Lieutenant-Colonel Doug Macbeth
Canadian Scottish Regiment

But I’d much sooner be dead honorably, than beaten to death in a concentration camp, or have you in one because I wouldn’t take the chance. I’m not going to take foolish risks, but I’m going to do my job for my men, for my unit and for my home. It’s not an adventure. It’s a serious job … I’ll be back this time, too, mum darling. I have to get the lads home too, don’t I? So please don’t worry.

(J.D. Macbeth to Madge MacBeth, 1940)

Born on 28 September 1901 in Detroit, Michigan, John Douglas Macbeth had ancestors and relatives on both sides of his family who fought in every war in North America up to the Fenian Raids, the Riel Rebellion, and the Civil War. “With such a record,” his mother, American-Canadian author Madge Macbeth, wrote, “what chance had I, as a cowardly, peace-loving person, to wean Douglas away from a military career?”

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