Major-General Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of a ...

Charles Basil Price ("C.B." or "Basil"; 12 December 1889 − 15 February 1975) was a

Canadian Army The Canadian Army (french: Armée canadienne) is the command responsible for the operational readiness of the conventional ground forces of the Canadian Armed Forces. It maintains regular forces units at bases across Canada, and is also respo ...

officer who served in both of the

world war A world war is an international conflict which involves all or most of the world's major powers. Conventionally, the term is reserved for two major international conflicts that occurred during the first half of the 20th century, World WarI (1914 ...

s. He joined the

Victoria Rifles of Canada (For hearth and home) , colors = , colors_label = , march = "Huntsmen's Chorus" and '' Lutzow's Wild Hunt'' , mascot = , equipment = ...

in 1905 and received an officer's commission in 1914. Soon after, he responded to the outbreak of

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

by resigning his commission to join the

Royal Montreal Regiment The Royal Montreal Regiment is a Primary Reserve infantry regiment of the Canadian Army based in Westmount, Quebec. It is part of the 2nd Canadian Division's 34 Canadian Brigade Group. Lineage File:RMR Colour.jpg, The regimental colour of The R ...

as a company sergeant-major. He became a commissioned officer again through a series of promotions.

The Great War and after

As a major in the

, he received the

Distinguished Service Order The Distinguished Service Order (DSO) is a military decoration of the United Kingdom, as well as formerly of other parts of the Commonwealth, awarded for meritorious or distinguished service by officers of the armed forces during wartime, typ ...

and the

Distinguished Conduct Medal The Distinguished Conduct Medal was a decoration established in 1854 by Queen Victoria for gallantry in the field by other ranks of the British Army. It is the oldest British award for gallantry and was a second level military decoration, ranki ...

. He married Marjorie Trenholme (3 November 1891 – 1 September 1979) on 23 August 1915. The couple raised six children: Marjorie (1918–1988), Lyall (1920–1942), Helen (1922–2014), Ann (1928–1997), Isabel (1930–1997), and John (1930–1993). He was promoted to lieutenant-colonel and took command of the Royal Montreal Regiment until his retirement on 31 December 1929. As a civilian, he became managing director of Elmhurst Dairy. In January 1931 he became an alderman in Westmount. In 1939 he was President of the Brome Lake Boating Club at

Knowlton, Quebec The Town of Brome Lake (officially Ville de Lac-Brome) is a town in southern Quebec, Canada. The population as of the Canada 2011 Census was 5,609. Tourism is a major industry in the village of Knowlton because of skiing in the winter, lake activ ...

World War II and postwar life

He re-enlisted and was posted to the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

. As a major-general, he commanded the 3rd Canadian Infantry Division from 14 March 1941 until 7 September 1942, when he became the Overseas Commissioner of the Canadian Red Cross Society. In that post, which he held until the war ended, he strove to ensure that all Allied

prisoners of war A prisoner of war (POW) is a person who is held Captivity, captive by a belligerent power during or immediately after an armed conflict. The earliest recorded usage of the phrase "prisoner of war" dates back to 1610. Belligerents hold priso ...

received equal benefits, including one large

Red Cross parcel Red Cross parcel refers to packages containing mostly food, tobacco and personal hygiene items sent by the International Association of the Red Cross to prisoners of war during the First and Second World Wars, as well as at other times. It can ...

per month containing the best food available (white-flour biscuits; butter instead of oleomargarine, etc.). In 1944 he joined

John Bracken John Bracken (June 22, 1883 – March 18, 1969) was a Canadian agronomist and politician who was the 11th and longest-serving premier of Manitoba (1922–1943) and later the leader of the Progressive Conservative Party of Canada (1942–19 ...

's team as the Progressive Conservative candidate in

Saint-Antoine—Westmount St. Antoine—Westmount and Saint-Antoine—Westmount were federal electoral districts in Quebec, Canada, that were represented in the House of Commons of Canada from 1935 to 1968. "St. Antoine—Westmount" riding was created in 1933 from part ...

, and lost to the

Liberal Liberal or liberalism may refer to: Politics * a supporter of liberalism ** Liberalism by country * an adherent of a Liberal Party * Liberalism (international relations) * Sexually liberal feminism * Social liberalism Arts, entertainment and m ...

incumbent Douglas Charles Abbott by just 60 votes in the 1945 federal election. Later he retired and moved to Knowlton.

Sources

* Stacey, Colonel C. P. (1955). ''Six Years of War: The Army in Canada, Britain and the Pacific''. Ottawa: Queen's Printer and Controller of Stationery. * Vance, Jonathan F. (1997). ''Objects of Concern: Canadian Prisoners of War Through the Twentieth Century.'' Vancouver: University of British Columbia Press. * The Shawinigan Standard, 23 November 1938, Page 1.

References

External links

Generals of World War II
{{DEFAULTSORT:Price, Charles 1889 births 1975 deaths Canadian recipients of the Distinguished Conduct Medal Canadian Companions of the Distinguished Service Order Progressive Conservative Party of Canada candidates for the Canadian House of Commons Candidates in the 1945 Canadian federal election Canadian Army generals of World War II Canadian Expeditionary Force officers Canadian generals Canadian military personnel of World War I Victoria Rifles of Canada