Sydney Chilton Mewburn, (December 4, 1863 – August 11, 1956) was a Canadian lawyer, soldier, and politician. Born in Hamilton, Canada West, he was the

Minister of Militia and Defence The Minister of Militia and Defence was the federal government minister in charge of the volunteer army units in Canada, the Canadian Militia. From 1855 to 1906, the minister was responsible for Canada, Canadian militia units only, as the British ...

from October 12, 1917, to January 15, 1920, under

Sir Robert Borden Sir Robert Laird Borden (June 26, 1854 – June 10, 1937) was a Canadian lawyer and Conservative politician who served as the eighth prime minister of Canada from 1911 to 1920. He is best known for his leadership of Canada during World ...

's Union Government. Mewburn was Commanding Officer (

Colonel Colonel ( ; abbreviated as Col., Col, or COL) is a senior military Officer (armed forces), officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries, a colon ...

) of the

Royal Hamilton Light Infantry The Royal Hamilton Light Infantry (Wentworth Regiment) (RHLI) is a Primary Reserve infantry regiment of the Canadian Army, based at John Weir Foote VC Armoury in Hamilton, Ontario. The RHLI is part of 31 Canadian Brigade Group, which is part of 4t ...

(13th Royal Regiment as of 1910) and served during

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, he was a Major General (and Adjutant-General) in the

Canadian Army The Canadian Army () is the command (military formation), 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 re ...

before his appointment as Minister of Militia in October 1917. His son John Mewburn served in the

Canadian Expeditionary Force The Canadian Expeditionary Force (CEF; French: ''Corps expéditionnaire canadien'') was the expeditionary warfare, expeditionary field force of Canada during the First World War. It was formed on August 15, 1914, following United Kingdom declarat ...

and was killed in action during the

Battle of Flers–Courcelette The Battle of Flers–Courcelette (, 15 to 22 September 1916) was fought during the Battle of the Somme in France, by the French Sixth Army and the British Fourth Army and Reserve Army, against the German 1st Army, during the First World War ...

in September 1916. Mewburn was later the Chair of the 1920

Canadian Battlefields Memorials Commission The Canadian Battlefields Memorials Commission was a special commission established by the House of Commons of Canada, on the recommendations of the British Battle Exploits Memorials Committee. The Canadian House of Commons established the committe ...

, which selected the site for the

Vimy Memorial The Canadian National Vimy Memorial is a war memorial site in France dedicated to the memory of Canadian Expeditionary Force members killed during the Military history of Canada during World War I, First World War. It also serves as the place o ...

References

External links

1863 births 1956 deaths Canadian generals Lawyers in Ontario Canadian people of World War I Conservative Party of Canada (1867–1942) MPs Members of the House of Commons of Canada from Ontario Members of the King's Privy Council for Canada Politicians from Hamilton, Ontario Military personnel from Hamilton, Ontario Canadian generals of World War I 20th-century members of the House of Commons of Canada {{HistoricalConservative-Ontario-MP-stub