Major-General Hardy Nelson Ganong CBE, VD, ED (Apr 18, 1890 - February 24, 1963) was a Canadian sportsman and a military commander who served in both World War I and II. Early life The son of Edward Morrison Ganong and Margaret A. Lunn, Hardy Ganong was born and educated in St. Stephen, New Brunswick. He was a cousin to the family that founded Ganong Bros. chocolate makers and after completing his schooling went to work in this business. World War I In 1909, Hardy Ganong joined the Canadian Militia, then following the outbreak of World War I enlisted in the Canadian Expeditionary Force. He was sent overseas as part of the Canadian Expeditionary Force where he served on the battlefields of France as a member of the 5th Battalion Canadian Mounted Rifles. He was wounded in February 1917, suffering a gunshot wound to the left shoulder during a routine period with his unit in the trenches. He was discharged from hospital and was subsequently returned to duty in November 1917. Demobilized in 1919, he returned home where, in 1920, he married schoolteacher Mildred Viola Thomas of Calais, Maine with whom he had three children. World War II During peacetime, Ganong remained as a member of the militia, and, by the time World War II broke out, he had risen to the rank of lieutenant colonel. Made commander of the Carleton and York Regiment, he led the regiment as the first Canadian military unit to ship to England for battle duty. In March 1941, Ganong took command of the 3rd Canadian Infantry Brigade and in July 1942 was promoted to major general. Sent back to Canada on the advice of Bernard Montgomery, he was appointed general officer to organize and command the 8th Canadian Infantry Division of the Home Service Divisions. Stationed for a time at Prince George, British Columbia, in October 1943 he was placed in command of the 6th Canadian Infantry Division headquartered on Vancouver Island, where he was in charge of preparations for participation in the invasion of Japan. Ganong was awarded the Efficiency Decoration for his years of voluntary military service and in 1944 was appointed a Commander of the Order of the British Empire. In December 1944, with Canadian participation in the invasion of Japan cancelled and a Pacific coastal defence no longer deemed necessary, he was assigned to command the Allied troops in Newfoundland, where