Henry Crerar

Henry Crerar (1888-1965), Canadian general, the first Canadian ever appointed to the rank of full general while on active service in the field. Crerar was born in Hamilton, Ontario, and attended the Royal Military College in Kingston. In 1914 he served in World War I as a member of the First Canadian Division. At the outbreak of World War II he again went abroad to organize Canadian Military headquarters in London. In 1940 Crerar returned to Canada to become chief of the general staff. He returned to Britain in December 1941 to command the Second Canadian Division and later the First Canadian Corps.

He directed the operations of the corps in Italy during 1943 and 1944, and in March 1944 he assumed command of the First Canadian Army, which he led in the campaign in north-western Europe. In the fighting of the Normandy Campaign Crerar’s troops assisted in closing the Falaise gap, trapping 12 German divisions, and in clearing the coast of the English Channel from Le Havre, France, to Antwerp, Belgium. In February 1945 General Crerar led the assault on the northern flank of the German-held Siegfried Line, winning the battles of the Reichswald and Hochwald. In the final phase of the war Crerar advanced into the western and northern Netherlands and north-western Germany, putting an end to the V-bomb and -rocket threat to southern England. After the cessation of hostilities General Crerar returned to Canada, retiring from the army in 1946. He received numerous distinctions, which included becoming a Companion of the Order of the Bath in 1943 and a Companion of Honour in 1945.