Sir Arthur Currie: A Jack Of All Trades And One Of The Greatest Military Commanders Of All Time In Canada

Discuss about the Arthur Currie Contributor Of The Canadian History.

Arthur Currie is one major contributor of the Canadian history.  Currie was a jack of all trades. He was an army officer, militia officer, real-estate developer, insurance salesman, teacher, and university administrator. He was born on the December 5^th of 1875 in Adelaide (The Canadian Encyclopedia, n.d.). He was educated in the public schools of Strathroy. Later in 1894, Currie migrated to British Columbia and taught in the public schools of Victoria and Sydney for about 5 years (Government of Canada, n.d.). Afterward, he developed his career as a private businessman in the capacity of an insurance salesman and real estate developer. Notably, in this business he practiced with little success and became heavily indebted due to failed real estate deals (Government of Canada, n.d.). Afterwards, he joined the army and served as a militia man and General of the Canadian corps. After leaving and retiring from the Military, Sir Arthur Currie moved to the education sector and became a principal and vice chancellor of McGill University (Government of Canada, n.d.).  Therefore, throughout his life, Sir Arthur Currie made significant contributions to the political, economic and cultural history of Canada.

It is important to note that Arthur Currie made significant contributions to the political history of Canada, especially with regards to the War, Revolts and Revolution aspect of history. Noteworthy, during his lifetime, Currie was an active member of the Canadian militia. Today, he is known for his contributions to the Canadian corps. He built his reputation as one of the most capable generals (Dictionary of Canadian Biography, n.d.). During First World War, Sir Arthur William Curry was the first commander of the Canadian Corps. In 1914, he was appointed commander of the 2nd Canadian Infantry Brigade (Government of Canada, n.d.). During this assignment proved himself as a capable training facilitator and organizer. He also led the Corps to several victorious journeys despite of lacking popularity. He had gained prominence during the Hundred-day campaign (The Canadian Encyclopedia, n.d.). Therefore his life story spans significantly around the role he had played in the corps. Hence this aspect of his character is important to study in History. Some of his advantages and skills were the importance that he gave in the process of preparation and training, and his acknowledgment of artillery’s significance to trench warfare (Dictionary of Canadian Biography, n.d.). During the end of his military career he served the position of inspector general of the militia forces in Canada.

Role in First World War

It is worth noting that in April 1915, his team played a critical role in maintaining the Allied position (Government of Canada, n.d.). As a result, he was appointed to lead the first Canadian division in September of the same year and led it successfully in the next two years (Government of Canada, n.d.). Although he lacked charisma as a leader, his acknowledgement of the magnitude of pre-battle preparation was helpful in the battle field (The Canadian Encyclopedia, n.d.). He learned tactfully the techniques of recent combats and sought to apply them in his army during his leadership.

In 1917, he was appointed as the head of the Canadian Corps (The Canadian Encyclopedia, n.d.). Notably, he was the only Canadian soldier to hold this post. He served and proved to be an exceptional commander. His wit and eagerness to demand for more fire arms in anticipation of major assaults led to the saving of many lives and improved the prospects of victory. Also, under his guidance, Canada cemented its status of possessing the best assault formation with an unbroken string for major victories between 1917 and 1918 (Government of Canada, n.d.).  As a result, he is regarded as one of the greatest generals of the war.

Despite his great contributions and sterling wartime reputation, his fame staggered during the post war period. Mainly, this is attributed to the fact that he was vocal in his disapproval of the selection of politically favored officers. Consequently, he developed enemies and was accused of having sacrificed people’s lives in unsuccessful battles during the Armistice (Canadian War Museum, n.d.). Although this was untrue, the accusation dogged him for a long time. Currie fought back and won a court case against libel and won. Unfortunately, the general died at the age of 57, leaving behind his wife and children as destitute. Luckily, she was awarded $50,000 by the Canadian government. Notably, this is the amount that Currie had hoped to secure in the lawsuit regarding libel.

It is critical to point out the fact that throughout his service, Sir Currie believed that Canada was destined to take on a more prominent position in the British Empire. In his opinion, the war would bring the birth of a new and more just society in Canada (Encyclopedia Britannica, n.d.). According to him, the crusading spirit of the war period would be transmitted home to the country by the soldiers of the war and attack the political, social and economic enemies of the nation with as much enthusiasm and vigor as they had during the war with Germany. Unfortunately, after the war, a new society did not rise up as imagined by the General (Encyclopedia Britannica, n.d.).  Even so, for Currie, it was not the goal or ideas that were faulty and were to blame, but the politicians who had failed to live up to the sacrifice of the Canadian soldiers. By the time he was dying, the failure of the society to turn a new leaf socially, politically and economically made Currie pessimistic, and was no longer the optimistic corps commander with a vision of a better Canada.

