E. L. M. Burns

Infobox Military Person


name= Eedson Louis Millard Burns
|caption= I Canadian Corps HQ in Larino, Italy, March 18th, 1944
rank=Lieutenant General
branch= Canadian Forces
commands= 4th Canadian Armoured Brigade, 2nd Canadian Infantry Division, 5th Canadian (Armoured) Division, I Canadian Corps
unit=
battles=World War I
World War II
family=
nickname= "Tommy"
allegiance=Canada
lived=June 17, 1897 – September 13, 1985
placeofbirth= Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
placeofdeath=
serviceyears=
portrayedby=
laterwork=
awards= Companion of the Order of Canada
Distinguished Service Order
Officer of the Order of the British Empire
Military Cross
Canadian Forces Decoration :"For other people named Burns, see Burns (disambiguation)."

Eedson Louis Millard "Tommy" Burns CC, DSO, OBE, MC, CD (June 17, 1897 – September 13, 1985) was a Canadian Army Lieutenant General and diplomat.

Early Education

“Tommy” Burns, student # 1032 graduated from the Royal Military College of Canada in Kingston, Ontario in 1914.

World War I

He fought on the Western Front with the Royal Canadian Engineers from 1916 to 1918.

Between the wars

He attended the School of Military Engineering, Chatham, England, and the Staff College at Quetta, British India, and was an instructor at the RMC in Kingston, Ontario. In 1939, as a Lt-Col, he attended the Imperial Defence College in London, England.

World War II

During World War II General Burns successively commanded the 4th Canadian Armoured Brigade, the 2nd Canadian Infantry Division, the 5th Canadian (Armoured) Division (January 1944 to March 1944), and then finally the I Canadian Corps (March 1944 until November 1944). His performance as a corps-level commander proved to be controversial, despite the successes of the Canadian forces in the Italian Campaign, and so he was replaced as commander of I Canadian Corps by Lieutenant-General Charles Foulkes.

Civilian life

He served as Deputy Minister of Veterans’ Affairs. He served as a President of the UNAC during the 1950s.

He played a critical role in the Middle East peace process from 1954 to 1959. He was instrumental in developing UN peacekeeping. As Chief of Staff in 1954, United Nations Truce Supervision Organization (UNTSO) was designed to maintain the General Armistice Agreements until permanent peace could be formulated.

He served as a Special Staff of the Truce Supervision Organization in Palestine (1954-56) with the Department of External Affairs and was thus nearby when the Suez Crisis of 1956 occurred. He led the UNEF from November 1956 to December 1959. He was Canada’s principal disarmament negotiator from 1960-68.

He held the chair of Strategic Studies at the Norman Paterson School for International Affairs, Carleton University from 1969-75. He wrote “Between Arab and Israeli” (1962); “General Mud: memoirs of two World Wars” (1970) and "Defense in the Nuclear Age" (1976).

Honours

In 1967 he was made a Companion of the Order of Canada for his services to Canada at home and abroad. He was described as a Former Chief of General Staff and Canadian adviser on disarmament in Geneva. He was the 1981 recipient of the Pearson Medal of Peace for his work in the military of Canada.

Memorial

A manikin at the Royal Military College of Canada wears “Tommy” Burns' khaki army uniform jacket, covered with medals and wrapped with a Sam Browne belt.

Grave

Burns' grave is in Kingston, Ontario.

References

*
*cite web|title=Lieutenant-General E.L.M. Burns|url=http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1G1-154332193.html

Books

*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
*H1877 R. Guy C. Smith (editor) "As You Were! Ex-Cadets Remember". In 2 Volumes. Volume I: 1876-1918. Volume II: 1919-1984. Royal Military College. [Kingston] . The R.M.C. Club of Canada. 1984

External links

* [http://www.unac.org/en/news_events/pearson/1981.asp Pearson Medal of Peace - E.L.M. "Tommy" Burns]
* [http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.com/index.cfm?PgNm=TCE&Params=A1ARTA0001117 Eedson Louis Millard Burns] at The Canadian Encyclopedia
* [http://www.gg.ca/honours/search-recherche/honours-desc.asp?lang=e&TypeID=orc&id=1860 Order of Canada citation]
* Burns, E.L.M. General mud : memoirs of two World Wars. Toronto : Clarke, Irwin, 1970. 254 p.