919
Rank	Sergeant
Unit	77th Canadian Infantry Battalion, 47th (British Columbia) Battalion Canadian Infantry, 1st Canadian Reserve Battalion, Canadian Forestry Corps Canadian Siberian Expeditionary Force, Governor General's Foot Guards
Battles/wars	Battle of Hill 70
Awards	Victoria Cross, British War Medal (1914–1920), Victory Medal (1914–1919), George VI Coronation Medal (1937), Elizabeth II Coronation Medal (1953), entitled to the Cross of St George, 4th Class
Other work	special custodian in the Office of the Prime Minister

Filip Konowal VC (15 September 1888 – 3 June 1959) was a highly decorated Ukrainian Canadian soldier. He is the only Ukrainian recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest military award given to British and Commonwealth forces. He also received the British War Medal (1914–1920), Victory Medal (1914–1919), George VI Coronation Medal (1937), Elizabeth II Coronation Medal (1953), entitled to the Cross of St George, 4th Class.

He is the patron of Royal Canadian Legion Branch 360 (Konowal Branch) in Toronto.

First World War

Konowal was born 15 September 1888 in Kutkivtsi, Ukraine, in the Russian Empire. Konowal was 28 years old, and an Acting Corporal in the 47th (British Columbia) Battalion (later redesignated Western Ontario), Canadian Expeditionary Force during the First World War. During the period 22–24 August 1917, at the Battle of Hill 70 in Lens, France, he performed an act of bravery for which he was awarded the Victoria Cross.

Citation

The citation was published in a supplement to the London Gazette of 23 November 1917 (dated 26 November 1917):

No. 144039 A./Cpl. Filip Konowal, Can. Inf.

For most conspicuous bravery and leadership when in charge of a section in attack. His section had the difficult task of mopping up cellars, craters and machine-gun emplacements. Under his able direction all resistance was overcome successfully, and heavy casualties inflicted on the enemy. In one cellar he himself bayonetted three enemy and attacked single-handed seven others in a crater, killing them all.

On reaching the objective, a machine-gun was holding up the right flank, causing many casualties. Cpl. Konowal rushed forward and entered the emplacement, killed the crew, and brought the gun back to our lines.

The next day he again attacked single-handed another machine-gun emplacement, killed three of the crew, and destroyed the gun and emplacement with explosives.

This non-commissioned officer alone killed at least sixteen of the enemy, and during the two days' actual fighting carried on continuously his good work until severely wounded.

Honours

Filip Konowal's standard Commonwealth War Graves Commission gravestone, adjacent to his wife Juliette's family monument. It is inscribed "Filip Konowal V·C / Corporal / 47 Battn C·E·F / 3 June 1959 Age 72", with a simple Christian cross above and the Victoria Cross below.

Konowal's Victoria Cross medal was personally presented by King George V, and he was promoted to sergeant.

He was also awarded the British War Medal (1914–1920), Victory Medal (1914–1919), George VI Coronation Medal (1937), Elizabeth II Coronation Medal (1953), and entitled to the Cross of St George, 4th Class, from Russia.

The Royal Canadian Legion Branch 360 (Konowal Branch) in Toronto made him its patron in 1953. The Legion helped established the Konowal Prize, an annual scholarship grant at the Royal Military College of Canada.

Konowal died in 1959 at Hull, Quebec, aged 72. He was buried at Notre Dame de Lourdes Cemetery, Ottawa, under a headstone in section A, lot 502.

In 1996 Konowal's headstone was replaced by an upright marker, and memorial plaques were unveiled:

• in the Cartier Square drill hall of the Governor General's Foot Guards in Ottawa
• at Legion Branch 360 (Konowal Branch) in Toronto
• at the Royal Westminster Regiment's armoury (Konowal's regiment) in New Westminster, B.C.
• on a cairn at Selo Ukraina Memorial Park, near Dauphin, Manitoba.
• in 2001, at Konowal's place of birth, Kutkivtsi, Ukraine.

The Victoria Cross medal

Konowal's medals at the Canadian War Museum. From the left: the Victoria Cross, British War Medal, Victory Medal, George VI Coronation Medal, Elizabeth II Coronation Medal

The Canadian War Museum in Ottawa purchased Konowal's Victoria Cross and other medals in 1969.

The medal went missing sometime in the 1970s, apparently stolen, and was sold to an antique shop along with some Hawaiian coins in the mid-1990s. The shop owner believed the medal was a fake, as it was inscribed with "For Valour" – evidently not realizing that all VCs awarded to Canadians had the English motto. (The source of confusion was the fact that a new Canadian VC was introduced into the Canadian Honours System in 1993, bearing the Latin motto Pro Valore). The medal was rediscovered when the shop owner offered it to the Jeffrey Hoare Auction House in London, Ontario in April 2004. A British collector discovered the auction and notified Lubomyr Luciuk, co-author of a booklet about Konowal, who took steps to have the medal secured. It was recovered by police, and returned to permanent display at the War Museum on 23 August 2004, 87 years after it was awarded.

References

• Lubomyr Y. Luciuk and Ron Sorobey. Konowal: a Canadian Hero, 2nd ed. Kingston, Ontario: Kashtan Press for the Royal Canadian Legion Branch 360, 2000. ISBN 1-896354-24-6.
• Mitch Potter (13 October 2007) "Village honours our valiant soldier: Victoria Cross winner in WWI never learned Ukrainian wife, child survived Stalin's purges". TheStar.com. URL accessed 13 October 2007.

External links

• Filip Konowal, V.C.. Biography by Lubomyr Y. Luciuk and Ron Sorobey
• Legion Magazine Article on Filip Konowal
• Find-A-Grave profile for Filip Konowal