Before the NHL, for Campbell there was the Army
Prior to becoming the president of the National Hockey League, Clarence Campbell served five years in the Canadian army.
In A Letter from Frank, Major Campbell arrives at the southern English town of Coldharbour in April, 1944, where he assumes command of the Headquarters Squadron of the Fourth Canadian Armoured Division. It is less than two months until D-Day.
Like all Canadian volunteers for overseas service, he probably would not have believed only a few years earlier at the suggestion he would soon be in the army and about to take part in the liberation of western Europe.
Until 1939 Campbell had been a referee in the National Hockey League during winters. In summer, he practiced law with the firm of Wood, Buchanan, McDonald, McDonald and Campbell in Edmonton (Office 409 of the McLeod Building, to be exact). But in the spring of 1939, he was fired from his post as referee in the N.H.L.
The firing came following a game in 1939 involving the Maple Leafs, in which Toronto defenceman Red Horner was struck over the head with a stick and only a minor penalty was called by Campbell. Conn Smythe, fiery Maple Leaf owner, was so incensed he demanded Campbell's removal as a referee. As a result, Clarence Campbell spent the last few months of 1939 working in the league head office with NHL president Frank Calder, and was not rehired the following season.
Though continuing to referee in the minor leagues, in the summer of 1940 he enlisted in Second Battalion of the Edmonton Fusiliers. He entered the army at the rank of 2nd lieutenant, not unusual for someone with a degree in law and a Rhodes Scholar.
Over the next four years he trained in a range of branches of the army, serving in an infantry battalion, the artillery, the armoured corp, and in a divisional headquarters. He was purposely exposed to mustard gas and learned how to fire a rolling artillery barrage. He also tried desperately to be enrolled at Camberley, the British Officer Staff College, to qualify to lead a battalion in battle. But time and his age worked against him.
He was instead assigned command the Headquarters Squadron of the Fourth Canadian Armoured Division, which crossed the English Channel to Normandy in late July, 1944. During the months of combat that followed he narrowly escaped being killed on numerous occasions. He was fired at by snipers, caught in German artillery barrages, and twice narrowly missed being killed by bombs from Allied planes.
Surviving the war, he left the Fourth Division to join the Canadian War Crimes Investigation Unit. There he was elevated to the acting rank of Lieutenant Colonel, and came under the command of a pre-war colleague, Colonel Bruce MacLeod. Together they successfully prosecuted infamous SS General Kurt Meyer for the murder of Canadian soldiers who had been taken prisoner in Normandy. It was from this tense wartime court drama that Campbell left to become president of the National Hockey League.
A Letter from Frank sheds light into a part of the life of Clarence Campbell that up until now few had more than passing knowledge.
In A Letter from Frank, Major Campbell arrives at the southern English town of Coldharbour in April, 1944, where he assumes command of the Headquarters Squadron of the Fourth Canadian Armoured Division. It is less than two months until D-Day.
Like all Canadian volunteers for overseas service, he probably would not have believed only a few years earlier at the suggestion he would soon be in the army and about to take part in the liberation of western Europe.
Until 1939 Campbell had been a referee in the National Hockey League during winters. In summer, he practiced law with the firm of Wood, Buchanan, McDonald, McDonald and Campbell in Edmonton (Office 409 of the McLeod Building, to be exact). But in the spring of 1939, he was fired from his post as referee in the N.H.L.
The firing came following a game in 1939 involving the Maple Leafs, in which Toronto defenceman Red Horner was struck over the head with a stick and only a minor penalty was called by Campbell. Conn Smythe, fiery Maple Leaf owner, was so incensed he demanded Campbell's removal as a referee. As a result, Clarence Campbell spent the last few months of 1939 working in the league head office with NHL president Frank Calder, and was not rehired the following season.
Though continuing to referee in the minor leagues, in the summer of 1940 he enlisted in Second Battalion of the Edmonton Fusiliers. He entered the army at the rank of 2nd lieutenant, not unusual for someone with a degree in law and a Rhodes Scholar.
Over the next four years he trained in a range of branches of the army, serving in an infantry battalion, the artillery, the armoured corp, and in a divisional headquarters. He was purposely exposed to mustard gas and learned how to fire a rolling artillery barrage. He also tried desperately to be enrolled at Camberley, the British Officer Staff College, to qualify to lead a battalion in battle. But time and his age worked against him.
He was instead assigned command the Headquarters Squadron of the Fourth Canadian Armoured Division, which crossed the English Channel to Normandy in late July, 1944. During the months of combat that followed he narrowly escaped being killed on numerous occasions. He was fired at by snipers, caught in German artillery barrages, and twice narrowly missed being killed by bombs from Allied planes.
Surviving the war, he left the Fourth Division to join the Canadian War Crimes Investigation Unit. There he was elevated to the acting rank of Lieutenant Colonel, and came under the command of a pre-war colleague, Colonel Bruce MacLeod. Together they successfully prosecuted infamous SS General Kurt Meyer for the murder of Canadian soldiers who had been taken prisoner in Normandy. It was from this tense wartime court drama that Campbell left to become president of the National Hockey League.
A Letter from Frank sheds light into a part of the life of Clarence Campbell that up until now few had more than passing knowledge.
