Lieutenant-Colonel J.R. Roche
Régiment de Maisonneuve

To my personal knowledge he is a very intelligent, active and efficient officer. I would say that he probably had a good military knowledge on paper … I feel that after a short time he could be relied on to efficiently carry out orders given to him by a higher Commander, and to show good leadership in in his work. He is, of course, completely bi-lingual.

(Maj-Gen. Odlum to McNaughton, 5 Sept 1941)

Born in Ottawa on 18 June 1907, John Redmond Roche was a Montreal lawyer and superintendent of the Quebec provincial police. A graduate of the University of Montreal, he had headed the Cadet Officer Training Corps since 1938 and previously belonged to the Regiment de Chareauguay. He went overseas with the 1st Division general staff as deputy-assistant adjutant general in December 1939. He was briefly posted to France in May 1940 but returned to England “before things became hot.”

With Lieutenant-Colonel Robert Bourassa of the Régiment de Maisonneuve gravely ill in late 1940, Roche was considered for the appointment, which instead when to senior officer in the regiment, Major Paul Brosseau. “I have tremendous faith in the men themselves,” Major-General Victor Odlum reported of the francophone regiment, “All they need is good officers, and good officers cannot be found in adequate numbers.” Judged unfit to command Brosseau was replaced by Roche in December 1941.

Recalled to Canada six month later, Roche relinquished command to Lieutenant-Colonel M.L. De Rome. After his return home, overseas authorities discovered deficiencies in the regimental inventory likely dating back to Roche’s predecessor. When army accountants tried to recover a small amount from Roche personally, he replied, “I feel that I should not be held responsible for these deficiencies, or any portion thereof, and I hope that the explanation given will be satisfactory.” Finding that “the amount of loss over the period of almost three years was not excessive when the nature of training, etc., is considered,” officials wrote off the losses at the public expense.

In November 1942, Roche was promoted to colonel with National Defence Headquarters and served as vice-chairman of the officer selection, promotion, reclassification and disposal board. He resumed his law practice after the war and in 1948 was elected Union nationale deputy for Chambly in the Quebec National Assembly. Following his defeat in the 1956 provincial election, he became a judge in Montreal until retirement in 1977.

In addition to civic and philanthropic activities, Roche served a term as national president of the Royal Canadian Legion from 1970 to 1972.

He died in Montreal on 2 February 2005 at the age of 97.