Dr. (Lieutenant Colonel) 

Arnott Hume "Pete" Stevens 

1919-1985

Lieutenant A H Stevens while serving in Newfoundland with the Lincoln & Welland Regiment, circa 1942. The motorcycle is his Harley-Davidson WLC DND number 42-1-5561.

My father was born in St. Catharines, Ontario. Although his legal name was Arnott Hume Stevens, he was known as "Pete" to everyone including his family. He added the ancestral name MacGregor at some point. 

He served as a cadet drummer with the Lincoln & Welland Regiment, then was commissioned as an officer with them by 1939. He served with them in Nanaimo, BC, and Newfoundland. 

He became Aide de Camp to General Page, General Officer, General Officer  Commanding W Force in Newfoundland.

  Click on photo to enlarge it.

Lieutenant (pronounced left-tenant in Canadian and British armies) A. H. Stevens in 1943 while doing battle  training in England. The rifle is a 1918 Lee Enfield SMLE (No. 1 Mk. III*) which had been used on the Dieppe Raid in August 1942 by the Essex Scottish, brought back by a wounded survivor, found, written off, and then got working by Dad. He then carried it in training and on operation(s) with No. 4 Commando when he was attached to them.  Colin now has this rifle, and Dad's bayonet.

Anxious for action, he transferred to the Essex Scottish Regiment which had lost virtually all of its officers at the Dieppe Raid in August 1942. Dad was happy that this regiment wore the Macgregor tartan - which is one of Dad's ancestral families.

Lieutenant Arnott Hume Stevens, 1944. He is back in Canada after having been wounded with No. 4 Commando. He is wearing his Essex Scottish uniform. He has the 21 Army Group formation patch above his 2 Canadian Division blue formation patch. Colin Stevens now has this blouse, kilt and sporran.

My Essex Scottish page: http://bcoy1cpb.pacdat.net/essex_scottish.htm

In 1943 he was attached to No. 4 Commando and was wounded in September 1943 on a small raid near St. Pierre Eglise on the Cherbourg Peninsula in France. As he was getting back into the landing craft, he was hit in the leg by a piece of shrapnel. 

  Combined Operations patch which my father kept from 1943 as a souvenir. This is the as issued Naval trades badge 'tombstone' shape. Army Commando soldiers usually trimmed these to a circle shape. The C.O. patches were worn with the Tommy gun pointing forward. The one shown above is for the left arm. The bird symbolizes the air force, the anchor the navy and the Tommy gun the army - all working together as "Combined Operations". 

  Dad's Wilkinson F-S Fighting Knife that he was issued while serving with No. 4 Commando in 1943. No. 4 Commando gave him a chit and sent him to Wilkinson Sword to pick up a knife. The clerk there asked if he would like his name on it, and he agreed. His name, city and province were etched onto the blade by Wilkinson  Sword staff in London. (Colin Stevens' collection)

  Photo of the Commando Memorial in Scotland. (A.H. Stevens' photo) 

My No. 4 Commando web page:  http://bcoy1cpb.pacdat.net/no_4_commando.htm

The leg wound became infected and although he returned to Canada fro treatment at Hamilton, and served as an instructor at Brockville Officer Training Centre, he was eventually released from active service by Christmas 1944.  

  Left to right: Lieut. A. H Stevens, Governor General of Canada the Earl of Athlone, unknown man. Hamilton, Ont. 1944. Dad is wearing a 21 Army Group patch under his Essex Scottish shoulder title. The kilt it the Macgregor tartan. I have the battledress blouse, kilt and sporran that appear in this photo. Dad had cut off the 21 Army Group patches, and I have replaced these two with other originals that I was able to obtain.

  21 Army Group formation patch. (Obtained from a collector). I believe Dad made his own as I found the cardboard templates in his Army ID book.

Dad became a Doctor after WWII. He joined the Militia artillery in Ottawa (44 Fd?), Royal Canadian Army Medical Corps (served as 2ic of the unit in Halifax - 18 Med Coy?), and served as Medical Officer at HMCS Chippawa. He was a Lieutenant Colonel.

Lieutenant Colonel A. H. Stevens. He is wearing the collar badges of his 'family' regiment the Lincoln & Welland Regiment. Photo taken circa 1970?

He married Estelle and they had five children: Colin, Dave, Mary, Marj and Rob.

In his civilian career Dad trained to be a doctor (GP) at the University of Toronto. He interned at Regina General Hospital (1951) and then practiced in Campbell River, BC and St. Catharines, Ontario. He wanted to become a neuro-surgeon, but his war wound prevented that. He then joined the Federal Government and served with Health and Welfare in Ottawa. While there he made several trips to the Arctic on board the supply ship C. D. Howe. On one occasion he was flown in by tiny aircraft on a pioneering rescue flight in the dead of winter. After landing, he had to travel by dog-sled. An Inuit (Eskimo) village had an epidemic and could not wait for the spring thaw. Dad was able to stop the epidemic. 

Dad then took a posting to the Canadian Embassy in London, England. After being there a couple of months, we moved the Rome, Italy where he served at the Embassy. 

He later took the job of Port Medical Officer for Halifax, Nova Scotia. Later still we moved to Winnipeg, and he later took the job of Port Medical Officer for Vancouver, BC until his retirement. 

Dad's hobbies included photography (he was excellent at this), fencing, shooting, sailing, curling, electronics (he built radios etc.), fishing, carpentry (he built much of our furniture), stamp collecting (as a youth), reading etc. The first thing he did when he moved into a new house was build bookshelves. 

His ashes are in the MACGREGOR & STEVENS family plot at Victoria Lawn Cemetery in St. Catharines, Ontario.

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