Rollo Mainguy


Edmond Rollo Mainguy OBE, CD was a Canadian Naval officer.

Military career

Mainguy was born in Victoria, British Columbia in 1901 and attended the Royal Naval College of Canada in 1915 during the First World War.
With the start of the Second World War he took command of and then before being promoted to Captain and taking overall command of Royal Canadian Navy destroyers in Halifax in 1941. In 1942 he was appointed acting Commodore and took command of RCN destroyers in Newfoundland, quickly followed by an appointment to Ottawa as Chief of Naval Personnel. He returned to active duty as the commanding officer of in 1944. As a part of British Pacific Fleet Uganda took part in the Okinawa campaign.
In the post-war years Mainguy was appointed Flag Officer Pacific Coast in 1946, Flag Officer Atlantic Coast in 1948, and was the head of the commission that investigated the RCN insubordination incidents of 1949 before becoming Chief of the Naval Staff in 1951.
He retired from the Royal Canadian Navy in 1956 as a Vice-Admiral. In retirement he was president of Great Lakes Shipping until 1965. He died in 1979.

Family

Mainguy married Maraquita Nichol, daughter of Walter Cameron Nichol, in 1927. Their son, Daniel Mainguy, later also reached the rank of Vice-Admiral, serving as Vice Chief of the Defence Staff from 1983 to 1985.

Awards and Decorations

Mainguy's personal awards and decorations include the following:



RibbonDescriptionNotes
Order of the British Empire
  • Decoration awarded on 01 January 1943
  • Officer level
  • Citation
British War Medal
  • WWI 1914-1918
  • Victory Medal
  • WWI 1914-1918
  • 1939–1945 Star
  • WWII 1939-1945
  • Atlantic Star
  • WWII 1939-1945
  • Pacific Star
  • WWII 1939-1945
  • Defence Medal
  • WWII 1939-1945
  • Canadian Volunteer Service Medal
  • with Overseas Service bar
  • War Medal 1939–1945 with Mentioned in dispatches
  • WWII 1939-1945
  • King George VI Coronation Medal
  • Decoration awarded on 12 May 1937
  • Canadian Forces Decoration
  • with two Clasp for 32 years of services
  • Legion of Merit
  • Decoration awarded on 01 January 1946
  • Officer level
  • Citation
  • United States award