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Concept
Filip Konowal
Summary
Filip Konowal VC (Пили́п Миронович Конова́л; Pylyp Myronovych Konoval; 25 March 1887 – 3 June 1959) was a highly decorated Ukrainian Canadian soldier. He is the first Canadian Corps member not born in the British Empire (and the only Ukrainian) to be awarded the Victoria Cross, the highest award for gallantry in the face of the enemy given to British and Commonwealth forces. He was also entitled to the Cross of St George, 4th Class.
He is the patron of Royal Canadian Legion Branch 360 (Konowal Branch) in Toronto.
Konowal was born to a peasant family on 25 March 1887 in Kutkivtsi, in the Podolia Governorate of the Russian Empire (now Ukraine) near the border with Austria-Hungary. At an early age, he worked as a mason alongside his father. He married Hanna (?-1932/33) in 1908. They had a daughter, Marichka.
Soon after his marriage, he decided to join the Imperial Russian Army, where he served as an instructor in hand-to-hand combat. After demobilization, Konowal returned home and took up work as a feller in Siberia, before accepting a job with a Canadian company in 1913. Departing from Vladivostok, Konowal crossed the Pacific Ocean to Vancouver, British Columbia, and continued working as a feller, gradually making his way east. By the beginning of 1914, Konowal had lost his job as a feller and ended up working a series of odd jobs until the outbreak of World War I.
On 12 July 1915, Konowal enlisted in the 77th Canadian Infantry Battalion, and on 19 June 1916, left Halifax for Liverpool. After arriving in England, Konowal was promoted to acting corporal and was transferred to the 47th (British Columbia) Battalion of the 4th Canadian Division. In August 1916, the 4th Division arrived in France, and took part in the assault on Vimy Ridge in April 1917. From 22 to 24 August 1917, during the Battle of Hill 70 in Lens, France, he was recognized for conspicuous gallantry in the face of the enemy and awarded the Victoria Cross. Konowal's medal was personally presented by King George V, and he was promoted to sergeant.
Official source
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