McNaughton Avenue was erected by the city of Ottawa and unveiled in approximately 1943. The avenue memorial is dedicated to General Andrew McNaughton, CH, CB, CMG, DSO, CD, PC (1887-1966).
McNaughton joined the Militia in 1909 and went overseas with the Canadian Expeditionary Force at the outbreak of the First World War in 1914. By the end of the war he was promoted to Lieutenant-Colonel and in command of the Canadian Corps Artillery.
In 1920 he enlisted in the Army and in 1922 was promoted to Deputy Chief of the General Staff and Chief of the General Staff in 1929. He returned to civilian life and from 1935 to 1939 became head of the National Research Council of Canada.
In 1939 McNaughton led the 1st Canadian Infantry Division into the Second World War and took command of the 1st Canadian Corps upon its formation in 1940. General McNaughton was appointed Commander of the 1st Canadian Army when the latter was created in 1942 and took the brunt of the blame for the Dieppe Raid. Due to pressure by critics and weakened by health problems, McNaughton resigned his command in December 1943. In 1944, prime Minister William Lyon Mackenzie King appointed McNaughton as Minister of National Defence.
