George Kitching

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General George Kitching in 1956

Major-General George Kitching (9 September 1910– 15 June 1999) CBE, DSO, CD was a senior Canadian Army officer who saw active service in World War II.

Early life and military career[]

George Kitching was born on 9 September 1910 in Guangzhou (Canton), China. He died on 15 June 1999 in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada. He was the guest of Prince Bernhard of Lippe-Biesterfeld a couple of days before when he fell ill. He never recovered.[1]

Kitching received his military training at the Royal Military College, Sandhurst in the United Kingdom, joining the Gloucestershire Regiment. The British Army gave him several postings in Asia, including Singapore, Malaya and India. In 1938 he resigned his commission in order to join the Canadian Army.

In 1939 he joined the The Royal Canadian Regiment in the Canadian Army . He was appointed to several position before attending Staff College, Camberley to become a senior officer. Again he held several positions, mainly at the staff of Headquarters 1st Canadian Division and Headquarters I Canadian Corps, before he got his first command in August 1942. Within a few months he was back at the Headquarters of the 1st Canadian Division for the preparations of the invasions of Sicily and Italy. In November 1943 he was promoted to brigadier to command the , followed by the 4th Canadian Armoured Division.

Normandy and after[]

Kitching brought the division to Normandy where they were involved in the battle around the Falaise Pocket, in the final stages of the Battle of Normandy. According to the historian , Kitching was then victimized for the poor performance of the division in Normandy. Caravaggio claims that essential contemporary sources were altered after the sacking of Kitching and are therefore unreliable.[2] To him it seemed that Lieutenant-General Guy Simonds, commanding II Canadian Corps, stripped his sub-commanders from authority,[3] did not take the lack of experience into account and expected unrealistic results.[4] Kitching could hardly command his own division due to the constant interference from Simonds.[5][6] Caravaggio comes to the conclusion that Kitching and his inexperienced division performed very well under the difficult circumstances and confusing orders they had to work in. [7]

The end result of the battle was that Kitching was demoted to brigadier and sent off to command a training unit. Charles Foulkes, commander of I Canadian Corps, had more confidence in his abilities and brought him in as Brigadier, General Staff. He was involved in all operations of the I Canadian Corps until the surrender of the German Forces in the Netherlands.

After the war he stayed in the military until 1965. He held in that time positions like Quartermaster General and Director General of Army Personnel. In 1956 he was promoted to major-general for the second time in his career.

Senior Positions Held[]

From To Unit Role Rank
01-08-1942 13-12-1942 The Edmonton Regiment (1st Canadian Infantry Division) Officer Commanding Lieutenant-Colonel
14-12-1942 30-10-1943 1st Canadian Infantry Division HQ General Staff Officer 1 Lieutenant-Colonel
01-11-1943 13-02-1944 Officer Commanding Brigadier
01-03-1944 21-08-1944 4th Canadian Armoured Division General Officer Commanding Major-General
29-08-1944 23-10-1944 Officer Commanding Brigadier
12-11-1944 01-07-1945 I Canadian Corps Brigadier General Staff Brigadier

Post Military[]

Kitching served as head of the LCBO from 1970 to 1984.

Trivia[]

  • Kitching is a former patron and member of the Board of Trustees of Lester B. Pearson College in Victoria.[8]

Books[]

  • Mud and Green Fields: The Memoirs of Major-General George Kitching (1986)

Notes[]

  1. ^ "Major-general George Kitching, CBE, DSO, CD" (PDF). The Army Doctrine and Training Bulletin. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2012-09-05. Retrieved 2011-05-31.
  2. ^ Caravaggio, 2002, p. 2
  3. ^ Caravaggio, 2002, p. 5, 6
  4. ^ Caravaggio, 2002, p. 4
  5. ^ Caravaggio, 2002, p. 3
  6. ^ Caravaggio, 2002, p. 4/5
  7. ^ Caravaggio, 2002, p. 14
  8. ^ History of the Board

External links[]

Military offices
Preceded by
F. F. Worthington 		GOC 4th (Canadian) Armoured Division
March–August 1944 		Succeeded by
Harry Foster
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