World War II Fallen: U-Z

Donald Vail was born in London, Ontario, on January 6, 1907, the son of Charles Wesley (born Newbury, Ont.) and Laura Winnifred (nee Jones, born in Watford, Ont.) Vail. Charles and Laura had four children together, all boys: Cecil Victor (born 1890), Wilfred Barrie (born 1899), Donald (born 1907), and Allan Douglas (born 1908). The Vail family lived in Middlesex County until about 1911, and then moved to Watford, Ontario. In 1921, the Vail family was residing on St. Clair Street in Watford.

Tragedy hit the Vails when the patriarch of the family, Charles, a former C.N.R. station agent and operator, passed away in December 1935. His widow, Laura, later moved to 480 King William Street in Hamilton, Ontario.

Donald Vail attended Watford Public School from 1912 to 1920. He then attended Watford High School from 1920 to 1924 and London Central Collegiate in 1926-1927. He attended the University of Western Ontario (UWO) in 1927-1928, obtaining 11 credits, before attending London Normal School in 1930-1931. While attending the University of Western, Donald played hockey there, as well as with the Strathroy team. He was also very active in track and field, boxing, and baseball in Sarnia. Once employed, he continued to take UWO Faculty of Arts extension courses between 1935-1938, including in psychology, economics, English, and history. Donald began his teaching career at S.S. #3 Wolfe Island in 1931-1932, and then #2 Oneida in 1932-1933. From 1933 to 1938, Donald was the principal at Wyoming Public School in Wyoming, Ontario.

On December 31, 1932, Donald Vail married Vera Doreen Miller (of Watford, Ontario) in Ilderton, Ontario. The couple were blessed with three children: Patricia Anne (born September 2, 1934, in Petrolia); Nancy Jane (born June 24, 1936, in Petrolia); and Donald Paul (born July 13, 1939, in Sarnia). In the latter part of 1938, Donald joined

the London Life Insurance Company in Sarnia, where he worked as a bookkeeper and insurance salesman for two-and-a-half years until he enlisted in 1941. The Vail family resided at 532 Devine Street.

From July 30, 1940, to April 12, 1941, Donald served with the 2-11th Field Company, Royal Canadian Engineers (RCE) in Sarnia and attained the rank of lieutenant-corporal.

On April 15, 1941, Donald Vail, age 34, enlisted in the Royal Canadian Air Force in London, Ontario. He stood five feet nine-and-a-half inches tall, had blue eyes and brown (greying) hair, and lived at 532 Devine Street at the time with his wife and three children. He requested ground duties, specifically as a radio mechanic.

In a reference letter written by Horace Palmer (a C.N.R. conductor and veteran of the Great War) for the RCAF recruiter on behalf of Donald, Mr. Palmer wrote This is to certify that I have known members of the Vail family for a number of years and I consider Mr. Donald Vail a young man of very fine character not only in a business capacity but also in home life. I have always found him industrious, sober and reliable. He has been a Schoolmaster, is a fine athlete, and while employed as Schoolmaster he had sufficient ambition to learn the telegraph. I served four years in the army during the last war and I have no hesitation in saying that I think Mr. Donald Vail would be an asset to any branch of the R.C.A.F. to which he may apply…

From the Recruiting Centre in London, and then #1 Manning Depot in Toronto, Donald received training at the RCAF Detachment at Western University in London (Fundamental and Applied Theory), and at #31 Radio School in Clinton, Ontario. Upon completion of an RCAF radio mechanics course in December 1941 at Western University, the course instructor wrote the following about Donald: Lab work excellent. Thoroughly reliable and conscientious. Is superior in maturity of judgement. Assessment – Exceptional.

In mid-February 1942, Donald was posted to #31 Personnel Depot in Moncton, New Brunswick. In late February-early March 1942, Donald enjoyed his two-week pre-embarkation leave. On March 12, 1942, Donald embarked overseas from #1 Y Depot in Halifax bound for the United Kingdom.

Initially posted to RAF #3 Personnel Reception Centre, he was transferred on May 5, 1942, to RAF #15 Operational Training Unit (OTU), based at RAF Harwell, with the rank of corporal, where he was a radio technician/mechanic.

RAF #15 Operational Training Unit (OTU) was formed in April 1940 as part of No. 6 Group RAF Bomber Command at RAF Harwell. Instructors trained night bomber crews on the Vickers Wellington aircraft, a twin-engine, long-range medium bomber, known as the “Wimpy” by the airmen, after a character from the Popeye cartoons.

Together with the twin-engine Whitley and Hampden, the Wellington successfully carried the war to the enemy until large numbers of the four-engine heavy bombers became available beginning in 1942. As Wellingtons were taken out of operational service, many of them were assigned to Operational Training Units (OTUs). Here, rookie crews who were in the final stages of their training and already had numerous challenges, had to contend with aircraft that were “clapped out” as they said.  

During the course of the war, one of this country’s most significant contributions was the approximately 50,000 Canadians who served with the RCAF and RAF in Bomber Command operations. Next to Britain, Canada was the largest contributor to Bomber Command, making up more than a third of all of Bomber Command personnel. The men who served in Bomber Command faced some of the most difficult odds of anyone fighting in the war.

There was no easy way to learn how to fly the heavy bombers, and training crews suffered a litany of disasters, crashes, and deaths. By the end of the war, Bomber Command lost over 8,000 Allied airmen who were killed in training or by accidents alone.

According to the Bomber Command Museum of Canada, “the losses at OTUs were high with 1459 Wellingtons being destroyed, most in training. Ten percent of the names on Canada’s Bomber Command Memorial are those of airmen killed at OTUs, almost all on Wellingtons.”

Two months after arriving at RAF #15 OTU, on July 9, 1942, Donald Vail was a passenger aboard Wellington IC aircraft DV932 that took off from RAF Harwell on a day training exercise. At approximately 16:30 hours, on her return approach to Harwell, the pilot overshot the landing and attempted a take-off to go around again. The aircraft failed to gain sufficient height and stalled when the pilot tried to turn away from some trees. The Wellington aircraft accidently crashed in a field adjacent to the aerodrome at Harwell, Didcot, Berkshire, England. Donald suffered abdominal injuries and fourth degree burns and died in the crash.

Perishing with Corporal Donald Vail were LAC Gordon Stewart Miller and three RAF airmen: P/O Herbert Edward James Giles, and Sgts. Donald Bradshaw, and John Simon DaSilva Haley. Sgt. N. Wade (RAF) was injured and survived.

Just days after the crash, his wife Vera Vail in Watford received the cablegram informing her that Donald was listed as KILLED DURING AIR OPERATIONS OVERSEAS.Upon his death, Donald Vail left behind his wife Vera, their two daughters, Patsy (age 7 ¹/₂), Nancy (age 6), and their son Paul (age 3). In February 1945, Vera Vail received a War Service Gratuity of $144.89 for the loss of her husband Donald.

            The following is a newspaper report on Donald Vail’s death;

Cpl. Donald Vail Killed in Action

Radio Technician With R.C.A.F. Loses His Life—Native of Watford

            Cpl. Donald Vail, a radio technician in the R.C.A.F., whose mother and three brothers reside in this city, has been reported killed on active service overseas July 9. This information was received by his wife, the former Doreen Millar, of Watford, Ont. Vail himself was a native of Watford.

