Maj. B.D. Lyon

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Major Bert Lyon
27th Armoured (Sherbrooke Fusilier) Regiment
Lyon

A farewell party was given in the Officer’s Mess last night for Major B.D. Lyon who will be leaving soon to return to Canada. He was presented with a silver cigarette box by Major D.W. Beaudry, who in a few well chosen words expressed our regrets and assured him that our best wishes would go with him.

(War diary, 13 March 1943)

Born on 2 June 1905 in Island Brook, Quebec, Bertram Dawson Lyon attended McGill University and owned a Sherbrooke tobacco shop. In 1934, he was subject of an odd prosecution by the Crown, which argued that a whiffle-board made his shop a “common gambling house.” The judge immediately dismissed the case ruling that “the machine was in itself no more a gambling device than a billiard table or bowling alley.”

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Maj. J.C. Cave

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Major John C. Cave
27th Armoured (Sherbrooke Fusilier) Regiment
Cave

It’s a strange thing I can remember in detail what happened between 1925 and 1939, and yet the war years I guess I don’t want to remember them. Because it wasn’t a very pleasant thing to see men killed. I never got any real opportunity to distinguish myself if I could have, I never thought about it.

(Cave interview, 24 Aug 1978)

Born on 24 December 1907 in Birkenhead, Cheshire, England, and raised in Winnipeg, John Clifford Cave was a Permanent Force non-commissioned officer and armoured corps instructor. He had joined the PPCLI in 1925, trained as a machine gunner and was posted to the army tank school in 1938. He was commissioned in 1940 and served as tank instructor at Fort Knox, Kentucky before being assigned to the 4th Division under General F.F. Worthington.

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Lt-Col. J.A. Biron

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Lieutenant-Colonel J. Aimé Biron
27th Armoured (Sherbrooke Fusilier) Regiment
Fusiliers de Sherbrooke

Major Biron has always taken a great interest in the welfare of the men and he will be missed by everyone, perhaps more by the French elements of the Unit of which he was a representative.

(War diary, 30 Apr 1942)

Born on 9 July 1902 Coaticook, Quebec, Joseph Aimé Biron was a longtime militia member of Les Fusiliers de Sherbrooke since 1920. He joined as a private and was commissioned in 1923. When the Sherbrooke Fusilier Regiment was formed in July 1940 from the amalgamation of the English and French Sherbrooke militia regiments, Biron became second-in-command under Lieutenant-Colonel M.W. McA’Nulty. In February 1942, following garrison duty in Newfoundland Biron assumed command of the bilingual unit when McA’Nulty went overseas for training in England.

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Lt-Col. M.W. McA’Nulty

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Lieutenant-Colonel Matthias McA’Nulty
27th Armoured (Sherbrooke Fusilier) Regiment
McANulty

Col. M.W. McA’Nulty, Canadian officer chosen to take back Hong Kong and evacuate Canadian prisoners of war in Japan, told … it was not the atomic bomb which made the Japs call it quits, but the terrible pounding they took from the American B-29’s.

(St. Johnsbury Republican, 22 Mar 1946, 1)

Born on 17 February 1893 in Point Alexander, Ontario, Matthias William Cyrus McA’Nulty was a stockbroker in the Eastern Townships of Quebec, commandant of the Cadet Officer Training Corps at Bishop’s College and commanding officer of the Sherbrooke Regiment from 1924 to 1930. During the First World War, he had enlisted with the Railway Construction and Forestry Depot as a lieutenant in August 1917 and went to France on a draft to the Canadian Machine Gun Corps a year later. McA’Nulty took command of the Regiment again in 1939.

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Lt-Col. E.M. Wilson

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Lieutenant-Colonel E.M. Wilson
10th Armoured (Fort Garry Horse) Regiment
WilsonEM

His relations with the other arms throughout could not be improved upon. His never failing willingness to help, and his quick appreciation of the difficulties faced by the infantry greatly eased the task of every infantry commander. LCol Wilson by frequently visiting the forward areas, which involved trips of a most hazardous nature over routes only partially cleared of the enemy, was always completely “in the picture” when called upon to undertake a new task.

(D.S.O. citation war diary, 16 Jun 1945)

Born on 1 March 1901 in Goderich, Ontario, Eric MacKay Wilson was a former school teacher and newspaper publisher. In 1939, he became managing editor of the Toronto office for the Montreal Star. A cadet instructor during the First World War, he was commissioned in the militia in 1924 and volunteered for active service in 1940. Following overseas training with an armour unit in England, he joined the Fort Garry Horse as a squadron commander.

