Lieutenant-Colonel Ned Amy
22nd Armoured Regiment (Canadian Grenadier Guards)

Ned and I were still writing frequent letters and in one memorable letter he proposed marriage. Since he wrote the letter while lying under his tank, I assumed that he may have been feeling depressed and might later regret his proposal; so I decided to ignore the offer. Ned was very amazed, as he was deadly serious.

(Jean Amy quoted in John Gardam, Canadians in War and Peacekeeping, 92)

Born on 28 March 1918 in Newcastle, New Brunswick, Edward Alfred Charles Amy joined the Canadian Armoured Crops following graduation from RMC in 1939, even through he was initially told he was too short for the army. He served in Sicily and Italy as a squadron commander with the 14th Armoured Regiment and earned the Military Cross at Moro River. In early 1944, Brigadier R.A. Wyman of 1st Armoured Brigade and other veteran officers from the Italian campaign including Amy and Major H.A. Smith of 11th Armoured Regiment returned to England in preparation for the invasion of France.

Amy and Smith joined the 22nd Armoured Regiment (Canadian Grenadier Guards), serving as squadron commanders during the operations in the Falaise Pocket in summer 1944. Amy earned the Distinguished Service Order for his actions in the liberation of the Netherlands in October and became second-in-command after Smith succeeded Lieutenant-Colonel W.W. Halpenny in December.

When Smith lost his leg in February 1945, Amy assumed command of the Grenadier Guards for the rest of the fighting in Northwest Europe. After VE-Day, he was assigned to command an armoured unit for the anticipated invasion of Japan and Major C.A. Greenleaf took over the Grenadier Guards. After the war, Amy became commandant of the Royal Canadian Armoured Corps School at Camp Borden. During the Korean War, he served as GSO 1 of the 1st Commonwealth Division.

Following an appointment to command the Canadian Dragoon Guards from 1953 to 1956, he held several postings with the United Nations in Cyprus and NATO Command in Europe. He retired from the Canadian Army with the rank of Brigadier General in 1972.

He died on 2 February 2011 in Halifax.