Harry Wickwire Foster Major General Harry Wickwire Foster , CBE , DSO , ( April 2 , 1902 – August 6 , 1964 ) was a Canadian Army officer who commanded two Canadian army divisions during World War II . He served in both the Pacific and European theatres . Early life . Born in Halifax , he was the son of Major General Gilbert Lafayette Foster , 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 , England ; Bishop ' s College School in Lennoxville , Quebec ; Royal Military College of Canada , Kingston , Ontario ; and McGill University , 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 Queen ' s Commission and a posting to the Permanent Force ( PF ) with Lord Strathcona ’ s Horse in July 2 , 1924 . As a young officer , he spent considerable time in debt : the army only paid 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 . By 1934 he held the rank of Captain . He attended the Staff College , Camberley in from 1937 - 1939 and was promoted to Major and posted as Brigade Major of 1st Canadian Infantry Brigade at the outbreak of the Second World War . In 1941 , promoted to Lieutenant - Colonel , Foster assumed command of 4th Reconnaissance Regiment - - 4th Princess Louise Dragoon Guards , the recently activated scout formation assigned to 1st Canadian Infantry Division in England . In 1942 , appointed CO , Highland Light Infantry of Canada He led Canadian troops in the Kiska campaign in 1943 ( Operation Cottage ) , 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 Unknown to the Allies , the Japanese had withdrawn three weeks before the attack .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 . ” In 1943 , he was promoted Brigadier and became the CO , 7th Canadian Infantry Brigade . , which landed on Juno beach on D - Day . In 1944 was promoted to Major General and took over 4th Canadian ( Armoured ) Division in Normandy relieving George Kitching . On September 12 , 1944 he entered the historic city of Bruges ( 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 , award only bestowed upon two people since 1900 : Foster and Hendrik Brugmans , first rector of the College of Europe . Later , swapping commands with Chris Vokes ( because Vokes had a poor relationship with new I Canadian Corps commander Charles Foulkes ) , he led 1st Canadian Infantry Division in Italy , then returned with this division to North - West Europe as part of Operation Goldflake . 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 of Canada ’ s top prisoner of war , SS General Kurt Meyer . 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 Army Command from 1946 . Upon retirement in 1952 he took the civilian appointment of Chief Administrator of the Central European District , Imperial War Graves Commission . 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 .