Today is Day #41 of The Road To Valour

The Stats	Today	Total (so far)
Distance (km)	83.0	2,697.2
Climb (m)	183	15,268

On today’s ride I was joined by:

• Ehsan Ebrahimnia
• Ernie MacDonald

Departing Portage La Prairie was thrilling. The sun was shining and the wind was blowing on out back. THat’s right, we were finally going to enjoy the wind where it should have been all along. The ride to Stonewall was fast and flat. While the wind was not generally directly at our backs, it was close enough that on ;pavement we were hitting 30+ kph without pedalling too hard. Even on the gravel roads we were mid 20s — and there are a lot of gravel roads around here.

One of the really big questions that I got about this trip (after why WInnipeg??) was what is Stonewall, where is it and why would you want to go there? Originally, I had read the story and the citation for Alan McLeod, VC and I was impressed. Not only was it a story about the valour of a WW1 pilot, but also the tragedy that surrounded his return to Canada.

We went directly to Catherine Preciurt’s home. She is the historical society’s go to person who I have been dealing with to set up this visit. A beautiful stone house from the early days of Stonewall, it is built with limestone from the local quarry. It was one of the original municipal government buildings and later the tram terminus when there was a tram line from Winnipeg to Stonewall.

Alan McLeod, VC

We then walked over to the McLeod house where we were greeted by Mayor Sandra Smith and Councillors Walter Badger and Ron Maryniuk. Once there and all of the introductions were made, Catherine gave a very vivid and complete description of Alan McLeod, VC’s life.

Alan McLeod was born on 20 April 1899, the son of Stonewall’s doctor. At the age of just 14 he enrolled in the Fort Garry Horse, Winnipeg, but when the war broke out, he was sent home as underage and told to return when he was older. When he turned 18, he enrolled in the Royal Flying Corps. After receiving his wings, he was sent to Europe. Again with issues regarding his age, McLeod was bounced around with his assignments until he finally saw action in December 1917. His first success came in January 1918 when he claimed a Fokker Dr.1.

On 27 March 1918 over Albert, France, McLeod, with his observer Lieutenant Arthur Hammond, in an Armstrong Whitworth F.K.8 destroyed an enemy triplane and were immediately attacked by eight more, three of which they brought down. During the fight, both McLeod and Hammond were heavily wounded by machine gun bullets, the fuel tank was punctured and the aircraft set on fire. McLeod successfully flew his aircraft until the flams became so intense that he climbed onto the wing of the aircraft, while still controlling it. By doing this, he kept the flames away from his wounded observer and prevented the aircraft from burning up. When he finally crashed the machine in No Man’s Land, he dragged his comrade from the burning wreckage and under heavy fire carried him to comparative safety, before collapsing from exhaustion and loss of blood.

McLeod was sent to London to convalesce. His father decided to travel to London to personally oversee his recovery. While there, he learned that he was to be honoured with the Victoria Cross. Afterwards, he returned to Canada with his father and was fêted in Stonewall, before contracting Spanish Flu and passing away just 5 days before the end of the war and still 5 months away from his 20th birthday.

Tomorrow

Tomorrow is the final day of The Road To Valour.

One last ride. One last push.

Thank you to everyone who has supported, encouraged, hosted, donated, and followed this journey. Your belief in me and this mission has carried me across half of Canada.

See you at the finish.

Riding The Road To Valour