H. Clifford Chadderton is a devoted man. For more than 40 years, he has tirelessly served the needs of Canadian amputees, both young and old, through The War Amps. This devotion has taken him down many paths. By his own admission, some were arduous, others controversial, but each has had its special purpose.

Officially, Mr. Chadderton is known as Chief Executive Officer of The War Amps and Chairman of the National Council of Veteran Associations in Canada (NCVA). Unofficially, to the thousands of amputee children who look up to him, he is simply Cliff; to thousands of veterans across the country, Mr. Veteran.

Veteran

Mr. Chadderton lost his right leg below the knee in 1944 while in command of a company of the Royal Winnipeg Rifles, battling for the Scheldt Estuary in Belgium and Holland during the Second World War. When he returned to Canada, The War Amps was there to assist him -- as it had been for so many other amputee veterans since the First World War -- in rebuilding his life as an amputee. Until joining the Association full time in 1965, he held several impressive positions: Adviser to the Minister of Labour in veterans rehabilitation, National Secretary of the Army Benevolent Fund, and Director of the Canadian Army Financial Welfare Program.

From 1965 to 1968, he served as Secretary and Executive Director of the Woods Committee, formed to conduct an extensive study on veterans pension legislation in Canada. The final study was acclaimed as the most important of its kind since the Second World War.

War Amps CEO

In 1965, Mr. Chadderton took on the full-time position of Chief Executive Officer of The War Amps. With him at the helm, the organization grew dramatically and has become known the world over for its innovative programs and ideas. For example, he expanded The War Amps Key Tag Service -- established in 1946 to provide war amputees with work at competitive wages -- into a modern-day facility with state-of-the-art equipment and computers.

The continued growth in the public's use of the Key Tag Service, has enabled The War Amps to provide more jobs for amputees and other disabled adults. It has also allowed the expansion of existing programs as well as the development of new ones, for at no time has the organization received government grants. The most revolutionary program to spring from this growth was the CHAMP Program for child amputees, in 1975.

Mr. Chadderton is also well-known nationally and internationally as a video producer. Being a war veteran and an amputee make him uniquely qualified to produce the kinds of videos that have won so many awards for The War Amps. His wartime experiences have enabled him to produce the Military Heritage documentary series. He learned to downhill ski at the age of 66 because he wanted to make a video which would inspire amputees -- both young and old -- to take up the sport as a recreational pastime. An entire series of award-winning ski videos grew from one of the first productions, The Nakiska Kids.

Chairman of the National Council of Veteran Associations

Throughout his tenure with The War Amps, Mr. Chadderton has maintained a very high profile in the veterans community. As Chairman of the National Council of Veteran Associations (NCVA), he is called upon regularly by the media to comment on veteran issues of both national and international significance.

Mr. Chadderton has a long list of credits to his struggle for veterans rights. His most recent achievement was seeing compensation granted to Canada's Merchant Navy veterans. Benefits that were received by veterans of the Armed Forces at the end of the Second World War were withheld from Merchant Seamen to encourage them to continue their service in a postwar Merchant Navy, which never came to pass. The ex gratia Merchant Navy Special Benefit, announced on February 1, 2000, and concluded on May 4, 2001, removes the "black mark" that hung over Canadian veterans programs. After Mr. Chadderton's long-standing campaign pursuing a payment in lieu of benefits for them, the Canadian government granted compensation of $104.5 million in total for qualified Canadian Merchant Navy veterans and their surviving spouses for war-related service.

Mr. Chadderton has also seen justice served for Canada's Hong Kong veterans. As prisoners of war of the Japanese, they were forced into slave labour during the Second World War. As Patron of the Hong Kong Veterans Association, Mr. Chadderton led the fight for compensation since 1987, both at the United Nations Human Rights Commission in Geneva, Switzerland and before the Canadian government in Ottawa. The December 11, 1998 announcement by the government stated that Canada would award a lump sum payment of $24,000 to each surviving member of the Hong Kong Force and to the widows as well.

Because of Mr. Chadderton's efforts, the scope of post-discharge benefits for Peacekeeping veterans was expanded. On February 16, 2000, Veterans Affairs Canada announced that Post Traumatic Stress would be recognized as a disability under the Pension Act.

Mr. Chadderton is also well-known for his challenge of the accuracy of the highly controversial CBC series, The Valour and The Horror, which offended many Canadian veterans. His efforts, backed with full support of The War Amps and NCVA, resulted in a critical report from the CBC Ombudsman concluding that the documentary was seriously flawed and failed to measure up to CBC journalistic policies and broadcasting standards.

Valued Friend

Many people throughout Canada have praised Mr. Chadderton for his valuable work. The list of his awards and achievements is extensive. On his promotion to Companion of the Order of Canada, Dr. Henry Friesen, President of the Medical Research Council, said of Mr. Chadderton:

"... For more than three decades, Hugh Clifford Chadderton has been at the helm of The War Amps. ... And many war amputees are now well-served by existing programs. But Mr. Chadderton looked around, and saw that there was still a need his organization could fill. It was Mr. Chadderton who developed CHAMP, a program especially for child amputees. It was a stroke of genius. Nor has he forgotten veterans. The NEVER AGAIN! series reminds us of the sacrifices made in war by people like Cliff Chadderton."