Old Boy hailed as ‘Hometown Hero’ 77 years later

A large group of dignitaries, military personnel and community members gathered beside the Lachine Canada on September 21 to honour a Selwyn House Old Boy who is one of Canada’s greatest—and least known—war heroes.

 

James Campbell Clouston, who was born in Pointe Claire, attended Selwyn House sometime shortly after the school’s founding in 1908. There are no school records from that period, so the exact years he attended are unknown.

 

What is known is that after moving on to LCC and McGill, he enlisted in the British Royal Navy and rose to the rank of Commander. In May of 1940, at the Battle of Dunkirk, he saved the lives of hundreds of thousands of retreating Allied soldiers without firing a shot.

 

As officer in charge of the “Eastern Mole,” a 1250-metre pier that jutted into the waters of the English Cannel, Clouston was responsible for loading thousands of soldiers onto waiting ships and boats while the Luftwaffe strafed and bombed them from above.

 

After five days and nights of this ordeal, Clouston was given leave to sail to England with the rescued soldiers. After one night’s rest in England, however, he volunteered to return to the beaches of Dunkirk to save the French troops still waiting there. Tragically, on his voyage back to France, German planes destroyed his small boat, leaving the crew clinging to the wreckage in the cold waters of the English Channel. Refusing to leave his men behind, Clouston chose to stay with the boat. He eventually succumbed to exhaustion and died, having left a young son and a pregnant wife at home.

 

That unborn son, Moray Clouston, was present at the September 21 Lachine dedication with his wife, Margaret, and Milo Clouston, son of Campbell Couston’s older son, Dane.

 

The family members were joined in the ceremony by the mayor of Lachine and representatives of Parks Canada, The Royal Canadian Navy, Veterans’ Affairs, The Merchant Marine, the Canadian War Museum, Quebec Waterways and the Point Claire Yacht Club, as well as the Consuls-General of Britain, France and Belgium. Representatives of McGill, Lower Canada College and Selwyn House were also included.

 

A 30-piece military band and a two-gun canon salute added a touch of military pomp to the proceedings as a plaque commemorating Campbell Clouston was unveiled in the park overlooking Lac St. Louis, where Clouston learned to sail as a boy and won the Challenge Cup in 1913.

 

Campbell Clouston’s grandson Milo came all the way from Sydney, Australia to take part in the dedication. Actor Christopher Plummer, a cousin of the Cloustons, sent along a written message that was read to the crowd.

 

Campbell Clouston’s son Moray, who travelled from England for the ceremony, was obviously moved to see his father honoured by his native country. “This is emotional in a way I hadn’t anticipated,” he said.