            Born in the Watford district 35 years ago, he had attended Western university, had taught school in Wyoming, Ont., and was an insurance salesman at Sarnia at the time of his enlistment.

He was well known in sporting circles, having played hockey with the University of Western Ontario and with the Strathroy team. He played baseball at Sarnia.

Surviving, besides his wife, are three children, Patsy, aged eight; Nancy, aged six; and Paul, aged three; his mother, Mrs. Charles Vail, and three brothers, Cecil, Barrie and William, all of Hamilton.

Donald Vail, 35, is buried in Brookwood Military Cemetery, Surrey, United Kingdom, Grave 32.G.4. On his headstone are inscribed the words HE IS NOT DEAD WHILE HIS MEMORY LIVES IN THE HEARTS OF THOSE WHO LOVED HIM.

Source: The Sarnia War Remembrance Project by Tom Slater

Editors: Tom St. Amand and Lou Giancarlo

Myles Vokes was born in London, Ontario, on August 23, 1922, the youngest son of William (born in Peel County) and Alice May (nee Mason) Vokes. William and Alice were married on July 24, 1912, in Forest, Ontario. The Vokes family moved to Sarnia only weeks after Myles’ birth, and they lived at 137 John Street. William supported his family by working as a stationary engineer in Sarnia. William and Alice had three children together: Martha Eva, born 1913; William Mason, born July 11, 1914; and Myles, born 1922.

Myles’ brother, William, also served in the war as a member of the Royal Canadian Air Force.

Myles was educated in Sarnia including four years of high school and 11 months at a Sarnia Business College.

On September 5, 1940, Myles, age 18, was called out under General Orders (GO) and was attached to #11 Non-Permanent Active Militia Training Centre in Woodstock, Ontario as a private. From August 14, 1940 until April 15, 1941, Myles served in the 26th Field Battery, Royal Canadian Artillery (RCA) in Sarnia, with the rank of gunner.

On April 16, 1941, Myles completed his Canadian Active Service Force (CASF) Attestation Papers in London, Ontario, becoming a member of the Active Force (AF). He stood five feet seven-and-three-quarter inches tall, had blue eyes and brown hair, was single, and lived at home with his parents on John Street at the time. He recorded his occupation as stenographer—an occupation he planned to pursue after the war. Myles became a member of the #1 Detachment Corps of Military Staff Clerks (CMSC), based in London, Ontario. In mid-July 1941, he was made a lance corporal, and in October 1941 he advanced in rank to corporal.

Only nine months after he became a member of the Active Force, on January 9, 1942, a motorcycle accident cost Myles his life in London, Ontario. The tragic mishap occurred at the corner of Piccadilly and Colborne Streets on the night of January 8, 1942. The motorcycle, with sidecar attached, was involved in a collision with an automobile. Driving the motorcycle was Petrolia soldier Gunner Robert F. Burns, 18, and in the sidecar were passengers Private Frederick R. Heatherly, 18, of London, and Corporal Myles Vokes. All three soldiers were on duty at the time—Burns and Heatherly were employed as dispatch riders, stationed at No. 1 District Depot, Wolsely Barracks.                 

The motorcycle was proceeding along Piccadilly Street at approximately 30 m.p.h. (50 kmh), and at the corner of Colborne Street a windlass covered a manhole in the centre of the intersection. A car was approaching Colborne Street from the south, on the wrong side of the road. As the road was slippery from frozen snow and ice, and thinking the driver of car was slowing down, the motorcycle driver thought he had enough room to pass the automobile. The civilian car struck the right front of the motorcycle sidecar.

Out of control, the motorcycle careened into a curb and the impact hurled Myles Vokes 20 feet through the air onto the roadway. When police and an ambulance arrived, Myles was lying face down on the road. Both Burns and Heatherly were lying conscious beside the completely wrecked motorcycle. They were all taken to Trafalgar Hospital.

Gunner R. Burns suffered a fractured right radius, and Private F. Heatherly suffered shock and contusion, and skin abrasion of the left hip. Corporal Myles Vokes was dead upon arrival.

Myles Vokes, 19, is buried in Sarnia (Lakeview) Cemetery, Sarnia, Ontario, Canada, Sec. E. Lot 154. On his headstone are inscribed the words AT THE GOING DOWN OF THE SUN AND IN THE MORNING WE WILL REMEMBER HIM.

Source: The Sarnia War Remembrance Project by Tom Slater

Editors: Tom St. Amand and Lou Giancarlo

Wilford Russell Walker was born in Dawn Township on August 18, 1916, the son of Franklin Russell and Stella May (nee Brewer) Walker. Franklin “Frank” Russell Walker was born November 30, 1891 in Sombra Township. In 1911, nineteen-year-old Frank was residing in Lambton West with his parents, Christopher (born 1855) and Patience (nee Young, born 1854) Walker, along with his siblings, Emma and Kenneth. Three years later, on March 9, 1914, Frank Walker married Stella May Brewer in Sarnia. Less than two years later, Frank made the decision to serve his country in World War I.

Wilford’s father, Frank Walker, had a proud service history of his own in the First World War. Frank enlisted in the Canadian Over-Seas Expeditionary Force in Sarnia on January 22, 1916, becoming a member of the 149th Battalion. The 24-year-old Walker stood five feet eight and a half inches tall, had blue eyes and sandy hair, and recorded his occupation as machinist, and his present address as Point Edward (later 269 Vidal Street, Sarnia). His next-of-kin was his wife Stella Walker, and they had one child at the time, Roy Sylvester, age one. Seven months after Frank enlisted, Wilford was born. Tragedy struck the Walker family only two weeks before Frank departed for overseas. On March 12, 1917, two-year-old Roy Sylvester passed away in Sarnia due to broncho pneumonia. He is buried in Lakeview Cemetery.

On March 25, 1917, Frank Walker (Reg. #845448) left behind his wife and surviving son and embarked overseas from Halifax aboard SS Lapland bound for the United Kingdom.After arriving and disembarking on April 7 in Liverpool, he was originally made a member of the 25th Reserve Battalion at Bramshott. One month later he was appointed Lance Corporal, and a month after that, he was taken on strength into the 161st Battalion at Camp Witley. In late January 1918 while still at Camp Witley, he was awarded a Good Conduct Badge. Less than two months later, in early March 1918, he reverted to the rank of Private at his own request, and his battalion was absorbed into the 4th Canadian Reserve Battalion returning to Bramshott.

On March 28, 1918, Private Frank Walker embarked for France as a member of the 47th Battalion. One and a half months later, in mid-May, he arrived at the front with the 47th Battalion, Canadian Expeditionary Force (CEF). The 47^th Battalion (British Columbia) had been authorized in November 1914 and recruited in New Westminster, Vancouver, and Victoria. It embarked for Britain in November 1915 and disembarked in France in August 1916, where it fought as part of the 10^th Infantry Brigade, 4^th Canadian Division in France and Flanders until the end of the war. Battle Honours awarded the 47^th Battalion include Mount Sorrel, Somme 1916, Ancre 1916, Vimy 1917, Hill 70, Ypres 1917, Passchendaele, Arras 1917 and 1918, Amiens, Scarpe 1918, Drocourt-Queant, Hindenburg Line, Canal du Nord, and Valenciennes. By war’s end, the 47^th had lost 899 men, and approximately one-third of the fatalities, 271 men, were killed in the last 100 days of the war. Frank Walker fought with the 47^th in many of the key battles during the final six months of the war.

