Robert Henry Cain
Major Robert Henry Cain VC TD (2 January 1909 – 2 May 1974) was a Manx recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces.
For other people with the same name, see Robert Cain.
Robert Henry Cain
2 May 1974 (aged 65)
Crowborough, Sussex
1928–1945
129484
Finlo Cain (son)
Rosemary Diplock (daughter)
Helena Cain (daughter)
Frances Cain (daughter)
Worked for Royal Dutch Shell
Cain grew up on the Isle of Man and joined the Honourable Artillery Company in 1928. After working overseas he was given an emergency commission into the Army in 1940. He transferred to the South Staffordshire Regiment in 1942, and joined their 2nd Battalion, part of the British 1st Airborne Division. He saw action during the Allied Invasion of Sicily in 1943 and again during the Battle of Arnhem the following year. During the battle Major Cain's company was closely engaged with enemy tanks, self-propelled guns and infantry. Cain continually exposed himself to danger while leading his men and personally dispatched as much enemy armour as possible. Despite sustaining several injuries he refused medical attention and for his gallantry he was awarded the Victoria Cross.
Later in the war he took part in Operation Doomsday, where the 1st Airborne Division oversaw the German surrender in Norway. He left the army in late 1945 and returned to his pre-war job at Royal Dutch Shell. He died of cancer in 1974.
Early life[edit]
Robert Henry Cain was born in Shanghai on 2 January 1909.[1] His parents were Manx and returned to the Isle of Man when he was young, where he was educated at King William's College.[1] In 1928 Cain joined the Honourable Artillery Company, a unit of the Territorial Army (TA).[1] The TA was the volunteer reserve force of the British Army and members continued in civilian work; Cain worked in Thailand and Malaya for Shell.[2] He was placed on the supplementary reserve list on 12 February 1931.[3]
End of the war[edit]
The hostilities in Europe ended on 8 May 1945, when the Allies accepted the unconditional surrender of Nazi Germany. There were however a large number of German units in Norway – one of the few places in Europe still under German control – and the Allies feared the German commander there might attempt to fight on.[40] In Operation Doomsday, Cain travelled to Oslo, Norway, with the 1st Airlanding Brigade on 11 May 1945. Working with Milorg (the Norwegian resistance), the British took the surrender of German troops in Norway without incident, before returning to the UK on 25 August 1945.[41] Having remained in the service of the South Staffordshire Regiment, Cain officially relinquished his wartime commission on 28 December 1945 and was granted the honorary rank of major.[42]
Later life[edit]
Upon leaving the army Cain went back to his pre-war occupation with Shell, living in East Asia and then West Africa. In 1951 he was elected to the Nigerian House of Representatives while working there.[43] He returned to Britain in 1965 and settled in the Isle of Man upon his retirement.[1][44]
Family[edit]
Cain had four children; his daughter Frances was married to Jeremy Clarkson between 1993 and 2014.
Death[edit]
Cain died of cancer on 2 May 1974 in Crowborough, Sussex. His body was cremated at Worth Crematorium and his ashes interred in the family grave at Braddan Cemetery on the Isle of Man.[1]
Memorials[edit]
There are several memorials in Cain's honour. King William's College has a memorial scholarship in his name and the chapel in the Hospice at Douglas is dedicated in his name.[2] An oak tree in Dhoon Arboretum, planted with acorns gathered from Arnhem, has been christened the Arnhem Oak in memory of his bravery.[45] His medal, Denison smock and the maroon beret he wore during the Battle of Arnhem are all held at the Staffordshire Regiment Museum.[44][46] His daughter, Frances Catherine Cain, unveiled a set of commemorative coins honouring her father on the Isle of Man in 2006.[47] She was married to British television and motoring journalist Jeremy Clarkson (divorced 2014), who presented a BBC documentary, "The Victoria Cross: For Valour" on Cain and other VC recipients in 2003.[48] Frances Cain was unaware of her father's VC until after he died because, according to Clarkson, "he'd never thought to mention it".[48]
Four other men were awarded the Victoria Cross after the battle, all of them posthumous: