Alexander Roberts Dunn VC (15 September 1833 – 25 January 1868) was the first Canadian awarded the Victoria Cross, the highest and most prestigious award for bravery in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces. Later in life, he assisted in raising a regiment in Canada for the British Army. He was the first Canadian to command a British Army regiment. Dunn died of a gunshot wound under mysterious circumstances in Abyssinia (now Eritrea), where he was part of the British Expedition to Abyssinia. His grave was re-discovered by Canadian Armed Forces troops who were part of the United Nations peacekeeping force to the Eritrea-Ethiopia war of 2000-2001. Family and early life Dunn was born in York, Upper Canada (later Toronto, Ontario) in 1833, the son of John Henry Dunn, Receiver General of Upper Canada, and studied at Upper Canada College. When his family returned to England, he attended Harrow School. In 1852 at the age of 19, he purchased a commission in a cavalry regiment in the British Army, the 11th Hussars (Prince Albert’s Own). Dunn was six feet, three inches tall, and commissioned a special four foot long sabre from Wilkinson Sword to accommodate his height. Charge of the Light Brigade and the Victoria Cross Dunn was awarded the Victoria Cross for his actions at the Charge of the Light Brigade during the Battle of Balaclava on 25 October 1854, when he was 21 years of age. Lieutenant Dunn was actively engaged in the battle, leading his troops in the futile attempts to capture the Russian artillery. When the retreat was finally called, he saw that one of his troopers, Sergeant Robert Bentley, was in trouble. Bentley's horse was badly wounded. Russian lancers had picked Bentley out as a straggler and were attacking him, trying to knock him out of the saddle. Dunn wheeled his horse and returned to Bentley's aid. He killed two or three of the Russian soldiers, lifted Bentley back up on his horse, and slapped its rear to get it moving back to safety. Dunn then noticed that another soldier from his troop, Private Harvey Levett, had been dismounted and was being attacked by a Russian hussar. Dunn came to Levett's aid, killing the Russian hussar with his lengthy sabre. When he was finally back to safety, Dunn found that only 25 had survived from his troop