Hitsman, J. Mackay, 1917-1970 : John Mackay Hitsman was born 19 April 1917 in Kingston, Ontario, the son of Samuel Hitsman and Minnie Mackay. He studied at Queen's University receiving his Bachelor of Arts degree in 1939 and his Master of Arts in 1940. His Master's thesis, titled "Canadian Naval Policy", was the first thesis written on Canadian naval history. He received his PhD in history from the University of Ottawa in 1964. While at Queen's University, "Mac" Hitsman was a member of the Canadian Officer Training Corps and in April 1941 he was commissioned as a Lieutenant in the Royal Canadian Artillery. He transferred to the Royal Canadian Ordnance Corps in 1942 and went overseas to England in August 1943. During this period he had begun to show signs of the progressive debilitating physical condition that ultimately caused his early death. Deemed unfit for active combat, he was posted to Canadian Military Headquarters in London in October 1943 for service with the Army Historical Section under C.P. Stacey. Promoted to captain in September 1944, Hitsman remained in the Army until his deteriorating health forced his discharge in 1947. At that time, he joined the Army Historical Section, later the Directorate of History, as a civilian historian where he remained until shortly before his death in 1970.
In spite of his difficulty walking or standing, Hitsman was a prolific historian who contributed to the official history of the Canadian Army in the Second World War while writing his own articles and books on Canadian military history. The latter included "Military Inspection Services in Canada, 1855-1950" (Ottawa: Queen's Printer, 1962), "The Incredible War of 1812: A Military History" (Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1965), and "Safeguarding Canada, 1763-1871" (Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1968), based on his PhD thesis. "Broken Promises: A History of Conscription in Canada" (Toronto: Oxford University Press, 1977), co-authored with J.L. Granatstein, was published posthumously. It was reprinted in 1985 by Copp Clark Pitman while "The Incredible War of 1812" was reprinted in 1999 by Robin Brass Studio. Hitsman died in Ottawa on 11 February 1970. He married Helen Catherine Munro in 1953 and had three stepsons.
