[David_Hayward (RIP)]

Around the back of Canada House is Cockspur Street, and 2,3 & 4 Cockspur Street was the SUN LIFE ASSURANCE COMPANY OF CANADA Building {SUN LIFE BUILDING). I remember it well in the Seventies when I worked just off Bond Street, as the Building Society that we dealt with had a big tie-up with SLoC.

During the war as is well-known, Sun Life of Canada let their building to the Canadian Government and it became Canadian Military HQ or CANMILTRY, and of more interest on MLU it also housed Canadian Mechanization HQ or CANMECH from where the ex-Ford men ran Southampton's CMD and also the element at Dagenham, and then after Southampton was bombed, Citroen Cars at Slough and then the whole range of companies up and down Great Britain.

Here is the only photo I have of the entrance to the HQ, taken in 1940 after a bomb hit outside.