Browse "Military"

Herbert Cyril Thacker, army officer (b at Poona, India 16 Sept 1870; d at Victoria 2 June 1953). Thacker, briefly chief of the general staff in 1927-28, was commissioned in the Royal Canadian Artillery in 1891.

Howard Douglas Graham, lawyer, army officer (b at Buffalo, NY 15 July 1898; d at Oakville, Ont 28 Sept 1986). A WWI veteran, having enlisted at age 17, Graham rose to become chief of the general staff 1955-58. He practised law in Trenton, Ont, 1922-39, and was mayor in 1933.

Hugh Cairns, VC, plumber, soldier (born 4 December 1896 in Ashington, Northumberland, England; died 2 November 1918 in Valenciennes, France). During the First World War, Sergeant Cairns was the last Canadian soldier to be awarded the Victoria Cross (VC), the highest award for bravery among troops of the British Empire.

Hugh Lester Campbell, air marshal (b at Salisbury, NB 13 July 1908; d at Ottawa 25 May 1987).

Hugh Palliser, naval officer, governor of Newfoundland (b at Kirk Deighton, Eng 26 Feb 1722/ 23; d at Chalfont St Giles, Eng 19 Mar 1796). He was a naval officer at the siege of Québec in 1759, and was appointed governor of Newfoundland 1764.

Huron Eldon Brant, Mohawk soldier, war hero, automobile mechanic (born 30 December 1909 in Deseronto, ON; died 14 October 1944 near Bulgaria, Italy). Brant was awarded the Military Medal (MM) for attacking a superior enemy force during the battle for Grammichele in Sicily (seeSecond World War) but was killed later during a battle on the Italian mainland (see The Italian Campaign).

Ian Willoughby Bazalgette, aviator (b at Calgary 19 Oct 1918; d in France 4 Aug 1944). He joined the Royal Air Force in 1941 and was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross for gallantry in 1943.

Indigenous soldiers, nurses, and ordinary civilians made a major contribution to Canada’s First World War effort. More than 4000 First Nations soldiers fought for Canada during the war, officially recorded by the Department of Indian Affairs (see Federal Departments of Indigenous and Northern Affairs). In addition, thousands more non-Status Indians, Inuit, and Métis soldiers enlisted without official recognition of their Indigenous identity. More than 50 Indigenous soldiers were decorated for bravery in action, including the Anishinaabe (Ojibwe) soldier Francis Pegahmagabow, Inuit soldier John Shiwak, and Cree soldier Henry Norwest.

In 1939, Canada found itself at war for the second time in a generation. As in the First World War (1914-18), thousands of Indigenous soldiers and nurses volunteered for the war effort at home and abroad, serving with distinction in the Canadian army, navy, and air force. At least 3090 First Nations soldiers enlisted in the Canadian military in the Second World War, with thousands more Métis, Inuit, and non-Status Indian soldiers serving without official recognition of their Indigenous identity.

In the very early morning of October 13, 1812, Major General Isaac Brock was fast asleep in his bunk at Fort George, on the Niagara Frontier.

Isaac de Razilly, naval captain, knight of Malta, colonizer and lieutenant-general in Acadia (b at Château d'Oiseaumelle, Touraine, France 1587; d at La Hève, Acadia 1636).

Isabel Janet Macneill, OC, OBE, naval officer and correctional system supervisor (born 4 June 1908 in Halifax, NS; died 18 August 1990 in Mill Village, NS). Isabel Macneill was a pioneering woman in nontraditional leadership positions. She was the first female commanding officer of a navy ship in the British Commonwealth and the first female prison superintendent in Canada.

Jack Hamilton Warren, public servant, banker (b in Howard Twp, Ont 10 Apr 1921).

Jacques Alfred Dextraze, "Ja Dex," soldier (b at Montréal 15 Aug 1919; d at Ottawa 10 May 1993). He served during WWII in Iceland, England, France, Germany and the Netherlands and was promoted from private to lt-col commanding the Fusiliers Mount-Royal.

Jacques Viger, journalist, author, militia officer, civil servant, politician, (b at Montréal 7 May 1787; d there 12 Dec 1858).

Jacques-Pierre de Taffanel de La Jonquière, Marquis de La Jonquière, naval officer, governor general of New France, appointed 1746, served 1749-52 (b near Albi, France 18 Apr 1685; d at Québec 17 Mar 1752). In 1746 La Jonquière was a veteran of 49 years in the French navy.

James Abercromby, army officer (b at Banffshire, Scot 1706; d at Glassaugh, Scot 23 Apr 1781). A career soldier, he came to North America in 1756 and was appointed commander in chief of British forces.

James Alexander Gordon, naval commander (b 1782; d 1869).

James Baby (bap Jacques), officeholder, politician, militia officer (b at Detroit, Mich 25 Aug 1763; d at York [Toronto] 19 Feb 1833).

James Miranda Steuart Barry, FRS (probably born Margaret Anne Bulkley), military surgeon, physician (born c. 1789–99; died 25 July 1865 in London, England). Posted across the British Empire, Barry reformed medical standards in the British army. His final and highest-ranking position was as inspector-general of military hospitals in the Province of Canada in the 1850s. After his death, it was reported that Barry’s assigned sex at birth was female. This has sparked significant debate about his identity.

Note on pronouns: This article refers to James Barry with masculine pronouns, as this was how Barry referred to himself throughout his life.