Soon after arriving at the front with the 47^th Battalion, Frank Walker found himself part of the Hundred Days Campaign (August 8 – November 11, 1918 in France and Belgium). This campaign was the “beginning of the end” of the Great War. Canadians were called on again and again over the three-month period to spearhead the offensives against the toughest German defences on the Western Front. Slogging forward, they crossed over muddy wastelands, open fields, marshy areas, rivers, ravines, forests, over hills and through occupied villages, facing a ruthlessly desperate and defiant enemy that had no intention of surrendering. In the chaotic nightmare of battle, they faced shrapnel and high-explosive shellfire; concentrated howitzer and mortar fire; interlocking machine-gun nests; small arms fire; poison gas; hidden snipers; thick rolls of barbed wire; underground landmines; concrete pillboxes; aerial bombardment from above; fortified villages; and an enemy hidden in a maze of tunnels, dugouts and trenches. Advancing forward, as one battalion leap-frogged another, it was a constant struggle to move supplies, ammunition and reinforcements to the beleaguered front-line force. 

The greatest victories of the Canadian Corps took place in this critical period, defeating the enemy at the Battle of Amiens, the Battle of Arras and breaking the Drocourt-Queant (DQ) Line, the Battle of Canal du Nord and Cambrai, the Battle of Valenciennes, and the Pursuit to Mons. Some 105,000 Canadians advanced 130 kilometres through France and Belgium in that time, and it culminated in Germany’s unconditional surrender. But the victories came at a high price–approximately 46,000 Canadians were killed, wounded and missing.

On August 12, during the Battle of Amiens in France, Frank Walker of the 47th Battalion, was appointed Lance Corporal in the field. He then continued in the advance with the 47^th through Arras (and the Hindenburg Line) through the formidable DQ Line. On September 3, after the Canadians broke the DQ Line in what was described as “the hardest single battle of the war for the Canadian Corps,” Walker was promoted to Corporal in the field.

In achieving remarkable victories over the course of one month, at Amiens, Arras and the DQ Line, the Canadian Corps had suffered staggering casualty numbers, and were then allowed to enjoy a well-earned rest. Over the period of almost a month, the Canadian Corps were also planning and preparing for their next battle—spearheading the attack across the Canal du Nord and onto the city of Cambrai. Beginning on September 27, 1918, in a “shock and awe” operation where they threw everything they had against the enemy, and with countless attacks and counterattacks, the Canadians grinded their way forward across the Canal, and then captured Bourlon Wood and later took Cambrai on October 11.

After taking Cambrai, Canadian forces advanced tentatively using artillery and battle patrols, pushing against the retreating German forces, occasionally running into significant opposition. To purchase much-needed time, the Germans demolished bridges, flooded areas, destroyed roads and placed sacrificial forces behind to harass any Allied advance. As the Canadians advanced through tiny villages and small towns, they were delighted to find themselves greeted as liberators by the French civilians. The Canadians continued to push east through the rest of October, but Canadian soldiers died by the score every day, the result of German resistance. 

On October 22, 1918, during this advance east toward the city of Valenciennes, Corporal Frank Walker was wounded in action—he suffered a gun-shot wound. He would have been carried by stretcher-bearers to an advanced dressing station where the battalion medical officer, or his orderlies, carried out basic triage and preliminary first aid. From there he would have been moved by motor ambulance to a casualty clearing station, a few kilometres behind the front line. Walker was admitted to #2 Casualty Clearing Station, diagnosed with suffering a “gun-shot wound left leg and compound fracture tibia and fibula.” Ironically, it was the type of wound that many of the soldiers desired—referred to as a “Blighty”; it was not fatal, but was serious enough to send him to a clean hospital in England and away from the trenches for a period of recuperation.

The Canadians took Valenciennes, France, on November 2, in the last set-piece battle by the Canadian Corps, at a cost of 501 casualties. A few days later, the Canadians crossed into Belgium, and finished the war by liberating the city on Mons on the morning of November 11, at a cost of 645 casualties. On November 11, 1918, at 1100 hours, the Great War would end.

After Walker received initial treatment of his wounds, he was shipped across the Channel, where he underwent treatment and operations in England. His recuperation was carried out at Southwark Military Hospital (October 30, 1918 – February 27, 1919, where his fracture had healed but was still crippled with crutches) and Woodcote Park Military Hospital, Epsom (February 27 – March 7, 1919). He was then moved to No. 4 Canadian General Hospital, Basingstoke, where he was eventually released on April 10, 1919. On May 20, 1919, he embarked from Liverpool aboard the HMT Regina and arrived back in Halifax on May 28. Corporal Frank Russell Walker was discharged from service on demobilization on May 31, 1919 at No. 1 District Depot in London, Ontario. His name was included on one of the WWI plaques that were part of the original Sarnia cenotaph, unveiled in 1921. Those plaques are now on the west wall of Sarnia’s Royal Canadian Legion on Front St.

By the time Frank returned home, his marriage to Stella had dissolved. He and Wilford were living with Franks’ parents (Wilford’s grandparents—Christopher and Patience Walker).

Stella would later remarry, becoming Stella Harris, who resided in Port Huron. In 1921, Frank, a labourer, was living with his parents and son Wilford at 256 Cobden Street, Sarnia. On December 20, 1921, 30-year-old Frank Walker, employed as a hoisting engineer, remarried in St. Clair, Michigan. His new bride was 18-year-old Agnes Laura (n: Leonard), born in Elgin, but then living Port Huron. She became Wilford’s step-mother. More than 10 years later, on January 27, 1934, 41-year-old Frank and 29-year-old Agnes married each other again in Sarnia. Wilford, or “Wilf” as he was known, had three half-siblings: Russell Leonard (born 1923), Betty Marie (Elliott), and Lorne Phillip (born 1929) Walker. Frank and Agnes and family resided at 349 South Mitton Street, and later on Davis St., while Wilf remained with his grandparents on Cobden St. Wilf would get together with his half-siblings, so they knew each other well, and the two families would join together on occasion for family dinners. Years later, at the time of Wilford’s death, his half-brother Russell was serving in the Royal Canadian Air Force, as a Leading Aircraftmen, having been in England since June 1944. Post-war, Russell had four daughters—twins Annette and Louise, Nancy and Grace.

Wilford Walker attended public school in Sarnia, completing grade eight in 1931 at the age of fifteen. His half-brother Lorne Walker, in his 90s, recalled that Wilford was a happy-go-lucky kid growing up, and that like many others during the time of the Depression, had a tough time finding a job, but always managed to find something.

Wilford worked as a farm labourer for six years for several employers and then worked as a machine operator at Insulation Manufacturing Company for 3 ½ years. He then worked as a lathe operator at Mueller’s Brass Works in Sarnia for 1½ years. Prior to enlisting, Wilford was employed as a constable (guard) in the security office of the Polymer Corporation rubber plant in Sarnia for a year and three months, where he was earning about $140 a month. He recorded that he was also an ambulance driver on his shift. In his spare time, he worked for a taxi company in Sarnia.

