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 Wickwire Foster (April 2, 1902 – August 6, 1964) was a senior

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 An officer is a person who has a position of authority in a hierarchical organization. The term derives from Old French ''oficier'' "officer, official" (early 14c., Modern French ''officier''), from Medieval Latin ''officiarius'' "an officer," f ...

who commanded two Canadian divisions during

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 ...

. He served in both the

Pacific The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the continen ...

and

European theatre The European theatre of World War II was one of the two main theatres of combat during World War II. It saw heavy fighting across Europe for almost six years, starting with Germany's invasion of Poland on 1 September 1939 and ending with the ...

Early life

Born in Halifax, he was the son of

Gilbert Lafayette Foster Major-General G.L. Foster KStJ, CB, MD, LLD, MD (29 May 1874 – 17 May 1940) was the 6th Canadian Surgeon General. Born in King's County, Wolfville, Nova Scotia, Gilbert Lafayette Foster was educated at New York Medical College, where he gradua ...

, who had been the director general of the medical services of the First World War. Foster was educated at King's College at Windsor, Nova Scotia as a cadet. He attended school at

Berkhamsted Berkhamsted ( ) is a historic market town in Hertfordshire, England, in the Bulbourne valley, north-west of London. The town is a civil parish with a town council within the borough of Dacorum which is based in the neighbouring large new town ...

, England;

Bishop's College School Bishop's College School or BCS is an English-language non-profit independent boarding prep school in Sherbrooke, Quebec, Canada for students in Grades 7 to 12.Thomson, Ashley; Lafortune, Sylvie (1999). Handbook of Canadian Boarding Schools. To ...

Lennoxville, Quebec Lennoxville is an ''arrondissement'', or borough, of the city of Sherbrooke, Quebec, Canada. Lennoxville is located at the confluence of the St. Francis and Massawippi Rivers approximately five kilometres south of downtown Sherbrooke. Lennoxvi ...

;

Royal Military College of Canada '') , established = 1876 , type = Military academy , chancellor = Anita Anand ('' la, ex officio, label=none'' as Defence Minister) , principal = Harry Kowal , head_label ...

, Kingston, Ontario; and

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 ...

, Montreal.

Military career

Having failed his third year, but with a Certificate of Military Qualification (which all cadets earned when they finished two full years at RMC) Foster withdrew from RMC to receive the King's commission and a posting to the Permanent Force (PF) with

Lord Strathcona's Horse Lord Strathcona's Horse (Royal Canadians) (LdSH C is a regular armoured regiment of the Canadian Army and is Canada’s only tank regiment. Currently based in Edmonton, Alberta, the regiment is part of 3rd Canadian Division's 1 Canadian Mechanize ...

on July 2, 1924. As a young officer, he spent considerable time in debt: the army paid only for saddle, harness, and stabling. He had to pay for his own horse (which cost nearly a month's salary) and for mess, uniforms, and tailoring. The Life and work Edward G Malindine, Photojournalist and Official Army Photographer 1906 - 1970 HU102819

The Life and work Edward G Malindine, Photojournalist and Official Army Photographer 1906 - 1970 HU102819

By 1934 he held the rank of

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

. He attended the

Staff College, Camberley Staff College, Camberley, Surrey, was a staff college for the British Army and the presidency armies of British India (later merged to form the Indian Army). It had its origins in the Royal Military College, High Wycombe, founded in 1799, which i ...

, from 1937 to 1939 and was promoted to major and posted as

brigade major A brigade major was the chief of staff of a brigade in the British Army. They most commonly held the rank of major, although the appointment was also held by captains, and was head of the brigade's "G - Operations and Intelligence" section direct ...

of the

1st Canadian Infantry Brigade The 1st Canadian Infantry Brigade was a Canadian Army formation that served with the 1st Canadian Division in World Wars I and II. In 1953 it was reformed in Germany, to become the 1 Canadian Mechanized Brigade Group in 1992. William Antrobus ...

at the outbreak of the Second World War. In 1941, promoted to

lieutenant colonel Lieutenant colonel ( , ) is a rank of commissioned officers in the armies, most marine forces and some air forces of the world, above a major and below a colonel. Several police forces in the United States use the rank of lieutenant colone ...

, Foster assumed command of 4th Reconnaissance Battalion (4th Princess Louise Dragoon Guards), the recently activated scout formation assigned to 1st Canadian Infantry Division in England. In 1942, he was appointed commanding officer of the 1st Battalion, The Highland Light Infantry of Canada. He led Canadian troops of the 13th Canadian Infantry Brigade in the

Kiska Kiska ( ale, Qisxa, russian: Кыска) is one of the Rat Islands, a group of the Aleutian Islands of Alaska. It is about long and varies in width from . It is part of Aleutian Islands Wilderness and as such, special permission is required ...

campaign in 1943 (

Operation Cottage Operation Cottage was a tactical maneuver which completed the Aleutian Islands campaign. On August 15, 1943, Allied military forces landed on Kiska Island, which had been occupied by Japanese forces since June 1942. The Japanese, however, h ...

), for which he was awarded the American Legion of Merit. Unknown to the Allies, the Japanese had withdrawn three weeks before the attack. Foster commented in his diary "I feel bloody silly coming all this way for nothing." 1st Canadian generals

In 1943, he was promoted to

brigadier Brigadier is a military rank, the seniority of which depends on the country. In some countries, it is a senior rank above colonel, equivalent to a brigadier general or commodore, typically commanding a brigade of several thousand soldiers. In ...

and became the commanding officer of the 7th Canadian Infantry Brigade. which landed on Juno beach on D-Day. In 1944 he was promoted to

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 ...

and took over

4th Canadian (Armoured) Division The 4th Canadian Division is a formation of the Canadian Army. The division was first created as a formation of the Canadian Corps during the World War I, First World War. During the World War II, Second World War the division was reactivated ...

in Normandy, relieving

George Kitching Major-General George Kitching (9 September 1910 − 15 June 1999) CBE, DSO, CD was a senior Canadian Army officer who saw active service in World War II. Early life and military career George Kitching was born on 9 September 1910 in Guangzhou ( ...

