Lieutenant Milton Fowler Gregg, V.C., M.C., The RCR
Lieutenant Milton Fowler Gregg, V.C., M.C., The RCR

The Brigadier Milton F. Gregg Award for Lifetime Service to The Regiment

The Brigadier Milton F. Gregg Award is conferred to acknowledge and record the Regiment's appreciation for substantial and continuous contributions by individuals which have enhanced the reputation or well-being of the Regiment.

An individual's contribution is deemed to have been substantial when the contribution has enhanced the reputation or well-being of the Regiment as a whole rather than any single constituent element.

Recipients of the Gregg Award are given permanent recognition through the display of commemorative plaques in the Centennial Room of the Regimental Museum.



In Memoriam:
  Lieutenant-Colonel Thomas H. Burdett, MC, CD

by Captain R.A. Appleton - 06 October 2011

The Passing of a Hero

In the early morning hours of Saturday, 01 October 2011, an icon of The Royal Canadian Regiment passed away. Lieutenant-Colonel Thomas Henry Burdett, MC, CD, died at 0430 hours at Parkwood Hospital, London, Ontario. He was 96 years of age. He is survived by his wife Maude, two children – daughters Carolyn (Mike) Mazuryk and Sandra (John) Herring, and three grandchildren – Catherine, Jennifer and John Jr. Lieutenant-Colonel Burdett is universally known and respected in a Regiment which he served with selfless dedication and the utmost loyalty for more than 76 years. A gallant soldier of the Pre-World War II era, he was also a decorated hero of the Second World War, whose military career spanned three decades of war and peace.

Early Life and Pre-War Service

Tommy Burdett was born at Ottawa on 03 January 1915. His father, Albert, was a floor finisher; his mother, Daisy, was a housewife. His father would serve in uniform during the First World War. Tommie had three siblings, a brother and two sisters1. He came of age during the Great Depression. An active young man with an aptitude for sports and auto mechanics, after graduating from high school Burdett sought a career in the military. Unable to join the RCAF as a result of a recruitment freeze, he next attempted to enlist in the Permanent Force with The Royal Canadian Regiment. Young Burdett was first required to obtain a medical examination at his own expense, but he was finally enrolled as a Private in "C" Company, The Royal Canadian Regiment, at Wolseley Barracks, London, Ontario, in July 1935. 2 His pre-war Permanent Force service number was 13206. 3

Tommy Burdett enlisted in a time of extreme austerity, when the Regiment was gravely under strength (at less that half its wartime establishment), seriously over tasked (every soldier had a host of secondary duties), and making do with badly antiquated equipment, leftovers from the Great War. Another handicap was that the Regiment was garrisoned in four separate locations. "A" Company was stationed at Halifax; "B" Company was located at Toronto; "C" Company, Headquarters Company and Battalion HQ were all at Wolseley Barracks; while "D" Company was quartered at St.-Jean, Quebec. The CO at the time was Lieutenant-Colonel Murray Kirk Greene, a veteran of the Western Front; the RSM was WO1 John Wyatt. Interestingly, among the junior officers at London in the mid-1930s, were men who would eventually emerge to lead the Regiment during the Second World War and beyond. These included Lieutenants Charles Foulkes (a future General and Army Chief of Staff), Daniel C. Spry (the youngest Canadian Division Commander during WWII), T.G. Gibson (a future Brigadier), Ralph Crowe (CO of The RCR in Sicily), Billy Pope (he fell in Sicily, as did Ralph Crowe), M.P. Bogert (a brigade commander in Korea), W.J. Moogk (a future Brigadier), and Captain Harry Salmon (a commander of 1st Canadian Infantry Division). 4

The military environment at Wolseley Barracks was intimate, the atmosphere much like that found in a close-knit family. Private Burdett learned soldiering and discipline from long-time, experienced non-commissioned officers of The RCR like Corporal Morgan and Sergeant Lewis. He was drilled in the quadrangle at the "A" Block and taught fieldcraft at Cedar Springs, Pinehill, Niagara-on-the-Lake, and later Ipperwash. Tommy Burdett especially loved the organized sports which took place between the platoons of "C" Company, including hockey, soccer, baseball and cross country running. The Company consisted of three platoons, a machine-gun platoon and two rifle platoons. With the older, more experienced soldiers in the machine-gun platoon and the younger, less senior men in the rifle platoons, there was a tremendous inter-platoon rivalry.

Once Private Burdett became a trained soldier he was soon entrusted with increased instructional and leadership responsibilities. He was often employed as an acting section commander during tactical exercises. Burdett perhaps received his greatest recognition at this time after he organized and ran an Anti-Tank Course at Pinehill for soldiers of the Non-Permanent Active Militia (NPAM). For Permanent (Regular) Force units like The RCR, serving as instructional cadre for the Militia remained the primary function. However, trained soldiers like Tommy Burdett were delegated numerous additional, secondary duties and responsibilities in areas of administration and interior economy during these difficult years. 5

Privates Jimmy Simpson, "Moo" McLean and Tommie Burdett were also employed within "C" Company as sutlers and butchers. Married personnel, who were not on the Company's ration strength, were entitled to a ration allowance of 50 cents a day. However, in lieu of the 50 cents per day, married soldiers were given an allotment of food from the Company's bulk rations. It was the job of Private Burdett and his colleagues to prepare these groceries, even to the extent of cutting up portions of meat. This was a very unpopular duty, as those who carried it out were invariably criticized and charged with playing favourites by disgruntled married soldiers and their wives. In a strange twist of fate 25 years later, in 1960, Tommy Burdett, now a lieutenant-colonel, was posted back to Wolseley Barracks and found himself working in the very building, in the very room where he had once butchered meat as a private. 6

During this pre-war era, in 1938, one of Private Burdett's company commanders was Major William James "Ducky" Home, MC, a decorated veteran of the Great War, a gallant officer and a true gentleman. Major Home made a deep and lasting impression on the young soldier. Throughout his life, Tommy Burdett would always regard W.J. "Billy" Home as one of his great heroes. 7 Home's service with The RCR as an officer dated back to 1915 and the First World War. During the final, climactic months of the Great War, Captain Home commanded "A" Company, The RCR. At Mons, in November 1918, he would win the Military Cross for bravery in action. 8

Lieutenant-Colonel Home would take part in the ill-fated and disastrous Hong Kong campaign in December 1941, as the CO of the Royal Rifles of Canada (from Quebec City) and the second most senior Canadian military officer in the Imperial forces defending the British colony (Brigadier John K. Lawson, another Royal Canadian, was the ranking Canadian officer at Hong Kong). On Christmas Day, 25 December 1941, Lieutenant-Colonel Home and 1,682 other Canadian soldiers became captives of the Japanese. Brutally mistreated and neglected by their Japanese captors over the next 44 months, 267 of these Canadians would die from torture, malnutrition or disease. For his heroic conduct and leadership while a prisoner of war, William James Home would be recognized and promoted to the rank of brigadier-general by the Canadian government, following his repatriation in September 1945. 9

The Coming of War and the Development of a Leader

In August 1939, Private Tommy Burdett and "C" Company were at Niagara-on-the-Lake taking part in a Battalion training concentration. War clouds in Europe were gathering and with the German invasion of Poland war between Canada and Nazi Germany became inevitable. "C" Company returned to London as The RCR was mobilized for war. Tommy Burdett, like virtually every other man in the Battalion, promptly volunteered for active service overseas. "I was a trained soldier and Canada needed me," Burdett later explained. 10 On the day that Canada declared war on Germany, 10 September 1939, Private Burdett was on sentry duty at Wolseley Barracks. "When the war started, everyone was excited... that's what we were training for." 11 On 14 November the officers and men of "C" Company marched through the streets of London to the train station. The Company was bound for Valcartier where The RCR would concentrate prior to deployment overseas to England as the senior battalion of the 1st Canadian Infantry Brigade of the 1st Canadian Infantry Division ("The Old Red Patch").

