Canadian Forces

Colonel Worthington, Canadian Armoured Corps

gsellars

"In 1940, the Canadian Armoured Corps was formally established (the Royal prefix was granted in 1945). As its first senior officer, Colonel Worthington bought 265 US-built Renault tanks of First World War vintage to use in training. Because U.S. neutrality laws prohibited the sale of weapons to Canada, these antiques were bought for $120 each as scrap metal from the Rock Island Arsenal by the "Camp Borden Iron Foundry". During the Second World War Worthington organized the 1st Canadian Tank Brigade (later the 1st Canadian Armoured Brigade, an independent formation) and then converted the 4th Canadian Infantry Division to an armoured division in only five months. The division served overseas under the designation 4th Canadian (Armoured) Division and included the 4th Canadian Armoured Brigade and the 10th Canadian Infantry Brigade. Worthington commanded the division in Europe, though not in action. In 1944 he returned to Canada to administer Camp Borden, where replacements were trained for the Canadian Armoured Corps and Infantry, as well as the Royal Army Service Corps and the Canadian Provost Corps. After the war, he became the first Colonel-Commandant of the Royal Canadian Armoured Corps"