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 ...

Harry Farnham Germain Letson, CB,

CBE The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

, MC, ED, CD (September 26, 1896 – April 10, 1992) was an engineer, educator and

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

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 ...

and

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

Military career

The son of James Moore Letson, a founder of the engineering firm Letson & Burpee, and Mary Barbara McIntosh, he was born in

Vancouver Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the ...

. Letson joined the Canadian Militia in 1910. He was serving with the Western Universities Battalion at the start of

, soon afterwards became a

non-commissioned officer A non-commissioned officer (NCO) is a military officer who has not pursued a commission. Non-commissioned officers usually earn their position of authority by promotion through the enlisted ranks. (Non-officers, which includes most or all enli ...

and went with them to France in 1916. In 1917, he became a lieutenant in the 54th Battalion. He was severely wounded by

machine gun A machine gun is a fully automatic, rifled autoloading firearm designed for sustained direct fire with rifle cartridges. Other automatic firearms such as automatic shotguns and automatic rifles (including assault rifles and battle rifles) a ...

fire during a raid near

Vimy Ridge The Battle of Vimy Ridge was part of the Battle of Arras, in the Pas-de-Calais department of France, during the First World War. The main combatants were the four divisions of the Canadian Corps in the First Army, against three divisions of ...

and was awarded the

Military Cross The Military Cross (MC) is the third-level (second-level pre-1993) military decoration awarded to officers and (since 1993) other ranks of the British Armed Forces, and formerly awarded to officers of other Commonwealth countries. The MC i ...

. Following the war, he returned to Vancouver. He received an engineering degree from the Vancouver campus of

McGill University McGill University (french: link=no, Université McGill) is an English-language public research university located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Founded in 1821 by royal charter granted by King George IV,Frost, Stanley Brice. ''McGill Universit ...

, later the

University of British Columbia The University of British Columbia (UBC) is a public university, public research university with campuses near Vancouver and in Kelowna, British Columbia. Established in 1908, it is British Columbia's oldest university. The university ranks a ...

. He went on to earn a

PhD PHD or PhD may refer to: * Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), an academic qualification Entertainment * '' PhD: Phantasy Degree'', a Korean comic series * ''Piled Higher and Deeper'', a web comic * Ph.D. (band), a 1980s British group ** Ph.D. (Ph.D. albu ...

n Mechanical Engineering from

London University The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in post-nominals) is a federal public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The university was established by royal charter in 1836 as a degree- ...

. From 1923 to 1935, Letson was an associate professor of

mechanical engineering Mechanical engineering is the study of physical machines that may involve force and movement. It is an engineering branch that combines engineering physics and mathematics principles with materials science, to design, analyze, manufacture, and ...

at the University of British Columbia. He was president of the Professional Engineers Association of British Columbia from 1935 to 1936. He later took over the management of Letson & Burpee, one of the largest engineering firms in Western Canada. In 1926, he married Sally McKee Lang. In 1927, he became commanding officer of the militia unit

The British Columbia Regiment , colors = , colors_label = , march = "I'm Ninety-Five" , mascot = , equipment = , equipment_label = , battles ...

. From 1930 to 1935, he was commanding officer of the Officer Training Corps at the University of British Columbia. In 1940, during

, he was posted to

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

as military attaché to the Canadian joint staff mission. Letson helped conceive the

CANLOAN The CANLOAN program (or the Canada Loan program) was a scheme created in 1944 to loan officers from the Canadian Army to serve in British Army units. The program's initial aims were to help supplement the undermanned British Army officer corps and p ...

scheme while visiting Canadian Military Headquarters in London in October 1943. He was named

adjutant general An adjutant general is a military chief administrative officer. France In Revolutionary France, the was a senior staff officer, effectively an assistant to a general officer. It was a special position for lieutenant-colonels and colonels in staf ...

in Ottawa in 1942. In 1944, he returned to Washington as chairman of the Canadian joint staff mission. He served as secretary to

Governor General of Canada The governor general of Canada (french: gouverneure générale du Canada) is the federal viceregal representative of the . The is head of state of Canada and the 14 other Commonwealth realms, but resides in oldest and most populous realm, t ...

Harry Alexander from 1946 to 1952. He was advisor to the army on militia from 1954 to 1958. In 1963, Letson was named honorary colonel for the

British Columbia Regiment , colors = , colors_label = , march = "I'm Ninety-Five" , mascot = , equipment = , equipment_label = , battles ...

. Letson excelled at shooting and attended the

Army Operational Shooting Competition The Army Operational Shooting Competition (AOSC), is the British Army's premier shooting competition. Part of the Defence Operational Shooting Competition (DefOSC), it is based at the National Shooting Centre in Brookwood, Surrey. It also uses Mini ...

at Bisley five times, once as captain of the Canadian team. He served as president of the

Dominion of Canada Rifle Association The Dominion of Canada Rifle Association (DCRA; french: Association de Tir Dominion du Canada) is a Canadian shooting sports organization. It was founded in 1868 and incorporated by an Act of Parliament 63-64 Victoria Chapter 99, assented to Ju ...

and of the British Columbia Rifle Association. The Letson Trophy is awarded to the winning team in the Canadian Forces Small Arms Concentration. Letson was invested as a Commander of the

Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established ...

in 1944, and invested as a Companion of the

Order of the Bath The Most Honourable Order of the Bath is a British order of chivalry founded by George I of Great Britain, George I on 18 May 1725. The name derives from the elaborate medieval ceremony for appointing a knight, which involved Bathing#Medieval ...

in 1946. He was also awarded the

Efficiency Decoration The Efficiency Decoration, post-nominal letters TD for recipients serving in the Territorial Army of the United Kingdom or ED for those serving in the Auxiliary Military Forces, was instituted in 1930 for award to part-time officers after twe ...

and the

Canadian Forces Decoration The Canadian Forces' Decoration (post-nominal letters "CD") is a Canadian award bestowed upon members of the Canadian Armed Forces who have completed twelve years of military service, with certain conditions. By convention, it is also given to t ...

. He was nominated for the

Order of Canada The Order of Canada (french: Ordre du Canada; abbreviated as OC) is a Canadian state order and the second-highest honour for merit in the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, after the Order of Merit. To coincide with the ...

but died before the appointment could have been made. He died in Ottawa at the age of 95. Letson and his wife Sally helped establish the annual Sally Letson Symposium for the field of

ophthalmology Ophthalmology ( ) is a surgical subspecialty within medicine that deals with the diagnosis and treatment of eye disorders. An ophthalmologist is a physician who undergoes subspecialty training in medical and surgical eye care. Following a medic ...

, first held in 1967. Letson Hall at the

CNIB The CNIB Foundation (french: Fondation INCA) is a volunteer agency and charitable organization dedicated to assisting Canadians who are blind or living with vision loss, and to provide information about vision health for all Canadians. Founded ...

in Ottawa was also named in honour of Harry Letson.

References

External links

Generals of World War II
{{DEFAULTSORT:Letson, Harry 1896 births 1992 deaths University of British Columbia faculty University of British Columbia alumni Alumni of the University of London Canadian mechanical engineers Canadian Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Canadian Companions of the Order of the Bath Canadian recipients of the Military Cross Canadian Expeditionary Force officers Canadian Army generals of World War II Military attachés Canadian Militia officers Canadian military personnel of World War I Canadian generals Canadian military personnel from British Columbia British Columbia Regiment (Duke of Connaught's Own)