Lieutenant-Colonel R.D. King
West Nova Scotia Regiment

There is no doubt that Col. King’s devotion to duty, both in the necessary administrative work prior to the operation and in the performance of his duties during the operation, contributed very considerably to the success of our attack on Dieppe.

(D.S.O. citation, 14 Sept 1942)

Born in Halifax on 29 April 1897, Robert Douglas King was drafted under the Military Service Act in June 1918 but would be discharged at the end of the year before going overseas. He however remained in the militia and would be commissioned in the Princess Louise Fusiliers. In 1940 he was appointed deputy assistant quartermaster general. While attached to 2nd Canadian Infantry Division, he earned the Distinguished Service Order for his “contribution to the success” of the Dieppe Raid on 19 August 1942, an operation not generally known as a success.

In addition to the administrative and logistic work prior to the raid, during the operation, King took over a landing craft after Brigadier S. Lett was wounded. He facilitated the repair of the craft and its evacuation. The D.S.O. citation read in part: “Cool and self-possessed, he showed complete disregard for his personal safety thereby setting a most valuable example to those about him.”

In January 1943, he succeeded Lieutenant-Colonel M.P. Bogert in command of the West Nova Scotia Regiment. He oversaw training and exercises in the lead up to the 1st Division’s first deployment in action that summer. However, in June 1943, just prior to sailing for the Mediterranean, WNSR officers staged a near mutiny and demanded a change in command. They had lost confidence in King and wanted a leader they trusted in battle. One officer later explained:

Like other regiments he had our problems from a command point of view. Prior to sailing for the Mediterranean we had serious difficulties. We, the officers of the regiment, asked that Lieutenant Colonel Bogert come back … At the very last minute he came on board–never did you see such a happy group … He was always very patient with the junior officers and taught us a great deal.

King and his second-in-command Major F.B. Courtney were reassigned and their replacements Bogert and Major R.S.E. Waterman headed the West Novas in the landings at Sicily on 10 July 1943.

King was attached to Canadian Army headquarters and by the end of the war in Europe was camp commandant for the Canadian forces in the Netherlands.