Admiral Sacked In Canada

Press, Volume CVI, Issue 31118, 22 July 1966, Page 11

Admiral Sacked In Canada

(N.Z.P.A. Reuter—Copyright)

OTTAWA, July 21.

The Defence Minister, Mr Paul Hellyer, last night sacked an admiral for publicly attacking Government plans to combine Canada’s three armed services into a single command.

He named Commodore John : C. O’Brien to succeed RearAdmiral William Landymore as commander of the integrated martime command and of the Atlantic fleet with the rank of rear-admiral. Mr Hellyer said he was retiring Admiral Landymore, aged 50, without penalty although he contravened service regulations by publicly opposing Government policy while in uniform. The Minister also said he. was prepared to accept the, resignation of Rear-Admiral ■ M C. Stirling, aged 51. the Pacific fleet commander, who had told h>m he could not support a policy of complete unification. Mr Hellyer has been proceeding by stages towards uni-i

fication with one walking-out uniform and a common rank structure. So far the command structure has been integrated with Navy, Army and Air Force officers serving together at headquarters and the various commands across the country. Mr Hellyer told the defence committee earlier this year that it is time to prepare for the next step—uniting the three services at the unit level into one service. In Halifax. Nova Scotia, the; signal flags on the Royal Can-, ‘ adian Navy's Atlantic fleet i spelled out “Well done Landymore" when some 5000 ser- ’ vicemen. civilian employees and dependents cheered Rear- ■ Admiral Landymore in an impromptu farewell.