Lieutenant-Colonel H.B. Duthie

&
Major Alan Cockeram
Irish Regiment of Canada

I could give [the defence minister] names of officers who served in the militia in peace time, who are here doing senior staff jobs and who never saw active service. That condition is definitely wrong. I think everyone will agree that those of us who wore the uniform in peace time should fight in the front line.

(Cockeram, House of Commons Debates, 12 Jun 1941, 3926)

Born in Toronto on 28 June 1889, Harold Bruce Duthie was a contractor and First World War veteran. Commissioned on enlisting in 1917, he served with the Canadian Engineers in France during the final Hundred Days of the war. In 1938, he became commanding officer of the 1st Battalion, Irish Regiment of Canada, succeeding fellow veteran Lieutenant-Colonel Alan Cockeram. Born in Devon, England on 6 December 1894, Cockeram had earned the D.S.O. in 1917 and was member of parliament for York South. On the mobilization during the Second World War, Cockeram reverted from command of the 2nd Battalion (Reserve), Irish Regiment to go active with the 1st Battalion as second-in-command.

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