6th Infantry Brigade

Maj-Gen. R.H. Keefler

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Major-General Holley Keefler
6th Infantry Brigade
3rd Canadian Division

Brigadier Keefler appreciating the need for quick and determined action and also appreciating the effect on morale the loss of their Commander would have on the troops of the brigade, took immediate command of the situation and directed the complete operation from the brigade level. Under heavy artillery and small arms fire, he personally visited the assaulting battalions, encouraging and directing the officers and other ranks and making tactical decisions on the spot. 

(D.S.O. citation, 17 Nov 1944)

Born in Weston, Ontario on 12 September 1912, Ralph Holley Keefler was a graduate of the University of Toronto and employee of Bell Telephone in Montreal. The son of a lieutenant-colonel, he joined the militia in 1925 and transferred to the artillery two years later. By 1938, he had qualified as a lieutenant-colonel and organized the first anti-aircraft battery in Canada. With the outbreak of war, he served as staff officer and later brigade major with the 2nd Artillery Division.

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Brig. H.A. Young

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Brigadier Hugh Young
6th Infantry Brigade

I have only been on the ranges twice and have never had a musketry course. Previous to enlisting I was going to high school in Winnipeg. I have always lived in the city and had no experience whatever with firearms. This was my first trip in the line and I was very nervous, being anxious to conduct myself properly. Thus, in the hurry and excitement of an ordered stand to, I had the accident … I deeply regret the accident.

(FGCM of Pte. H.A. Young, 27 Feb 1918)

Born on 3 April 1898 in Winnipeg, Hugh Andrew Young enlisted in the 251st Battalion in November 1916 and joined the 44th Battalion on the front in January 1918. Within two months, he was court martialled for negligently wounding a comrade, Private Ralph Thorpe, who died weeks later. Although his platoon sergeant testified that the shooting was “purely accidental” when Young was cleaning his rifle, the nineteen-year-old was sentenced to forty-two days field punishment No. 1.

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Brig. D.R. Sargent

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Brigadier Roy Sargent
Canadian Scottish Regiment
6th, 13th & 14th Infantry Brigades

With a last name like Sargent—Brig. Roy Sargent seemed destined to serve in the military, and that is exactly what he did for more than 30 of his 86 years.

(Nanaimo Daily News, 7 Nov 1981, 15)

Born on 8 October 1895 in Campbellford, Ontario David Ross Sargent had commanded the Canadian Scottish Regiment as colonel until 1938, when he retired to the reserves. He had enlisted with the 53rd Battalion as a private and took a commission with the 232nd Battalion in June 1916. He served in France with the 5th Battalion and demobilized at the rank of captain. He continued militia service with the Canadian Scottish, serving as 2nd Battalion commander in 1930 before promotion to colonel of the whole regiment in 1934.

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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.G. Gauvreau

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Brigadier Guy Gauvreau
Fusiliers Mont-Royal
6th Infantry Brigade
Gauvreau

Nous vengerons enfin tous nos amis qui sont restés sur lese plages de Dieppe. La tache sera dure parfois mais soyez tous assurés que vos efforts ne seront pas sans recompenses.

Les nouvelles de tous les fronts sont bonne, l’avenir s’annonce plus encourageante que jamais; seulement, il faut tous y mettre la main si l’on veut voir la fin de cette guerre.

(Gauvreau, “Ordre du Jour,” war diary, 8 Jul 1944)

Born on 12 May 1915 in Montreal, Joseph Guy Gauvreau was road secretary for the Montreal Royals, the professional baseball club partly owned by his father and vice-president Colonel Romeo Gauvreau. He graduated from McGill University in June 1939 and mobilized as a lieutenant with Les Fusiliers Mont-Royal a few months later. He served in Iceland and in England as aide-de-camp to general Bernard Montgomery. Having missed the Dieppe Raid, he was recalled from home leave in September 1942 to take over the battalion from Lieutenant-Colonel Dollard Ménard who had been five-times wounded in the battle.

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Brig. F.A. Clift

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Brigadier Fred Clift
South Saskatchewan Regiment
6th Infantry Brigade
Clift

It is believed that his wounds are not grave, but deep regret was expressed by every soldier who knew him, because Clift is not merely a master of organization but also a great fair-minded fellow who is a born leader.

(J.M.A. Cook, Star-Phoenix, 14 Oct 1944, 5)

Born on 17 May 1908 in Melfort, Saskatchewan, Frederick Alexander Clift was a school teacher and commissioned officer with the Saskatoon Light Infantry since 1936. After a year overseas, he returned to Canada be a machine gun instructor. He rejoined the SLI as second-in-command but was then appointed commanding officer of the South Saskatchewan Regiment in October 1942. “Col. Clift proved to be no exception to the list of outstanding C.O.s the regiment had been favoured with,” the regimental history declared. “He firmly believed that a battalion was only as good as its officers and for this reason the officers trained even harder than the men.”

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Brig. W.W. Southam

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Brigadier Bill Southam
48th Highlanders of Canada
6th Infantry Brigade
Southam

His voice was exceedingly cheerful throughout … There wasn’t a quiver in it and occasionally he would make some wisecrack. He was the same old boy through it all. We kept in contact with the brigadier all the time and between 1 and 2 o’clock he sent a message saying he could see some troops surrounded and out of ammunition down the beach and they were surrendering.

(Quoted in The Province, 24 Aug 1942, 22)

Born in Toronto on 11 September 1901, William Wallace Southam was a graduate of RMC and grandson of prominent Canadian newspaper publisher William Southam. He joined the family business as vice-president and managing director. Having belonged to the 48th Highlanders since 1922, he became second-in-command of the 1st Battalion on mobilization in September 1939. He participated in the aborted Second British Expeditionary Force to France, which ended in the battalion making a desperate escape by train in June 1940.

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Brig. Gen. Ketchen

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Brigadier General Huntly Ketchen
6th Infantry Brigade

Ketchen

Gather round, boys, I want to have a little talk with you. You’ve been under my command about nine months now, and I’ve always been proud of you, and now you are going up the line, and I want to say this to you: Don’t go up with any idea that you are going to be killed—we want you all to take care of yourselves and not expose yourselves recklessly.

 And remember a dead man is no use to us, we want you alive, and when we want you to put your heads up, we’ll tell you! And I’ve no doubt that you will only be too eager.

(Ketchen’s Speech, quoted in Pte. Jack O’Brien, Into the Jaws of Death, 1919, 54)

The son of an Indian Army officer, Huntly Douglas Brodie Ketchen was born in Sholopore, India on 22 May 1872. After graduating from the Royal Military College at Sandhurst, England, Ketchen moved to Canada, joined the North West Mounted Police in 1894 and fought in the Boer War. He was appointed to lead the 6th Infantry Brigade in May 1915.

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