Major General John Hamilton "Ham" Roberts (December 21, 1891 – December 17, 1962) was a

Canadian Army The Canadian Army () is the command (military formation), command responsible for the operational readiness of the conventional ground forces of the Canadian Armed Forces. It maintains regular forces units at bases across Canada, and is also re ...

officer who served in both of the

world war A world war is an international War, conflict that involves most or all of the world's major powers. Conventionally, the term is reserved for two major international conflicts that occurred during the first half of the 20th century, World War I ...

Biography

Roberts was born in Pipestone, Manitoba. He studied in

Upper Canada College Upper Canada College (UCC) is an independent day and boarding school for boys in Toronto, Ontario, operating under the International Baccalaureate program. The college is widely described as Canada's most prestigious preparatory school, and ha ...

and graduated from the

Royal Military College of Canada The Royal Military College of Canada (), abbreviated in English as RMC and in French as CMR, is a Military academy#Canada, military academy and, since 1959, a List of universities in Canada#Ontario, degree-granting university of the Canadian ...

Kingston, Ontario Kingston is a city in Ontario, Canada, on the northeastern end of Lake Ontario. It is at the beginning of the St. Lawrence River and at the mouth of the Cataraqui River, the south end of the Rideau Canal. Kingston is near the Thousand Islands, ...

, in 1914, student No. 891. From 1939, he commanded the 1st Field Regiment, RCA, in northern

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

, and was serving in that position when the

Germans Germans (, ) are the natives or inhabitants of Germany, or sometimes more broadly any people who are of German descent or native speakers of the German language. The Basic Law for the Federal Republic of Germany, constitution of Germany, imple ...

began the

Battle of France The Battle of France (; 10 May – 25 June 1940), also known as the Western Campaign (), the French Campaign (, ) and the Fall of France, during the Second World War was the Nazi Germany, German invasion of the Low Countries (Belgium, Luxembour ...

in May 1940. Roberts managed to save his regiment's guns while evacuating from Brest in Brittany during the unsuccessful attempt to establish a second British Expeditionary Force in France after the evacuation at

Dunkirk Dunkirk ( ; ; ; Picard language, Picard: ''Dunkèke''; ; or ) is a major port city in the Departments of France, department of Nord (French department), Nord in northern France. It lies from the Belgium, Belgian border. It has the third-larg ...

. He was later promoted to major-general and appointed General Officer Commanding the

2nd Canadian Division The 2nd Canadian Division (2 Cdn Div; ) is a formation of the Canadian Army in the province of Quebec, Canada. The present command was created 2013 when Land Force Quebec Area was re-designated. The main unit housed in this division is the Roy ...

in 1941. Roberts was put in charge of the ground troops for the raid against Dieppe, on August 19, 1942. His command post was aboard , and due to poor communications he had no idea how his troops were managing, until they called for

landing craft Landing craft are small and medium seagoing watercraft, such as boats and barges, used to convey a landing force (infantry and vehicles) from the sea to the shore during an amphibious assault. The term excludes landing ships, which are larger. ...

for immediate evacuation. Roberts was criticized for unnecessarily committing his reserve troops (

Les Fusiliers Mont-Royal Les Fusiliers Mont-Royal is a Primary Reserve infantry regiment of the Canadian Army. Lineage File:FMR Colours.jpg, The regimental colour of Les Fusiliers Mont-Royal. File:FMR Camp Flag.jpg, The camp flag of Les Fusiliers Mont-Royal. File:Fusilie ...

) and inadvertently increasing the casualties. He was relieved of his command six months later. It was Roberts's inept performance during a war-game codenamed Operation Spartan in March 1943 rather than the Dieppe raid, which ended Roberts's career.English, John ''The Canadian Army and the Normandy Campaign: A Study of Failure in High Command'', New York: Praeger, 1991 page 147. Lieutenant General Harry Crerar, commanding I Canadian Corps (and under whose command Robert's 2nd Division fell), reprimanded Roberts for the poor co-ordination between the 2nd Division's artillery and infantry during Operation Spartan war-games, and that Roberts failed to have forces dig in after seizing a bridgehead despite having ample time to do so. After Operation Spartan, Roberts was judged unfit to hold a combat command. He was sent to command reinforcement units in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

and received no further operational commands. He later retired to the

Channel Islands The Channel Islands are an archipelago in the English Channel, off the French coast of Normandy. They are divided into two Crown Dependencies: the Jersey, Bailiwick of Jersey, which is the largest of the islands; and the Bailiwick of Guernsey, ...

where he died in 1962, at the age of 70.CBC interview, Dieppe 2 h Anniversary, ''Dieppe'' miniseries DVD

Notes

References

*4237 Dr. Adrian Preston & Peter Dennis (Edited) "Swords and Covenants" Rowman And Littlefield, London. Croom Helm. 1976. *H16511 Dr. Richard Arthur Preston "To Serve Canada: A History of the Royal Military College of Canada" 1997 Toronto,

University of Toronto Press The University of Toronto Press is a Canadian university press. Although it was founded in 1901, the press did not actually publish any books until 1911. The press originally printed only examination books and the university calendar. Its first s ...

, 1969. *H16511 Dr. Richard Arthur Preston "Canada's RMC - A History of Royal Military College" Second Edition 1982 *H1877 R. Guy C. Smith (editor) "As You Were! Ex-Cadets Remember". In 2 Volumes. Volume I: 1876-1918. Volume II: 1919-1984. Royal Military College. ingston The R.M.C. Club of Canada. 1984

External links

Juno Beach Centre, short biography on Roberts

Major General John Hamilton Roberts Canadian Army Journal Vol 12.2 Summer 2009
* ttps://generals.dk/general/Roberts/John_Hamilton/Canada.html Generals of World War II {{DEFAULTSORT:Roberts, John Hamilton 1891 births 1962 deaths Canadian Companions of the Order of the Bath Canadian Companions of the Distinguished Service Order Canadian recipients of the Military Cross People from Westman Region, Manitoba Royal Military College of Canada alumni Canadian Army generals of World War II Canadian military personnel from Manitoba Canadian Expeditionary Force officers Canadian generals Royal Regiment of Canadian Artillery officers