On 22 December 1939, the day following the Regimental Birthday, Tommy Burdett, by now a corporal, 12 and The Royal Canadian Regiment, sailed to war from Halifax Harbour aboard the HMT Almanzora. The CO was Lieutenant-Colonel Vernon Hodson, MC, a decorated veteran of the Great War; his adjutant was Captain Daniel Charles Spry; the RSM was WO1 F.G.C. Darton (Major Frank Darton, as CO, would bring The RCR home to Canada in September 1945). The Battalion Second-in-Command was none other than Major Milton F. Gregg, that most famous of Royal Canadians and Victoria Cross winner during the First World War. The Officer Commanding "C" Company was Major T. Eric Snow, a future CO and Colonel of the Regiment of The RCR. The Battalion disembarked at Gourock, Scotland on 30 December 1939. By New Year's Eve, The RCR was quartered in its new home at Barossa Barracks, Aldershot, England. 13

"Our first week here kept us extremely busy... as we not only had to get used to English methods of doing things, which are by the way delightfully vague and slow, but we also had to compete with the foulest of foul weather," 14 Corporal Burdett was to reflect on the Regiment's initial impression of England. It was now that the Regiment began a prolonged and often frustrating period of garrison duties and intensive training that would last for some three and a half years, ending only with Operation Husky, the invasion of Sicily in July 1943. This period was known as the "Long Wait." From the outset, The RCR had a very deliberate and enlightened policy of identifying talented soldiers and NCOs and of grooming them for more senior command roles. Peter Bingham and Frank Klenavic are typical examples of NCOs who, once in England, were quickly commissioned and eventually rose to become senior officers and, after WWII, battalion commanders. 15 Sandy Mitchell, Ted Littleford and Burdett himself were younger soldiers who were also groomed to become officers. Tommy Burdett clearly impressed his superiors as a soldier with the aptitude, attitude and experience to exercise small-unit leadership.

Shortly after arrival in the UK, Tommy Burdett and E.I. "Ted" Littleford were dispatched on a British Army Junior NCO Course. Both men distinguished themselves to the extent that their performance was specifically commented on by the commander of the 1st Canadian Infantry Division, Major-General George R. Pearkes, VC, DSO, MC. 16 Tommy Burdett quickly rose through the ranks, soon becoming a Platoon Sergeant. In his approach to leadership, he remembered his own experiences as a Private at Wolseley Barracks and how he appreciated it when a superior rank remembered his name. As an NCO, and later as an officer, Burdett always took the trouble to know his men well.

Sergeant Burdett led his platoon to France on 14 June 1940. With mechanized German formations rapidly overrunning north-eastern France, the 1st Canadian Infantry Division, including The RCR, was dispatched to France, through the port of Brest, ostensibly to protect the lines of communication (and retreat) of the British Expeditionary Force. The mission was unsuccessful and abortive as the main French armies to the east rapidly collapsed. After proceeding by train as far as Chateaubriant, east of Rennes, Brittany and between Laval and Le Mans, The RCR was forced to beat a hasty retreat back to Brest. Forced to abandon its vehicles in France, the Battalion was back in England by 17 June 1940.17

Garrison duties and intensive training continued apace in southern England for the Regiment. Sergeant Burdett's main concerns remained training and administering his platoon. One of his soldiers in particular was a cause of special concern for the Platoon Sergeant. The soldier in question was one Private Louis "Louis the Lake" Morrison. During an especially gruelling defensive exercise, "Louis the Lake" had had enough and refused to dig anymore. His intent was to be placed under arrest and to be removed to cells so he wouldn't have to work. Sergeant Burdett obliged, in so far as placing Private Morrison under arrest. However, as there were no detention barracks nearby, "Louis the Lake" remained on the position. Perversely satisfied that he had been placed under arrest and looking forward to his break in a detention barracks, Louis picked up his shovel and worked at a frenzied pace until dawn. So impressed with the work Private Morrison had accomplished overnight, Sergeant Burdett informed "Louis the Lake" that he was no longer under arrest and his earlier misbehaviour would not be held against him. A disgruntled Private Morrison was less than thrilled by this unexpected reversal of fortune, but this was certainly an act of inspired man management by Sergeant Tommy Burdett.18

Another occasion when "Louis the Lake" Morrison caused problems for Sergeant Burdett occurred when the Platoon was ordered to enforce a curfew for Regimental personnel in the village of Charlwood, Surrey. Sergeant Burdett ordered Private Morrison to proceed to the YMCA canteen and enforce the curfew, mistakenly assuming that nothing could possibly go wrong. Unfortunately, when "Louis the Lake" entered the canteen the very first table he accosted and very forcefully ordered to vacate the premises was the one occupied by the Regimental Sergeant-Major of The RCR, WO1 A.C. McKenzie, and his sidekick, the Battalion Provost Sergeant. This was most certainly a case of an order being excessively and unwisely applied. Needless to say, Sergeant Burdett was on the mat in front of the RSM the next day.19

Despite the mishap related above, Sergeant Burdett's qualities as a leader were very apparent to the chain of command and he was selected to undergo officer candidate training in early 194120 . Tommy Burdett was commissioned as of September 1941. This was during that amazing and transformational time when Lieutenant-Colonel Eric Snow took command of the Battalion in his own right (15 July 1941 – 24 February 1943) and the Regiment made such huge strides forward in terms of elan, cohesiveness and efficiency as a combat unit. This was the period highlighted by the introduction of both the royal blue, black and amber Regimental shoulder flash for all and of the lanyard and whistle for Officers and NCOs. This was when Lieutenant-Colonel Snow introduced the Regimental Banner Parade and imposed rigorous standards of physical fitness that broke many an Officer and Senior NCO21 . The Canadian Overseas Army came under the sway of Lieutenant-General Bernard Law Montgomery and the new Battle Drills were introduced. Exercises became far more demanding and meaningful and the "Colonel Blimps" in both the Canadian and British armies were summarily retired.22

In the words of Strome Galloway, "Hut and Canteen became more than ever a gathering place after duty. Training was largely devoted to the platoon level, under company arrangements, and the junior leader found himself left with much more initiative in the training of his men than heretofore. Naturally this heightened interest and many were the platoon expeditions and schemes during the Indian Sumer of 1942"23 . Platoon commanders like Tommy Burdett flourished in this new and demanding environment. Soon the Battalion was embarking on extremely demanding combined operations training, the art and science of conducting amphibious landings on hostile shores. Also around this time, Headquarter Company was re-organized into administrative and combat elements. The new Support Company would include Mortar, Anti-Tank, Pioneer, and Carrier Platoons; administrative elements remained with Headquarter Company.24

Lieutenant Tommy Burdett, after commanding a rifle platoon, would come to command the Mortar Platoon (in Support Company) before the invasion of Sicily in July 1943. Christmas Day, 25 December 1942, found the Battalion on Loch Fyne in the Scottish Highlands, near Inverary, conducting combined operations exercises. Even at this point in the war, those original members of The RCR who had arrived in the UK in December 1939 were a dwindling minority. Of the original contingent of officers, only four remained, including the CO, Lieutenant-Colonel Snow. Now an officer himself, Lieutenant Tommy Burdett was one of the original soldiers still with the Battalion. In March 1943, following infantry-tank cooperation exercises, T.E. Snow was promoted to Brigadier and Lieutenant-Colonel Ralph Crowe rejoined the Battalion as CO, with Major Billy Pope also returning as Second-in-Command25 .

