H. L. N. Salmon
Encyclopedia
Major General
Harry Leonard Nowell Salmon MC & Bar
(February 9, 1894 – April 29, 1943) was a soldier
and officer
during the First and Second World Wars. He was born in Winnipeg
, Manitoba
, Canada
, on February 9, 1894, son of John and Louise Salmon, one of three boys and three girls. After attending St. John's College in Winnipeg, he took a position in the employ of the Cockshutt Plow Company
as a clerk. While civilian administrative life wasn't to be his for long, his brief experience would serve him well in later years. A long military career was about to start for HLN Salmon, as Europe
rushed towards war.
Rifles out of Regina
, though he was soon assigned to the 28th Battalion, another western Canadian unit. He served with distinction in the First World War, spending from 1915 to 1919 in Europe. During this era of trench warfare, horrific losses, he was involved as the first tanks lumbered across no-mans land marking the emergence of mechanized fighting forces.
While with the 28th Battalion, Salmon was caught up in the bloody deadlocked period of the war in northern France
around the Somme
and Ypres
. His participation was anything but ordinary, and he was to be decorated twice for gallantry, receiving the Military Cross and Bar.
His first commendation was in October 1916 in a brutal battle that saw him rally his men after the platoon's officer was killed. He was thereafter hospitalized and out of commission for months with a shrapnel wound that pierced his chest and lung.
On November 6, 1917, in what has been called the third battle of Ypres, the 28th was tasked with an objective that would help break the multi-year deadlock around Passchendaele. During this operation, 'D' company was charged with penetrating through the attack to seize the objective, and overcome enemy lines. Heavy losses were sufferend, including the commander of 'D' company, whereupon Lieutenant Salmon MC assumed command and pushed forward to achieve the objective. The stalemate that had cost over a quarter of a million Allied lives ended with the offensive that day. The war diary for the battalion reads simply - D company with two platoons under Lieut. Salmon holding the line.
Between the wars, from 1920 to 1929, he performed regimental duty and attended the Imperial Defence College in Camberley
, England
.
before his death.
He joined the staff of the 1st Canadian Infantry Division
in January 1940, attaining rank of Lt. Col. in February of that year, and commanding the Hastings and Prince Edward Regiment (colloquially known as the "Hasty P's"). Following the disaster at Dunkirk which culminated on June 4 of that year, Lt. Col. Salmon led the Hasty P's in a June 16 operation to Brest
, France
to assist in the withdrawal of the Canadian elements of the second British Expeditionary Force. The next day, as word was received that Paris had fallen, and just a week before France herself would fall, Salmon's regiment began a brief expedition to engage the rapidly moving invasion that was sweeping into France. Events moved unpredictably fast, and the unit was soon ordered to return to England along with the British Expeditionary Force. While aboard ship awaiting departure to Plymouth, the regiment engaged with harassing German aircraft. They were later credited with being the first Canadian soldiers to bring down a German aircraft during World War II, as the eager troops fired their first shots at a low flying plane that attempted an opportunistic attack of the harbour.
On September 8, 1942 when Lieutenant-General McNaughton
, the commander of the 1st Canadian Army, chose Salmon to take over command of 1st Cdn Div. (He was still leading the Hastings and Prince Edward regiment.) Accounts at the time recorded his reputation as "one of the best trainers of soldiers in any army." These early years of the 1940s were to be long ones as the First Canadian division would spend most of them in training.
In their first overseas deployment since World War I, the role for the overall 1st Cdn Div in England was to develop and execute exercises in preparation to repel a possible Nazi invasion of the south coast of England near Eastbourne
.
In 1943 Salmon was appointed to head the Canadian involvement in Operation Husky, the allied invasion of Sicily which would be part of the push that brought about the end of the war. A planning staff was built around General Salmon in Norfolk House
, where some of the highest members of the allied staff were situated.
On April 29, 1943, Salmon, along with other important participants in the planning process prepared to embark for a key planning meeting in Cairo
, Egypt
. The aircraft was scheduled to embark from Hendon Airfield
in north London
, landing in Portreath and from there making the way around occupied Europe to attend the meeting.
