Lt-Col. W.S. Rutherford

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Lieutenant-Colonel W.S. Rutherford
Stormont, Dundas and Glengarry Highlanders
Perth Regiment
Rutherford

The first act was a burlesque skit, most certainly not appropriate for Christmas, in which a bid randy lumberjack in this case none other than Lieutenant-Colonel Rutherford himself, rode into town to get himself laid. And who would his ravishing partner be but none other than the best female impersonator in the whole damn Canadian Army … As for the skit, it really wasn’t all that much in the way of a professional burlesque, or acting ability, but it sure did bring on the laughs.

(Stanley Scislowski, Not All of Us Were Brave, 101)

Born in Toronto on 26 September 1907, William Samuel Rutherford was a University of Toronto graduate, Shell Oil employee, and militia officer with the Toronto Scottish Regiment since 1929. He went overseas in December 1939 but returned to Canada later the next year when posted to the 9th Infantry Brigade as brigade major. The brigade, as part of the 3rd Canadian Division, departed for the United Kingdom in July 1941. By the end of the year Rutherford had become acting general staff officer with the division.

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Lt-Col. H.E.T. Doucet

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Lieutenant-Colonel Pot Doucet
Perth Regiment
Doucet

Immediately on the Canadian Army becoming operational, we began to get briefings twice a day at H.Q. about progress of the fighting on our own front and the other Allied fronts in France. Our briefing officer was Lieutenant-Colonel H.E.T. (“Pot”) Doucet of Montreal. “Pot” Doucet was the most able briefing officer any correspondents had helping them in France. Personally I have never known a better one anywhere.

(Ross Munro, Gauntlet to Overlord, 68)

Born in Montreal in 1907, Herbert Emile Theodore Pothier (Pot) Doucet was an engineer, Royal Military College graduate and militia officer with Royal Highlanders of Canada (The Black Watch) since 1929. He attended the staff college at Camberley, England in 1940 before returning as tactics instructor at RMC. He went overseas in October 1942 to serve as brigade major with the 1st Infantry Brigade.

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Brig. J.S.H. Lind

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Brigadier J.S.H. Lind
Perth Regiment
12th Infantry Brigade

… one of the figures in the lead carrier was none other than the CO himself, Lieutenant-Colonel Lind. That a man of his rank should be right up at the sharp end was a welcome surprise … Later when we were in Army Reserve at Caiazzo, he had pinned to his tunic, the medal and ribbon of the [D.S.O.]. awarded for his leadership of the regiment in this action. In effect, we the ordinary guys in the ranks won it for him. But what was there for us to show for these efforts? Not a damn thing!

(Stanley Scislowski, Not All of Us Were Brave, 220)

Born in Owen Sound, Ontario on 17 November 1908, John Skiffington Heming Lind was a cement company executive and member of the St. Marys town council. A graduate of the Royal Military College, he had belonged to the militia since 1932. He relinquished his position as second-in-command of the Perth Regiment to attend the staff college at Camberley, England in 1940. By the time the regiment departed for England, Lind had been appointed a brigade major overseas.

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Lt-Col. G.W. Little

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Lieutenant-Colonel G. W. Little
Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry
Perth Regiment
Little GW

My Brigadier, the son of a bitch, is still alive— I’ll kill him.

(G. W. Little on Brig. Gen. J. A. Clark, CBC Interview, 1964)

George Wilfrid Little was born on 1 November 1891 in London, Ontario. A graduate of University of Toronto and Western University, he originally enlisted with 5th University Company as a lieutenant in December 1916 before transferring to the PPCLI on the Western Front. Promoted to captain in August 1917, he became acting commanding officer on 28 September 1918 when all senior ranks had been put out of action.

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Lt-Col. S.H. McComb

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Lieutenant-Colonel S.H. McComb
Perth Regiment
McCombe

He had served during most of the Great War, and wanted to go again. Hadn’t he gone over with the “Old 34th” as a buck private, and hadn’t he earned promotions in the field, until he returned on demobilization with a commission?