Sicily:
A Soldier's Baptism of Fire

In May 1943, officers such as Captains Strome Galloway and Frank Klenavic, who had been seconded away to British units to gain combat experience in North Africa (with the 2nd Battalion London Irish Rifles and 2nd Battalion Coldstream Guards respectively), returned to the Regiment. New weapons were issued to the Battalion in the form of the 6-pounder anti-tank gun and the PIAT anti-tank weapon. The RCR returned to Inverary, Scotland for even more demanding and advanced ampibious training. It was clear that the 1st Canadian Infantry Division, including The RCR, was earmarked to take part in a major amphibious assault, somewhere in Occupied Europe.

On 28 June 1943, the officers and men of The Royal Canadian Regiment, having replaced their woollen battledress uniforms for tropical kit, sailed from the Firth of Clyde in Scotland aboard the Dutch liner Marnix Van St. Aldegonde. Lieutenant Tommy Burdett, commanding Mortar Platoon, was aboard. This vessel was part of the Fast Convoy, destined to participate in the amphibious invasion of Sicily, Operation Husky (the largest combined operation in history to date), although the men of The RCR did not yet know their destination. Lieutenant Burdett's immediate superior, Captain E. McIntyre, the OC of Support Company, was aboard another vessel.26

On 29 June it was announced aboard ship that the convoy was destined for an amphibious operation in the Mediterranean. It was on 01 July, Dominion Day, that the CO, Lieutenant-Colonel Ralph Crowe, announced to the Officers and Warrant Officers of the Battalion that The RCR would be participating in the invasion of Sicily. The 1st Canadian Infantry Division was now part of the British Eighth Army and would land on the Pachino Peninsula, with the British 51st Highland Division to the right. The Royal Canadian Regiment would land on Roger Green Beach, the right forward unit of the 1st Canadian Infantry Brigade. From intelligence reports, relief models and contour maps Lieutenant Burdett became aware that an obstacle, a sandbar, would obstruct the Regiment when it attempted to land on Roger Green Beach27 .

There was nine foot deep water located between the sandbar and the landing beach. Although the assaulting rifle companies, led by "C" and "D" Companies, would land first, Lieutenant Burdett spent a great deal of time working out a plan and drills for negotiating the obstacle with his men. The intent was to get his men and their equipment safely and quickly onto the shore so that they could provide indirect fire support to the four rifle companies as they pushed inland towards the town of Pachino and the Pachino Airfield. His men were excited at the prospect of action, but otherwise calm and very confident. They had a great deal of trust in their officer.28

The eventual run in to the beach by the assaulting troops on 10 July was made not under the cover of darkness, but rather in broad daylight. This was as a result of a delay of three hours imposed by the sandbar, acting as an obstacle, and of the late arrival of sufficient numbers of the amphibious assault craft, known as LCAs (Landing Craft Assault), to carry the Battalion on to Roger Green Beach. Of this day, Tommy Burdett would most acutely remember, "the problems of a sand bar, the heat, the naval and aerial bombardments and dragging 3-inch mortar carts" from the beachhead29 . By mid-afternoon of 10 July, all of the Regiment's objectives had been captured. The support weapons of Mortar Platoon and Anti-Tank Platoon were set up on the heights just north of the airfield.30

The RCR was in action on Sicily from 10 July until 03 August. After the landing at Pachino, the Regiment had fought in key engagements at Valguarnera (18 July), Agira (25-28 July), and Regalbuto (01-03 August). The CO, Lieutenant-Colonel Ralph Crowe, had been killed in action outside Nissoria on 24 July. Lieutenant-Colonel Dan Spry had finally arrived to take command of the Regiment on 13 August. On 03 September 1943, The RCR crossed the narrow Strait of Messina from Sicily to the Italian mainland. The long, bloody slog up the Italian peninsula had begun.

The Italian Campaign:
Crucible of War

On 01-02 October, the Regiment assaulted and eventually captured the hilltop stronghold of Motta Montecorvino, despite determined German resistance. On 03 October, during an attack on the village of San Marco, Major Strome Galloway, the OC of "B" Company, was wounded in action and medically evacuated. Tommy Burdett, now a Captain, was eventually given the command of "B" Company. On 14 October the town of Campobasso was captured. A determined effort was made by Canadians to capture sufficient territory beyond Campobasso as to make it safe from enemy shelling. On 16 October a "B" Company patrol, led by Lieutenant Doug Bagg, detected a large concentration of enemy troops, from the German 26th Panzer Grenadier Division. The enemy held the hamlet of Busso, perched on a strong, high feature four miles to the west of Campobasso and overlooking the Biferno River31 .

During this phase of the Italian campaign, the classic German tactic was one of delay. The enemy made the rugged terrain work for them, occupying dominating features like the one at Busso. They would hit the Canadians, force them to deploy, inflict casualties, and then skilfully withdraw to another strong defensive position to fight yet another delaying action. Ordered to storm Busso by Lieutenant-Colonel Spry, Captain Burdett was determined to surprise and overwhelm the Germans with minimal casualties.

In the early morning hours of 20 October, Tommy Burdett led the three platoons of "B" Company in an approach march towards Busso. The Germans expected to catch the attacking Canadians in the gully beneath Busso and cut The RCR Company to pieces. Captain Burdett positioned 10 Platoon to provide covering fire. Calling down supporting artillery fire on Busso to fix the Germans defenders in place, he then sent 12 Platoon racing to the rear of Busso mounted in universal carriers to act as a cut-off. Finally, taking advantage of the fire being laid down by 10 Platoon and the artillery, Captain Burdett led 11 Platoon into Busso, storming the objective.

It was a brilliant, set piece attack that developed like clockwork and was executed to perfection. Fixed in place by supporting fire and assaulted without possibility of escape, the German defenders were either killed in place or captured by the intrepid Canadians. Some 20 enemy soldiers were captured, which given the nature of the fighting, was a very impressive number to have "put in the bag." In contrast, only two Canadians had been wounded. Given the imaginative tactics employed by Burdett and the highly successful outcome, the attack on Busso captured the imagination of the Canadian public and was widely covered by Canadian newspapers and radio. Tommy Burdett remembered the capture of Busso as his most satisfying experience as a tactician and leader32 .

Major Galloway was away convalescing in a military hospital, but eventually returned to the Battalion in November, at a time when The RCR was in the Abruzzi Mountains, briefly in reserve. "Durable Dan" Spry remained the CO33 . Captain Tommy Burdett reverted to being a Company 2IC. At the beginning of December, with the U.S. Fifth Army checked at Monte Cassino, the 1st Canadian Infantry Division was moved to the Adriatic Front, crossing the Sangro River and closing up on the Moro River. Thus began the bloodiest month of the war for The Royal Canadian Regiment.