Weather was bad in Portreath
, and this was communicated to the RAF
10th squadron at Hendon. It was decided to instead go to RAF Chivenor where the weather was also poor, but manageable. The Hudson IIIA aircraft embarked and was seen approaching for a landing on the East/West runway at Chivenor, when the aircraft stalled and crashed, killing all on board.
Major General Simonds
took over command of the 1st Canadian Division and ultimately led the Canadian forces in operation Husky. Simonds had briefly held the command of 2nd Canadian Division
and was transferred to 1st Cdn. Div. after Salmon's death.
served with the Royal Navy
, rising to the rank of Admiral of the Fleet
. He received the Victoria Cross
for his gallantry during the relief of Lucknow during the Indian Rebellion
in November 1857.
In turn, Nowell Salmon's maternal grandfather (H.L.N. Salmon's great-great-grandfather) was Admiral Nowell who had served the Royal Navy at the Battle of the Saintes
and in the American Revolutionary War
.
Major General
Major general or major-general is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. A major general is a high-ranking officer, normally subordinate to the rank of lieutenant general and senior to the ranks of brigadier and brigadier general...
Harry Leonard Nowell Salmon MC & Bar
Military Cross
The Military Cross is the third-level military decoration awarded to officers and other ranks of the British Armed Forces; and formerly also to officers of other Commonwealth countries....
(February 9, 1894 – April 29, 1943) was a soldier
Soldier
A soldier is a member of the land component of national armed forces; whereas a soldier hired for service in a foreign army would be termed a mercenary...
and officer
Officer (armed forces)
An officer is a member of an armed force or uniformed service who holds a position of authority. Commissioned officers derive authority directly from a sovereign power and, as such, hold a commission charging them with the duties and responsibilities of a specific office or position...
during the First and Second World Wars. He was born in Winnipeg
Winnipeg
Winnipeg is the capital and largest city of Manitoba, Canada, and is the primary municipality of the Winnipeg Capital Region, with more than half of Manitoba's population. It is located near the longitudinal centre of North America, at the confluence of the Red and Assiniboine Rivers .The name...
, Manitoba
Manitoba
Manitoba is a Canadian prairie province with an area of . The province has over 110,000 lakes and has a largely continental climate because of its flat topography. Agriculture, mostly concentrated in the fertile southern and western parts of the province, is vital to the province's economy; other...
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
, on February 9, 1894, son of John and Louise Salmon, one of three boys and three girls. After attending St. John's College in Winnipeg, he took a position in the employ of the Cockshutt Plow Company
Cockshutt Plow Company
Cockshutt was a large tractor and machinery manufacturer based in Brantford, Ontario, Canada.Originally founded as the Brantford Plow Works by James G. Cockshutt in 1877, the name was changed to the Cockshutt Plow Company when it was incorporated in 1882. After James died shortly thereafter, his...
as a clerk. While civilian administrative life wasn't to be his for long, his brief experience would serve him well in later years. A long military career was about to start for HLN Salmon, as Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
rushed towards war.
World War I
Enlisting at the age of twenty, his military career began with in 1914 with the 95th SaskatchewanSaskatchewan
Saskatchewan is a prairie province in Canada, which has an area of . Saskatchewan is bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, and on the south by the U.S. states of Montana and North Dakota....
Rifles out of Regina
Regina, Saskatchewan
Regina is the capital city of the Canadian province of Saskatchewan. The city is the second-largest in the province and a cultural and commercial centre for southern Saskatchewan. It is governed by Regina City Council. Regina is the cathedral city of the Roman Catholic and Romanian Orthodox...
, though he was soon assigned to the 28th Battalion, another western Canadian unit. He served with distinction in the First World War, spending from 1915 to 1919 in Europe. During this era of trench warfare, horrific losses, he was involved as the first tanks lumbered across no-mans land marking the emergence of mechanized fighting forces.
While with the 28th Battalion, Salmon was caught up in the bloody deadlocked period of the war in northern France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
around the Somme
Battle of the Somme (1916)
The Battle of the Somme , also known as the Somme Offensive, took place during the First World War between 1 July and 14 November 1916 in the Somme department of France, on both banks of the river of the same name...
and Ypres
Ypres
Ypres is a Belgian municipality located in the Flemish province of West Flanders. The municipality comprises the city of Ypres and the villages of Boezinge, Brielen, Dikkebus, Elverdinge, Hollebeke, Sint-Jan, Vlamertinge, Voormezele, Zillebeke, and Zuidschote...
