- Ernest William Sansom
Ernest William Sansom, C.B., D.S.O. (
18 December 1890 –October 18 1982 ) was a Canadian Lieutenant-General who was the 3rd ranking commander of Canadian troops in Europe in 1944 duringWorld War II .World I military career
Born in
Stanley, New Brunswick , he joined the 71st York Regiment of the Canadian Militia in 1906 and was appointed a Lieutenant in 1907. DuringWorld War I , he fought in the 12th Infantry Battalion and with the Canadian Machine Gun Corps of theCanadian Expeditionary Force . He would command the 1st Battalion of theCanadian Machine Gun Corps . He was awarded theDistinguished Service Order in 1919.After the war, in 1920, he joined the Permanent Force and went to the Army Staff College in England from 1924 to 1925. He would hold various staff positions in Canada and eventually was promoted to the rank of Colonel.
World War II military career
At the start of
World War II , in 1939, he was the Director of Military Training. From 1939 to 1940, he was Assistant Adjutant and Quartermaster General for the1st Canadian Infantry Division in England. After being promoted toMajor-General in 1940, he commanded the3rd Canadian Infantry Division . In 1941, he commanded the 5th Armoured Division. In 1943, he was promoted to Lieutenant-General and commanded the 2nd CanadianCorps . In 1944, he returned to Canada for medical reasons. In 1945, he was appointed Inspector General, Canadian Army Overseas. He was made a Companion ofOrder of the Bath in 1945. He retired in 1945.Post war
After the war, he worked for various fund-raising organizations, including the Canadian
March of Dimes and the Combined Appeal for the Handicapped.In the 1945 election, he ran unsuccessfully as the Progressive Conservative candidate for the
Canadian House of Commons in the New Brunswick riding ofYork—Sunbury . He lost again in a 1947by-election . [ [http://www.parl.gc.ca/information/about/process/house/hfer/hfer.asp?Language=E&Search=Det&Include=Y&rid=855 YORK--SUNBURY, New Brunswick (1914 - 1987)] ]He died in
Fredericton, New Brunswick in 1982.References
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