Neither Lt. Col. RW Patterson, commanding the Fort Garry Horse nor mounted orderlies, could find 'B' Squadron who were south-east of Rumilly to give them the recall order. B Squadron led by Strachan, cut its way through a line of infantry in a heavily camouflaged road and found a four-gunned German field battery in front of them. They charged, and rode down or sabred the gunners. German infantry positioned beyond the guns fired on them and again Strachan led a charge, They broke the infantry but were under fire, taking more casualties as they rode towards Rumilly. Now with less than fifty men and only five unwounded horses, they sheltered in a sunken road 1,200 yards east of the town. Strachan realised there was to be no support, so he had the horses cut loose and he led the unit in a withdrawal towards the Canal. During this fighting withdrawal, B Squadron scattered four bodies of German troops. In short, Lieutenant Strachan led the squadron through the enemy line of machine-gun posts and then, with the surviving men, led the charge on the German battery, killing seven of the gunners with his sword. When all the gunners were killed and the battery silenced, he rallied his men and fought his way back at night on foot through the enemy's lines, bringing all unwounded men safely in, together with 15 prisoners. His citation reads: Strachan, having been promoted to captain, received his VC from King George V on 6 January 1918. Later life After the war, he returned to his farm in the Chauvin district, Alberta He ran as a Liberal candidate in the 1921 Alberta provincial election, in the Wainwright constituency, but was not elected, a victim of the Farmers' sweep. He went into banking. By 1930, he had moved to Calgary. In the 1930s he married Betsy Stirling and they had a daughter Jean. Strachan later commanded the 1st Battalion, Edmonton Fusiliers during the Second World War. After the war he retired and moved to Vancouver. Strachan eventually attained the rank of lieutenant colonel. In 1967 he voiced his disdain for the U.S. proponents of the U.S.-Vietnam War. Strachan died on 1 May 1982, at the age of 97 years and 175 days, the record longest-lived recipient of the Victoria Cross. Strachan's ashes were scattered near the Rose Garden Columbarium at Boal Chapel Memorial Gardens in North Vancouver, BC