George Cowley
George Cowley served for over 30 years as an officer in the former Canadian Department of External Affairs (now Global Affairs). In 1965, he was appointed attache to then governor-general Georges Vanier. He and his wife, Deborah, became close personal friends of the Vanier family. He served as consultant to Robert Speaight’s definitive biography, Vanier: Soldier, Diplomat and Governor General (1970), and co-edited, with Michel Vanier, Only to Serve: Selections from Addresses of Governor General Georges P. Vanier (1970). Cowley passed away in 2006.
Bio last updated April 30th, 2019.
Articles by George Cowley
Georges Vanier
By George Cowley
November 4, 2016
His first words as Governor General of Canada were a prayer seeking blessing and humility. He lived and served through both World Wars, promoting healing and serving as a skillful diplomat.
The announcement that General Georges Vanier had been appointed the governor-general of Canada came at a meeting of the Canadian cabinet in Halifax at which Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II presided In 1927, Vanier held the rank of lieutenant colonel and was sent to Geneva as a Canadian military advisor to the League of Nations disarmament: “I ask you to open your eyes to human suffering, to direct your hearts to those who have not the strength to ask for help As he took the oath of office in 1959, Vanier said to Parliament, “My first words are a prayer