Fonds 90/444 - Armand Letellier fonds

Colonel Joseph Oscar Armand Letellier (1913-2003) served with the Canadian Army during the Second World War and was appointed Director of National Defence Headquarters (NHDQ) in 1966. He received his Commission in the Regiment of Hull in 1934, and obtained a B.A. at the University of Ottawa. In 1939 he joined the active service and served at First Army Headquarters, in North-West Europe. Upon his return to Canada, after the war, he was initiated to bureaucracy in the Defence Secretary's Office, at NDHQ. After serving in Germany with the 27th Infantry Brigade, in 1952-1953, he returned to NDHQ. He was again in the Federal Republic of Germany, as Commandant of the Third Battalion of the Royal 22e Régiment. In 1959 he returned to Ottawa where he was appointed under-director of the Infantry. Promoted to Colonel in 1962, he was sent to the Canadian Army Staff College, in Kingston, where he acted as the Deputy Commandant. In 1966, he was appointed Director of the NDHQ Organization. General J.V. Allard called upon him to put together the Bilingualism Secretariat which was charged with the establishment of the policy for the linguistic reform in the Department of National Defence. He held this office for six months, retiring in 1968. After a long stay in Kingston, Colonel Letellier and his family spent one year at Grenoble University (France). On his return to Ottawa, he was recalled by General J.A. Dextraze, who was appointed Chief of Defence Staff. Letellier occupied many different positions as a civilian in NDHQ between 1971 and 1977. He died on 19 January 2003.