The Moro River – Ortona Campaign:
The Regiment's Month in Hell

Eighth Army's intent was to advance northwards on the narrow Adriatic Plain, smash it's away across the Moro River and capture the port of Ortona. Hemmed in by a mountain barrier only ten miles to the west, the plain was repeatedly carved up by easily defendable gullies, ditches and fast flowing rivers and streams running west to east. The weather had turned the ground to thick mud and the many thick vineyards made the terrain even more difficult to negotiate. The Germans had sown the ground with booby traps and S-Mines (Schuminen) and brought in two fresh crack formations, the 90th Panzer Grenadier Division and the elite 1st Parachute (Fallschirmjaeger) Division.34

On 08 December The RCR advanced from a bridgehead over the Moro River. After heavy fighting, "B" Company captured the village of San Leonardo. A platoon from D Company, 16 Platoon under Lieutenant Mitch Sterlin, occupied a stone farmhouse and supported by 8 Platoon, established a defensive position. Facing a powerful German counter-attack, the Battalion, with the exception of 8 and 16 Platoons, moved back to the vicinity of San Leonardo. These two platoons came under increasing pressure and eventually 8 Platoon was forced to withdraw. Mitch Sterlin's 16 Platoon was now attacked by overwhelming numbers of enemy soldiers, but valiantly fought on and resisted all efforts to capture the farmhouse. After night descended, 16 Platoon withdrew bringing all their wounded and eventually rejoined the Battalion at San Leonardo. This heroic episode in Regimental history is known as the "Defence of Sterlin Castle"35.

In just three days of fighting, from 08-10 December, The RCR had lost 21 killed and 53 wounded or missing36. Now several days of bloody and frustrating fighting ensued in which the Canadians struggled to neutralize the tenacious and skilful German paratroopers who defended a feature known as "The Gully." On 17 December, Dan Spry left the Battalion to assume command of the 1st Canadian Infantry Brigade, while Major Bill Mathers became CO of The RCR. The Brigade was to push beyond Ortona on the west and then cut the coastal highway north of the town. To accomplish this end though, The RCR would first have to storm the Ortona Crossroads on the Ortona-Orsogna lateral road, known as Objective Cider.

In the event, when The RCR advanced to the attack on 18 December, the result was a tragic catastrophe. The supporting artillery fire became wildly erratic, with shells falling among the Canadian troops. The artillery barrage was therefore lifted, with disastrous consequences for the assaulting companies of the Regiment. German machine-gun crews emerged from shelters to man their weapons and engaged the lines of Canadian infantry with murderously accurate enfilade fire. "C" and "D" Companies were decimated; Lieutenant Mitch Sterlin and many of the heroes of 16 Platoon were killed; the CO, Major Mathers, was wounded by a sniper. The Regiment was reduced to a skeleton force of 18 officers and 159 men.37 Major Ian Hodson, though ill from both jaundice and malaria, came forward to take command of the Battalion. Despite the debacle of 18 December, the Regiment was ordered to resume the attack on Objective Cider on the afternoon of 19 December.

An explanation of the role of Captain Tommy Burdett at this juncture is necessary. As a Company 2IC he had been quite deliberately "left out of battle (LOB)," to the rear, during the deliberate attack of 18 December. This would also have been the case with the other Company 2ICs and the Battalion Second-in-Command, Major Hodson. This was a prudent policy dating back to the Great War when quite commonly whole units were decimated, even wiped out, during the course of an attack. It was found to be expedient to leave designated officers out of battle who, in the worst extremity, would form a cadre around which a battalion could be rebuilt. As "A" and "B" Companies, commanded respectively by Captain Dick Dillon and Major Strome Galloway, prepared to cross the start line at 1415 hours on 19 December, those officers left out of battle, including Captain Burdett, waited at the Battalion Command Post (referred to as "Sniper's Roost") with the CO, Major Hodson.38

The objective, Ortona Crossroads, lay 1,000 yards beyond the start line and one mile west of Ortona. On this occasion the supporting artillery barrage was well co-ordinated and directed, crashing down on enemy strong points. A squadron of tanks from the Three Rivers Regiment intimately supported the attacking infantry. "A" and "B" Companies, with a strength of about 60 men each,39 moved forward with elan and determination. Major Galloway commanded both assaulting companies, directing their efforts by radio from the Squadron Commander's tank. However, given his higher co-ordinating role, it was very difficult for him to exert personal control over his own "B" Company. Coming under a heavy concentration of enemy artillery fire, the cohesiveness of the lead platoons of that company began to disintegrate.

From the relative safety of the Battalion Command Post, Captain Burdett watched through binoculars as "B" Company's attack faltered and lost momentum. Tommy Burdett had a very strong sense of identification with "B" Company. He had recently commanded "B" Company and led it to an impressive victory at Busso. Burdett now urged Major Hodson to allow him to go forward and take control of "B" Company. Sensing that the decisive moment of the battle had arrived, Hodson now gave Captain Burdett the order he so wanted to hear. Tommy Burdett rushed forward and soon arrived in the location of the beleaguered company. His own calm, confident demeanour and remarkable coolness under fire did much to steady the troops and restore the situation. Burdett's inspiring leadership galvanized the platoons and re-energized the attack.40

At one point Captain Burdett was observing the enemy and directing fire as he lay next to the Company Sergeant-Major, CSM Vic Lewington (a future RSM of The RCR). Lewington was a man with a large behind, which made for a rather prominent target. Tommy Burdett never batted an eye when Vic Lewington was shot through the buttocks.41 In the end, Captain Burdett led "B" Company onto the objective, and with "A" Company, captured the Ortona Crossroads by 1630 hours. Burdett's actions had undoubtedly minimized casualties and led to success. Major Galloway came up ten minutes later with the tanks and Major Hodson brought forward the reserve, consisting of the shattered remnants of "C" and "D" Companies. The capture of Objective Cider rendered remaining German positions in the lower Gully untenable. It opened the door for the eventual encirclement and capture of Ortona. For his courageous conduct and cool leadership during the attack, Captain Burdett would be awarded the Military Cross. In the fighting for the Gully and the Ortona Crossroads, the Regiment had lost 34 killed and 78 wounded or missing.42

The citation that accompanied Captain Burdett's Military Cross makes abundantly clear both his absolute bravery and his decisive contribution to victory at the Ortona Crossroads. It reads:

BURDETT, Thomas Henry, Lieutenant (Acting Captain) - Military Cross - Infantry (Royal Canadian Regiment) - awarded as per Canada Gazette dated 18 March 1944 and CARO/4296 dated 1 April 1944, "in recognition of gallant and distinguished services in Italy". Recommended for immediate award by Major A.S. Galloway, Acting Commanding Officer, Royal Canadian Regiment; approved by Brigadier D.C. Spry, Officer Commanding, 1 Canadian Infantry Brigade on 17 January 1944 and passed forward on 20 January 1944; approved by Major-General C. Vokes, General Officer Commanding, 1 Canadian Division on 21 January 1944 and passed forward on 29 January 1944; approved by Lieutenant-General C.W. Allfrey, Commander, 5 Corps; approved by Lieutenant-General O.W.L. Leese, General Officer Commanding, Eighth Army on 1 February 1944 and passed forward on 3 February 1944. Approved by General H.R. Alexander, General Officer Commanding-in-Chief, 15 Army Group on 7 February 1944 and sent for action on 1 March 1944.

Reference Map Italy 1/50,000 Sheet 147 I Lanciano; On 19 December 1943, during the attack of The Royal Canadian Regiment on the cross-roads at (Map Reference 323142) near Ortona, "B" Company was the leading company and had only two officers still effective. The leading platoon came under heavy shell fire and the momentum of the attack was seriously threatened.

