John Carl Murchie

John Carl Murchie
Born(1895-06-07)June 7, 1895
Edmundston, New Brunswick
DiedMarch 5, 1966(1966-03-05) (aged 70)
Ottawa, Ontario
AllegianceCanada
Service / branchCanadian Army
Years of service1912–1945
RankLieutenant General
UnitRoyal Regiment of Canadian Artillery
CommandsChief of the General Staff
Battles / warsWorld War I
World War II
AwardsCompanion of the Order of the Bath[1]
Commander of the Order of the British Empire
Canadian Forces' Decoration

Lieutenant General John Carl Murchie CB, CBE, CD (June 7, 1895 – March 5, 1966) was a Canadian soldier and Chief of the General Staff, the head of the Canadian Army from December 27, 1943, until August 21, 1945.

Military career

Murchie graduated with a Military Qualification certificate from the Royal Military College of Canada in Kingston, Ontario in 1915 during World War I. He served with the Royal Regiment of Canadian Artillery, Canadian Army, in France from 1915 to 1917.

He remained in the army during the interwar period, where he attended the Staff College, Camberley from 1929 to 1930.[2][3]

He also served in World War II and became a General Staff Officer at National Defence Headquarters in 1939.[4] In 1940 he became Director of Military Operations and in 1941 he was made Director of Military Training & Staff Duties.[4] Later that year he was appointed a Brigadier on the General Staff at Canadian Military Headquarters in England.[4] He then went on to be Vice Chief of the General Staff in 1942.[5] He served as Chief of the General Staff from 1944 until 1945,[6] and retired in 1946.[4]

He was awarded the CBE in the 1943 Birthday Honours list.[7]

References

  1. ^ "No. 36867". The London Gazette (Supplement). 29 December 1944. p. 109.
  2. ^ "Annual Departmental Reports". 1929.
  3. ^ Granatstein, J. L. (1995). The generals : the Canadian army's senior commanders in the Second World War. Toronto, Canada: Stoddart. p. 16. ISBN 0-7737-5728-7. OCLC 28020047.
  4. ^ a b c d John Carl Murchie at Generals.dk
  5. ^ 12 Ottawa citizens among 112 decorated Ottawa Citizen, 24 November 1943
  6. ^ Record Honours List for Canada The Canberra Times, 2 January 1945
  7. ^ "No. 36034". The London Gazette (Supplement). 28 May 1943. p. 2478.

Further reading

  • 4237 Dr. Adrian Preston & Peter Dennis (Edited) "Swords and Covenants" Rowman And Littlefield, London. Croom Helm. 1976.
  • H16511 Dr. Richard Arthur Preston "To Serve Canada: A History of the Royal Military College of Canada" 1997 Toronto, University of Toronto Press, 1969.
  • H16511 Dr. Richard Arthur Preston "Canada's RMC – A History of Royal Military College" Second Edition 1982
  • H16511 Dr. Richard Preston "R.M.C. and Kingston: The effect of imperial and military influences on a Canadian community" 1968 Kingston, Ontario.
  • H1877 R. Guy C. Smith (editor) "As You Were! Ex-Cadets Remember". In 2 Volumes. Volume I: 1876–1918. Volume II: 1919–1984. RMC. Kingston, Ontario. The R.M.C. Club of Canada. 1984
  • MapArt Golden Horseshoe Atlas – Page 657 – Grids M13, M14
  • [https://generals.dk/general/Murchie/John_Carl/Canada.html Generals of World War II[


Military offices
Preceded by Chief of the General Staff
1943–1945 		Succeeded by