(Windsor Star, 6 Jun 1940, 28)

Born on 29 August 1891 in Palmerston, Ontario, Samuel Herbert McComb was a brakeman for the Canadian National Railway and a First World War veteran. He enlisted with the 18th Battalion, which deployed to France in September 1915 and suffered shell shock at the Somme in 1916. He took a commission in the Perth Regiment after the war, rising to the rank of major.

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Sinking of HMS Attack

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Lt-Col. Low and the
Sinking of HMS Attack

On 30 December 1917 a German U-Boat torpedoed transport ship, HMT Aragon off the Egyptian coast. Emerging on the wrecked upper deck, Canadian passenger Lieutenant-Colonel Charles Adamson Low witnessed “about fifty men floating in the water, many of them past recall and badly mutilated from the effects of the explosion.” Over six-hundred passengers, troops and crew, including the ship’s captain, drowned. Low and survivors were picked up by an escort destroyer, HMS Attack …

Aragon page 9
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Sinking of HMT Aragon

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Lt-Col. Low and the
Sinking of HMT Aragon

After the 146th Battalion was broken up in October 1916, Lieutenant-Colonel Charles Adamson Low transferred to the Forestry Corps in France. While managing the overseas Unionist election campaign in December 1917, he was assigned by General Alexander MacDougall to undertake an important mission in the Mediterranean to investigate the quality of Cyprus timber. He neared his destination on board HMT Aragon in dangerous waters off the coast of Egypt on 30 December …

Aragon page 1A
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Lt-Col. F.L. Caron

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Lieutenant-Colonel F.L. Caron
12th (Three Rivers) Tank Regiment
Caron

There was a good deal of shelling, and continuous mortaring and sniping of our positions in the area. In spite of the enemy fire, Lt.-Col. Caron was continually among the forward positions personally supervising the employment of his Squadrons and seeking information about the enemy, which he might employ to advantage.

(D.S.O. citation, 30 June 1945)

Born in Montreal on 11 November 1918, Fernand Ludger Caron was a University of Montreal graduate and an accountant in civil life. He volunteered for active service in September 1939 and was soon commissioned with the Régiment de Trois-Rivières and rose to second-in-command of the redesignated 12th Tank Regiment in 1943.

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At the Sharpe End

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The Story of Lt-Col. Sam Sharpe

Further reading: Mathew Barrett, “’Absolutely Incapable of Carrying On’: Shell Shock, Suicide, and the Death of Lieutenant Colonel Sam Sharpe,” Canadian Military History http://scholars.wlu.ca/cmh/vol25/iss1/19

In November 1915, Samuel Simpson Sharpe, Conservative member of parliament for Ontario North, organized the 116th Battalion and began recruiting men throughout Ontario County. After departing Canada on 23 July 1916, the 116th arrived for training in England. While almost all high-numbered battalions were broken up, Sharpe managed to ensure that much of 116th remained together when deployed to the Western Front in February 1917.

Sharpe 2023 1
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Brig. J.F. Bingham

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Brigadier John F. Bingham
Royal Canadian Dragoons
12th (Three Rivers) Tank Regiment
2nd Armoured Brigade
Bingham

The Regiment’s new C.O. is, very temporarily, Lt. Col. J.F. Bingham. A member of the general staff, he has come to serve out his mandatory one month in action, in order to qualify for promotion to brigadier.

(Charles Prieur, War Chronicles, 204)

Born in Winnipeg on 6 August 1911, John Francis Bingham was a fencer in youth and son of the former commanding officer of the Fort Garry Horse. Commissioned in the Lord Strathcona’s Horse in 1933, Bingham rose quickly after the outbreak of the Second World War from captain to lieutenant colonel. In June 1942, he became commanding officer of the Royal Canadian Dragoons (Armoured Car Regiment), which arrived at Sicily in November 1943 and entered the Italian theatre in January.

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