Orders, Decorations and Medals

The Second World War North-West Europe operations D.C.M. and Korea War Second Award Bar group of eight awarded to Corporal L. Major, Canadian Army: having won his D.C.M. for orchestrating the liberation of Zwolle in Holland in April 1945, while serving as a scout in Le Regiment de la Chaudiere, he added a Bar to his decoration for his leadership of the Scouts and Sniper Platoon of the Royal 22nd Regiment at the battle of “Hill 355” in Korea

Distinguished Conduct Medal, G.VI.R., with Second award Bar (D. 106190 Pte. L. Major, C. Inf. C.); 1939-45 Star; France and Germany Star; Defence Medal, silver; Canadian Voluntary Service Medal, with overseas clasp; War Medal 1939-45, silver; Korea 1950-53, silver (SD-800999 L. Major); U.N. Korea (SD800999 L. Major), together with a set of related miniature dress medals, good very fine or better (16) £12000-15000

This lot was sold as part of a special collection, The Ron Penhall Collection.

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Bar to D.C.M. London Gazette 12 February 1952. The original recommendation states:

‘In Korea during the period 22-25 November 1951, ‘D’ Company of the 2nd Battalion, Royal 22nd Regiment, occupied the saddle between Feature 227 and Feature 355. No. 11 Platoon had been withdrawn from the left flank to the defence of No. 12 Platoon.

The Scouts and Sniper Platoon, eighteen in number, under the command of Corporal Leo Major, were ordered to launch an attack and recapture lost ground and restore the defences of No. 11 Platoon.

Although he had no previous knowledge of the ground, Corporal Major led his platoon in the darkness over snow swept hills firing his Sten machine-gun as he advanced. Using grenades and bayonets, the Platoon cleared the enemy from the position. By sheer determination and courage, inspired by complete confidence in their leader, this small group overran an enemy six times their number causing them to fall back, and the unit recaptured No. 11 Platoon’s position.

Corporal Major hastily organised the defence. So expertly did he direct the fire of the supporting mortars and artillery that the Platoon was able to repulse four separate enemy attacks. Running from one point of danger to another, under heavy small arms fire from his flank, he directed the fire of his men, encouraging them to hold firm against overwhelming odds.

While under a heavy attack a part of his platoon was overrun. Corporal Major left his wireless set to fire his personal weapon to assist in the situation and he was credited with killing four enemy during this attack.

Against a force greatly superior in number, Corporal Major simply refused to give ground. His personal courage and leadership were beyond all praise. Filling an appointment far above his rank, he gained the full confidence of his men, who were inspired by his personal bravery, coolness and leadership.’

Leo Major was the second oldest of 10 brothers and sisters and first gained a reputation for daring aged 16 years, when ‘he rescued two young women from drowning at St. Jerome’. An outstanding athlete, he was 19 years of age when he enlisted in the Canadian Army at Montreal in the summer of 1940, and he arrived in the U.K. as a Private in the Scout Platoon of Le Regiment de la Chaudiere in the following year. He subsequently landed with the Chaudieres on D-Day and, in the fierce fighting that followed in Normandy, was wounded in the face by a grenade, suffering partial loss of sight in his left eye. Notwithstanding such injuries, he remained on active service, and participated in the advance into the Rhineland in early 1945, when he was again wounded when the carrier he was riding in hit a mine - he was admitted to hospital with two broken ankles and a damaged back. Once again, however, he managed to engineer his return to active service, and was back in the ranks of Le Regiment de la Chaudieres in time for the planned attack on the town of Zwolle in Holland in April 1945. And it was here, on the 13th, that he volunteered to carry out the hazardous mission that resulted in the award of his D.C.M. The following extract is taken from his own account of the patrol, and commences soon after his description of the engagement that led to the loss of his friend, Corporal Willy Arsenault, on the outskirts of the town:

