Agar Stewart Allan Masterton Adamson was a Canadian soldier who commanded the Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry from 1916 to 1918, during World War I Born into a well-connected Upper Canadian family, he married the Toronto heiress Mabel Cawthra.
32 Facts About Agar Adamson
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Agar Adamson fought in the Second Boer War and in World War I Adamson served with distinction in the Second Boer War, where he recommended Sergeant Arthur Herbert Lindsay Richardson for the Victoria Cross.
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Agar Stewart Allan Masterton Adamson was born in Ottawa on 25 December 1865.
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Agar Adamson was the second and last son of James Adamson and Mary Julia Derbishire.
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Agar Adamson's father was a lawyer in Ottawa and clerk of the Senate of Canada.
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Agar Adamson had a privileged childhood and was educated at the private Trinity College School in Port Hope, Ontario.
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Agar Adamson then studied in Corpus Christi College, Cambridge, originally planning to enter the church.
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Agar Adamson was an excellent athlete, played field sports and rowed, and won the Newmarket Stakes on his own horse.
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Agar Adamson threw himself into the social life of Ottawa.
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Agar Adamson had reached the rank of captain of militia by 1899.
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Agar Adamson was an heiress and a talented artist, with an independent personality.
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Agar Adamson was anxious to serve in the Second Boer War.
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Agar Adamson met his draft in Ottawa, left with them on 30 April 1900 for Montreal, and sailed for England the next day.
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Agar Adamson's troop saw action on 5 July 1900 at Wolve Spruit, where Sergeant Arthur Herbert Lindsay Richardson showed conspicuous bravery in rescuing a wounded man in face of a group of advancing Boers.
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Agar Adamson proved to be a natural leader, and was mentioned in dispatches.
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Agar Adamson was one of the first to enter Machadodorp.
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Agar Adamson fell ill in November 1900 and was sent back to England to recover.
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Unable to settle down, in late March 1902 Agar Adamson petitioned for a command and was appointed a junior Captain in the 6th Regiment, Canadian Mounted Rifles.
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Agar Adamson wrote to his wife from Durban expressing his disappointment.
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Agar Adamson was unable to obtain a post as a regular officer in a British regiment after the war.
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Agar Adamson failed in an attempt at farming, and in 1903, the Adamsons returned to Canada.
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In 1905, Agar Adamson left the Senate and moved to Toronto, where he became nominal head of the Canadian franchise of the Thornton-Smith Company, a British decorating firm.
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Agar Adamson used his connections to obtain a post as a captain in the Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry, and reached England with this regiment in October 1914.
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Agar Adamson wrote daily letters to his wife during his three years in the trenches.
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Agar Adamson was awarded the Distinguished Service Order for conspicuous bravery.
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Agar Adamson was wounded in the shoulder, but returned to his regiment in early 1916, and on 31 October 1916 was appointed regimental commander and promoted to lieutenant-colonel.
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In 1917, Agar Adamson caught trench fever and spent a week in hospital.
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Agar Adamson was forced to wear a monocle to supplement his good eye, and even with that had difficulty moving around the trenches at night.
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Agar Adamson soon recovered, but Adamson now became affected by posttraumatic stress disorder, causing depression and lack of judgement.
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Agar Adamson's marriage broke down, although there was no divorce.
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Agar Adamson survived two hours in the bitterly cold water, but died a few weeks later on 21 November 1929 in London, England.
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Agar Adamson's second son Anthony Patrick Cawthra Adamson was an architect, associate professor of town planning at the University of Toronto, chairman of the Ontario Arts Council, designer of Upper Canada Village, and a member of the Order of Canada.