William Dillon Otter
General Sir William Dillon Otter KCB, CVO, VD (December 3, 1843 – May 6, 1929) was a professional Canadian soldier who became the first Canadian-born Chief of the General Staff, the head of the Canadian Army.
Born near the Corners (Clinton), Upper Canada, he began his military career in the Non-Permanent Active Militia in Toronto in 1864. Captain William Otter was Adjutant of the Queen's Own Rifles in 1866. He first saw combat with them at the Battle of Ridgeway during the Fenian Raids.
He joined the Permanent Force as an infantry officer when Canada established its own professional infantry unit in 1883. On May 2, 1885, he led a Canadian force of more than 300 in the Battle of Cut Knife against Poundmaker's Cree Indians. Otter's tactics were ineffective against the defending warriors, forcing him to retreat.
In 1890 Otter founded the Royal Canadian Military Institute as a body for "the promotion and fostering of military art, science and literature in Canada." Otter commanded the 2nd (Special Service) Battalion of The Royal Canadian Regiment of Infantry in South Africa, where they were considered by many British officers to be the best infantry battalion in the country. He became the first Canadian-born officer to command Canada's military in 1908, and he retired in 1910. During the First World War he came out of retirement to command operations for the internment of enemy nationals resident in Canada.
Most famously though perhaps least well known of his accomplishments, Otter headed the Otter Commission. The Otter Commission was tasked to establish links of perpetuation from the units of Canadian Expeditionary Force back to the institutionally separate units of the Canadian Militia in the years following the First World War. This establishment of perpetuation, based primarily on geographical connections through original recruiting areas of the CEF battalions, provided a basis by which the achievements and battle honours of the CEF units transferred back to the units of the standing Militia. Without this work of the Otter Commission the CEF and its achievements would have had no continuance with existing units of the Canadian Army today.
Family connections
Sir William Dillon Otter is the grandfather of Canadian Military historian Desmond Morton. Sir William Dillon Otter is also the great-grandfather of Gerrards Cross based solicitor David Ronald Pritchard.
External links
- Biography at the Dictionary of Canadian Biography Online
- Information from civilisations.ca
- Information on Otter and the Otter Committee at canadiansoldiers.com
| Military offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Sir Percy Henry Noel Lake |
Chief of the
General Staff (Canada) 1908-1910 |
Succeeded by Sir Colin John Mackenzie |
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