. His participation was anything but ordinary, and he was to be decorated twice for gallantry, receiving the Military Cross and Bar.
His first commendation was in October 1916 in a brutal battle that saw him rally his men after the platoon's officer was killed. He was thereafter hospitalized and out of commission for months with a shrapnel wound that pierced his chest and lung.
On November 6, 1917, in what has been called the third battle of Ypres, the 28th was tasked with an objective that would help break the multi-year deadlock around Passchendaele. During this operation, 'D' company was charged with penetrating through the attack to seize the objective, and overcome enemy lines. Heavy losses were sufferend, including the commander of 'D' company, whereupon Lieutenant Salmon MC assumed command and pushed forward to achieve the objective. The stalemate that had cost over a quarter of a million Allied lives ended with the offensive that day. The war diary for the battalion reads simply - D company with two platoons under Lieut. Salmon holding the line.
Between the wars, from 1920 to 1929, he performed regimental duty and attended the Imperial Defence College in Camberley
Camberley
Camberley is a town in Surrey, England, situated 31 miles southwest of central London, in the corridor between the M3 and M4 motorways. The town lies close to the borders of both Hampshire and Berkshire; the boundaries intersect on the western edge of the town where all three counties...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
.
World War II
In the Second World War he rose to the level of Major GeneralMajor General
Major general or major-general is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. A major general is a high-ranking officer, normally subordinate to the rank of lieutenant general and senior to the ranks of brigadier and brigadier general...
before his death.
He joined the staff of the 1st Canadian Infantry Division
1st Canadian Infantry Division
The 1st Canadian Infantry Division was a formation mobilized on 1 September 1939 for service in the Second World War. The division was also reactivated twice during the Cold War....
in January 1940, attaining rank of Lt. Col. in February of that year, and commanding the Hastings and Prince Edward Regiment (colloquially known as the "Hasty P's"). Following the disaster at Dunkirk which culminated on June 4 of that year, Lt. Col. Salmon led the Hasty P's in a June 16 operation to Brest
Brest, France
Brest is a city in the Finistère department in Brittany in northwestern France. Located in a sheltered position not far from the western tip of the Breton peninsula, and the western extremity of metropolitan France, Brest is an important harbour and the second French military port after Toulon...
, France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
to assist in the withdrawal of the Canadian elements of the second British Expeditionary Force. The next day, as word was received that Paris had fallen, and just a week before France herself would fall, Salmon's regiment began a brief expedition to engage the rapidly moving invasion that was sweeping into France. Events moved unpredictably fast, and the unit was soon ordered to return to England along with the British Expeditionary Force. While aboard ship awaiting departure to Plymouth, the regiment engaged with harassing German aircraft. They were later credited with being the first Canadian soldiers to bring down a German aircraft during World War II, as the eager troops fired their first shots at a low flying plane that attempted an opportunistic attack of the harbour.
On September 8, 1942 when Lieutenant-General McNaughton
Andrew McNaughton
General Andrew George Latta McNaughton, CH, CB, CMG, DSO, CD, PC was a Canadian army officer, politician and diplomat.- Early life :...
, the commander of the 1st Canadian Army, chose Salmon to take over command of 1st Cdn Div. (He was still leading the Hastings and Prince Edward regiment.) Accounts at the time recorded his reputation as "one of the best trainers of soldiers in any army." These early years of the 1940s were to be long ones as the First Canadian division would spend most of them in training.
In their first overseas deployment since World War I, the role for the overall 1st Cdn Div in England was to develop and execute exercises in preparation to repel a possible Nazi invasion of the south coast of England near Eastbourne
Eastbourne
Eastbourne is a large town and borough in East Sussex, on the south coast of England between Brighton and Hastings. The town is situated at the eastern end of the chalk South Downs alongside the high cliff at Beachy Head...
.
In 1943 Salmon was appointed to head the Canadian involvement in Operation Husky, the allied invasion of Sicily which would be part of the push that brought about the end of the war. A planning staff was built around General Salmon in Norfolk House
Norfolk House
Norfolk House, at 31 St James's Square, London, was built in 1722 for the Duke of Norfolk. It was a royal residence for a short time only, when Frederick, Prince of Wales, father of King George III, lived there 1737-1741, after his marriage in 1736 to Princess Augusta of Saxe-Gotha, daughter of...
