Soldier Turned Diplomat
Although Odlum had left the Canadian Army in 1919 and had also resigned his commission in the militia in 1924, with the outbreak of World War II in 1939, he lobbied the government for a position in the expanding Canadian army. Eventually, through the efforts of his friend Ian Mackenzie, who was in the federal cabinet of William Lyon Mackenzie King, Odlum was promoted over several Permanent Force officers to the rank of Major General and command of the 2nd Canadian Infantry Division. However, instead of preparing his forces for modern warfare, Odlum devoted much time to "extraneous matters" such as regimental brass bands and arm patches. General Alan Brooke, the Chief of the Imperial General Staff, thought him a "political general", and was prompted to write to General Andrew McNaughton that Odlum was "too old...too set...to adapt his ideas" for the war.
In order to remove him from command, Odlum was appointed the High Commissioner to Australia from 1941 to 1942, and from 1942 to 1946, he was the Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary to China. In 1947, he was appointed Canada's first Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to Turkey, where he served until 1952.
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