‘In a few seconds I got rid of the ones responsible for his death. After that I had one fixed idea and it was to liberate Zwolle no matter what I was going to meet in the streets. A thousand Germans or much less - I didn’t care. My heart was boiling but I was full of energy. I went back to Willy to grab his machine pistol and his grenades ... Before leaving for this patrol, the Colonel had promised me he would send all his fighting companies to occupy the farm lands that are close to the town at 0100 hours on 14 April. Having that in mind, I decided to wait until that time in case I got caught with some prisoners and not know what to do with them, as I am not a murderer. It’s not like Normandy where there were no prisoners taken alive. They were S.S. I was already inside Zwolle so I decided go inside a house. I wanted to study more a big map of Zwolle I had in my jacket ... After going over the city map, I left the house to start my plans for getting the upper hand against the enemy. My first encounter came as I was advancing cautiously on a road leading out toward the country. I came close to what I could see was an enemy position. I could see clearly with my right eye that night like always. I was an expert at night fighting. There were soldiers in trenches manning a machine-gun. I came behind them in complete surprise. In a flash, with three grenades and a burst of my machine pistol, I had ten prisoners which I walked away to one of our leading companies. I came back down the same road, now having in mind to go everywhere in Zwolle. It was still early that night when I captured 12 stragglers in one of the streets. A burst of fire, a couple of grenades and a lot of loud noise. That was my aim. Again I walked back and got rid of them by giving them to another of our fighting companies. Again I went back inside the town doing one street after another. Four more times during the course of the night I had to force myself into a home. Each time the same story - the people were afraid of me but in no time I was able to prove who I was and I quickly made life-long friends. When I went in houses like I did, it was to give me more strength to go forward. I remember in each house I did not stay more than a few minutes before continuing patrolling the streets ... On a road near the river, I caught my last stragglers, which again I brought to an outpost that was much nearer the railroad crossing. On my way back to the city, I met Frits Kuipers, a tall policeman, and two other men. From Mr. Kuipers’ wife, who spoke fairly good English, and a few words in French, I learned the men were from the Resistance. I was very happy to learn that. They were unarmed but I quickly remedied that. Then I told them all: your town Zwolle is completely liberated from the Germans. I know very well - I was the one who made all that noise during the night. That must have frightened them away across the river. I asked them to come with me to the middle of the town and to pass the word around to all the population to come out of their homes, that they were at last free. In a very short time, I was surrounded by a very huge crowd. The I met the Mayor and some of the town leaders. With a small German staff car and the help of four Dutchmen I brought Willy to Colonel Tacherau. Then I told him to bring in the unit on parade ... an hour later the entire brigade entered the town to join in the celebration.’

Major returned to Canada at the War’s end to pursue his previous career as a pipe-fitter in Montreal, but on the advent of hostilities in Korea, he was quickly tracked down by former comrades and recruited into the ranks of the 2nd Battalion, Royal 22nd Regiment. The unit was in action in Korea by late Spring 1951, Major having been appointed a Corporal in the Scout and Sniper Platoon - as one officer later put it, such men were capable of living in No Man’s Land on ‘a bottle of water and a couple of slices of bacon’ for days on end. Small wonder then that Colonel Dextraze, C.O. of the Royal 22nd Regiment, turned to Major and his small party of 18 men to try and turn the tide of battle late on 24 November 1951 and, as borne out by the recommendation for the Bar to his D.C.M., he didn’t let his Colonel down.

Points of interest not mentioned in the recommendation include the fact Major and his men wore running shoes to reduce the sound of their movement as they crept up on the Chinese occupying ‘D’ Company’s old positions and that, once they had retaken the summit, Major refused to withdraw when ordered to do so by Colonel Dextraze. Instead, he moved his team just 25 yards back down the hill and called in supporting mortar and artillery fire, the C.O. of the Gunners later recalling that he could hear the explosions of his handiwork over the wireless as he spoke to Major - such was the close proximity of the barrage requested by the latter. Moreover, his team denied possession of the position to the enemy over the next three days, even though subjected to several fierce counter-attacks. He was awarded an immediate Bar to his D.C.M.

Sold with a Dutch Resistance “Oranje” armband, and a copy of the The Canadian Army in Holland, a wartime cartoon magazine.