Harry Crerar

Harry Crerar was a senior officer of the Canadian Army who became the country's senior field commander in the Second World War as commander of the First Canadian Army in the campaign in North West Europe in 1944–1945. He was born in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada in 1888. He graduated from the Royal Military College of Canada in 1909 and was commissioned as a lieutenant in the artillery. He served in the First World War as a staff officer and was awarded the Distinguished Service Order. He remained in the army after the war and attended the Staff College, Camberley and the Imperial Defence College. He became the Director of Military Operations & Military Intelligence in 1935 and the Commandant of the Royal Military College of Canada in 1939. He was appointed the Chief of the General Staff in 1940 and was responsible for the organization and training of the Canadian Army. He was promoted to lieutenant-general in 1941 and took command of the 2nd Canadian Infantry Division in England. He later assumed command of I Canadian Corps and led it briefly in the Italian Campaign. He returned to England in 1944 and took command of the First Canadian Army, which consisted of Canadian, British and Polish troops. He led the army in the invasion of Normandy, the liberation of Belgium and the Netherlands, and the invasion of Germany. He was promoted to full general in 1944 and was made an Officer of the Order of the British Empire. He retired from the army in 1946 and was made a Member of the Order of Canada in 1979. He died of heart failure in 1965 and was buried in Ottawa. He was known as a competent and professional staff officer, but also as a cautious and uninspiring field commander.