10th Infantry Brigade

Brig. G.S.N. Gostling

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Brigadier Guy Gostling Roy
Toronto Scottish Regiment
10th & 6th Infantry Brigade

We must look to the future. Already we have hovercraft which travel over land and water riding on a cushion of air; rocket harness for individual propulsion of foot soldiers over obstacles; reconnaissance “scopes” that see targets in the darkness; improved management and control techniques.

 All these things call for modernization of the armed forces set-up. Canada with its small armed forces is in an ideal position to do thus.

 (quoted in Toronto Star, 8 March 1967, 6)

Born on 13 August 1901 in Dorset, England, Guy Standish Noakes Gostling was a Toronto corporate executive, University of Toronto graduate, and in his youth a champion wrestler and tennis player. He moved to Canada in 1922, and worked in Winnipeg, where he joined the Grenadier regiment. He mobilized with the Royal Regiment of Canada in Toronto, serving overseas in Iceland and England.

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Brig. J.C. Jefferson

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Brigadier Jim Jefferson
Loyal Edmonton Regiment
10th Infantry Brigade
Jefferson

Jim Jefferson was not the “brass hat” type of Commander, and we can say that the men of his Regiment were really devoted to him, to the extent that they knew he would not send them into any kind of action that he would not take on himself. This feeling of confidence was frequently borne out during his various commands, from Company to Brigade. He was a fighting soldier who had the respect of officers and men at all times, and that says plenty.

(The Fortyniner, Jan 1974, 15)

Born in Northumberland, England on 6 January 1906, James Curry Jefferson joined the Edmonton Regiment in 1923, gained a commissioned four years later, and became a major in 1937. When General Bernard Montgomery inspected the battalion in early 1942, he had been unimpressed with the senior officers. Lieutenant-Colonel E.B. Wilson was removed along with several other older majors. Four months later, in December 1942, Jefferson succeeded Lieutenant-Colonel George Kitching, who had been brought in to “shakeup” the regiment.

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Brig. Gen. Hayter

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Brigadier General Ross Hayter
10th Infantry Brigade
Hayter

He was a splendid example of the Royal Military College graduate, and, although all his service before the war was with the British forces, he never lost touch with Canada and never lost his Canadian spirit.

(Arthur Currie, 19 Dec 1929, 3)

Ross John Finnis Hayter was a graduate of the Royal Military College and Boer War veteran with nearly twenty years’ service in the British Army. He was born in Assam, India on 28 February 1875. He served as a brigade major with the 1st Infantry Brigade during the second battle of Ypres and later joined the staff of the 3rd Division under the command of General Louis Lipsett. Continue reading →

The Brother

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Brigadier General W. St. P. Hughes, D.S.O.
21st (Eastern Ontario) BattalionWSHughes

It was such fighting ability that enabled my 21st Battalion to come home with the record of never having been given a black eye in over four years of active participation in the war. They never went after anything they did not take, and they never gave up anything they captured. Of the original 1058, less than 150 are now alive, most of them buried in Flanders’s Fields and in the Somme.

(W. Hughes, “An Appreciation,” in H. W. McBride, A Rifleman Went to War, 1935)

William St. Pierre Hughes was Inspector of Penitentiaries and commanding officer of 14th The Princess of Wales’ Own Rifles Princess of Wales’ Own Rifles. Born on 2 June 1864 in Darlington Township, Canada West, he was also the younger brother of Sir Sam, MP for Victoria and Minister of Militia. In November 1914, Hughes, a veteran of the Northwest Rebellion with over thirty years’ experience in the militia, took command of the 21st Battalion, based in Kingston.

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The Bulldog

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Brigadier General Edward Hilliam
25th (Nova Scotia Rifles) BattalionHilliam

Colonel Hilliam who was now our commanding officer, says that the 25th battalion made his name; but the 25th boys are equally positive that he made the battalion. It was truly wonderful the confidence we placed in him and he never disappointed us. He was very strong on discipline, and when all is said and done that is most essential in the army.

(Lieut. Lewis, Over the Top with the 25th, 1918)

Born in December 1862 in Spalding, England, Edward Hilliam was a soldier, policeman, boxer and swordsman. He had belonged to the 17th Lancers in the British Army before immigrating to Canada to join the North West Mounted Police in 1893. In 1899, he volunteered to serve in the Boer War and during the campaign, earned a reputation as an excellent scout and was praised as “a bold and resolute leader.”

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The Ruthless

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Brigadier General John M. Ross
29th (Vancouver) Battalion JMRoss

At the end of September 1916, twenty German prisoners were transferred from the 28th Battalion to the 29th under the command of John Munro Ross. After only eleven prisoners arrived to the “Corps Cage,” the 6th Brigade command staff began to make inquiries. Ross clarified the situation:

“The enemy party mentioned ran into bad luck and after a misunderstanding with one of my L.G. [Lewis Gun] crews they were too dead to be used as prisoners.”

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