General A general officer is an Officer (armed forces), officer of high rank in the army, armies, and in some nations' air force, air and space forces, marines or naval infantry. In some usages, the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colone ...

Ramsey Muir Withers, CMM, CD (July 28, 1930 – December 24, 2014) 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 and Chief of the Defence Staff, the highest ranking position in the

Canadian Forces The Canadian Armed Forces (CAF; , FAC) are the unified Military, military forces of Canada, including sea, land, and air commands referred to as the Royal Canadian Navy, Canadian Army and the Royal Canadian Air Force. Under the ''National Defenc ...

, from 1980 to 1983. He died of a heart attack in 2014.

Military career

Born in

Scarborough Scarborough or Scarboro may refer to: People * Scarborough (surname) * Earl of Scarbrough Places Australia * Scarborough, Western Australia, suburb of Perth * Scarborough, New South Wales, suburb of Wollongong * Scarborough, Queensland, sub ...

Ontario Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...

, to Scottish immigrant parents, Withers spent 35 years in uniform, serving in the

Korean War The Korean War (25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953) was an armed conflict on the Korean Peninsula fought between North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea; DPRK) and South Korea (Republic of Korea; ROK) and their allies. North Korea was s ...

and in command and staff positions throughout Canada and overseas. General Ramsey Withers served 35 years in the Regular Force and six years in the Militia. His reserve service was as Honorary Lieutenant-Colonel of the Governor-General's Foot Guards. Withers was a professional engineer and a Fellow of

Georgian College Georgian College is a College of Applied Arts and Technology in Ontario, Canada, partnered with ILAC International College. It has 13,000 full-time students, including 4,500 international students from 85 countries, across seven campuses, the l ...

, holding earned degrees 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 ...

(student # 2951) and Queen's University. He was a graduate of the Canadian Army Staff College and Britain's Joint Services Staff College. On graduation from the

in 1952, his first posting was to 1 R 22eR in Korea. He was commissioned as a lieutenant in the Royal Canadian Corps of Signals. His first appointment as a general officer was in 1970 as the founding Commander of Canadian Forces Northern Region, with headquarters in Yellowknife, Northwest Territories. He commanded Canadian Forces Europe, in the rank of major-general. In 1977 on promotion to lieutenant-general, he returned to Canada as Vice Chief of the Defence Staff. In 1980, on promotion to general, he was appointed Canada's sixth Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) and Principal Commander of the Order of Military Merit. He retired in 1983.Biography - General Ramsey M. Withers
He was appointed Deputy Minister of Transport Canada 1983 until 1988, and served under Ministers Pépin, Axworthy, Mazankowski and Crosbie. During which time he was awarded the Commissioner's Award of the

Northwest Territories The Northwest Territories is a federal Provinces and territories of Canada, territory of Canada. At a land area of approximately and a 2021 census population of 41,070, it is the second-largest and the most populous of Provinces and territorie ...

in 1973] and the Outstanding Achievement Award of the Public Service of Canada.Ramsey Muir Withers
/ref> He retired from the Public Service in 1988.

Personal life

He married Alison Saunders in 1954. She died on 19 October 2011. They were survived by their son, twin daughters, and six grandchildren.

Civilian career

After retirement, Withers became president of a government relations firm, director of an

aerospace Aerospace is a term used to collectively refer to the atmosphere and outer space. Aerospace activity is very diverse, with a multitude of commercial, industrial, and military applications. Aerospace engineering consists of aeronautics and astron ...

technology company, a consultant to the Office of the Auditor General and Chairman of the Industry Government Relations Group. From 1988 to 1998, he worked in the private sector as president of one government relations firm and founding chairman of another, as a director of an aerospace technology company and as a consultant to the Office of the Auditor General.

Voluntary work

He also continued to be active in volunteer work. In addition to chairing the 1998 Royal Military College Board of Governors Study on Undergraduate Programs (culminating in the ''Withers Report''), Withers was the honorary director of the Canadian War Museum. He was a former Trustee of the

Canadian Museum of Civilization The Canadian Museum of History () is a national museum on anthropology, Canadian history, cultural studies, and ethnology in Gatineau, Quebec, Canada. The purpose of the museum is to promote the heritage of Canada, as well as support related res ...

and from 1988 to 1995 was Chairman of the

Canadian War Museum The Canadian War Museum (CWM) () is a National museums of Canada, national museum on the military history of Canada, country's military history in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. The museum serves as both an educational facility on Canadian military hist ...

Committee, former Director of the Canadian Institute of Strategic Studies, and an Honorary Vice-President of the Boy Scouts of Canada. He was an Honorary Life Director of the Friends of the Canadian War Museum. From 1997 to 2003 he was an elected member of Queen's University Council and, was Honorary President of the Royal Military Colleges Club of Canada as well as an Honorary Life Member. He also served as a Director of the CDA Institute.

Honours

Decorations include Commander of the Order of Military Merit, Commander of the Venerable Order of St. John and the Canadian Forces decoration with two bars. He served from 1977 to 1990 on the National Council of Scouts Canada and was a recipient of the Silver Wolf Award. Other awards include the Canadian Centennial Medal (1967), the Confederation of Canada 125 Medal (1992), The Queen Elizabeth II Silver Jubilee Medal (1977), Queen Elizabeth II Golden Jubilee Medal (2002), The Commissioner's Award of the Northwest Territories, the Outstanding Achievement Award of the Public Service of Canada and the National Transportation Award of Excellence. Ramsey Withers held two doctorates (honoris causa), was a Fellow of Georgian College and an honorary graduate of the National Defense College and the NATO Defense College. He was the recipient of the 1995 Queen's University Alumni Achievement Award and the 1996 Bi-Centennial Award of Merit from the City of Scarborough. In 2002, on being nominated by The Royal Canadian Legion, he was awarded the Queen Elizabeth II Golden Jubilee Medal. He was awarded the Commissioner's Award of the

and the Outstanding Achievement Award of the Public Service of Canada. He is the winner of the Queen's University Alumni Achievement Award. He was an honorary graduate of the National Defence College and the NATO Defense College. Archie Cairns composed the ''General Ramsey M. Withers'' (3/4 Retreat March 2003) for bagpipes in his honour.

Awards and decorations

Withers received the following orders and decorations:

CAN Canadian Volunteer Service Medal for Korea

United Nations Service Medal Korea ribbon

UK Queen Elizabeth II Silver Jubilee Medal ribbon

UK Queen Elizabeth II Golden Jubilee Medal ribbon

References

, - {{DEFAULTSORT:Withers, Ramsey 1930 births 2014 deaths Chiefs of the Defence Staff (Canada) Canadian Anglicans Canadian generals Canadian civil servants People from Scarborough, Ontario Royal Military College of Canada alumni Vice chiefs of the Defence Staff (Canada) Commanders of the Order of Military Merit (Canada) Military personnel from Toronto Royal Canadian Corps of Signals officers Canadian federal deputy ministers