Hyde, Walter C. (Walter Court), 1892-1967

Walter C. Hyde, born in Beaconsfield on Montreal Island, studied to be an architect like his father. He graduated from the McGill University School of Architecture in 1915 before enlisting in the military, citing “architect” as his occupation. Before actually beginning that occupation, he had a distinguished military career as commander of the 68th Battery of the Canadian Field Artillery in Operation Syren, the 1918 northern Russia Expeditionary Force that aided the British in their objective of taking the Siberian ports of Murmansk and Archangel. These forces were withdrawn in 1919 and he was assigned to the US for instructional service, having received the Distinguished Service Order and the Order of St. Stanislas with swords, second class. During the interwar period, in addition to architectural work, he continued to serve as non-permanent active commander of the 2nd Montreal Regiment of the Royal Canadian Artillery. At the start of World War II, he became commandant at Canadian Forces Base Petawawa before being appointed Brigadier commander of the Royal Canadian Artillery 4th Division; he was recalled in 1944 to the Pacific Command in Vancouver.