On August 19, 1938, 21-year-old Wilford married 18-year-old Beatrice May Weese of Sarnia. Beatrice, born March 1921 in Sarnia, was the daughter of Guy Arthur Weese and Ila Luetta Moffat, who lived just outside the city in the vicinity of Perch Creek. Wilford and Beatrice May lived first at 450 Davis St., then at 174 John St. (in 1941), and finally settled at 257 Brock Street S. They had two children together: Franklin Arthur (born May 7, 1940, his first name given in honour of Wilford’s father) and Shirley Mae (born September 7, 1942 in Sarnia).

Twenty-seven-year-old Wilford Walker enlisted in the Canadian Army on October 28, 1943 in London, Ontario. He had completed his medical examination on October 7 and was recorded as standing five feet six-and-a-quarter inches tall, blue eyes and brown hair, and weighing 135 pounds. On his Attestation Paper he recorded that he was residing at 257 Brock Street with his wife Beatrice (his next-of-kin) and their two children, and his occupation as constable at Polymer Corp., in Sarnia (for 1 year, 3 months). He stated a preference to be a driver in the army or to do artillery work. He planned to take up transport driving after the war.

Following is a portion of his Personnel Selection Record under the category of “Personal History and Appraisal”:

His main interest outside his work is driving a car. He has no active interest in sports or music. He reads a great deal of light fiction. Smokes but never touches alcoholic beverages. Fairly regular attendant at United Church.

His parents live in Sarnia where the father is a hoisting engineer. The father is [a] veteran of the 149^th Battery serving in the last war. The recruit has two brothers and one sister, one brother being in the R.C.A.F. Father and mother separated when he was 2 yrs. Old. Was raised by grandparents. This man was married in August, 1938. Has one son and one daughter. Owns a house in Sarnia.

Is a willing worker, says he would prefer to be a driver if he is called into the army. He has a quiet manner and appears dependable. He wears a button as a blood donor. He is very talkative, but appears to be quite willing to try whatever he is given. He likes the idea of being in the Artillery work, if he can have an opportunity to drive. His “M” score indicates a man of average ability with a good mechanical knowledge and he has quite a little driving experience with cab and ambulance. He should train satisfactorily with the R.C.A. (Survey) Automotive “A” as a driver with possible up grading to Driver Mechanic.

From #1 District Depot in London, Wilford received his army training at A-1 RCA and then Advanced training in R.C.A. at A-2 Canadian Army Training Centre (CATC) in Petawawa; at Canadian Driving and Maintenance School (CD&MS) in Woodstock (qualified as a Driver/Mechanic Group C); and at Canadian Army Training School (CATS) in Hamilton. In mid-June 1944, he returned to A-2 CATC in Petawawa before embarking overseas.

On July 20, 1944, Wilford embarked overseas bound for the United Kingdom. Arriving in the U.K. on July 27, 1944, he was initially made a member of the Canadian Army Reinforcement Unit (CARU). A few days later, the captain at 1 CARU recorded that Wilford was a “Qualified Driver Mechanic. Likes the work and generally seems a good man.” On August 11, 1944, he was briefly transferred to the Winnipeg Grenadiers where he continued to train. He had a nine-day leave from August 25 to September 2, 1944. On September 17, 1944, he embarked from England, crossed the English Channel, and disembarked in France the next day.

He was first a reinforcement attached to X-4 Canadian Infantry Corps (CIC). On October 29, he completed his Will bequeathing all of his personal estate to Beatrice. In early November 1944, he became a member of the Lincoln and Welland Regiment, Royal Canadian Infantry Corps (RCIC). The Lincoln and Welland Regiment traces its lineage all the way back to 1863 and the Fenian Raids. Originating in St. Catharines, Ontario, its motto is Non Nobis sed patriae “Not for us but for our country”. The Regiment’s First World War Battle Honours include Ypres 1915, Somme 1916, Arras 1917-18, Amiens and the Pursuit to Mons. In July 1943, the 1^st Battalion of the Lincoln and Welland Regiment embarked for Britain and one year later landed in France as a part of the 10^th Canadian Infantry Brigade, 4^th Armoured Division where it fought its way through France, Belgium, the Netherlands and into Germany. World War II Battle Honours would include Falaise, The Scheldt, Kapelsche Veer, The Rhineland and North-West Europe 1944-45. Wilford Walker served with the Lincoln and Welland Regiment as they advanced through northern France and into Belgium and the Netherlands.

Only three months prior to Wilford Walker arriving in France in mid-September 1944, much had taken place. The Allied invasion into France, that involved British, American and Canadian forces, occurred on June 6, 1944—D-Day. After successfully breaking through Hitler’s “Atlantic Wall”, Allied forces pushed through France in what was known as the “Battle of Normandy”. Lasting two-and-a-half months, it was a brutal campaign of attrition against fierce and ruthless German forces. Canadian soldiers, airmen and sailors played a critical role in the success of this campaign.

Beginning in late August 1944, Allied forces advanced across France and into Belgium towards Germany. In what was referred to as “The Long Left Flank”, Canadian forces were tasked with clearing coastal areas in the north of France and Belgium; opening the English Channel ports; and capturing launching sites of German V-1 rockets. Over the next month, in a series of brutal battles, the Canadians would take Dieppe, Le Havre, Boulogne and Calais, and would continue into Belgium moving toward the Netherlands.

At the same time that Wilford arrived in France, another major Allied operation began on September 17, 1944. The mission objective of “Operation Market Garden” was to capture eight bridges that spanned the network of canals and rivers on the Dutch-German border. The mission involved mostly British and American forces, with the hope that if it were successful, the war would end by Christmas. Several bridges between Eindhoven and Nijmegen were captured early, but the operation failed one week later at a bridge over the Rhine River at Arnhem, referred to as “a bridge too far.” The hope for a speedy end to the war was dashed. The confusion of “Market Garden” also resulted in tens of thousands of German troops moving into the Scheldt area of northern Belgium and the Netherlands. Capturing a major port now became a top priority for the Allies. It would be the Canadians that were called on to capture the much-needed port.

In early September 1944, British and Belgian Resistance forces had captured the inland port of Antwerp, at the mouth of the Scheldt River in Belgium. It was taken virtually intact, and being the second greatest port in Europe, it would be vitally important to supply Allied armies in their drive for victory in Western Europe. However, the German occupiers had dug in on the outskirts of the city and still controlled the 45-mile-long Scheldt Estuary that connected the port of Antwerp to the North Sea. The Germans were under express orders from Hitler to hold the Scheldt. They brought in reinforcements, planted thousands of mines and prepared to defend every meter of the estuary. The First Canadian Army, including the Lincoln and Welland Regiment, were entrusted with liberating the 45-mile-long Scheldt estuary. 

The Battle of the Scheldt was among the most difficult and grueling struggles in the war. The Scheldt estuary was made up of the interconnected areas of the South Beveland Peninsula, the Breskens Pocket and the island of Walcheren that commanded the river’s mouth. It was a region of polders, low-lying fields conquered over the sea and bordered by a network of dykes and canals. The roads were built on top of the 4 or 5-metre-high. German forces had flooded the whole area by blowing up many of the dykes that held back the North Sea. In this totally flat and wet countryside, no one could move without being spotted. What few roads and dry ground that remained were heavily mined. On every battlefield, the highly trained, heavily-fortified and well-entrenched Germans could wait for the attacking Canadians to come at them over open or flooded ground.

