Sanford, Chris

Chris Sanford
28 November 1899 – 31 January 1959
Place of birth	London, England
Allegiance	Canada
Service/branch	Canadian Army
Rank	Lieutenant-Colonel

Lieutenant-Colonel Chris Sanford (28 November 1899 - 31 January 1959) was a Canadian soldier who served before and during the Second World War.

Early Life

Chris Sanford was born on 28 November 1899 at London, England to parents Walter Sanford and Christiana "Chrissie" Joiner.

He was educated at Hertford College, Oxford, between 1920 and 1923 and graduated with a BA. In 1923 he became a Milton Hersey Fellow in Chemistry at Queen's University, Kingston Ontario.

Service

What's known of Sanford's service is:

• 1924 - Joined the Royal Canadian Corps of Signals.
• 3 Jun 1927 - Returning to Borden Ontario from the Royal Military College of Canada in Kingston Ontario. Length of stay at RMC and purpose not found.
• Dec 1927 - Oct 1929 - Transferred to the District Signal Officer's office in Militia District 13 (MD 13) in Calgary Alberta.
• 13 Oct 1929 - Promoted to the substantive rank of Capt. Had been Brevet and Temporary Captain.
• 1 Oct 1929 - 20 Mar 1930 - Capt Sanford appointed as Adjutant of The Depot, Royal Canadian Corp of Signals. Bordon Ontario.
• ???? - 10 Mar 1933 - Attended Staff College Preparatory Course at the Royal Military College in Kingston Ontario.
• 11 Mar 33 - 6 Dec 33 - Appointed an Instrctor at the Royal Canadian School of Signals, Borden ON.
• Oct 1933 - Served as Commanding Officer of The Depot, RCCS.
• Dec 1933 - July 1934 - Attended Staff College at Camberly England.
• July 1934 - Transferred to the office of the Director of Signals at Army Headquarters in Ottawa Ontario.
• Jan 1935 – Dec 1935 (?) – Attended Staff College, Quetta, Balochistan, India. Notably, Colonel B.L. "Monty" Montgomery, DSO, was an instructor at the College at that time.
• July 1937 - Rank is shown as Major.
• Nov 1939 - Appointed HQ Major and Second in Command of 1st Canadian Divisional Signals.
• Aug 1940 - Attended Senior Officers Course in UK. Promoted to the rank of Lieutenant-Colonel.
• Aug 1940 - April 1941 - Officer Commanding 1st Canadian Divisional Signals.
• May 1941 - Returned to Canada - not clear to what job/function.
• May 1944 - There is a reference of him visiting the Canadian Signal Training Centre in Kingston Ontario. Doesn't indicate his role but he was traveling with the Director of Operational Research Branch.
• 1946 - Retired from the Royal Canadian Corps of Signals.

Personal Life

After his military service, Sanford returned to school and graduated with a MA in 1947. He took a post at the University of British Columbia and was later appointed professor at the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute at Troy, USA.

Chris married Margaret (Mary) Evans on 24 November 1939 at Toronto Ontario. Together they had a daughter, Rosamond Irene Sanford (1943-1986), born 19 July 1943 at Ottawa. It is believed there was a second child of the marriage but it's unknown when/where.

Chris Sanford died on 31 January 1959.

Related Pages

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  Western Branch School of Signals Sarcee Camp 1931