At this time the Company 2nd-in-Command A/Captain Burdett, who had been left out of battle, arrived at the Command Post. As "B" Company Commander had now become Force Commander, Captain Burdett requested permission to take over his company and having obtained it, in spite of extremely heavy fire, made his way to the company, took control of the situation, and with complete disregard for his own safety led the company forward. As a result of Captain Burdett's contempt for danger and offensive spirit, which was an example to all, the momentum of the attack was restored and the objective reached with light casualties. By his initiative and leadership Captain Burdett was directly responsible for the success of the attack and his immediate appreciation of the situation was instrumental in avoiding a number of casualties and striking a heavy blow at the enemy.43

Devastated by illness, Major Ian Hodson could no longer carry on and was evacuated. Strome Galloway now assumed command of the Battalion. It was symptomatic of the intense fighting and high casualties that he was the fourth CO of The RCR in a span of three days. Major R.G. "Slim" Liddell became Battalion Second-in-Command. The following day, 20 December, the Loyal Edmonton Regiment, from the 2nd Canadian Infantry Brigade, passed through The RCR at the captured crossroads, marching on into Ortona and the brutal house to house fighting that awaited them. Ortona would soon be dubbed "Little Stalingrad" by the Canadian press.

Meanwhile, the Regiment remained consolidated on the Ortona Crossroads, patrolling and re-organizing for more offensive action. Galloway had four badly under strength companies, commanded at this time by Captains Dick Dillon ("A" Company), Tommy Burdett ("B" Company), Marty Upper ("C" Company) and Birnie Smith ("D" Company).44 The Battalion Command Post was located near the crossroads in a stone farmhouse (casa) with thick walls. "B" Company HQ was co-located with Battalion HQ in the casa. Burdett's platoon commanders were Lieutenants E.K. "Kitch" Wildfang and F.J. "Freddie" Sims.

The Regiment's Diamond Jubilee (60th anniversary) was commemorated on 21 December 1943, while The RCR was still at Ortona Crossroads. Major Galloway invited the Brigade Commander, Brigadier Dan Spry, to come forward from San Leonardo and share in the occasion with his old Battalion. Thus would take place the Ortona Toast, one of the most famous episodes in the storied history of the Regiment. Brigadier Spry arrived at 1600 hours, having been shelled while en route. He was forced to abandon his jeep and crawl in a ditch in order to reach the Battalion CP and "drink a health to the Regiment." Captain A.F. "Sandy" Mitchell had prepared a punch from service rum, hot water and brown sugar. The RSM, WO1 Archie McDonell, had found mugs in the farmhouse from which to drink the toast.

All the while the Battalion CP was under shellfire and several deadly fighting patrols, led by Lieutenant Kitch Wildfang, Lieutenant Buck Bowman and Captain Dick Dillon, had either just recently concluded or were still taking place. Major Galloway offered a few words to mark the occasion and Brigadier Spry gave the toast. Strome Galloway wrote later, "So was the Diamond Jubilee of The Regiment observed; not only within sight of the enemy, but engaging him the while!" Those present at this historic moment included Brigadier Spry, Major Galloway, Captain Sandy Mitchell (OC Support Company and Battle Adjutant), Captain Tommy Burdett, Captain Marty Upper, Captain Birnie Smith, Lieutenant Walter Roy (Intelligence Officer), Major Rusty Wilkes (Padre), and RSM McDonell. As the toast was given, Captain Dillon and Lieutenant Bowman joined the festivities, having just completed highly successful fighting patrols.45

While units of the 2nd Canadian Infantry Brigade (the Loyal Edmonton Regiment and the Seaforth Highlanders of Canada) fought in the streets of Ortona, the 1st Canadian Infantry Brigade resumed the attack that was intended to outflank Ortona and sever the coastal road north of the town. In the early morning light of 24 December, Christmas Eve, "A" Company led off, advancing through a wasteland of almost impassable mud and vineyards, the ground ahead strongly held by the Germans. The advance was stalled when "A" Company came under a heavy artillery barrage, suffering 16 casualties, including Captain Dillon and Lieutenant Bowman who were both wounded. The Company took shelter in a nearby gully.

Captain Burdett led "B" Company forward, eventually taking up a position on "A" Company's left flank. Waiting until darkness had fallen, Burdett and "B" Company now led the Battalion forward again through a hellish landscape of clinging mud and vine trellises which often forced the men to crawl on their stomachs. Groping in the dark towards the forming up place for tomorrow's attack, "B" Company came upon a group of houses from which heavy enemy fire was received at very close range. Tommy Burdett was wounded in the exchange, but still led his men in capturing the buildings.46

On Christmas Day the Battalion renewed the attack, but suffered heavy casualties in advancing a further 800 yards. Although contact with the enemy was more or less constant, as of 26 December German resistance began to significantly diminish. By 27 December, The RCR had managed to clear its sector of Germans and on 29 December the Battalion was relieved by the Royal 22ieme Regiment. The Germans had abandoned Ortona and were in the process of withdrawing behind the line of the Arielli River. On 30 December the Battalion was pulled back into reserve in a location just north of the Ortona-Orsogna lateral highway. On 31 December, in slit trenches and under a downpour, the troops of The RCR finally received their Christmas dinner. The men were fed canned turkey in relays in a cemetery.47

Sadly, the year of 1943 would not pass without one more tragedy befalling the Regiment. "B" Company was dug in around a partially ruined church and monastery. Finally out of contact with the enemy after a brutal month of combat, on a cold, miserable night with no protection from the slashing rain, several men from "B" Company and Anti-tank Platoon took unauthorized action. They left their slit trenches and sought shelter in the ruins of the church. Unfortunately, the structure had been previously badly weakened by heavy shelling. Under the impact of the violent storm the church steeple came crashing down and the ceiling and walls collapsed. As many as 25 men were trapped beneath the rubble. Captain Tommy Burdett organized the desperate rescue efforts. The men of "B" Company worked in relays, removing the fallen masonry, while searching for the bodies of those trapped beneath. CSM Lewington was in charge of the first aid parties who struggled to resuscitate casualties. By morning it was discovered that nine men had lost their lives.48 Some 78 Royal Canadians had been killed during the bloody operations conducted in December 1943.

The End of the Road:
January 1944

Of the 756 officers and men of the Regiment who had landed in Sicily on 10 July 1943, within five months more than 550 had been killed, wounded, taken prisoner, or evacuated with serious illnesses.49 In January 1944 The RCR remained on the Adriatic Front, near Ortona, a front that was locked in stalemate. On 07 January, Lieutenant-Colonel W.W. Mathers returned to resume command of the Battalion and Major Strome Galloway reverted to Second-in-Command. Captain (later Major) Ted Littleford, Tommy Burdett's old course mate on the British Army Junior NCO Course in England in 1940, was now the OC of "C" Company. While Tommy Burdett and Captain J.B. Smith remained in command of "B" and "D" Companies respectively, a replacement officer, Capt M.B. John became OC of "A" Company.50

One change that the officers and men of the battalion had not welcomed was the arrival of the 1st Canadian Corps HQ from the UK. Though technically still part of the renowned British Eight Army, the veterans of the 1st Canadian Infantry Division would now come directly under a higher Canadian HQ as opposed to a British Corp HQ. This was an imposition bitterly resented by men who had mastered their trade in battle as part of that famed British army.51

On 13 January The RCR moved up to the front lines in the vicinity of the village of San Nicola, about two miles due west of Ortona. The Battalion was separated from the Germans by a gully, with the enemy holding the far bank. For "B" Company, aggressive patrolling (fighting patrols, ambushes, reconnaissance patrols, standing patrols) sniping, listening posts and OPs were the order of the day. Another feature of this static warfare was the intermittent harassing artillery and mortar fire.52 A constant worry to the company commander was the large numbers of new men who had come out as replacements for the hundreds of casualties in late December. They had not learned the ropes and were still prone to make foolish mistakes.