The Canadians would spearhead the operation in four phases. The bitter fighting began on October 1, 1944, taking place in a bleak environment made worse by the winter cold in a flooded and freezing muddy quagmire. The infantry was backed by Spitfire and Typhoon fighter bombers, tracked amphibious troop carriers nicknamed “Terrapins” and “Buffaloes”, and extensive artillery support including Wasps” (tanks equipped with flame-throwers).

By November 8, the Battle of the Scheldt ended in an Allied victory. Only weeks later, the first Allied convoy carrying war supplies arrived at Antwerp. The under-strength and less-experienced Canadians who participated in the battle in unimaginable conditions earned them the nickname “water-rats”. British Field Marshal Bernard Montgomery gave them this appropriate nickname, since they were often fighting in miserable and wet conditions. Clearing the Scheldt was one of Canada’s finest operations of the war, but in victory, Canadians suffered more than 6,300 casualties including more than 800 killed. Most are buried in Commonwealth war graves in Belgium and Holland including Adegem, Bergen-op-Zoom and Groesbeek Canadian War Cemeteries.

After the Battle of the Scheldt, the formations of the First Canadian Army and its three Canadian divisions in particular, were thoroughly exhausted. It was fortunate then that a static period now intervened—it would be the Army’s only such lull during the campaign. For precisely three months from the cessation of organized resistance on Walcheren on November 8, 1944, to the opening of the Battle of the Rhineland on February 8, 1945, there were no major operations on the First Canadian Army’s front.

Referred to as the “Nijmegen Winter,” over the three bitterly cold winter months of 1944-1945, most of the weary Canadians were given a rest, although the front was never quiet, with patrols and large-scale raids remaining constant, and some very nasty fighting. And there was much planning and preparation for the next offensive. Canadian troops were stationed in the snowy, war-ravaged terrain along the rivers Maas and Waal in southern Netherlands, particularly in the Nijmegen sector–the salient had been created in September 1944 during Operation Market Garden. They were tasked to hold and defend the Nijmegen salient and a small piece of Allied-held territory north of the Maas River, across the Nijmegen bridge, known as “the island.”. Allied commanders were planning a major offensive, to start in early January, aimed at clearing the Germans from the Rhineland. They planned to use the Nijmegen salient as the jumping-off point for the initial attack.

Canadian commanders did their best to make Nijmegen a rest area, a place to restore morale while out of the line. On the first day, they would usually write letters home, sort out kit, clean up, and have a really good sleep. There were dances with Dutch girls, a café was built for the soldiers, and every unit celebrated Christmas holding a gala dinner as best as they could. Canadians ate well, unlike the Dutch who were contending with German action of halting food transport into the country. Many Canadians shared what they could with the Dutch. Forty-eight-hour leave passes and occasional week-long furloughs were extremely popular. Some lucky Canadian soldiers could go on brief leave to Paris or Brussels, or smaller towns, even to England, all places where they had access to good food and hotels and rest facilities.

At the Nijmegen salient, the Allies had to give the enemy the impression that an assault was imminent to force it to leave troops in that area. The Germans did their best to push the Canadians out of “the island” by flooding the area, and constantly harassing them with mortar fire, artillery and aggressive patrols. Constantly vigilant, the men dug deep slit trenches, covered them with whatever was handy, and tried to keep warm from the snow and cold during one of the most frigid winters on record in northern Europe. During this supposedly quiet period, between November 9 and December 31, 1944, approximately 1,239 Canadians were killed or wounded.

In mid-December 1944, more than 300 kilometres south of where the Canadians were located, the Germans launched what turned out to be their last major offensive operation. The Germans called the attack “Autumn Fog”, the Americans dubbed it the “Battle of the Bulge” (or Ardennes offensive).Hitler ordered this last-ditch offensive in the Ardennes Forest region in Belgium and Luxembourg. He gambled that his troops could cut deep through the Allied front, split the British and American forces, and then retake Brussels and Antwerp. This would create a serious setback for the Allies that would lead to a German victory. Initially, the massive surprise attack caught the American forces completely off guard and the Germans achieved some success by creating a bulge through the middle of the American line. However, as German supplies dwindled in the snow-covered Ardennes, and Allied forces brought up reinforcements, and with the tenacious fighting spirit of the Americans, the enemy offensive ground to a halt. By the end of January 1945, the Allied counterattack had pushed the Germans back to the positions they held six weeks earlier. The fighting in the Ardennes did not directly affect the First Canadian Army, but the apprehension and anxiety that the German attack would extend to the Canadian front, and the precautions necessary to protect against this, were a complicating factor for a considerable time.

On December 30, 1944, Wilford wrote a letter home to his family from Holland. It was addressed to his mother-in-law, Mrs. G. Weese at RR 1 London Rd, Sarnia. Following is that letter;

Dear Mom & all,

Well here I am at last and feeling fine. Just received your most welcome parcel and thanks a million. It was all intact but two of the apples everything else was fine. Well what kind of weather are you having at home. I hope not too cool. It is quite cold and foggy here this last couple of days. I see by our paper that you have been having quite a bit of snow for a change. We have not had any yet and hope we don’t get any either as it much better with out. We are back from the front awhile and I sure am hoping we stay back as it is no fun up forward and no fooling. Have you heard from Carman lately. I heard he may get home for Xmas. I sure hope he did as it sure would be awfully nice if some of us soon get home but I hope to be home next Xmas if all is well. I sure miss Bea and the kids something awful and that ain’t half. How is Guy keeping these days. I hope OK. I suppose Ruby is going to school every day. Have you seen Beatrice and the kids lately. I suppose Frankie and Shirley are growing like bad weeds. It sure will be swell to get home again. Thanks for the paper and Xmas card. How is Jake and Thelma and family. I hope doing OK. Well I can’t say very much in these letters as they are all censored so will have to give out the news when I get home. So I will say cheerio for this time and will try and write again soon if I am not too busy. And thanks again for the lovely parcel. So with loads of good cheer (and not in a bottle) I will say so long.

                                                                                                Wilf

P.S. Write soon and don’t work too hard.

My new address is: A108651 Walker W.R.

D Coy Lincoln & Welland Reg. Can Army Overseas

Note: For clarification, here are the identities of the people that Wilf mentions in the above letter:

Carman – is Beatrice’s brother 

Bea and the kids – his wife Beatrice and their children Frankie and Shirley

Guy – his father-in-law, Guy Weese

Ruby – is Beatrice’s youngest sister

Jake and Thelma – is Jake Saunders, who married Beatrice’s sister Thelma

Within one month of writing this letter, Wilf Walker was killed in action.

In the Maas River area in the Netherlands, located 75 kilometres west of Nijmegen and 18 kilometres north of Tilburg (the headquarters of the 1^st Canadian Army), in a water-logged area north-east of Geertruidenberg, there was a German outpost located on a small island—Kapelsche Veer [pronounced “ka-pel-se-fear”]. “Kapelsche” refers to the nearby village of Capelle, and “Veer” translates as “ferry”, and refers to a small harbour and ferry crossing located about half-way on the north side of the island. The island was 12 kilometres long and only 1.7 km across at its widest point, tapering to less than one km at the eastern end, and was interlaced with hundreds of canals, ditches and embankments. Dykes roughly 6 metres high, 9 metres wide and angled up at 45 degrees protected the island’s north side from the strong current.

