 Chapter 4 King was never a man to take risks. "The great thing in politics," he said to Winston Churchill on New Year's Eve 1941, "is to avoid mistakes."' He exhibited none of the heroic qualities of the Canadian resourcefulness, daring, and imagination. Yet this mild little man had inner resources of the spirit that gave him power as well as mystique, so that he could be tough and ruthless and could even undermine colleagues when the occasion demanded: According to his own Calvinist lights, he held the interests of Canada in trust. He never permitted his attachment to the British connection to overshadow Canada's position as a nation in her own right. As his diary indicates, for example, he regarded Tommy Church's "Tory mentality" in respect to Britain as servile. And when the British command and Churchill decided that "for security reasons" there should be no reference to Canadian participation in the invasion of Sicily, Mackenzie King went directly to Roosevelt and demanded that the communiqué should read, "British, United States, Canadian forces have launched an attack on Sicily." It will be recalled that World War II was fought at sea, on land, and in the air with components of several countries under British or Allied command. King expected a full and fair share of Canadian casualties and demanded an acknowledgment of their identity. When the south coast of Sicily was invaded on 10 July 1943 by the American Seventh Army and the British Eighth Army, the First Canadian Division and other Canadian elements were part of the British Thirtieth Corps assault forces. Had King not insisted, Canadian seamen, soldiers, and airmen would have been recognized only as part of the great British effort. King had the political sense to realize that the Canadian combatants overseas were fiercely proud of their national identity. Nevertheless the Canadians had no distinctive flag. It was to remedy this situation that a Canadian Army routine order of 22 January 1944, announced that "The Canadian Red Ensign with the Shield of the Coat of Arms of Canada in the fly is to be flown at all units of the Canadian Army serving with forces of other nations." This followed an airforce routine order on November 10 1943 that "The Canadian Red Ensign with a shield of the CoatofArms of Canada in the fly is to be flown in addition to the R.C.A.F. Ensign, at all units of the R.C.A.F. serving with forces of other nations." Thus, eighteen years and more after Mackenzie King's humiliation at the hands of Tommy Church, the exigencies of the military had brought the question of the appropriate land flag for Canada into the forefront of Canadian politics, if only because the Rules and Regulations (Canada) 1939, familiarly known as "K R Can" stated categorically that the flag of Canada "was the Union Jack." This time the government, under the guise of a military routine order, acted decisively without advance comment or criticism. It may be recalled that on the occasion of the Quebec Conference of August 1943, which was attended both by the American president, Franklin Roosevelt, and the British prime minister, Winston Churchill, King had been annoyed at seeing the Union Jack and the Canadian flag flying with "the Canadian flag beneath the Union Jack, the day that Churchill arrived."2 He spoke to Churchill about the matter and thereafter ordered that the flags of America, Britain, and Canada at Quebec Citadel should fly side by side at equal heights. King's diary discloses his state of mind at this time, especially his entry for 20 March 1944: Before waking, was dreaming of what to do about a national anthem for Canada. There came to me very strongly the idea that "God Save the King" should be made the anthem of the British Commonwealth of Nations, and that "O Canada" should be the national anthem for Canada. I then thought of the Union Jack. Felt it could be proclaimed the national flag of the United Kingdom; that the Dominion could have a Union Jack in the corner, to show historical evolution and present association with the United Kingdom, though with each having its own distinct flag as well. I believe those ideas would please the King and meet with universal acceptance. Similarly the Union Jack could be seen either completely by itself or in the corner of the national flag in any part of the Commonwealth.3 At the caucus of 28 March 1944, the prime minister presented these views to the cabinet with the recommendation "that Canada take the Canadian Ensign and accept it at once as her national flag; not wait to design a special flag. Later a Committee could be appointed to consider new designs." His diary reveals that he thought "more and more of the
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