Fatefully, one young replacement soldier was hit and buried during a sudden enemy mortar barrage that descended on "B" Company lines at 2100 hours on 16 January 1944. The soldier was wounded and in trouble as the mortaring continued. Without hesitation Captain Burdett, exposing himself to enemy fire, rushed to the soldier's aid. Tommy Burdett rescued the injured man, but was severely wounded in the process. "While digging out casualties I was wounded by shrapnel and carried back for treatment."53 His injuries resulted in the loss of his right eye. Captain Burdett was promptly evacuated in order to receive the advanced medical treatment and surgery that he required.54

The RCR would remain on the static Adriatic front for four months until being re-deployed to fight in the Liri Valley and Hitler Line battles in May, which led to the capture of Rome by Allied forces on 04 June 1944. Meanwhile, Captain Tommy Burdett was gradually moved back through the medical system in Italy, then on to North Africa and eventually England. When he was well enough, he was repatriated to Canada for a prolonged convalescence.55 Captain Burdett's days as a combat infantry officer were over, but he would remain in uniform making a vitally important contribution to the Canadian Army's training system for the duration of the wars in Europe and the Pacific and beyond.

Trainer of Warriors and Peacetime Staff Officer

With his background as pre-war Permanent Force soldier and, especially, his wealth of experience as a combat leader, Captain Burdett was an inspired choice to teach infantry officer candidates. Once he was fit to return to duty, Tommy Burdett was posted to the Officer Training Centre (OTC) at Brockville, Ontario.56 The Brockville OTC had been opened in the spring of 1941. It had a capacity to train up to 1,200 candidates at a time. By 1944 it was the only OTC operating in Canada, its mandate to produce platoon officers for the Infantry Corps. Infantry platoon commanders were taught and moulded over a three month training cycle. The future General, Jacques Dextraze, was a graduate of the Brockville OTC; earlier in the war Brigadier Milton F. Gregg had been Commandant at Brockville.57

It is not hard to imagine the impact that a decorated war hero and inspiring presence like Captain Burdett would have had on the impressionable candidates. Countless Canadian soldiers serving in Italy and North-West Europe would now be the beneficiaries of the knowledge and skills that Tommy Burdett imparted to these future platoon commanders. He continued to serve at Brockville until the war in Europe ended in May 1945. However, even with Nazi Germany smashed there was still a powerful enemy yet to be defeated, Imperial Japan. Based on the 6th Canadian Infantry Division, Canada was building the Canadian Army Pacific Force (CAPF), destined to participate in the invasion of the Japanese Home Islands, as part of a larger U.S. formation. Burdett was now assigned to the training cadre of the Canadian School of Infantry at Vernon, British Columbia. This establishment was part of the Pacific Infantry Training Brigade.58

The Canadian School of Infantry had formerly been the Canadian Battle Drill School. This had been created in May 1942 to teach the Battle Drills employed by the British army and recently adopted by the Canadians. The school had been built at the Coldstream Ranch, near Vernon, complete with its own extensive manoeuvre area in July 1942.59 Ironically, Milton Gregg had also been a commandant at this school. The dropping of atomic bombs on Japan in August 1945 abruptly ended the war in the Pacific. The Canadian Army Pacific Force and the training establishments supporting it were rapidly disbanded.

Captain Burdett next found himself in the unlikely environs of the Ontario Agricultural College (University of Guelph) as the Training Officer for the university officer cadet programme, a holdover from the Second World War. However, when his position was upgraded to the rank of major, Tommy Burdett was posted to Galt, Ontario as the Training Officer of the Highland Light Infantry of Canada (today the Royal Highland Fusiliers of Canada), from 1946-47. After serving as a regular supporting staff officer with the Militia, he was assigned to the Royal Canadian School of Infantry at Camp Borden, Ontario in 1947, for a period of four years (Commandant of the School from 1948-50 was Lieutenant-Colonel J.M. Houghton, a former CO of The RCR).60

Captain Burdett's abilities as an administrative and training staff officer were by now well recognized by the chain of command and in 1951 he was selected to attend Staff College at Kingston.61 Successfully graduating from Staff College he would subsequently be promoted to Major.

In 1951 Tommy Burdett took up the appointment of Deputy Assistant Adjutant-General (DAAG) Manning at Eastern Command Headquarters, in Halifax, Nova Scotia. Within the command he was responsible for postings and career development. In 1953 Major Burdett assumed a new position at Army HQ Ottawa as a GSO (General Staff Officer) 2. His main task was the very important responsibility of planning and conducting major formation (i.e. brigade and division) level exercises in training areas such as Gagetown. The next two years were highly successful ones as a GSO2 and garnered Major Burdett much high-level recognition. In 1955 he returned to Borden and the Royal Canadian School of Infantry as OC of Tactics Wing, where he remained for the next four years (Lieutenant-Colonel Peter R. Bingham, former CO of The RCR and 1RCR, was Commandant of the School from 1953-58). In 1959 Major Burdett was a GSO2 once again, in Ottawa at Army HQ, with the Directorate of Military Training. His portfolio was Army collective training62 .

In 1960 Tommy Burdett was promoted to Lieutenant-Colonel and posted to London, Ontario. His amazing life and career had come full circle and with a wonderful twist. At the outbreak of the Second World War Tommy Burdett was a Permanent Force Private and sometime butcher serving in "C" Company, The Royal Canadian Regiment at Wolseley Barracks. Departing Wolseley Barracks with The RCR, he had gone to war, earned an officer's commission, been wounded twice in battle, distinguished himself as a leader in combat, and been decorated for bravery in action. At the height of the Cold War era, when nuclear war seemed a real possibility, the Canadian government had designated London one of six potential nuclear targets. The city would require a Target HQ to plan and co-ordinate emergency measures in the event of a nuclear attack. Lieutenant-Colonel Burdett was the designated Commander of Target HQ London. His office at Wolseley Barracks was the same room in which he had butchered meat 25 years before as a private63 .

Within a year Lieutenant-Colonel Burdett's position as Commander of Target HQ was eliminated when the government came to consider London as a less viable nuclear target and disbanded the Target HQ. However, Tommy Burdett was to remain at London serving with the Western Ontario Area HQ, employed as the Deputy Assistant Adjutant and Quarter-Master General (DAA & QMG). At Area HQ he was the senior staff officer with the combined responsibility for both personnel and logistical matters.64 He held these appointments until retirement from the service in 1965. As he approached retirement, the Regiment which he had served so faithfully bestowed a signal honour upon Lieutenant-Colonel Burdett. He was one of a very select group of four Regimental officers who became the very first ever to be awarded the silver Testimonial Beaver for distinguished service. The other three officers were Major-General George Kitching, CBE, DSO, CD; Colonel J.M. Houghton, OBE, CD; and Captain John Clyde "Spin" Reid, MM, CD65 .

Serving the Regiment and the Community with Distinction after Retirement

After retirement Tommy Burdett remained very close to the Regiment and was as much a member of the Regimental family as always. London had always been a hub of The RCR Association and Lieutenant-Colonel Burdett was extremely active with the London branch of the Association from the outset. Only 50 years of age when he retired from active military service and a most energetic man, he remained fully engaged in both business and community affairs. Upon retirement, Tommy Burdett became the Executive Director of the London and Middlesex Mental Health Association, a position he held for ten years. Afterwards he was the business manager for Madame Vanier's Children's Services in London for nearly five years. Following this and now aged 65 years, Lieutenant-Colonel Burdett retired from business66 .

