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Distinguished Service Order
named to Canadian Lt. Col. Francis Pawlett

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Lt. Col. Francis Pawlett

Born in Leicester, England on 8 September 1879, Francis Pawlett served with the Imperial Yeomanry in South Africa from 1899 to 1903. He settled in Yorktown. Saskatchewan after the Boer War and joined the 16th Light Horse in 1910. In September 1914, the six-foot-four militia officer, nicknamed "The Giant," volunteered with the 5th Battalion. Pawlett was wounded on the front, invalided to England and returned to Canada in late 1915 to raise the 128th Battalion from Moosejaw.

After the 128th was broken up in England in August 1916, Pawlett joined the Imperial Forces and was seconded to the 2nd Battalion of the Duke of Wellington’s West Riding Regiment. He replaced Lieutenant Colonel William Gerald Officer on 28 April 1918 and remained in command of the 2nd Battalion until the end of the war. In September 1918, the G.O.C of the 4th British Division noted that under Pawlett’s leadership, “The Battalion has shown fighting spirit worthy of the best traditions.”

Following the reorganization of the postwar Canadian militia, Pawlett assumed command of the 3rd Battalion, North Saskatchewan Regiment. At the age of 42 he died from influenza on 29 January 1922. Source: Colonels of the CEF