In fact, it is a man-made island, built by the Dutch in the late 19^th century. At Kapelsche Veer, the Maas branched into two channels on either side of the island—the wide Bergsche Maas to the north, averaging 300 yards wide with a fairly strong current, and Oude Maasje to the south. The Oude Maasje was actually the true course of the Maas, but in 1904, it had become so clogged with silt that serious flooding was common. So, the Dutch conducted an ambitious engineering project digging a channel to the north to create a new river course.

Kapelsche Veer was a flat, desolate, low-lying island that offered no cover aside from the high dykes and hundreds of tiny ditches running north and south across the fields. The island was virtually treeless, save for one large weeping willow. The island was notoriously cold, windy and water-logged in the winter and became a muddy morass. 

During this time, the river was the dividing line between the liberated area (south of the river) and the German-occupied territory (north of river). Kapelsche Veer was the only bridgehead held by the Germans on the south side of the Maas River in the Netherlands (everywhere else, they were thrown north of the Maas).

The Germans viewed the island as a potential crossing point for their forces to break-through the Allied front. Doing so would enable them to cut off the Allied armies in the Netherlands and northern Belgium. Although the bridgehead posed no immediate threat to the Allies, General John Crocker, Commander, 1st British Corps, was fearful that a major enemy assault across the Maas could still be attempted and wanted the German position eliminated. It was also felt that the outpost allowed the Germans to observe Allied movements, direct fire, and mount patrols into Allied positions south of the Maas. There would be three failed Allied assaults to dislodge the Germans.

On the night of December 30-31, 1944, three Polish infantry companies backed by tanks of the 1^st Polish Armoured Division pushed onto the island making the first effort to capture Kapelsche Veer. They were met by accurate fusillades of small arms and machine-gun fire from the well-entrenched Germans who were able to call down even more deadly medium artillery, self-propelled gun, and mortar fire from north of the Maas. Some German prisoners were taken, but the Poles suffered 46 casualties and the attack failed.

On the night of January 6-7, 1945, the Poles carried out another assault that failed, forcing them to regroup. On the night of January 7-8, the Poles carried another assault attacking the eastern flank of the island. Their 9^th Infantry Battalion cleared the harbour area by noon on this attack, but stubborn paratroops dug in along the dyke nearby and, aided by heavy mortar fire, prevented further progress. Again, the Poles were forced to withdraw at a cost of over 130 men killed or wounded.

After another pause, the British 47^th Royal Marine Commandos, supported by Norwegian commandos, took over the task of reducing the bridgehead. On the night of January 13-14, the Marines made a gallant attack against the position from both flanks. The attack started well and a few troops managed to reach their objective. The Germans fell back into well-prepared positions under the dyke and then brought down extremely heavy mortar fire down from the other side of the river. Due to the exposed nature of the approaches, exhausted by slogging through the thick mud, the shortage of ammunition, and the loss of control through casualties to most of the officers, the commandoes were unable to make any further headway. The Commandoes withdrew having suffered 49 casualties.

It was now evident that only a deliberate operation on a larger scale, with a greater weight of supporting artillery, could dislodge the enemy from Kapelsche Veer. On January 14, 1945, Operation Elephant was born—the fourth assault on the outpost—and the First Canadian Army received the order to clear the small island north of the Maas River. It would be undertaken by the 4^th Canadian Armoured Division that included: the 29^th Canadian Armoured Reconnaissance Regiment (South Alberta Regiment-SAR); the New Brunswick Rangers (machine-gun support); and the 10^th Canadian Infantry Brigade that included the Lincoln and Welland Regiment (would be given the leading role), and the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders of Canada. In command of the Canadian 4^th Division was Major General Chris Vokes who was unhappy about getting the Kapelsche Veer job. “As far as I was concerned, the Germans could have stayed there for the rest of the war. They were doing no harm.” The division’s general staff war diarist dryly observed that the division was “proud, of course, to have the reputation of a pinch-hitter, but the pleasure, if NOT the distinction, is a dubious one.”

The operation would be well supported; with 300 guns firing from South Alberta Regiments 75mm guns in their Sherman tanks to 5.5-inch guns of the medium artillery regiments. Also in support was artillery from the 1^st Polish Armoured Division and units of the British Royal Artillery, and the New Brunswick Rangers would provide heavy machine-gun fire. Despite three previous attacks, the operation would rely on the element of surprise—there would be no initial mortar or artillery barrage and the daylight attack would be through a smokescreen. Elaborate arrangements and training were also made for flame support—including 14 Wasps (Universal Carriers armed with flame projectors) and 61 man-carried Lifebuoy units (flamethrowers that were named for the circular fuel tank carried on the man’s back)—they were primarily intended to burn enemy troops out of fortified positions.

The Canadians spent a week training for the operation. In that time, the Lincoln and Welland Regiment were issued white snowsuits and conducted rehearsals on dykes similar to that on the island. A squadron from the Royal Canadian Engineers (RCE) erected a bridge on the eastern end of the island that would be used to assist the passage of armour onto the island. Located only 450 metres from the Germans and using a previously demolished bridge as a foundation, the engineers worked at night, often under sporadic enemy machine gun and mortar fire, with equipment rafted into position. The bridge took six crazed days to complete—the final result was a cobbled-together structure that looked anything but sturdy, so the engineers dubbed it “Mad Whore’s Dream”.

The Germans, for their part, reinforced the garrison, so roughly 150-160 German paratroopers of the 10^th and 17^th German Paratrooper Regiment were charged with holding the small bridgehead. The commander there had been ordered to hold the island “at all costs.” They were extraordinarily well dug in, had excellent ammunition stocks, and had constructed elaborate defences including mines, tunnels, trenches, underground positions in the dykes and well-situated machine guns able to cover all approaches to the harbour. In winter, the virtually treeless island was a muddy morass, so military movement was confined to the tops of dykes—anybody using the dykes was completely exposed. An observation post enabled the Germans to call for ample medium artillery, machine-gun and mortar support from nearby positions north of the Maas.

For the Canadians, the only practicable approaches were those from east and west along the high “Winter Dyke” (some 300 yards inland from the actual edge of the river) on which stood two solid brick houses near the harbour. Codenamed by the Canadians as “Raspberry” (the ferryman’s house by the harbour) and “Grapes” (the island’s caretaker’s house)—they were the core of the enemy position. Each had been strengthened to serve as a large pillbox-like bunker; a network of tunnels connected the houses to machine-gun positions on the perimeter; and defenders were able to call for ample mortar and artillery support from nearby positions. These two houses would be the Canadians objectives.

The Battle of Kapelsche Veer lasted from January 26-31, 1945, and was fought in miserable conditions in the middle of winter, in fact, it was one of the most severe winters ever in northwestern Europe. The island had become sodden before the Lincoln and Welland Regiment set foot on it—the waterlogged land had partly frozen, but not deep enough to stop water from seeping into the slit trenches. The days were cold and dull, and the nights colder still—many would suffer frostbite. Poor weather conditions that included rain, strong winds, sleet and snow, as well as continuous shelling turned the ground to glutinous mud. The fight would be fought on a battlefield and in conditions that resembled those of World War I. The actual battle area would take place not on the entire island, but was confined to an area 3.5 km running east-west and 650 m north-south. Combined with the endless attacks and counter-attacks, stress and sheer exhaustion took a toll on everybody on both sides. It was during this 6-day battle that Private Wilford Walker, of Lincoln and Welland Regiment “D” Company, lost his life.

