When the Veterans Home Guard was established in May 1940, the Department of Defence elected to establish two full companies of men from Military District 10, which consisted of Manitoba and much of Northwestern Ontario. They were known as No. 10 Company, which later became No. 22 Company, and No. 10A Company, which became No. 23 Company.
Originally commanded by Major Percival Victor Torrance, DSO (Officer Commanding), the company was first headquartered in Winnipeg and volunteers arrived from across the two provinces. The company then busied themselves with training in the city before it received its first posting in August 1940: guard duty at Camp R (Red Rock).
Over the following years, the company would be posted to guard various internment camps and, after May 1943, work camps in Ontario, Manitoba, and Alberta. The movements of the company are listed below.
| Arrived | Left | Location of HQ |
| July 12, 1940 | August 23, 1940 | Winnipeg |
| August 26, 1940 | March 30, 1941 | Camp R – Red Rock |
| March 31, 1941 | May 12, 1941 | Winnipeg |
| May 14, 1941 | August 16, 1941 | Camp W (Camp 100) – Neys |
| August 17, 1941 | September 17, 1941 | Port Arthur (training) |
| September 19, 1941 | December 17, 1941 | Camp 101 – Angler |
| December 20, 1941 | January 22, 1942 | Port Arthur (training) |
| January 25, 1942 | May 5, 1942 | Camp 21 – Espanola |
| May 8, 1942 | May 27, 1942 | Camp 133 – Ozada |
| May 28, 1942 | May 28, 1942 | Calgary |
| May 29, 1942 | May 29, 1942 | Winnipeg |
| May 30, 1942 | July 4, 1942 | Port Arthur (training) |
| July 5, 1942 | December 7, 1942 | Camp 20 – Gravenhurst |
| December 8, 1942 | January 7, 1943 | Port Arthur (training) |
| January 8, 1943 | March 6, 1943 | Camp 100 – Neys and Camp 101 – Angler |
| March 8, 1943 | April 6, 1943 | Moose Jaw (training) |
| April 7, 1943 | May 5, 1943 | Camp 132 – Medicine Hat |
| May 6, 1943 | June 5, 1943 | Vancouver |
| June 6, 1943 | November 5, 1943 | Camp 133 – Lethbridge |
| November 7, 1943 | May 31, 1944 | Port Arthur (guard duty at labour projects in Manitoba and Ontario) |
| DISBANDED MAY 31, 1944 | ||
At the end of a month of training in Port Arthur in July 1942, the company posed for several photographs. By this time, Major C.M. Bygate had assumed command of the company.
Officers as of October 1940
- Major Percival Victor Torrance, DSO (Officer Commanding)
- Captain Charles Geoffrey Bradshaw (Initial Temporary Commanding Officer)
- Captain Elliot Cay
- Captain Maurice Roland Ames
- Lt. Thomas George Buttle
- Lt. Frank Forward Sewell
- Lt. George Edgar Mannell
- Lt. Cecil Herbert Meadows, DCM
- Lt. Robert Guy Robinson
- Lt. Albert Vincent Jones, MM+Bar
- Lt. William Everett Browne
Officers as of July 1942
- Major Charles Mountford Bygate (Officer Commanding)
- Captain W. Waddell, MC (Second in Command)
- Lt. or Capt. Maurice Roland Ames, MM – (transferred to No. 10 Coy, July 31, 1942)
- Lt. William A. Leary, MC+Bar
- Lt. Colin “Scotty” Mann
- Lt. H.C. Merrifield
- Lt. Ernest William Paice
- Lt. F.W. Pearce
- Lt. A.F. Smith
Officers as of April 1944
- Major Charles Mountford Bygate (Officer Commanding)
- Captain G.O. Brown (Second in Command) – not likely in photo
- Lt. A.F. Smith (Administration Officer)
- Lt. George Coulton, DCM, MM
- Lt. J.W. Hardie
- Lt. E.H. Howey
- Lt. Colin “Scotty” Mann
- Lt. Ernest William Paice, ED
The Company disbanded at the end of May 1944 and the remaining men were transferred to other companies as replacements. Lieutenant E.W. Paige recorded the following entry in the company’s war diary:
This is officially the last day of No. 23 Company (A) V.G.C. The Officer Commanding, fittingly the last to leave the Ship, goes to No. 3 District Depot, Ottawa. All wish him well, as he has already said ‘God Speed’ to them. So is written the last page of the record, by Lieut. E.W. Paice, E.D., of a Company that is gone but not forgotten.
Final entry of the No. 23 Company, VGC, War Diary, May 31, 1944. LAC.
POWs in Canada 