Whether working or retired, Tommy Burdett maintained a strong commitment to the community. He gave generously of his time as a volunteer for a number of agencies including the Canadian Mental Health Association (CMHA), Hutton House, the London Psychiatric Hospital (LPH) and the Canadian National Institute for the Blind (CNIB). Lieutenant-Colonel Burdett also sat on the national board of the Unitarian Service Committee67 .

Tommy Burdett continued to serve The Royal Canadian Regiment with distinction after his retirement from the military and with the same energy and selflessness that he devoted to the community at large. He was sited as having made a significant contribution to the governance and management of The RCR Trust, establishing the financial viability and independence of the Regiment. In 1984, Lieutenant-Colonel Burdett organized the former members of the Pre-War Permanent Force battalion into "The Pre-World War II Group." In recognition of his longstanding, ongoing and valuable efforts on behalf of The RCR Association, he was named a Life Member in 1985, one of only 25 to be thusly honoured at that time.

In 1998 The Royal Canadian Regiment conferred an exceptional honour on Lieutenant-Colonel Burdett when he was awarded the Brigadier Milton F. Gregg Award for Lifetime Service to the Regiment. The award is presented in order to recognize "substantial and continuous contributions by individuals which have enhanced the reputation or well-being of the Regiment." The citation for Tommy Burdett's Gregg Award reads:

"Lieutenant-Colonel Burdett enlisted in the Regiment in 1935 and was commissioned in 1941. He accompanied the Regiment to Sicily in 1943 and was awarded the Military Cross for action at the crossroads near Ortona. After the war, he served on the A & T Staff, at the Royal Canadian School of Infantry and as a staff officer at Headquarters Eastern Command and Army Headquarters. He retired in 1966.

Since leaving active service, Lieutenant-Colonel Burdett has continued to provide exemplary leadership and service to the Regiment. His service to the Association has been of such value that he was made a Life Member in 1985, of the 25 individuals so honoured. Equally, his contribution to the Trust has assisted the Regiment in achieving a high degree of financial independence. In 1984, he organized The Pre-World War II Group which annually draws together the permanent force members of the regiment from before World War II and, in doing so, has contributed much towards maintaining the regiment's heritage. Lieutenant-Colonel Burdett also remains active in the community-at-large as a volunteer of several agencies (CMHA, Hutton House, LPH & CNIB) and he continues to serve as a volunteer in the Regimental Museum. In summary, Lieutenant-Colonel Burdett has given selflessly to his Regiment for the past 63 years, exemplifying the notion of "quiet professionalism", and his contribution to the well being of the Regiment is worthy of formal recognition68 ".

Significantly, only seven Royal Canadians have been so honoured with the presentation of the Gregg Award. For the rest of his days Tommy Burdett continued to strive and work for the Regiment. He was a frequent volunteer at the Regimental Museum at Wolseley Barracks and, until the last year of his life, he religiously attended all occasions of Regimental commemoration. One of the rooms in his London home was a veritable shrine to The Royal Canadian Regiment. Lieutenant-Colonel Thomas H. Burdett, MC, CD, was a living, tangible link with a now distant, but glorious Regimental past, when our honoured traditions were yet young. His contribution to the Regiment is beyond measure…he will be remembered.

Captain Duncan McMillan has offered the following fitting tribute in memory of Lieutenant-Colonel Tommy Burdett: "A holder of the Milton Gregg VC Award, Lieutenant-Colonel Burdett was in my mind the epitome of a Royal Canadian and a man to whom I would offer the title "hero" without reservation. The late "Spin" Reid, himself decorated, once told me that Tommy Burdett was the coolest officer under fire he had ever seen."69