The plan called for the attack to commence at 0725 on January 26:  Lincoln and Welland Regiment “A” Company, supported by “C” Company would attack the eastern end of the island; “B” Company would attack on the west to cross onto the centre of the island; and “D” Company would be kept in reserve, to be sent in as reinforcements where needed. Meanwhile, a force of 60 men (specially picked, all expert canoeists) in 15 canoes (Peterborough canoes flown in from Canada—each was 16 feet long, 3 feet wide and weighed about 68 pounds) were to set out at the island’s eastern tip and paddle westward on the Maas towards the harbour, to dig in where they could prevent German reinforcements from crossing over by ferry onto the island. Because the canoe “commandoes” would come into range of German troops on both banks of the river, and the three rifle companies would be exposed on top of the dykes, a thick smoke screen would be used to help provide cover. The attack was to “be made from three directions simultaneously” with no mortar or artillery support. All the infantrymen to go on the island were provided with white snowsuits–with pants, a hooded jacket, and helmet cover to make them less conspicuous—over the regular battledress and long underwear. Combat webbing was strapped over the suit and heavy black gloves provided some warming insulation for hands that gripped the cold steel and wood of their guns. Once the battle began, the casualties would mount, and the pile of blood-soaked white camouflage snowsuits grew deeper in the Regimental Aid Past and the Field Ambulance.

The plan to take the enemy bridgehead – Operation Elephant

On the evening of January 25, the companies moved to their forming up places and the men waited in the cold for morning to come. Operation Elephant was launched on the freezing morning of January 26, but, unfortunately, nothing went as planned. A smoke barrage augmented by the use of smoke pots and smoke generators heralded the start of the operation at 0715. The smoke was so thick that the forward companies (“A” and “B”) asked to stop throwing smoke because they were choking.

Soldiers in the canoes set off from the east near the “Dream” bridge but were hindered by thick ice covering the river. In fact, the ice along the shore made it difficult to launch the canoes, which forced them to shove off behind schedule. Many of them had to bodily break through the shoreline ice and wade into the fast-moving centre portion to haul their boats out over the ice and into the stream where the smoke cover was less dense and dissipating. Their snow suits became soaked through and heavy; they then came under heavy enemy fire from the north bank. Several canoes sank, a few made it to shore, and the rest were abandoned with survivors wading through the ice to set foot on land. What remained of the canoeists were forced to land on the bank near “A” Company about halfway to their objective. The 60 men had dwindled to just 15. German machine guns firing on fixed lines met them on top of the dykes. Attempts to return fire were ineffective—their weapons frozen solid and useless after soaking in the canoes. They had to withdraw.

Getting underway at 0725, “A” Company crossed to the east side of the island by Buffalo amphibious tractor and managed to push forward along the dyke line and got to within 30 yards of its “Grapes” objective. But the combination of the dissipating smoke screen and heavy enemy fire repulsed their advance. All the flamethrower operators, carrying their 60 pounds of dead weight on their backs, were especially vulnerable—all of these Lincoln and Welland “lifebuoy” operators were killed on the first day. By 0945, “A” Company was stopped cold. As “A” Company waited for “C” company to arrive, the Germans started counterattacking from multiple positions and heavy mortar and machine gun fire caused casualties to mount alarmingly as the men desperately tried to dig into the frozen ground for cover. Before long, the men of “A” Company either retreated or lay dead or wounded.

“C” Company, supported by four Wasps (tracked Bren carrier flamethrowers), crossed the bridge, but the Wasps were unable to climb up the steep sides of the dykes and got stuck in the mud, so the infantrymen had to push on alone. The heavy German counterattack drove “A” Company back into “C” Company who had lost all its officers. The Lincs “A” and “C” Companies were being cut to pieces—infantry were trying to find cover on the hard bare ground, and the dead and wounded were lying everywhere. After intense fighting and severe casualties, by 1130, the eastern side attack was over. The remnants of “A” and “C” Companies, and the survivors of the canoe party, were pulled back from the island.

Over on the western side, “B” Company was ferried onto the island in Buffaloes and moved along the dyke under good smoke cover. They got close to its “Raspberry” objective, half a mile west of the harbour, without incident until the thick, suffocating smokescreen dissipated. The men started frantically digging in, axes and shovels chipping futilely at the frozen ground. The enemy, now only 50 yards away to the east, opened fire. Despite casualties and heavy enemy fire, the company held its objective and awaited reinforcements from “D” Company. The Germans tried landing five boatloads of paratroopers from the north side of the river next to where “B” Company was dug in, but a quick accurate artillery barrage was called in that beat back the enemy. By noon, the western side attack was also over. At 1700 hours, a “hot meal, blankets, picks and shovels” were sent up to “B” Company.

Later in the day, the commander of the 10^th Brigade ordered renewed attacks. The remnants of the shredded “A” and “C” Companies, only sixty men out of a combined starting strength of about 200, were combined and moved to the western side following behind “D” Company. The Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders of Canada now took over the attack from the east. Attempts to provide armoured support from the South Alberta Regiment (SAR) was difficult as tanks would have to be moved across the river on both the eastern and western sides. On the eastern side, only two Stuart tanks of the SAR crossed the “Dream” bridge but found little traction on the dyke and not enough room to turn around. The pair of Stuarts spent the next two days providing fire support with their 37mm guns and machine guns, as well as using their armour to safely transport wounded soldiers and bring up ammunition and supplies to forward positions. By 2200 hours that first night, an Argyll company supported by two SAR tanks was dug in on the eastern side of the island and relied on the rum-ration to get them through a cold, windy night.

Getting tanks to support the west end attack required rafting them over, so a squadron of RCE was ordered to assemble materials to build a Class 40 raft on the bank of a subsidiary canal. Here, the engineers found constructing the raft to be a very complicated and time-consuming process, exacerbated by the need to work in the water which was partially frozen. A German patrol and a sudden snowstorm on the night of January 26-27 also delayed the construction. Tank support for the Lincoln and Wellands on the west would have to wait.

There would be no quick victory. It would now be a “bite and hold” operation—heavy artillery bombardment preceding short thrusts forward by infantry ideally supported by tanks. Working up gradually from both the east and west, the goal was to establish a new holding position, repeat, and then repeat again until the final objective fell.

The next day, January 27, attacks from both the east and west were beaten back by German automatic weapons fire and heavy mortar fire from across the Maas. The narrow dyke tops restricted movement to single platoons at a time; moving off the dykes was not possible due to the soft ground and snow. Artillery and tactical air support were essentially useless in silencing the well-entrenched German positions. All the Canadian Wasp flamethrower carriers had been bogged down and the devastation wrought on the Lifebuoy operators the day before left no volunteers to carry the weapons into action. The only option left was tanks.

From the west, multiple attacks along the dyke by “D” Company of the Lincoln and Wellands got to within 300 yards of “Raspberry” but found German soldiers infiltrating along the north side of the dyke to get behind them and threaten to cut them off. Several German counterattacks, along with constant mortar and machine gun fire from the Kapelsche Veer garrison and the northern riverbank, threw “D” Company back and they took heavy casualties.

