Harry Crerar Henry Duncan Graham " Harry " Crerar CH , CB , DSO , KStJ , CD , PC ( April 28 , 1888 – April 1 , 1965 ) was a Canadian general and the country ' s " leading field commander " in World War II . Early years . Harry was born in Hamilton , Ontario to lawyer Peter Crerar and Marion Stinson and died in Ottawa , Ontario . Prior to his military service , he worked as an engineer with the Hydro - Electric Power Commission of Ontario , where he founded the research department in 1912 . He attended and graduated from Upper Canada College and Highfield School in Hamilton in 1906 , and then went to the Royal Military College of Canada , in Kingston , Ontario . He rose to the rank of lieutenant - colonel of artillery in World War I . Unlike most officers , he remained in the army after the war . He was appointed Director of Military Operations & Military Intelligence in 1935 and Commandant of the Royal Military College of Canada in 1939 . World War II . He served in World War II , initially as a Brigadier on the General Staff at Canadian Military Headquarters in England . In early 1940 he was appointed Vice Chief General Staff in Canada and later that year became Chief of the General Staff . He became General Officer Commanding 2nd Canadian Infantry Division in England in 1941 , General Officer Commanding I Canadian Corps in England and then Italy in 1942 and General Officer Commanding First Canadian Army in North - West Europe in 1944 . Crerar was recovering from a bout of dysentery during the Battle of the Scheldt in October 1944 and his role as General Officer Commanding was assumed by Lieutenant - General Guy Simonds . Crerar was on the September 18 , 1944 cover of " Time " magazine . He was promoted to full general in November 1944 . He has been described as an able administrator and politically astute , assessments of his performance as a military commander range from " mediocre " to " competent " . Farewell . A farewell sign posted on behalf of Gen . H . D . G . Crerar to troops of the 1st Canadian Army departing from Holland in 1945 Post - war . Crerar arrived in Halifax , Canada , on the troopship SS " Île de France " , with 980 Canadian World War II veterans on August 5 , 1945 . He returned to Ottawa two days later . Crerar retired from the army in 1946 and later occupied diplomatic postings in Czechoslovakia , the Netherlands and Japan . He believed the Canadian Red Ensign should remain the national flag of Canada . Crerar was sworn into the Queen ' s Privy Council for Canada on June 25 , 1964 . Tribute . The Crerar neighbourhood on the Hamilton , Ontario mountain is named after him . It is bounded by the Lincoln M . Alexander Parkway ( north ) , Stone Church Road East ( south ) , Upper Wellington Street ( west ) and Upper Wentworth Street ( east ) . Landmarks in this neighbourhood include " Ebenezer Villa " ( retirement home ) and " Crerar Park " , also named after him . In Ottawa , Ontario a road is named after him that connects to Merivale Road , a major road in the city . Crerar Street in Regina is also named in his honour . A boulevard in the city of Kingston , Ontario is also named in his honour . Crerar Boulevard runs south from Front Road in the Point Pleasant district , near Reddendale . The tree - lined street is bounded by Bishop Street to the East and Lakeview Avenue / Gordon Street to the West . There is also a Crerar township close to Sturgeon Falls .