Vice Regal Guard possibly for General Pearkes, 1960s. Major General George Randolph Pearkes, VC, PC, CC, CB, DSO, MC, CD (February 28, 1888 – May 30, 1984) was a Canadian politician; soldier; recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest award for gallantry in the face of the enemy awarded to British and Imperial forces; and the 20th Lieutenant Governor of British Columbia from 1960 to 1968. Prior to WW I, George Pearkes served with the North-West Mounted Police in the Yukon. In March 1915, he enlisted in Victoria with the 2nd Canadian Mounted Rifles. He fought in the trenches for the entire war, was wounded five times and was awarded the Victoria Cross at the Battle of Passchendaele. Following the war, he became a career officer in the army and was a general staff officer at the Royal Military College in Kingston, Ontario from 1922 to 1933. He commanded the 2nd Canadian Infantry Brigade at the beginning of WW II and later the 1st Canadian Division. He opposed the ill-fated Dieppe Raid in 1942 and was transferred back to Canada to take over as commanding officer on the West Coast. Disagreeing with the government’s conscription policy, he retired from the army in 1945 and ran successfully for Parliament as a Conservative. When the Conservatives came to power in 1957 he became Minister of Defence, a position he held until he was installed as Lieutenant Governor on 13 October 1960. He was a popular choice with the public and became one of the few Lieutenant Governors to agree to an extended term. He finally stepped down in July 1968 and lived his retirement in Victoria. He was grand president of the Royal Canadian Legion from 1966 to 1976.