John Ross Matheson was born in Arundel, Quebec, on 14 November 1917. John grew up as the only son and eldest of four children to parents Reverend Dr. A. Dawson Matheson and Gertrude Matheson of Quebec City. At age 18, John trained at the Royal Military College in 1936 and graduated from Queen’s University in 1940. Additionally, he enlisted in the Militia, the 57th Field Battery, RCA, in 1937 and served as a Gunner, Bombardier and Sergeant until September 1939. He received his Commission in June 1940 with the 1st Field Brigade, RCA, posted to Camp Petawawa, then overseas to Camp Borden. Once in England, he was assigned fire control duties on the south coast – December 1940 and 1941, during massive bombing raids – the Blitzes.
John Matheson is the only officer to have served during the war in all three batteries of 1 RCHA. Firstly, at the guns in B Battery in October 1941. Then to the 1st Division HQ as an Artillery Intelligence Staff Officer in July 1942. Matheson asked for a transfer when he found his name posted to return to Staff College in Canada. The war had not been going well, and he wished to service the Guns.
Captain Matheson participated in the 1st Canadian Division’s landing during Operation HUSKY, the invasion of Sicily. He was a FOO in A Battery, 1 RCHA, landing at Pachino beaches. Matheson served as a FOO throughout the Sicilian Campaign and was one of the first FOOs to land on the Italian mainland at Reggio di Calabria. Matheson continued to control the fire of the guns of 1 RCHA in support of some of Canada’s most celebrated units as they moved north along Italy’s Adriatic coast.
Captain Matheson worked with the R22eR, the PPCLI, the RCR, the 48th Highlanders, the West Nova Scotias, the Hastings and Prince Edwards, the Loyal Edmontons, the Seaforth Highlanders and the Carleton and Yorks. He saw action with all nine battalions of the 1st Canadian Division and with units of the British Malta Brigade. Matheson experienced the vicious fighting of the Italian campaign. While preparing to cross the Moro River and move into battle with the West Nova Scotias, a German artillery shell wounded him. The Canadian Army hospitalized him for several months. His next move was to embark on a long legal and political career.
In four parliaments as MP for Leeds Riding, from 1961 to 1968, Matheson chaired the then Standing Committee on External Affairs, served as Prime Minister L.B. Pearson’s Parliamentary Secretary, and as a member of the Special Defence Committee. He was particularly interested in defence and intelligence. Canada sent him as an observer to the United Nations in 1961. Matheson went on several missions to Europe and Asia on behalf of the Prime Minister. During this period, Prime Minister Pearson assigned him the task responsible for Canadian symbolism. John Matheson worked very hard with others to develop both the Maple Leaf flag and the Order of Canada. From 1968 to 1992, Judge Matheson held judicial appointments in the District of Ottawa-Carleton, the County Court of Lanark, and the Ontario Court of Justice.
In 1972, in Ottawa, he rejoined the militia in an honorary capacity and participated in many conferences of defence associations. He received the Canadian Forces Decoration in 1977 and retired from the 30th Field Regiment of The Royal Regiment in 1982 with the rank of Colonel. A life member of the Royal Canadian Artillery Association, the Royal Canadian Horse Artillery Brigade Association, the Royal Military College Club of Canada, the United Services Institute and the Royal Canadian Legion, and a member of the Canadian Intelligence and Security Association and the Canadian Institute of Strategic Studies, he continues to be active as a public speaker.
John Matheson was a Canadian lawyer, judge, politician, and soldier. He is best known for developing the national flag and the Order of Canada. He passed away at 96 in Kingston, Ontario, in 2013.