14th Canadian Hussars

Lt-Col. D.S.F. Bult-Francis

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Lieutenant-Colonel Denny Bult-Francis
8th Reconnaissance Regiment (14th Hussars)
BultFrancis

The Dieppe raid was not a failure, but will go down in history as one of the great battles of the present war, not compared to the African struggle but as a necessary part of the Allied victory.

(quoted in Montreal Gazette, 24 Nov 1942, 4)

Born in Highgate, England on 28 August 1910, Dennis Scott Fead Bult-Francis was a former member of the British Army and the Palestine Police Force. He moved to Montreal in 1939 and joined the Black Watch on the outbreak of war. Overseas in 1941, he transferred to the newly formed 8th Reconnaissance Regiment. He participated in the Dieppe Raid of 19 August 1942 as a liaison officer to Major-General Ham Roberts.

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Lt-Col. J.F. Merner

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Lieutenant-Colonel Butch Merner
8th Reconnaissance Regiment (14th Hussars)
Merner

At this time of the year two things are inevitable, the after-festivities hangover and the CO’s more or less heartening message. Of the two my words are probably the more cheerful, as the hangover one can’t avoid, but this message need not be read. For those of you who have got this far it is obvious that you have nothing else to do so you might as well continue to the bitter end.

(Recce Zeitung, 1 Jan 1946, 2)

Born in Toronto in 1918, John Ford Merner was an original squadron commander in the 8th Reconnaissance Regiment and second-in-command during the Northwest Europe campaign. He served as acting commanding officer during absences of Lieutenant-Colonel B.M Alway and took over shortly before VE-Day. Before repatriation in late April 1945, Alway assured the unit his successor was “an experienced soldier who had been with the Regiment since its inception.”

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Lt-Col. B.M. Alway

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Lieutenant-Colonel Mowbray Alway
8th Reconnaissance Regiment (14th Hussars)
Alway

If I should not see you all again in a theatre of Operations, I ask that when you get back to “civvy street,” if you should at anytime see me, please let out a “yell” or make yourself known in some manner. If I recognise you I will do the same.

(Alway farewell address, war diary, 27 Apr 1945)

Born on 15 November 1910 in Hamilton, Ontario, Bruce Mowbray Alway was a graduate of the city’s Collegiate Institution and worked for a bank then a steel company. Although a member of the Royal Hamilton Light Infantry since 1935, he transferred to the newly formed 8th Reconnaissance Regiment in the January 1941. Just over three years later, he succeeded Lieutenant-Colonel F.A. Vokes, who had been assigned to the 9th Armoured (British Columbia Dragoons) Regiment in the Italian theatre.

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Brig. C.C. Mann

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Brigadier Churchill Mann
8th Reconnaissance Regiment (14th Hussars)
7th Infantry Brigade
Mann

It was like watching a demonstration of tracer firing punctuated with the flash and crash of guns from both sides and although it was a thrilling and spectacular display, it filled us with foreboding as we all realized that the chance of our effecting surprise was greatly diminished.

(Mann, “Notes on Dieppe,” 1942)

Born on 6 September 1904 in Nutley, New Jersey and raised in Toronto, Clarence Churchill Mann was an RMC graduate, horseman and captain in the Royal Canadian Dragoons. He was attached to the headquarters staff of 1st Division and acted an instructor at the first Canadian staff college in England before being appointed commanding officer the newly formed 8th Reconnaissance Battalion in March 1941.

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Lt-Col. J.R. Hopkins

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Lieutenant-Colonel J.R. Hopkins
14th Canadian Hussars

It was when I was an observer and we were being attacked by a German aircraft. My piloted manoeuvred us into a position where I could use my rear gun. The German plane burst into flames and we saw a man fall out with his clothes all burning … I was very pleased it was him and not us.

(Times Colonist, 14 Feb 1976, 47)

Born on 26 October 1886 in London, England, John Richard Hopkins was a Saskatchewan lawyer and decorated veteran of the Royal Flying Corps. A law student in Swift Current before the First World War, he had enlisted with the Royal Canadian Dragoons in September 1914, took a commission with the 18th Royal Scots in 1915 and transferred to the air force in 1916. As an observer and pilot he earned the Distinguished Flying Cross.

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Lt-Col. F.A. Vokes

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Lieutenant-Colonel Fred Vokes
8th Reconnaissance Regiment (14th Hussars)
9th Armoured Regiment (British Columbia Dragoons)
VokesF

I think in his last fight he must have been a little overzealous. But he always was a touraloo! type. He always had to be in the lead, where things were happening … As well he had a great belief in his own personal luck and tended to ignore the enemy’s shot and shell.

(Chris Vokes, My Story, 165)

Born in Ceylon on 29 September 1906, Frederick Alexander Vokes was the son of a British Army officer, an RMC graduate, and Permanent Force officer with the Lord Strathcona’s Horse. On the formation of the 2nd Canadian Division, in June 1940, Vokes became liaison officer for Major-General Victor Odlum before being given command of the 4th Canadian Reconnaissance Squadron in August. He was the young brother of Major-General Christopher Vokes.

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