Lieutenant-Colonel J. Aird Nesbitt
West Nova Scotia Regiment

“Monty runs his army, as I see it, on three main points—(1) Confidence—in each other and in our ability to beat the Hun. (2) Ruthless efficiency—you can deliver the goods or you get fired quickly. (3) Cheerfulness—everyone does his job cheerfully.

(Quoted in Jarymowycz, History of the Black Watch, 34)

Born in Westmount, Quebec in March 1907, James Aird Nesbitt was a McGill graduate and owner of Ogilvy’s Department Store in Montreal. Commissioned with the Royal Highlanders of Canada (The Black Watch), he went overseas in 1941 and transferred to the Cape Breton Highlanders (CBH), which deployed to the Italian theatre with the 11th Infantry Brigade in November 1943. “I went from private to brigadier-general in the army,” he later reflected on his military service. “And if anybody had told me during the 1930s that I would cross the golf course at Cannes with a tommy, I would have told them they were crazy.”

One of several Black Watch officers assigned to the CBH, Nesbitt served as headquarters company commander and later second-in-command under Lieutenant-Colonel R.B. Somerville. After distinguishing himself in the Italian campaign, in April 1945 Nesbitt was promoted and assigned to the West Nova Scotia Regiment, replacing Lieutenant-Colonel Frank Hiltz. “I found him to have a strong and pleasing personality with plenty of drive,” battalion chaplain Laurence Wilmot observed, “and reckoned he would have no difficulty in getting the very best out of everyone under his command.”

Nebitt led the regiment for the final battles in Northwest Europe and by June 1945 had become acting commander of the 3rd Infantry Brigade. On his return home to Montreal, he reported that the West Novas had fired the last shot of the war. When the press asked about future plans, he replied:

After I spend some time with my family I am going to Nova Scotia to see the next-of-kin of the boys who gave their lives over there from both the West Nova Scotia Regiment an the Cape Breton Highlanders.

While Nebitt remained active in the militia after the war, he devoted his focus to managing Ogilvy’s department store and building its exclusive brand. Known as “the Brigadier,” he retired in 1981 and died on 14 November 1985.