. On September 12, 1944, he entered the historic city of

Bruges Bruges ( , nl, Brugge ) is the capital and largest City status in Belgium, city of the Provinces of Belgium, province of West Flanders in the Flemish Region of Belgium, in the northwest of the country, and the sixth-largest city of the countr ...

(Belgium) with his troops. The liberation of this medieval town was done successfully, without fight or damage. In recognition for this achievement, Foster was named an honorary citizen of Bruges, an award bestowed upon only two people since 1900: Foster and

Hendrik Brugmans Hendrik Brugmans (13 December 1906 in Amsterdam – 12 March 1997 in Bruges) also known as Hendrik Bupatis was the son of historian Hajo Brugmans and Maria Keizer. He studied history of French literature at the Universiteit van Amsterdam and the ...

, first rector of the

College of Europe The College of Europe (french: Collège d'Europe) is a post-graduate institute of European studies with its main campus in Bruges, Belgium and a second campus in Warsaw, Poland. The College of Europe in Bruges was founded in 1949 by leading ...

Major General Harry Wickwire Foster Medals

Later, swapping commands with Chris Vokes (because Vokes had a poor relationship with new

I Canadian Corps I Canadian Corps was one of the two corps fielded by the Canadian Army during the Second World War. History From December 24, 1940, until the formation of the First Canadian Army in April 1942, there was a single unnumbered Canadian Corps. I C ...

commander Charles Foulkes), he led the

1st Canadian Infantry Division The 1st Canadian Division (French: ''1re Division du Canada'' ) is a joint operational command and control formation based at CFB Kingston, and falls under Canadian Joint Operations Command. It is a high-readiness unit, able to move on very short ...

in Italy, then returned with this division to

North-West Europe Northwestern Europe, or Northwest Europe, is a loosely defined subregion of Europe, overlapping Northern and Western Europe. The region can be defined both geographically and ethnographically. Geographic definitions Geographically, Northwe ...

as part of

Operation Goldflake Operation Goldflake was the administrative move of I Canadian Corps (in essence, all Canadian combatant units) and the British 5th Infantry Division from Italy to Northwestern Europe during the Second World War. British-led forces had been fightin ...

. Foster was said to have had a "hands off" style and loathed paperwork.

Post-war

After the war, Foster (with four brigadiers) presided over the

court martial A court-martial or court martial (plural ''courts-martial'' or ''courts martial'', as "martial" is a postpositive adjective) is a military court or a trial conducted in such a court. A court-martial is empowered to determine the guilt of memb ...

of Canada's top prisoner of war, SS General

Kurt Meyer Kurt Meyer (23 December 1910 – 23 December 1961) was an SS commander and convicted war criminal of Nazi Germany. He served in the Waffen-SS (the combat branch of the SS) and participated in the Battle of France, Operation Barbarossa, and ot ...

. The trial was a showcase for Canada, the first time that the country had conducted an international prosecution of this sort. Meyer was found guilty of three of five charges and sentenced to death. The sentence was later commuted to life imprisonment. When asked by his son (author Tony Foster) why the death sentence had been imposed he replied, "Because I had no choice according to those rules of warfare dreamt up by a bunch of bloody barrack-room lawyers who had never heard a shot fired in anger." Foster organized and commanded Eastern Command (Canada) from 1946. Upon retirement in 1952 he took the civilian appointment of chief administrator of the Central European District,

Imperial War Graves Commission The Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC) is an intergovernmental organisation of six independent member states whose principal function is to mark, record and maintain the graves and places of commemoration of Commonwealth of Nations mil ...

. In 1959, he married his third wife Mona Leonhart (née Parsons), a Canadian spy for the Dutch Resistance during the Second World War, and was appointed honorary aide-de-camp to Governor General

Georges Vanier Georges-Philias Vanier (23 April 1888 – 5 March 1967) was a Canadian military officer and diplomat who served as governor general of Canada, the first Quebecer and second Canadian-born person to hold the position. Vanier was born and ...

. Harry Foster had two sons, Anthony (Tony) Foster and David Foster. Tony Foster wrote a biography of his father's life, with particular emphasis on his interactions with Kurt Meyer, both on the battlefield and in the courtroom. Entitled ''Meeting of Generals'', the book won Canada's Evelyn Richardson Memorial Non-Fiction Award and the Canadian Authors Association Award for best Non-Fiction in 1987. The Foster family donated Harry's military uniforms, medals, battle maps and other historical items of interest to th
Army Museum of the Halifax Citadel
where they are part of the WWII display.

Notes

References

External links

Picture with Mackenzie KingVideo History Minute Mona ParsonsAnecdote why he never served in Ottawa
, - {{DEFAULTSORT:Foster, Harry Wickwire 1902 births 1964 deaths Canadian Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Canadian Companions of the Distinguished Service Order Royal Military College of Canada alumni Bishop's College School alumni Aleutian Islands campaign Graduates of the Staff College, Camberley Recipients of the Silver Star Officers of the Legion of Merit Officiers of the Légion d'honneur Recipients of the Croix de Guerre 1939–1945 (France) McGill University alumni Canadian generals Canadian Army generals of World War II Foreign recipients of the Silver Star Foreign recipients of the Legion of Merit Lord Strathcona's Horse officers Canadian military personnel from Nova Scotia 4th Princess Louise Dragoon Guards