The plaque at the Crerar Entrance to the Royal Military College of Canada was donated by the class of 1935 in October 1985. It is dedicated to the memory of General H.D.G. Crerar.
Henry Duncan Graham Crerar was born in Hamilton, Ontario, on April 28, 1888. He was educated at the Royal Military College in Kingston, Ontario, from 1906 to 1909. During the First World War he served with distinction as a Canadian Field Artillery officer on French and Flanders battlefields and was awarded the Distinguished Service Order.
During the Second World War, Crerar was Brigadier General Staff at the Canadian Military Headquarters in London, then Chief General Staff in Ottawa where he improved the efficiency of National Defence Head Quarters, set up emergency recruitment and training programs for territorial defence, and a training program for officers and soldiers slated to serve overseas.
In 1941, Crerar returned to England and was appointed General Officer Commanding, I Canadian Corps. He was in the middle of the crisis that followed the Dieppe Raid and drew lessons from the failure. In March 1944, he took over the command of the 1st First Canadian Army, replacing General McNaughton.
Under Crerar’s command the First Canadian Army played a major role in the Falaise Gap in August 1944. Because of severe illness, Crerar was temporarily replaced by Major-General Guy Simonds during the Battle of the Scheldt. In February 1945 Crerar was back and during the Rhineland campaign he found himself in command of a 450,000-men army, including Allied units under First Canadian Army command. After the war, he was in charge of the demobilization process.