Major General Charles Sumner Lund Hertzberg , CB, MC, VD
Major General Charles Sumner Lund Hertzberg was born in Toronto in 1886. He graduated from the School of Practical Science at the University of Toronto in 1905. He was a consulting engineer before and after World War I. He joined the 2nd Field Company Canadian Engineers (CE) in 1902 and was commissioned in 1904. He went overseas in 1916, and then to France with the 7th Field Company CE later that year. On 21 January 1917, Sapper Bill Cox and Lieutenant Hertzberg were working on the tunnelling sub-way system being constructed at Ecoivres. Both men were seriously wounded by shell splinters fired by a German minewerfer, a weapon designed to attack engineer mining works. Sapper William Cox died of his wounds in the 10th Canadian Field Ambulance; Lt Hertzberg survived his wounds and was awarded the Military Cross for gallantry in action.
He was wounded in the chest at Vimy Ridge, and after a long period of convalescence was returned to Canada in June 1917 where he served as Adjutant of the Military Hospital in Toronto. In September 1918 he deployed as second in command 16th Field Company, CE which was part of the Siberian Expeditionary Force. Six months later he was promoted to major and appointed Commanding Officer. The Slovak Republic awarded him their Croix de Guerre for his services in Siberia. He remained active in the reserve forces between the two world wars.
On 16 November 1939, he was appointed Commander of the 1st Division Engineers in the rank of Lieutenant-Colonel. His subsequent rise was mercurial. In May 1940, while still CRE he was promoted to Colonel. Upon the formation of the British VII Corps in July 1940 he appointed Chief Engineer and promoted to Brigadier. In a headquarters reorganization in November he took direct control of all works, construction and all planning for future expansion and technical development. In 1941 as Chief Engineer 1st Canadian Corps he conducted 20 detailed inspections, covering all RCE units.
On 6 April 1942 he was promoted Major General and appointed Chief Engineer, 1st Canadian Army. He was the first Canadian engineer to hold that position. On 23 June 1943, he handed over the appointment to Brigadier Melville.
In October 1943 he went to India to advise Southeast Asia Command on the rapid construction of airfields using prefabricated bituminous surfacing. Major General Hertzberg died of smallpox in New Delhi in January 1944. His remains are buried in the Delhi War Cemetery.
Note:
Two of his nephews also perished during the Second World War. Olaf Morris Hertzberg, MiD, Croix de guerre avec palme de bronze (France)(for actions at Dieppe), of the Canadian Intelligence Corps, was killed in North Africa while attached to the British Army in February 1943. Captain Peder Harbo Anderdon Hertzberg, Royal Canadian Regiment, was killed in Italy in December, 1944. His son, Major Peter Alexander Hertzberg (Ret’d), served in the RCE with the 5th Canadian Armoured Division in the United Kingdom, Italy and North West Europe from 1941 to 1945. He died in 2018.
