top of page

Forbes in the Military

20th and 21st Centuries

Jean-Charles Forbes

Jean-Charles Forbes

Canadian Army

Lieutenant-Colonel

Years of Service:

1942 - 1965

Sir Jean-Charles "Charly" Forbes , RMWO , MID , CD, was a lieutenant and acting as commander of a mortar platoon when he participated in the Normandy landings inJune 1944 with the Maisonneuve Regiment by landing at Courseulles-sur-Mer. He participated in the liberation of Holland and was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Military Order of William , the highest honor in the Netherlands , by Queen Wilhelmina of the Netherlands in person. After World War II, Forbes joined Les Fusiliers du Saint-Laurent , then the 1st Battalion, Royal 22 Régiment (R22 e R) and in 1950, he participated in the Korean War with the 2nd battalion of R22 e R1. In 2005, he was inducted into the Salon des Croix de Victoria of the Cercle de la garrison de Québec, the Military Order of William being equivalent to the Victoria Cross.. In 2006, he received the medal of the National Assembly of Quebec. In 2007, he was decorated with the Knight's Cross of the National Order of the Legion of Honor , the highest French distinction , in recognition of his heroic conduct during World War II.

bottom of page