Lieutenant General Maurice Arthur Pope, (9 August 1889 − 20 September 1978) was a Canadian Army officer,

civil engineer A civil engineer is a person who practices civil engineering – the application of planning, designing, constructing, maintaining, and operating infrastructure while protecting the public and environmental health, as well as improving existing ...

, and diplomat.

Military career

Born in August 1889 in Rivière-du-Loup, Quebec, the son of Sir Joseph Pope, Prime Minister John A. Macdonald's principal secretary, and grandson of Sir

Henri-Thomas Taschereau Sir Henri-Thomas Taschereau (October 6, 1841 – October 11, 1909) was a lawyer, politician and judge in Quebec, Canada. The son of Jean-Thomas Taschereau, Taschereau received his basic education at the Petit Séminaire de Québec from 185 ...

and William Henry Pope, he received a Bachelor of Science degree in engineering from McGill University in 1911. He worked for the

Canadian Pacific Railway The Canadian Pacific Railway (french: Chemin de fer Canadien Pacifique) , also known simply as CPR or Canadian Pacific and formerly as CP Rail (1968–1996), is a Canadian Class I railway incorporated in 1881. The railway is owned by Canadi ...

as a construction engineer until he joined the Royal Canadian Engineers as an officer in 1915. He served in the

Canadian Expeditionary Force The Canadian Expeditionary Force (CEF) was the expeditionary field force of Canada during the First World War. It was formed following Britain’s declaration of war on Germany on 15 August 1914, with an initial strength of one infantry division ...

(CEF) in France during World War I. After the war, he remained in the army and attended the British Army's

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 1924 to 1925. Among his fellow Canadian students there were

Ernest William Sansom Ernest William Sansom, (December 18, 1890 – October 18, 1982) was a Canadian lieutenant-general who was the 3rd ranking commander of Canadian troops in Europe in 1944 during World War II. World War I military career Born in Stanley, New Brun ...

, Harry Crerar and Georges Vanier, both of whom were in the year above, attending from 1923 to 1924. He later attended the Imperial Defence College. During World War II, he was brigadier general of the Canadian Military headquarters in London, vice-chief of the general staff in Ottawa, Chairman of the Canadian Joint Staff Mission in Washington, head of the Censorship Branch and military staff officer to Prime Minister

Mackenzie King William Lyon Mackenzie King (December 17, 1874 – July 22, 1950) was a Canadian statesman and politician who served as the tenth prime minister of Canada for three non-consecutive terms from 1921 to 1926, 1926 to 1930, and 1935 to 1948. A Li ...

. From 1945 to 1950, he was Head of the Canadian Military Mission in Berlin. He retired with the rank of

lieutenant-general Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a three-star military rank (NATO code OF-8) used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages, where the title of lieutenant general was held by the second-in-command on the ...

. From 1950 to 1953, he was the Canadian Ambassador to Belgium. From 1953 to 1956, he was the Canadian Ambassador to Spain. He retired in 1956 and lived in Ottawa. His memoir was ''Soldiers and politicians: the memoirs of Lt.-Gen. Maurice A. Pope C.B., M.C'' (University of Toronto Press, 1962). He also completed and edited his father's autobiography, ''Public servant: the memoirs of Sir Joseph Pope'' (Oxford University Press, 1960).

Bibliography

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References

External links

World War I Attestation paper
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Heads of Post ListMaurice Arthur Pope
at The Canadian Encyclopedia
Generals of World War II
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pope, Maurice Arthur 1889 births 1978 deaths Canadian military personnel of World War I Canadian military personnel from Quebec Canadian civil engineers Canadian Companions of the Order of the Bath McGill University Faculty of Engineering alumni People from Rivière-du-Loup Taschereau family Ambassadors of Canada to Belgium Ambassadors of Canada to Spain Canadian Expeditionary Force officers Canadian Army generals of World War II Graduates of the Staff College, Camberley Graduates of the Royal College of Defence Studies McGill University alumni Royal Canadian Engineers officers Canadian generals Canadian recipients of the Military Cross