Military Career
During the Second World War, Whitaker was awarded the DSO at the rank of captain for his achievement in the Battle of Dieppe in 1942. He was the only one of the 100 officers who landed on the beach to fight his way into town and escape unwounded. As a Lieutenant Colonel, Whitaker commanded the 1st Battalion The Royal Hamilton Light Infantry - Canadian Army Active from February 17, 1944 until July 17, 1944 and from September 15, 1944 until March 29, 1945, throughout most of the fighting in northwest Europe. He won a second Distinguished Service Order in February 1945 for leadership during the Battle of the Goch-Calcar Road.
At the end of the war, he was promoted to the rank of Brigadier-General. Whitaker left the army in 1951, but returned as Honorary Colonel of the Royal Hamilton Light Infantry from 1972 to 1992.
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