Pro Patria

  1. Veterans Affairs Canada – Thomas H. Burdett, MC, CD, The Royal Canadian Regiment, 03 March 2011, http//www.veterans.gc.ca/eng/sub.cfm?source=feature/italy99/bios/burdett
  2. Lewis, Lieutenant B.A., Service Paper – Lieutenant-Colonel T.H. Burdett, MC, CD (Ret'd), 238 968 754 (Pers), London, Ontario, 20 November 1981, p. 1. See also, "Bowler Hats," The Connecting File, The Regimental Journal of The Royal Canadian Regiment, 1965 edition, p. 90.
  3. Private Burdett's Permanent Force service number was confirmed in an e-mail from Captain Michael M. O'Leary. Captain O'Leary also revealed that from 1914-1916, during the Great War, another Thomas Henry Burdett served in The RCR. Apparently the two Burdetts were not related.
  4. Stevens, G.R., The Royal Canadian Regiment, Volume Two, 1933-1966, London Printing & Lithographing Co., Limited, London, Ontario, 1967, pp. 1-6.
  5. Lewis, Lieutenant B.A., op. cit., pp. 1-2.
  6. Stevens, G.R., op. cit., pp. 3-4.
  7. Based on information provided in an e-mail by Captain Duncan McMillan (Ret'd).
  8. Fetherstonhaugh, R.C., The Royal Canadian Regiment, 1883-1933, Centennial Print & Litho Ltd., Fredericton, New Brunswick, 1981, pp. 342, 378, 424.
  9. Greenfield, Nathan M., The Damned: The Canadians at the Battle of Hong Kong and the POW Experience, 1941-45, HarperCollins Publishers Ltd, Toronto, 2010, pp. 15, 392.
  10. Veterans Affairs Canada – Thomas H. Burdett, MC, CD, The Royal Canadian Regiment, 03 March 2011, http//www.veterans.gc.ca/eng/sub.cfm?source=feature/italy99/bios/burdett
  11. Horn, Colonel Bernd, Establishing a Legacy: The History of The Royal Canadian Regiment, 1883-1953, Dundurn Press, Toronto, 2008, p. 13.
  12. Ibid., p. 114.
  13. Stevens, G.R., op cit., pp. 16-17.
  14. Horn, Colonel Bernd, op. cit., p. 114.
  15. Stevens, G.R., op cit., p. 31.
  16. Lewis, Lieutenant B.A., op. cit., p. 2.
  17. Stevens, G.R., op cit., pp. 23-27.
  18. Lewis, Lieutenant B.A., op. cit., p. 3.
  19. Ibid., p. 3.
  20. Ibid., p. 2.
  21. Galloway, Colonel Strome, A Regiment at War: The Story of The Royal Canadian Regiment, 1939-1945, The Royal Canadian Regiment, London, Ontario, 1979, pp. 42, 48-49, 56-57
  22. Galloway, Strome, Bravely Into Battle: The Autobiography of a Canadian Soldier in World War II," Stoddart Publishing Co. Limited, Toronto, 1988, pp. 62-63.
  23. Galloway, Colonel Strome, A Regiment at War: The Story of The Royal Canadian Regiment, 1939-1945, The Royal Canadian Regiment, London, Ontario, 1979, p. 59.
  24. Ibid., p. 62.
  25. Stevens, G.R., op cit., pp. 58-59, 61.
  26. Ibid., pp. 62, 64.
  27. Lewis, Lieutenant B.A., op. cit., p. 3. See also, Horn, Colonel Bernd, op. cit., p. 121.
  28. Ibid., p. 3.
  29. Veterans Affairs Canada – Thomas H. Burdett, MC, CD, The Royal Canadian Regiment, 03 March 2011, http//www.veterans.gc.ca/eng/sub.cfm?source=feature/italy99/bios/burdett
  30. Galloway, Colonel Strome, A Regiment at War: The Story of The Royal Canadian Regiment, 1939-1945, The Royal Canadian Regiment, London, Ontario, 1979, pp. 71-73.
  31. Stevens, G.R., op cit., pp. 97-100.
  32. Ibid., p. 100. Also see, Lewis, Lieutenant B.A., op. cit., p. 4 and Galloway, Colonel Strome, A Regiment at War: The Story of The Royal Canadian Regiment, 1939-1945, The Royal Canadian Regiment, London, Ontario, 1979, p. 100.
  33. Galloway, Strome, Bravely Into Battle: The Autobiography of a Canadian Soldier in World War II," Stoddart Publishing Co. Limited, Toronto, 1988, p. 156.
  34. Stevens, G.R., op cit., pp. 106-107.
  35. Horn, Colonel Bernd, op. cit., pp. 158-160.
  36. Stevens, G.R., op cit., p. 111.
  37. Galloway, Strome, Bravely Into Battle: The Autobiography of a Canadian Soldier in World War II," Stoddart Publishing Co. Limited, Toronto, 1988, pp. 164-165. See also, Galloway, Colonel Strome, A Regiment at War: The Story of The Royal Canadian Regiment, 1939-1945, The Royal Canadian Regiment, London, Ontario, 1979, pp. 112-114.
  38. Stevens, G.R., op cit., pp. 114-115.
  39. Galloway, Strome, Some Died at Ortona: The Royal Canadian Regiment in Action in Italy 1943, The Royal Canadian Regiment, London, Ontario, 1983, p. 194.
  40. Lewis, Lieutenant B.A., op. cit., p. 4.
  41. Ibid., p. 4.
  42. Stevens, G.R., op cit., pp. 115.
  43. Canada Gazette, 18 March 1944, Military Cross Citation – Burdett, Thomas Henry, Lieutenant (Acting Captain).
  44. Galloway, Colonel Strome, A Regiment at War: The Story of The Royal Canadian Regiment, 1939-1945, The Royal Canadian Regiment, London, Ontario, 1979, p. 115.
  45. Galloway, Strome, Some Died at Ortona: The Royal Canadian Regiment in Action in Italy 1943, The Royal Canadian Regiment, London, Ontario, 1983, p. 200.
  46. Galloway, Strome, Bravely Into Battle: The Autobiography of a Canadian Soldier in World War II," Stoddart Publishing Co. Limited, Toronto, 1988, pp. 166-167. See also, Stevens, G.R., op cit., pp. 117.
  47. Stevens, G.R., op cit., pp. 118.
  48. Lewis, Lieutenant B.A., op. cit., p. 4.
  49. Horn, Colonel Bernd, op. cit., p. 168.
  50. Galloway, Colonel Strome, A Regiment at War: The Story of The Royal Canadian Regiment, 1939-1945, The Royal Canadian Regiment, London, Ontario, 1979, pp. 120, 124.
  51. Galloway, Strome, Bravely Into Battle: The Autobiography of a Canadian Soldier in World War II," Stoddart Publishing Co. Limited, Toronto, 1988, pp. 173-175.
  52. Stevens, G.R., op cit., pp. 123.
  53. Veterans Affairs Canada – Thomas H. Burdett, MC, CD, The Royal Canadian Regiment, 03 March 2011, http//www.veterans.gc.ca/eng/sub.cfm?source=feature/italy99/bios/burdett
  54. Regimental War Diary, The Royal Canadian Regiment, 16 January 1944. Also see, Lewis, Lieutenant B.A., op. cit., p. 4 and Stevens, G.R., op cit., pp. 123.
  55. Lewis, Lieutenant B.A., op. cit., p. 4.
  56. Ibid., p. 4.
  57. Bishop, Arthur, 05 October 2011, http://www.legionmagazine.com/en/index.php/2006/01/securing-victory/
  58. Lewis, Lieutenant B.A., op. cit., p. 4. Also see, , "Bowler Hats," The Connecting File, The Regimental Journal of The Royal Canadian Regiment, 1965 edition, p. 90.
  59. Canadian Battle Drill School, 05 October 2011, http://victorian.fortunecity.com/finsbury/764/bds/cbds.htm
  60. Lewis, Lieutenant B.A., op. cit., p. 5.
  61. Ibid., p. 5.
  62. Ibid., p. 5.
  63. Ibid., p. 5. Also see, Stevens, G.R., op cit., pp. 3-4.
  64. Based on information provided about Lieutenant-Colonel Burdett's career at London in the 1960s by the Colonel of the Regiment of The RCR, Colonel W.J. Aitchison.
  65. Stevens, G.R., op cit., p. 335.
  66. Lewis, Lieutenant B.A., op. cit., p. 5.
  67. See Lieutenant-Colonel Burdett's citation for the Milton F. Gregg, VC Award, which he was awarded in 1998. Also see, Lewis, Lieutenant B.A., op. cit., p. 5.
  68. The Gregg Award – Lieutenant-Colonel T.H. Burdett, MC, CD, 06 October 2011, http://www.theroyalcanadianregiment.ca/customs_traditions/gregg_awards/ga03_burdett.html
  69. From e-mail sent to me by Captain Duncan McMillan (Ret'd).

Bibliography


Books

  • Fetherstonhaugh, R.C., The Royal Canadian Regiment, 1883-1933, Centennial Print & Litho Ltd., Fredericton, New Brunswick, 1981.
  • Galloway, Colonel Strome, A Regiment at War: The Story of The Royal Canadian Regiment, 1939-1945, The Royal Canadian Regiment, London, Ontario, 1979.
  • Galloway, Strome, Bravely Into Battle: The Autobiography of a Canadian Soldier in World War II," Stoddart Publishing Co. Limited, Toronto, 1988.
  • Galloway, Strome, Some Died at Ortona: The Royal Canadian Regiment in Action in Italy 1943, The Royal Canadian Regiment, London, Ontario, 1983.
  • Greenfield, Nathan M., The Damned: The Canadians at the Battle of Hong Kong and the POW Experience, 1941-45, HarperCollins Publishers Ltd, Toronto, 2010.
  • Horn, Colonel Bernd, Establishing a Legacy: The History of The Royal Canadian Regiment, 1883-1953, Dundurn Press, Toronto, 2008.
  • Stevens, G.R., The Royal Canadian Regiment, Volume Two, 1933-1966, London Printing & Lithographing Co., Limited, London, Ontario, 1967

Magazines and Journals

  • "Bowler Hats," The Connecting File, The Regimental Journal of The Royal Canadian Regiment, 1965 edition
  • Canada Gazette, 18 March 1944, Military Cross Citation – Burdett, Thomas Henry, Lieutenant (Acting Captain)

Unpublished Materials

  • Brigadier Milton F. Gregg Award for Lifetime Service to the Regiment 1998 – Lieutenant-Colonel T.H. Burdett, MC, CD Citation
  • Lewis, Lieutenant B.A., Service Paper – Lieutenant-Colonel T.H. Burdett, MC, CD (Ret'd), 238 968 754 (Pers), London, Ontario, 20 November 1981
  • Regimental War Diary, The Royal Canadian Regiment, 16 January 1944

Websites

Interviews and Correspondence

  • Aitchison, Colonel W.J., Colonel of the Regiment The RCR, correspondence with Captain R.A. Appleton.
  • McMillan, Captain Duncan, President Home Station and London District Branch The RCR Association, correspondence with Captain R.A. Appleton.
  • O'Leary, Capt Michael M. O'Leary, an OC with 4th Battalion The Royal Canadian Regiment.