bout de papier, Vol. 27, No. 2 (2013) — Spring 2013 // Printemps 2013, p. 38
My father was born on St. Patrick’s Day in Montreal in 1922. He studied at Upper Canada College in Toronto and McGill University and became an officer in the Black Watch Regiment (RHR) of Canada, serving in the North West Europe Campaign. He was wounded in Normandy at Verriéres Ridge and then fought again at the battle of Scheldt on the Leopold Canal in Belgium where he was captured and sent to a POW camp. After the war, he studied Economics at Cambridge, where he was taught by Keynes, and then law at McGill. In 1949, he joined External Affairs as a Foreign Service Officer, soon after being called to the Québec Bar.
My father was a modest and very thoughtful man with a respect for tradition but also an openness to new ideas. He was described by many as a quintessential gentleman and had an ability to listen to everyone regardless of rank or station, important qualities for a diplomat. He was always well informed on a wide range of subjects, had a remarkable memory, a great sense of humour, and loved to share stories at gatherings with former colleagues, friends and family.
Looking back at his career which spanned four decades, taking him to so many very different countries, he would tell me how satisfying it was, and would encourage me to go on a posting. Clearly his choice of a diplomatic life was a perfect fit to fulfill his immense curiosity and spirit of adventure.
My father’s first posting was to Athens. At the time, in the early 1950s, it was a hardship posting as the country was still devastated from the Civil War. It is there that he met his wife-to-be, Ismene, on a beach, thanks to his Dachshund, Ouzo. Throughout his career she supported him, playing a role of soft diplomacy, running the residences, and smoothing the transitions for the family from posting to posting. This was typical of that generation and certainly much appreciated by father.
His next posting took him to Brussels, where I was born, during which he was sent as acting Consul General to Leopoldville to open Canada’s first Office following the independence of the Belgian Congo in 1960. In those days communications were difficult, and I understand that at some point he was considered actually to have disappeared! Years later, when I was studying at McGill University and he was Ambassador at Kinshasa, I heard on the news that there were revolts in Zaire. Fearing for my parents’ safety, I tried to reach them by telephone but to no avail.
My earliest recollections of my father go back to when he was posted to Tel Aviv, before the 6-Day War, and I was attending the American School there. During that time as Chargé d’Affaires he presided over the hoisting of the new Canadian flag on the roof of our Embassy. I remember trips to Jerusalem for Easter, crossing the desert at night in our little car, and him teaching me to ride a bicycle and to drive.
In 1966, my father joined the Canadian Delegation to the International Control Commission, for a year, in Saigon and Hanoi while my mother and I stayed safely in Geneva close to the boarding school where my brother Anthony was studying. For this he was awarded in 2002 the Canadian Peacekeeping Service Medal in recognition of his contribution to international peace and security.
The following year my father was posted to Paris. This was a challenging period when relations between France and Canada were at times tense. I too had challenges of my own when I began studying in the French system — which I continued in Haiti during our next posting where my father was Head of Mission — and then at Lycée Claudel in Ottawa.
I still remember vividly when the U.S. Ambassador to Haiti, Clinton Knox, and his First Secretary, Mr. Christensen, were kidnapped and my father was the first, and only one, to enter the Ambassador’s Residence where they were held hostage, and to start the negotiations toward their safe release. For this act of bravery he received personal letters from Prime Minister Trudeau and from the U.S. Secretary of State. It was 1972 and a few years later he received the distinction of “Commandeur de l’Ordre International du Bien Public” for his distinguished diplomatic services.
His Headquarters assignments included working in the Economic, Information, Legal, and Africa and Middle East Divisions, and as Executive Assistant to the Undersecretary of State, Arnold Heeney, as well as being appointed Director of the Consular Affairs Division.
During his retirement, my father devoted much of his time to his beloved growing family; monitoring his investments; and contributing to the remembrance of WWII, proudly wearing the Black Watch Red Hackle on special commemorative occasions. He enjoyed going to the RHOMA luncheons; travelling to Africa and Asia to visit my brother, Anthony, who works for the UNDP; and playing golf at the Royal Ottawa Golf Club up to just weeks before his passing at age 90.
In 2004, and again in 2007, my father travelled with family members to rediscover where he had fought during the War. Prior to that he was interviewed and appeared in the controversial documentary entitled The Valour and the Horror, aired on CBC-TV in 1992, which recounted the battle of Verrières Ridge. He also wrote his War Story, which was published in the June 2012 edition of the Red Hackle Magazine.
My father’s legacy lives on in my brother and me and our children (my Nicolas and Sophia, and his Brian), and his contributions to Canada both in war and peace time will not be forgotten.
Alexandra Wood joined the Department in 1994 from Investment Canada and is currently Deputy Director in the North America Partnerships and Operations
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Originally published in bout de papier, Vol. 27, No. 2 (2013) — Spring 2013 // Printemps 2013, p. 38. Read the rest of this issue →
