9th Infantry Brigade

Brig. T.G. Gibson

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Brigadier T. Graeme Gibson
Royal Winnipeg Rifles
9th, 3rd, 2nd & 7th Infantry Brigades

We in Canada inherited the regimental system and reaped its benefits in World War II and Korea … In our regiments from coast to coast, the system kept the militia alive for more than a century in peacetime and provided a warm human environment to the Canadian fighting man in the brutal adversities of war.

(T. Graeme Gibson, National Post, 5 May 1973, 36)

Born on 26 April 1908 in Toronto, Thomas Graeme Gibson joined the Queen’s Own Rifles in 1925 and became a Permanent Force officer with the Royal Canadian Regiment in 1931. He attended the war staff college at Camberley, England and first served as liaison staff officer with the 2nd Canadian Division in 1940. Following general staff duties with 2nd Infantry Brigade he was appointed commanding officer of the Royal Winnipeg Rifles in January 1942. He succeeded two First World War veterans twenty years’ his senior.

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Brig. D.G. Cunningham

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Brigadier Ben Cunningham
Queen’s Own Cameron Highlanders
9th Infantry Brigade
Cunningham

I was always damned proud of my men. Never once did I hear of an officer or any man wanting to call it quits.

(Quoted in Kingston Whig-Standard, 6 Jun 1980, 7)

Born on 22 March 1908 in Kingston, Ontario, Douglas Gordon (Ben) Cunningham graduated from RMC in 1929 and studied law at Osgoode Hall. In addition to being lawyer and city alderman in Kingston, he was adjutant with the Princess of Wales’ Own Regiment, but he vacated all these roles to go overseas in 1940. He was appointed aide-de-camp to Major General Victor Odlum of the 2nd Division before serving as brigade major of the 4th Infantry Brigade during the Dieppe Raid of 19 August 1942.

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Brig. J.M. Rockingham

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Brigadier John Rockingham
Royal Hamilton Light Infantry
9th Infantry Brigade
Rockingham

During the action, Lieutenant Colonel Rockingham completely embodied the qualities of the infantry commander. He showed great coolness, good judgement, determination and ability as a leader. His dash and offensive eagerness infected the whole battalion and contributed in no small degree to the success attained.

(D.S.O. citation, 2 Aug 1944)

Born on 24 August 1911 in Sydney, Australia, John Meredith Rockingham grew up in Canada, Barbados, England, and Australia before permanently settling in British Columbia in 1930. Commissioned for several years with the Canadian Scottish Regiment, he mobilized for overseas service in 1940. Two years later he transferred to the Royal Hamilton Light Infantry, which had sustained heavy losses in the Dieppe Raid of 19 August 1942. He became second-in-command and succeeded Lieutenant-Colonel J.J. Hurley in April 1943.

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Brig. E.W. Haldenby

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Brigadier Eric Haldenby
48th Highlanders of Canada
9th Infantry Brigade
Haldenby

The people are simply magnificent. They do not complain. They realize that they are the front line of British defences and it was amazing the way they sprang into action when the air attack on Britain started. There is no panic or alarm … Germany will never succeed in breaking the spirit of the British.

(Haldenby quoted in Globe and Mail, 11 Oct 1940)

Born in Toronto on 5 June 1893, Eric Wilson Haldenby was an architect and First World War veteran. He had been commissioned with the 48th Highlanders and enlisted with the 92nd Battalion in August 1915. He served on the front with the 15th Battalion, earning a promotion to captain and the Military Cross for gallantry at Vimy Ridge and Hill 70.

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The Mountain Climber

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Lieutenant Colonel W. W. Foster, D.S.O., M.L.A
52nd (New Ontario) Battalion Foster

Billy Foster was a very interesting and safe companion, who always wore well no matter what the circumstances or the dangers might be. He was what is called a good mixer and always had an interesting and appropriate tale of experience, or a story, for that pause during a discussion or controversy which, if not pleasantly broken, might result in serious contention.

When there are more men like him to protect and guide its Nations, the whole world will be a safer and better place for all mankind.

(A. H. MacCarthy, Alpine Journal, 1954)

William Wasbrough Foster was a mountaineer, president of the Alpine Club and among the first to climb Mount Robson and Mount Logan, Canada’s highest peak. He was born in Bristol, England on 1 October 1876 and immigrated to Canada in 1894. Mount Colonel Foster on Vancouver Island is named in his honour.

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The First

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Brigadier General F. W. Hill, D.S.O.
1st (Western Ontario) BattalionHill

There was a bunk in there, and the brigadier was lying there and he was dead drunk. He looked up and mumbled something at me.

It was a pretty disgusting business.

(Lt. G. Rutherford, In Flanders Fields CBC interview, 1963)

Born on 28 July 1866, Frederic William Hill was a lawyer, former mayor of Niagara Falls (1898) and thirty-year member of the 44th Lincoln and Welland Regiment. When the First Contingent assembled at Valcartier in August 1914, Hill was appointed to command the 1st Battalion from Western Ontario.

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