Currie Avenue
Currie Avenue is named in honour of Lieutenant-Colonel David Vivian Currie, VC. It is located in the Montgomery Place neighbourhood of Saskatoon, and area developed in 1946 to house returning Second World War veterans and their families. Most streets and parks in the area are named for prominent military members, famous battles, military units, and in one case, an aircraft.
David Vivian Currie was born in Sutherland, Saskatchewan on 8 July 1912. Before the Second World War, he was a member of a Militia unit based in Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan. During the campaign in France following the D-Day landings in Normandy on 6 June 1944, Currie was serving with the 29th Armoured Reconnaissance Regiment (The South Alberta Regiment).
Major Currie earned the Victoria Cross for his efforts on 18 August 1944 to capture and hold the village of St Lambert-sur-Dives during the fighting to block the escape route of large German forces cut off in the Falaise pocket. Leading a small force of tanks, infantry and anti-tank guns, but with no supporting field artillery fire, he organized an attack on the village and succeeded in seizing and consolidating a position half-way inside it. For 36 hours Currie’s force repeatedly thwarted attempts by German tanks and infantry to force a way through the village by counterattacking the Canadians. Finally, Major Currie and his men renewed their attack and drove the enemy out of St Lambert-sur-Dives, completing the capture of the village. His force had inflicted 800 casualties on the Germans and taken 2,100 prisoners.
Currie died in Ottawa, Ontario, on 24 June 1986.
Inscription
[street sign/plaque de rue]
Currie Ave.
[plaque/plaque]
Lt. Col. David Vivian Currie (1913 – 1986). Lt. Colonel David Currie is the only Saskatchewan born holder of the Victoria Cross. Born in Sutherland and raised in Moose Jaw, Currie joined the 29th Canadian Armoured Reconnaissance Regiment in 1939. An “unflappable and, apparently unstoppable individual” Currie and his troops defended St. Lambert in the battle of Falaise Gap in August 1944. Down to 60 men and 12 tanks, Major Currie held the town against repeated German counter-attacks for 36 hours. In 1966 he became Sergeant at Arms of the House of Commons.
Avenue Currie
L’avenue Currie a été nommée en l’honneur du lieutenant-colonel David Vivian Currie, VC. Elle se trouve dans le quartier Place Montgomery de Saskatoon, qui a été développé en 1946 pour accueillir les anciens combattants de la Seconde Guerre mondiale et leurs familles. La plupart des rues et des parcs de ce quartier sont nommés en l’honneur de militaires importants, de batailles célèbres, d’unités militaires et, dans un cas, d’un aéronef.
David Vivian Currie naît à Sutherland, en Saskatchewan, le 8 juillet 1912. Avant la Seconde Guerre mondiale, il est membre d’une unité de la milice basée à Moose Jaw, en Saskatchewan. Durant la campagne en France qui suit le débarquement de Normandie, le 6 juin 1944, le Major Currie sert dans le 29e Régiment de reconnaissance blindé (The South Alberta Regiment).
Le Major Currie a obtenu la Croix de Victoria pour les faits d’armes accomplis le 18 août 1944 en vue de capturer et de tenir le village de Saint-Lambert-sur-Dives, durant la bataille visant à bloquer la voie d’évasion d’importantes forces allemandes isolées dans la poche de Falaise. À la tête d’une petite formation composée de chars, de soldats d’infanterie et de canons antichars, mais sans l’appui de l’artillerie de campagne, il organise une attaque du village et réussit à s’emparer d’une position située à mi-chemin à l’intérieur de l’agglomération et à la renforcer. Pendant 36 heures, les hommes du Major Currie contrecarrent à plusieurs reprises les tentatives de l’infanterie et des chars allemands pour se frayer un passage dans le village en contre-attaquant les Canadiens. Finalement, le Major Currie et ses hommes reprennent l’attaque et chassent l’ennemi de Saint-Lambert-sur-Dives, confirmant ainsi la prise du village. Les hommes du Major Currie causent la perte de 800 soldats allemands et font 2 100 prisonniers.
Le Major Currie s’éteint à Ottawa, en Ontario, le 24 juin 1986.
Le texte de l’inscription figure dans la section anglaise.