Geoffrey Walsh

Geoffrey Walsh
Born	19 August 1909 Brantford, Ontario, Canada
Died	3 April 1999 (aged 89) Ottawa, Ontario, Canada[1]
Allegiance	Canada
Service/branch	Canadian Army / Canadian Forces
Rank	Lieutenant General
Commands held	Chief of the General Staff
Battles/wars	World War II
Awards	Commander of the Order of the British Empire Distinguished Service Order Canadian Forces Decoration

Lieutenant-General Geoffrey Walsh CBE, DSO, CD (19 August 1909 – 3 April 1999) was a Canadian soldier and Chief of the General Staff, the head of the Canadian Army from 1961 – 1964; Walsh was the last officer to hold this appointment as it was eliminated in 1964 as part of the reorganization of Canada's military in the lead-up to the 1968 unification of the Canadian Forces. The most senior army appointment after unification, the Commander of Mobile Command, had a much-reduced scope of authority.^[2]

Military career

Educated at St Catherine's Collegiate School, Walsh was commissioned into the Royal Canadian Engineers in 1930.^[3]

He served in World War II with the Canadian Army Service Force and took part in the Spitsbergen Raid in 1941.^[3] In 1942 he transferred to the 1st Canadian Division and fought in Sicily and Italy. In 1944 he was made Commander Royal Engineers for 4th Canadian (Armoured) Division.^[3]

After the war he was appointed Commander, Eastern Ontario Area, followed by Commander, 27th Brigade before his appointment as Director-General of Military Training.^[3] In 1955 he was appointed Quartermaster-General of the Canadian Army and in 1959 he became General Officer Commanding, Western Command.^[3] In 1961 he was made Chief of the General Staff and in 1964, became Vice Chief of the Defence Staff.^[3]

Family

In 1935, he married Gwynn Abigail Currie with whom he had one son.^[3]

References

1. Army Cadet League
2. Peter Kasurak, A National Force: The Evolution of Canada's Army, 1950-2000, (Vancouver and Toronto: UBC Press, 2013), pp. 95-99.
3. Biography on Army cadet history.com