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Lt-Col. R.E.A. Morton

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Lieutenant-Colonel Ronald Morton
10th Armoured (Fort Garry Horse) Regiment
Morton

He commanded our respect, our obedience and our love. On leaving he reported Officers are the soul of a Regt, the Sgts are its backbone. To write a biography of Col., MORTON is impossible here, but surely it may be and should be done elsewhere. “If I have built a good foundation, the Regt will be just / as well off without me.”

(FGH war diary, 28 Aug 1944)

Born in Toronto on 12 December 1900, Ronald Edward Alfred Morton graduated from RMC in 1923 and joined the Permanent Force. In October 1941, he transferred from second-in-command of the Lord Strathcona’s Horse to replace Lieutenant-Colonel S.J. Cox of the Fort Garry Horse. Despite eighteen years in Winnipeg with the LdSH, he was still viewed as an outsider but soon accepted as a “synthetic westerner.” He would serve as commanding officer for the unusually long period of almost three years, and led the FGH Tanks in the invasion of Normandy on 6 June 1944.

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Lt-Col. S.J. Cox

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Lieutenant-Colonel S.J. Cox
10th Armoured (Fort Garry Horse) Regiment
Cox

Everybody seemed to be in uniform. Women were much in evidence in all kinds of work and very enthusiastic about it. Traveling around, I found no names or directions, not even on stations. One has to follow a map; it’s very difficult at night in blackouts.

(Cox quoted in Winnipeg Tribune, 29 Oct 1942, 9)

Born in Kildare, Ireland on 5 July 1885, Samuel Joseph Cox had served three years with the South Irish Horse and belonged to the Fort Garry Horse since 1913 shortly after immigrating to Canada. A Winnipeg accountant, he volunteered as a lieutenant in August 1916 and served two years in France with the FGH. He became commanding officer in November 1936, when the unit was amalgamated with the Manitoba Horse.

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Lt-Col. W.D. Brooks

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Lieutenant-Colonel W.D. Brooks
6th Armoured (1st Hussars) Regiment

Major Brooks displayed outstanding leadership and inspiration to his squadron and is responsible for having placed a large proportion of his special assault tanks on the beach despite all hazards of weather, beach obstacles and enemy action. He immediately attacked the beach defences with great courage and skill which made it possible for the assault infantry to land on the beach and go forward to gain their objectives.

(D.S.O. citation, 31 Aug 1944)

Born on 2 June 1908 in Brantford, Ontario, William Dudley Brooks commanded “A” squadron of the 1st Hussars on D-Day. Launching experimental DD or Duplex Drive tanks proved a serious challenge for the squadron under difficult weather conditions and rough seas. Despite a late landing and several sunk tanks, Brooks directed seven DD tanks in support of the Royal Winnipeg Rifles, earning a D.S.O.: “The action and leadership of this officer largely influenced the success of the assault landing and the gaining of the beach head.”

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Lt-Col. F.E. White

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Lieutenant-Colonel Frank White
6th Armoured (1st Hussars) Regiment
White

When he landed on the beach on D-day between Courseulles-sur-Mer and Bernières-sur-Mer no exits had been completed and the beach was under heavy enemy mortar and machine gun fire and traffic was piling up. He got out of his tank and walked calmly up and down the beach endeavouring to find an exit. His example of complete coolness at that critical time was an inspiration to the officers and men of the regiment. His actions since D-day have continued to be outstanding to the highest degree.

(D.S.O. citation, 19 Apr 1945)

Born on 24 May 1909 in St-Faustin, Quebec, Franklyn Everhart White was the son of General John Burton White, head of the Canadian Forestry Corps. In the last war the elder White had commanded the 242nd Battalion and then served as Director of Timber Operations in the Canadian Forestry Corps. Following his father’s military service, Frank White graduated from RMC and joined the Permanent Force, taking a commission with the Lord Strathcona’s Horse in Winnipeg.

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Lt-Col. R.J. Colwell

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Lieutenant-Colonel Ray Colwell
Halifax Rifles
6th Armoured (1st Hussars) Regiment
Colwell

During this action Lt-Col Colwell organized and fought his Regiment with great determination and courage. His own tank was shot from under him, so he continued to direct from on foot … By his courage and determination he set an excellent example to all rank and fostered the fighting spirit of his Regiment.

(D.S.O. citation, 12 Jul 1944)

Born on 11 August 1899 in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Ray John Colwell was a businessman, retail clothier, and a former rugby and hockey player. He had joined the Halifax Rifles in 1917 and during the final stage of the First World War went to France just after the armistice as a lieutenant in the Canadian Machine Gun Corps. As commanding officer of the Halifax Rifles in September 1939, Colwell organized the mobilization of the regiment, and remained in command almost the next four years.

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