Harry Crerar
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| The Honourable Henry Duncan Graham (Harry) Crerar | |
|---|---|
| April 28, 1888 - April 1, 1965 | |
 General The Honourable Henry Duncan Graham (Harry) Crerar |
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| Place of birth | Hamilton, Ontario |
| Place of death | Ottawa, Ontario |
| Allegiance | Canada |
| Service/branch | Army |
| Years of service | 1910 - 1946 |
| Rank | General |
| Commands held | Director of Military Operations & Military Intelligence (1935 - 1938) Commandant of Royal Military College of Canada (1938 - 1939) Chief of General Staff, National Defence Headquarters (1940 - 1941) 2nd Canadian Infantry Division (1941 - 1942) I Canadian Corps (1942 - 1944) 1st Canadian Army (1944 - 1946) |
| Battles/wars | World War I World War II |
| Awards | CH, CB, DSO, KStJ, CD |
| Other work | Aide-de-Camp General to the King (1948 - 1951) Aide-de-Camp General to the Queen (1952) Queen's Privy Council for Canada (June 25, 1964) |
General Henry Duncan Graham "Harry" Crerar CH, CB, DSO, KStJ, CD, PC (April 28, 1888 - April 1, 1965) was a Canadian general and the country's "leading field commander" in World War II.
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[edit] Early years
Born in Hamilton, Ontario, he died in Ottawa, Ontario. Prior to his military service, he worked as an engineer with the Hydro Electric Power Commission of Ontario, where he founded the research department in 1912. He attended and graduated from Upper Canada College and Highfield School in Hamilton in 1906, and then went to the Royal Military College of Canada, in Kingston, Ontario graduating in 1910. He rose to the rank of lieutenant-colonel of artillery in World War I. Unlike most officers, he remained in the army after the war.
[edit] World War II
In World War II, he commanded various Canadian formations, finally the 1st Canadian Army during the final campaigns in north-west Europe in 1944 - 1945. Crerar was on the September 18, 1944 cover of Time magazine. He was promoted to full general in November 1944.
Crerar was recovering from a bout of dysentery during the Battle of the Scheldt and his role as General Officer Commanding was assumed by Lieutenant-General Guy Simonds.
He has been described as an able administrator and politically astute, assessments of his performance as a military commander range from "mediocre" to "competent". [1]
[edit] Post-war
Crerar retired from the army in 1946 and later occupied diplomatic postings in Czechoslovakia, the Netherlands and Japan.
He was sworn into the Queen's Privy Council for Canada on June 25, 1964.
[edit] Tribute
The Crerar neighbourhood on the Hamilton, Ontario mountain is named after him. It is bounded by the Lincoln M. Alexander Parkway (north), Stone Church Road East (south), Upper Wellington Street (west) and Upper Wentworth Street (east). Landmarks in this neighbourhood include Ebenezer Villa (retirement home) and Crerar Park, also named after him.
[edit] References
- MapArt Golden Horseshoe Atlas - Page 657 - Grids M13, M14
- J.L. Granatstein. The Generals : the Canadian Army's Senior Commanders in the Second World War (Toronto, 1993). ISBN 0-7737-5728-7
- "Hillfield-Strathallan College celebrates 100 years", The Spectator. Hamilton, Ont.: Sep 8, 2001. pg. A.08
- Juno Beach Centre - General H.D.G. Crerar
| Military offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Thomas Victor Anderson |
Chief of the General Staff 1940-1941 |
Succeeded by Kenneth Stuart |
