Governor General’s Horse Guards

Lt-Col. A.K. Jordan

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Lieutenant-Colonel Kitch Jordan
Governor General’s Horse Guards
Jordan

Behind the footlights of the 1926 Cake-walk, Kitch set a new standard of pulchritude for chorus girls; since then his moustache has been second to none throughout the College. Born with a slide rule in one hand and a squash racquet in the other, he is a deadly shot with either of these weapons.

(RMC Yearbook, 1929, 34)

Born on 9 February 1908 in Meaford, Ontario, Alan Kitchener Jordan was an RMC graduate and mining company salesman in Toronto. He went overseas with the Governor General’s Horse Guards as a captain and served as second-in-command of the re-designated 3rd Armoured Reconnaissance Regiment in Italy. He succeeded Lieutenant-Colonel Ian Cumberland in June 1944 on his promotion to brigadier of the 5th Armoured Brigade.

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Brig. I.H. Cumberland

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Brigadier I.H. Cumberland
Governor General’s Horse Guards
5th Armoured Brigade
Cumberland

Swotty is one of those quiet unassuming lads who always seem to get there–where? oh, always near the top when exam results come out … It seems that Swotty was born with a rifle in his hands, for he is an excellent shot.

(RMC Yearbook, 1927, 34)

Born on 10 July 1906 in Port Hope, Ontario, Ian Hugh Cumberland (Wotherspoon) was an RMC graduate, businessman, and member of the Governor General’s Horse Guards since 1927. He had his name legally changed in the 1930s, dropping his father’s surname Wotherspoon. Following mobilization, he first served as adjutant with the GGHG and then second-in-command when the now redesignated 3rd Armoured Regiment when overseas in October 1941.

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Lt-Cols. R.P. Locke & H.M. Sharp

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Lieutenant-Colonel R.P. Locke
Locke
&
Lieutenant-Colonel H.M. Sharp
Governor General’s Horse Guards
SharpHM

We have lost a man of wide experience and sympathy, a good soldier and a man and have gained a worthy successor. There is one human touch to be noted: just as soon as the C.O., his 2 i/c and adjutant had passed the saluting base, Col. Locke half turned to Maj. Sharp and said “It’s all yours now, Buff” and from then on we were Buff Sharp’s command.

(GGHG war diary, 28 Sept 1941)

Born on September 2 November 1888 in Sarnia, Ontario, Russell Pierce Locke was a Toronto barrister commissioned with the Canadian Army Service Corps during the First World War. He served with the Fort Garry Horse in France just before the armistice. In April 1939, he took command of the Governor General’s Horse Guards, which mobilized as the 2nd Motorcycle Regiment in July 1940. By February 1941 it had been converted to the 3rd Armoured Regiment.

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