Born Lucky: RSM Harry Fox, MBE, One D-Day Dodger's Story

J.L. Granatstein, Distinguished Research Professor of History Emeritus,
York University, served as Director of the Canadian War Museum from 1998
to 2000. His latest works are Who Killed Canadian History?, Who Killed
the Canadian Military, and Hell’s Cor

British-born Harry Fox came to Canada in his youth and joined the
Queen’s Own Rifles, a storied Toronto militia regiment. He served with
the unit in Newfoundland and in England, rising to become Regimental
Sergeant Major. The RSM is the heart of any infantry battalion, the
non-commissioned officer who sets the standard in discipline and
training. But Fox did not go into action with the Queen’s Own;
instead, he went to Italy to join the “Hasty Pees” (the Hastings and
Prince Edward Regiment in the First Canadian Division) in the winter of
1944. He served with this regiment until the end of the war.

This is a first-rate account, Fox’s memories being honed by his
collaborator Craig Cameron, a chaplain in the present Canadian Forces.
There is much on the duties of an RSM, naturally enough, on the strains
of battle, and on the way understrength units struggled to attack the
enemy in hard conditions. The Hasty Pees fought in the costly Hitler
Line and Gothic Line actions while Fox served with them, and he set up
the battalion headquarters when the Canadian Corps in Italy moved to the
Netherlands for the final days of the war.

Born Lucky is a splendid, well-written book, a worthy addition to
Canadian war memoirs.