4th Princess Louise Dragoon Guards

Lt-Col. C. Petch

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Lieutenant-Colonel Charlie Petch
North Nova Scotia Highlanders
4th Princess Louise Dragoon Guards

France was tough from D-Day for a couple of months. Tough as you know what. But it was not Italy. Italy was a different show. In France we had the armor and the transport and the men and power. We drove and conquered. But in Italy it was a case of bracing the enemy and then when he gave, driving through.

(Ottawa Citizen, 4 Oct 1945, 13)

Born on 18 December 1904 in Manchester, Lancashire, England, Charles Petch came to Canada with his family as an infant. He graduated with a degree in commerce from McGill University and worked as an investment banker while also a militia officer with The Black Watch. He transferred to the 8th Reconnaissance Regiment as second-in-command in 1941. Following a series of promotions and senior officer courses, he was appointed commanding officer of the North Nova Scotia Highlanders in September 1942.

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Lt-Col. W.W.D. Darling

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Lieutenant-Colonel Bill Darling
4th Princess Louise Dragoon Guards
Darling

Little can be said about the C.O. that would do justice to a great leader, a wonderful Colonel. Certainly his departure leaves a gaping wound in our hearts, that nothing can ever heal. The C.O. had been with this Regt ever since its conception, and had come up through the various ranks until he became the Commanding Officer, and led this Regiment in all of its battles as an Infantry Unit.

(PLDG war diary, 8 Dec 1944)

Born on 19 April 1906 in Toronto, Warren William Gibson Darling was the son of the former commanding officer of the 48th Highlanders and joined the regiment himself in 1929. He went overseas in December 1939 and participated in the regiment’s short-lived deployment to France in June 1940. Darling helped to commandeer the French train which allowed the Canadians to escape German encirclement and return back to England.

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Lt-Col. F.D. Adams

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Lieutenant-Colonel Fred Adams
4th Princess Louise Dragoon Guards
AdamsFD

The manner in which Lt.-Col. Adams handled his Regiment in this very difficult operation is worthy of the highest praise and had a large share in the success achieved by the operations of 22 and 23 May when the defences were breached and further advance made possible.

(D.S.O. citation, 20 Jul 1944)

Born on 16 June 1907 in Calgary, Fred Dean Adams belonged to the Calgary (Tank) Regiment before the war, transferred to the Calgary Highlanders on mobilization then the Edmonton Regiment, and became second-in-command of the 4th Princess Louise Dragoon Guards in January 1941. He succeeded Lieutenant-Colonel Harry Foster of the re-designated 4th Reconnaissance Battalion on his appointment to general staff of the 1st Canadian Division in August 1942.

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Maj-Gen. H.W. Foster

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Major-General Harry Foster
4th Princess Louise Dragoon Guards
Highland Light Infantry of Canada
13th & 7th Infantry Brigades
4th & 1st Canadian Divisions
Foster

He was just as guilty of murder as I was at the time … or any other senior officer in the field during a battle. The difference between us was that I was on the winning side. That makes a big difference.

— Gen. Foster on Kurt Meyer

(Quoted in Tony Foster, Meeting of Generals, 1988)

Born on 2 April 1904 in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Harry Wickwire Foster left Royal Military College the in 1924 to take a commission with the Lord Strathcona’s Horse. His father, Major-General Gilbert Lafayette Foster, had been director of medical services for the Canadian army during the First World War. With the outbreak of Second World War in September 1939, Foster was appointed brigade major of the 1st Canadian Brigade in England.

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