Harry Crerar

Army officer

• Born: April 28, 1888
• Birthplace: Hamilton, Ontario
• Died: April 1, 1965
• Place of death: Ottawa, Ontario

Contribution: Harry Crerar was a decorated Canadian Army officer and diplomat and a leading field commander of Canadian forces during World War II. He is primarily remembered as a military figure who helped shape Canada’s contribution to World War II and who generated consensus between military and political leaders at the time.

Early Life and Education

Henry Duncan Graham Crerar was born on April 28, 1888, in Hamilton, Ontario, the oldest of four children born to Peter Crerar and Marion Stinson. From 1906 to 1909, Crerar studied at the Royal Military College of Canada in Kingston, Ontario. He joined the military before World War I and rose to the rank of lieutenant colonel of artillery. During World War I, he served with distinction in France and Flanders and received the Distinguished Service Order.

Military Career

Crerar continued his military career after World War I. In 1935, he was named director of military operations and military intelligence. In 1938, Crerar became commandant of the Royal Military College in Canada. He helped to shape the Canadian military as the country prepared to enter World War II, and once the Canadian war effort began, he was instrumental in overseeing details of its operation and setting up the Canadian headquarters in England.

At the start of the war, Crerar was a brigadier on the general staff at Canada’s British headquarters. In 1940, he was appointed chief of the general staff; from 1941 to 1944, he was responsible for the Second Canadian Division in England, the First Canadian Corps in England and Italy, and the First Canadian Army in northwest Europe. His responsibilities in these posts included dispatching Canadian troops to Hong Kong before it fell, leading Canadian forces in the Normandy Campaign, and expanding the size of the Canadian Army during a period of controversy regarding the draft. Crerar was promoted to full general in November 1944, after which he oversaw Canadian troops’ participation in some of the most important battles on the German front.

In addition to his insistence on the need for military preparedness and his defense of conscription, one of the hallmarks of Crerar’s military leadership was his advocacy of Canadian National Command autonomy. Though it was seen as part of the British Imperial Forces, the Canadian Army wanted greater control over how its soldiers were deployed. Crerar believed that Canadian commanders should make such decisions independently.

After retiring from the army in 1946, Crerar was appointed by Prime Minister Lester Pearson to minor diplomatic posts in Czechoslovakia, the Netherlands, and Japan. In addition to the Distinguished Service Order, he was awarded the Canadian Forces Decoration and the Order of the Companions of Honour and named a Companion of the Order of the Bath, among other decorations and accolades. The Crerar neighborhood in Hamilton, Ontario, was named in his honor.

Personal Life

Crerar married Marion Verschoyle “Verse” Cronyn on January 14, 1916. The couple had two children, Peggy and Peter, and were prominent in Ottawa social circles. Crerar died on April 1, 1965, in Ottawa.

Bibliography

Crerar, H. D. G. “Some Reminiscences of 1935–45.” Empire Club of Canada. Royal York Hotel, Toronto. 24 Nov. 1949. Empire Club of Canada. Web. 31 July 2013.

Dickson, Paul Douglas. “The Hand that Wields the Dagger: Harry Crerar, First Canadian Army Command and National Autonomy.” War & Society 13.2 (1995): 113–41. Print.

Dickson, Paul Douglas. A Thoroughly Canadian General: A Biography of General H. D. G. Crerar. Toronto: U of Toronto P, 2007. Print.

Oliver, Dean. “In the Shadow of the Corps: Historiography, Generalship, and Harry Crerar.” Warrior Chiefs: Perspectives on Senior Canadian Military Leaders. Ed. Bernd Horn and Stephen Harris. Toronto: Dundurn, 2001. 91–105. Print.