The twin peaks of Mount Kinross honour a private who was awarded the Victoria Cross while serving with the 49th Battalion in the Alberta Regiment. At the Battle of Passchendaele in 1917, Private Cecil John Kinross's company came under heavy attack and further advance was held up by very severe fire from an enemy machine-gun. After making a careful survey of this situation, Private Kinross left all his other equipment behind except for his rifle and bandolier and advanced alone over open ground in broad daylight. He charged the enemy machine-gun, killed the crew of six, and destroyed the gun. It was reported that, "his superb example and courage enabled a highly important position to be established." Excerpt from the Edmonton Journal - Pte. Cecil John Kinross, 21, a farmer-soldier from Lougheed, 180 km southeast of Edmonton, answered the call. The devil-may-care young company runner stipped off all his equipement except his rifle and bandoleer. Oblivious to the threat to his personal safety, he charged across the open ground in broad daylight to flank the enemy machine-gun. He killed the crew of six with his rifle and wrecked the enemy gun. - Kinross was born February 17, 1896, near Stirling, Scotland. The family immigrated to Alberta in 1912 and settled on a farm near Lougheed. In October 1915, he enlisted in the 51st Battalion and was later drafted into Edmonton's 49th. - Kinross was discharged from the Canadian army for medical reasons on January 23, 1919. - A few days later, Edmontonians packed the old Pantages Theatre ... and some 3,000 more were turned away at a civic reception for Kinross. - In 1956, he was invited to London with other VC winners for the 100th anniversary of the Victoria Cross. The VC heroes attended a memorial service at Westminster Abbey. They were inspected by the queen in Hyde Park. - A year later, on June 21, 1957, he died alone in his hotel room in Lougheed. He was a lifelong bachelor. - He was buried with full military honors in the prairie soil. The final salute was a sharp crack of rifles above his grave by a military honor guard from Wainwright. - The Royal Canadian Legion in Lougheed proudly bears his name and inside hangs a big picture of Cecil John Kinross, one of the youngest men to win the Victoria Cross.