Westmount, Quebec – 10 July 2017: Honorary Colonel David Hart, MM, CD, the Honorary Colonel of the 34th Signals Regiment, turned 100 on Saturday 08 July 2017 and a party was organized by his daughter Leslie in the officers’ mess. More than 50 people turned out to wish him and his family well. His wife Miriam having turned 99 a few days prior, and his brother turned 98 as well – great family genes!
HCol Hart is a long-time friend of the RMR, having attended his very first RMR officers’ mess reunion dinner in 1955 – and he has been a fixture in the RMR ever since. Probably best known for his bravery at the ill-fated raid on Dieppe in 1942, HCol Hart saved many lives and was awarded the Military Medal for bravery and to “coolness under fire in the continuous performance of his duties.” The citation came out three months after the Dieppe Raid and HCol Hart received his medal from King George VI himself in Buckingham Palace.
HCol Hart was then commissioned into the Infantry but the war was over by the time he had been fully qualified. Returning to Montreal, he went on to study accounting and stayed in the military (Militia), eventually rising to the rank of Lieutenant-Colonel in 1965. Appointed Honorary Lieutenant-Colonel of 712 Communications Squadron from 1976 until 2013 when he was promoted to full Honorary Colonel of 34 Signal Regiment.
Happy birthday, Colonel Dave!