Lieutenant-Colonel Boyd Somerville
Cape Breton Highlanders

It was a joy to work under Boyd, and it didn’t matter to him if I was “under command” or “in support.” As an old soldier you can appreciate the difference. He never, ever gave me a direct order; it was always, “Tim, what can you do for me?” when he needed help.

(Tim Ellis quoted in Alex Morrison, The Breed of Manly Men, 213)

Born in Montreal on 19 June 1910, Robert Boyd Somerville was the long-serving second-in-command of the Cape Breton Highlanders (CBH) in England and Italy. The troops nicknamed him Pete the after the unshaven cartoon character “hobo with a gentleman’s instincts.” A former stockbroker and businessman, Somerville went overseas on active service with the Royal Highlanders of Canada before being transferred to the CBH under the command of fellow Black Watch officer Lieutenant-Colonel Jim Weir.

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