Victor Odlum

Lt. Col. Gardner

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Lieutenant Colonel Stan Gardner, M.C.†
7th (1st British Columbia) Battalion
Gardner

Lieut.-Col. Gardner is known and respected not only as a fighting man and successful officer, but also a true friend to the soldier who does his duty as it should be done.

(Daily Colonist, 15 Sept 1916, 5)

Born in London, England on 22 August 1880, Stanley Douglas Gardner was a member of the 22nd London Regiment before immigrating to British Columbia. A veteran of the Canadian Mounted Rifles in the Boer War, he enlisted as a captain with the 7th Battalion in September 1914. Stanley was soon appointed battalion adjutant but he was seriously wounded at Festubert on 25 May 1915 and invalided to England. Continue reading →

The Ambassador

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Brigadier General Victor Odlum 7th
(1st British Columbia) Battalion Odlum

Victor Wentworth Odlum was a curious specimen. Warfare fascinated him. It was said that he had taken to peacetime soldering because it presented an interesting problem, that he had set himself the task of mastering the psychology of war.

(Pierre Berton, Vimy, 1985, 114)

Victor Wentworth Odlum was a prominent journalist, businessman, diplomat and media tycoon. Born in Cobourg, Ontario on 21 October 1880, he moved to British Columbia as a young man to become a reporter and later editor for the Vancouver Daily World. A veteran of the Boer War and member 6th Regiment, he volunteered with the 7th Battalion in September 1914. He deployed to France as second-in-command.

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