Post War Reputation

Regardless, Currie made significant contributions to the country’s political history. He led the army through one of the most dangerous wars of all time and won. Noteworthy is the fact that the Canadian troops never lost a battle while under his command (Encyclopedia Britannica, n.d.). Mainly, this is because he refused to deploy his army into battle without thorough planning. Today, he is best known for his outstanding leadership capabilities that led to the defeat of their enemies (Government of Canada, n.d.).  What is more, he should be remembered for his ingenuity, intelligence and unwavering effort in the battlefield.

Sir Arthur William Curry, after giving up his position in the military in 1920, became the principal of McGill University. He had held the position until his death in 1933 (Government of Canada, n.d.). Therefore, his contribution in the education field is also significant. Though his academic knowledge was limited to high-school diploma his exceptional capabilities in terms of management and he also showcased exceptional leadership qualities in his career in the military on the basis of these abilities he was chosen for this position (Canada’s History, n.d.). During his tenure he established department for music, the School for Graduate Nurses the Faculty of Graduate Studies and Research (Government of Canada, n.d.). As a result, during this period of his life, Curry made a name for himself as a premier university administrator. Furthermore, he was also the president of the National Conference of Canadian Universities (Government of Canada, n.d.). He was also a trustee of the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching. In this regard, the former General made a significant contribution to the education history of Canada.

Aside from being the vice chancellor and principal at the university, Sir Arthur Currie made significant contribution in the education history of the country during his early life. Specifically, the former general had been a teacher at public schools in Victoria and Sydney before joining the military (Canada’s History, n.d.). As a result, he was able to contribute to the education history of the country in his lifetime (Canada’s History, n.d.). In this regard, this aspect of his life is important to note and study as it shows how Sir Arthur Currie had aligned the education system with the changes in the society.

After being appointed as the principal of the university owing to his management skills he had not disappointed the decision as he had shown exceptional expertise. He had quickly gained respect from the staff as well as the students (Munroe, 2017). Moreover, he had led fund-raising campaigns to revive the institution (Government of Canada, n.d.). Despite of the great depression in the economy he had been able to increase the income of the institution (Munroe, 2017). The faculty of medicine in particular progressed under his supervision therefore his contribution to commerce and trade is also significant.

Contribution to Education History

Furthermore, it is worth noting that before joining the Canadian army, Currie worked as a private businessman in the position of an insurance salesman and real estate broker (Government of Canada, n.d.). Also, after the war, Currie lobbied Mackenzie King’s government to pay pensions to the veterans. Fortunately, he was able to convince the authorities to pay the soldiers their pensions thereby securing their compensation for the war. In turn, this aspect contributed to the economic welfare of the soldiers in the country after the war (Munroe, 2017). Therefore, one may argue strongly that Sir Currie made great contributions to the economy of Canada by taking part in economic activities in the form of trade and commerce as well as championing for the economic welfare of the soldiers of war.

Conclusion

All in all, all factors taken into consideration, Sir Arthur Curry played a significant role in shaping the history of Canada. A farm boy from Ontario who went to the west to seek his fortune during the Laurier boom, he served the military even before the war began. Initially, he commanded an artillery regiment for the British Columbia but was not a professional soldier.   However, he later joined the army and Currie became a commander in the First Canadian Division, and then the commander of the Canadian Corps. He was also later made the Inspector General of the Militia forces. Later in his life after retirement, Currie became the vice chancellor and principal of McGill University.  Thus, apart from making contributions to the  political history of the country, he also made contributions to the social (education) aspect of the history of the nation. In this regard, many attributes have been made to his name. He goes down in history as the greatest military commander of all time in Canada. Today, he is recognized as a national historic person in the country. He was a great inspiration to his army men and a tactful leader that sought to win every war he led. He was a capable administrator with sound judgment in everything he led. Indeed, Sir Arthur made significant contributions to the political, social and economic aspects of the Canadian history.

References

Battle of Vimy Ridge and Sir Arthur William Currie (1875-1933) (n. d.). Government of Canada. Retrieved March 29, 2018, from https://www.canada.ca/en/parks-canada/news/2017/04/battle_of_vimy_ridgeandsirarthurwilliamcurrie1875-1933.html

Canada and the First World War (n. d.). Canadian War Museum. Retrieved March 29, 2018, from https://www.warmuseum.ca/firstworldwar/history/people/generals/sir-arthur-currie/

Currie, Sir Arthur William (n. d.). Dictionary of Canadian Biography. Retrieved March 29, 2018, from https://www.biographi.ca/en/bio/currie_arthur_william_16E.html

History Idol: Sir Arthur Currie (n. d.). Canada’s History. Retrieved March 29, 2018, from https://www.canadashistory.ca/Explore/Military-War/History-Idol-Sir-Arthur-Currie

Munroe, S. (2017). Sir Arthur Currie. ThoughtCo. Retrieved March 29, 2018, from https://www.thoughtco.com/sir-arthur-currie-508088

Sir Arthur Currie (n. d.). The Canadian Encyclopedia. Retrieved March 29, 2018, from https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/sir-arthur-currie/

Sir Arthur William Currie (n. d.). Encyclopedia Britannica. Retrieved March 29, 2018, from https://www.britannica.com/biography/Arthur-William-Currie