, where some of the highest members of the allied staff were situated.
On April 29, 1943, Salmon, along with other important participants in the planning process prepared to embark for a key planning meeting in Cairo
Cairo
Cairo , is the capital of Egypt and the largest city in the Arab world and Africa, and the 16th largest metropolitan area in the world. Nicknamed "The City of a Thousand Minarets" for its preponderance of Islamic architecture, Cairo has long been a centre of the region's political and cultural life...
, Egypt
Egypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
. The aircraft was scheduled to embark from Hendon Airfield
Hendon
Hendon is a London suburb situated northwest of Charing Cross.-History:Hendon was historically a civil parish in the county of Middlesex. The manor is described in Domesday , but the name, 'Hendun' meaning 'at the highest hill', is earlier...
in north London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, landing in Portreath and from there making the way around occupied Europe to attend the meeting.
Weather was bad in Portreath
Portreath
Portreath is a civil parish, village and fishing port on the north coast of Cornwall, United Kingdom. The village is situated approximately three miles northwest of Redruth....
, and this was communicated to the RAF
Royal Air Force
The Royal Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Formed on 1 April 1918, it is the oldest independent air force in the world...
10th squadron at Hendon. It was decided to instead go to RAF Chivenor where the weather was also poor, but manageable. The Hudson IIIA aircraft embarked and was seen approaching for a landing on the East/West runway at Chivenor, when the aircraft stalled and crashed, killing all on board.
Major General Simonds
Guy Simonds
Lieutenant General Guy Granville Simonds, CC, CB, CBE, DSO, CD was a Canadian Army officer who commanded the II Canadian Corps during World War II. He served as acting commander of the First Canadian Army, leading the Allied forces to victory in the Battle of the Scheldt in 1944...
took over command of the 1st Canadian Division and ultimately led the Canadian forces in operation Husky. Simonds had briefly held the command of 2nd Canadian Division
2nd Canadian Division
The 2nd Canadian Division was an infantry formation that saw service in the First World War. A 2nd Canadian Infantry Division was raised for the Second World War.-History:...
and was transferred to 1st Cdn. Div. after Salmon's death.
Family History
The "Nowell" in Salmon's name is an acknowledgement of an ancestor prominent in British military service. His grandfather's brother Nowell SalmonNowell Salmon
Admiral of the Fleet Sir Nowell Salmon VC, GCB was an English recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces.-Naval career:Salmon was the son of Reverend H...
served with the Royal Navy
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...
, rising to the rank of Admiral of the Fleet
Admiral of the Fleet
An admiral of the fleet is a military naval officer of the highest rank. In many nations the rank is reserved for wartime or ceremonial appointments...
. He received the Victoria Cross
Victoria Cross
The Victoria Cross is the highest military decoration awarded for valour "in the face of the enemy" to members of the armed forces of various Commonwealth countries, and previous British Empire territories....
for his gallantry during the relief of Lucknow during the Indian Rebellion
Indian Rebellion of 1857
The Indian Rebellion of 1857 began as a mutiny of sepoys of the British East India Company's army on 10 May 1857, in the town of Meerut, and soon escalated into other mutinies and civilian rebellions largely in the upper Gangetic plain and central India, with the major hostilities confined to...
in November 1857.
In turn, Nowell Salmon's maternal grandfather (H.L.N. Salmon's great-great-grandfather) was Admiral Nowell who had served the Royal Navy at the Battle of the Saintes
Battle of the Saintes
The Battle of the Saintes took place over 4 days, 9 April 1782 – 12 April 1782, during the American War of Independence, and was a victory of a British fleet under Admiral Sir George Rodney over a French fleet under the Comte de Grasse forcing the French and Spanish to abandon a planned...
and in the American Revolutionary War
American Revolutionary War
The American Revolutionary War , the American War of Independence, or simply the Revolutionary War, began as a war between the Kingdom of Great Britain and thirteen British colonies in North America, and ended in a global war between several European great powers.The war was the result of the...
.