Vokes began his military service overseas in 1939 and quickly rose through the ranks of the Canadian General Staff. Three years into WWII, he was promoted to Brigadier-General and was commanding the 2nd Canadian Infantry Brigade by the spring of 1942.

As part of the Allied invasion of Sicily, the 2nd Infantry Brigade landed in Pachino in July 1943, before moving to mainland Italy in September 1943. Vokes was promoted to Major-General in November 1943 and became commander of the 1st Canadian Infantry Division. He led the division during the Battle of Ortona through house-to-house fighting and north to the Hitler line.

Upon his return to Canada, Vokes was put in charge of the army’s Central Command and then Western Command, before he retired to Oakville in 1959. He died March 28th, 1985.

On the left is a Canadian "patriotic postcard" from the Second World War featuring Major-General Chris Vokes. This was part of a series of postcards profiling Canadian army generals that were issued free at gas stations in Canada. They were issued by the Union Oil Company of Canada after the D-Day invasion in 1944.

Before he died in 1985, Vokes published his memoir, entitled Vokes, My Story.

"It is a matter of great satisfaction to me that no troops under my command ever lost a battle, although there were some very difficult ones in Sicily, Italy, Holland and Germany.

Also, I shall always regret deeply, very deeply, there ever had to be casualties. Casualties cannot be separated from battles. A commander at any level cannot shirk unpleasant decisions, whether he be corporal or general or any rank in between. If he does shirk such decisions, he is unfit to command in battle." - Chris Vokes, My Story (1985)