Major-General George Kitching
Edmonton Regiment
11th Infantry Regiment
4th Canadian (Armoured) Division

To command an infantry battalion must surely be the most rewarding command of any in the Army. It is the last time in the chain of command that you actually command men whose allegiance is to you because in our system the regiment or battalion is the cell on which brigades, division and corps are based. In the Army, loyalty is something that cannot be stretched too far. I do not think you can ask anyone to be “loyal” to a corps, division or brigade.

(Kitching, Mud and Green Fields, 130)

Born on 9 September 1910 in Guangzhour, Canton, China, George Kitching was a professional British Army officer and graduate of the Royal Military College at Sandhurst. Following Far East postings to Singapore and India with the Gloucestershire Regiment, Kitching suddenly resigned his commission and moved to Montreal in 1938. He joined the Royal Canadian Regiment on the outbreak of the Second World War and was attached with the 1st Canadian Division overseas as a staff officer.

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