Lieutenant-Colonel Frank Hiltz
West Nova Scotia Regiment

Maj. Frank Hiltz, a Nova Scotian … He had been running a variety of training programs at B Echelon and relieving the CO at times. Throughout those months he was among those left out of battle holding himself in readiness to take charge should the CO be disabled.

(Wilmot, Through the Hitler Line, 96)

Born in Halifax, on 9 July 1915, Frank E. Hiltz was the long serving second-in-command of the West Nova Scotia Regiment. He had joined shortly after Lieutenant-Colonel R.S.E. Waterman succeeded to command in December 1943. Hiltz took charge temporarily when Waterman was relieved in September 1944, but he would not officially assume command of the regiment until the removal of Lieutenant-Colonel A.L. Saunders in December 1944.

Although he had served as second-in-command for almost a year, the function of that position meant Hiltz had not had opportunities for actual leadership experience in combat. Battalion seconds-in-command generally were left out of battle and performed administrative duties behind the lines in case they needed to take over. Battalion chaplain Laurence Wilmot related the frustrations about the successor to Saunders from the company commanders:

who felt that the commanding officer should have been appointed from among the senior officers who had served through many months of bitter fighting, and several of whom were legends and would have had the full confidence of the men. Instead, they once again had a commanding officer who had never led men in battle, not even as a platoon or company commander, and they realized that the morale of the regiment was suffering.

In his memoir, Wilmot recalled praying for the new commanding officer’s success and worked with him to see to the welfare of the restless and somewhat demoralized soldiers. “I felt Frank was doing his best to cope with the problem that he had inherited,” the chaplain observed. “The men had been too long away from home and it was difficult to meet their needs in our situation.”

In February 1945, the West Novas along with the rest of I Canadian Corps relocated to Northwest Europe and participated in the liberation of Holland. On 22 April, Hiltz announced he would be relinquishing command of the regiment to go on leave. He was replaced by Lieutenant-Colonel J. Aird Nesbitt, a Montreal officer previously attached to the Cape Breton Highlanders.