Lieutenant-Colonel Bill Darling
4th Princess Louise Dragoon Guards

Little can be said about the C.O. that would do justice to a great leader, a wonderful Colonel. Certainly his departure leaves a gaping wound in our hearts, that nothing can ever heal. The C.O. had been with this Regt ever since its conception, and had come up through the various ranks until he became the Commanding Officer, and led this Regiment in all of its battles as an Infantry Unit.

(PLDG war diary, 8 Dec 1944)

Born on 19 April 1906 in Toronto, Warren William Gibson Darling was the son of the former commanding officer of the 48th Highlanders and joined the regiment himself in 1929. He went overseas in December 1939 and participated in the regiment’s short-lived deployment to France in June 1940. Darling helped to commandeer the French train which allowed the Canadians to escape German encirclement and return back to England.

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