On the east side, the Argylls managed to get within 1000 yards of “Grapes” with supporting fire from the machine guns of the two SAR Stuarts. German mortar fire was met with indirect fire from SAR Shermans and 25-pounder shells from the 15th Field Regiment, and the harbour itself was attacked by a squadron of Spitfire aircraft during the day in addition to shelling. The Canadian artillery frustrated German attempts to reinforce their garrison at Kapelsche Veer, but was not able to stop elements of the pioneer and anti-tank platoons of the 17th Parachute Regiment from crossing the Maas.

As work on the Class 40 raft on the west side progressed during the day, on the eastern end of the island two Shermans successfully crossed the “Dream” bridge (the two Shermans were a full 17+ tons heavier than the bridge should have been able to bear). The Shermans assisted the Argylls’ Pioneer Platoon in removing mines from the dyke in preparation for a renewed infantry attack. At about the same time, the raft on the western end of the island was finished, and three Shermans were floated about 450 feet across the Oude Maasje to support the Lincoln and Wellands.

Darkness fell early on these cold January days, with the sun setting at about 1630 hours. As night closed in, Lincoln and Welland “D”, “B” and “A/C” Companies were stalled west of their objective, while the Argyll’s were stalled on the east. The men dug in as much as they could into the frozen ground for the night, lying in whatever holes they could find—slit trenches, fox holes and shell holes, never knowing what could come next.

On January 28 at 0900, the attacks were renewed, now with tank support. Rising temperatures to slightly above freezing turned the frozen ground into mud, and the second tank of the three on the west bogged down, blocking the passage of the tank behind it. The lead Sherman carried on towards “Raspberry” with the Lincoln and Welland “D” Company leading the way, but was forced to stop when the infantry went to ground under heavy fire as commanding officers were being cut down one after the other.

On the east, the four tanks moving towards “Grapes” made better progress, but the Argyll infantry were driven to ground by heavy and unrelenting automatic fire and mortars. The tanks fired at likely enemy positions until low on ammunition, then backed up to where the infantry was sheltering to resupply and move forward again. Heavy mortar fire continued to punish the Canadians on both flanks, despite the heavy Canadian artillery fire that continued to rain down north of the Maas. The attacks faltered until 1400. Then a Wasp managed to move onto the dyke top, and after a miscommunication refused to stop among the leading infantry of the Argylls and made for “Grapes” at speed. With the tanks providing cover fire, the Wasp bogged just short of “Grapes”, managing a couple of shots from its flame gun. One Sherman managed to find a spot on the dyke from where it could depress its weapons onto the north bank of the island, where it managed to inflict heavy casualties to a 25-man platoon of Parachute Regiment 17 that was stationed there, killing 17 and wounding 5 more. This feat by an ad hoc troop of four tanks, allowed the Argylls to close the range to “Grapes” and finally seize the building.

The Lincoln and Wellands on the west also seized “Raspberry” with the support of the single Sherman there during mid-afternoon. German infiltration from positions in the dyke so confused the infantry, however, that they withdrew at 1600 to regroup leaving the sole tank by itself. The Sherman stayed in position, firing in support of the Argylls whom the commander could make out to the east, but eventually he was forced to reverse down the dyke to get more ammunition. The commander, Lieutenant Ken Little, was killed by a German sniper as he directed his driver from the open turret hatch. As his crew brought his body back to the other tanks, it bogged down also, blocking the dyke completely.

By late afternoon, “Grapes” and “Raspberry” were both in Canadian hands, but the Germans were still present in a large number of tunnels. After dark, a counter-attack had both buildings back in German hands before midnight, forcing the Canadians back several hundred yards both east and west. The day’s gains had been completely wiped out. So, like the end of the previous day, Lincoln and Welland “D”, “B” and “A/C” Companies were stalled west of their objective, while the Argyll’s were stalled on the east. The men dug in for another long, bitter, sleepless night. A Canadian army report later stated, “Throughout the long, cold hours of the night the troops, in many cases suffering from frostbite and exposure, stubbornly held their ground. The frozen ground made it almost impossible to dig in, and the only cover against the unceasing mortar fire were the watery shell holes which became a most welcome haven.”

During the night of January 28-29, the Canadians carried out reliefs in place. The direct fire support position, saw a changeover from “A” Squadron of the SAR to “C” Squadron. The tank crews on the island itself also changed over, as did the infantry companies and artillery Forward Observation Officers.

At dawn the next day, Canadian Lt. K.R. Wigg, of the 29^th Armoured Reconnaissance Regiment, described what he witnessed when he arrived at the chaotic patchwork of shell craters and scattered dead, “All the way up…we saw bodies of German and our own dead, wrecked vehicles, etc., and the whole place looked like a 1914-18 battlefield.”

On January 29, at first light, German mortar fire that had been only sporadic during the night increased in intensity, and Canadian artillery responded in kind. By the end of the battle, the 15th Field Regiment had fired 14,000 rounds of 25-pounder ammunition, twice the original expected allotment, and they were only one of several field and medium regiments, as well as 4.2-inch mortars and the tanks of the SAR as well as the British Columbia Regiment, all of which provided fire support.

Renewed Canadian attacks on the two buildings at 0700 were met yet again by automatic and mortar fire. The effects of shelling and thawing left little snow on the island, and the tanks were hampered by the mud. All three Shermans on the west were by now heavily bogged down, and on the east one Stuart was stuck in so badly that no other vehicle could move past it, though luckily the other three tanks were not trapped behind it. Engineers went forward with a bulldozer after attempts to move the tank by pushing it and even using high explosive shells that failed. It would take 18 hours to build a diversion around it.

In the meantime, at 1245, the Argylls’ attack on the east progressed forward, and two tanks supporting them enabled them to take “Grapes” one more time. On the west, heavy German fire prevented movement to “Raspberry”. The Lincoln and Wellands were stopped cold without tank support. A German prisoner reported that only 70 paratroopers were left in the garrison, including 20 wounded men. By last light, German control of the island had been reduced to a few hundred yards surrounding “Raspberry” and the west side of the harbour. By now the Germans were also under direct fire from a pair of Crusader anti-aircraft tanks in addition to heavy artillery concentrations and tank fire from the island itself.

During the night, the diversion around the Stuart was completed on the east. On the west, another Sherman was floated across to the island. One of the previously bogged Shermans also unstuck itself after an effort of several hours, and decided to go forward to assist mine-clearing by the Lincoln and Wellands. The tank only made it a few feet before bogging again. The men of the Lincoln and Welland Regiment were by this time so exhausted that they could do little more than hold the ground already won, made more difficult by the foul weather—sleet, rain and snow. German boats were seen on the river, though it was not clear if they were withdrawing or reinforcing. Canadian foot patrols were also made from “Grapes” to “Raspberry”.

First light on January 30 saw the two Shermans at “Grapes” opening fire on what was left of “Raspberry” just 100 yards away down the dyke. They found that their Brownings had seen so much use during the battle that the barrels had been worn smooth. New guns had to be brought over, delaying further operations, and the Argylls did not move forward until 1115. They were quickly driven to ground by enemy automatic weapons fire, and once on the ground were mortared from north of the Maas.

Another attempt by the Argylls at 1500 to cross the 100 yards to “Raspberry” was also beaten back. At 1530 the Germans respected a Red Cross flag that appeared as the Canadians went forward to pick up their wounded. A third attempt was supported by two more Shermans that had crossed the “Dream” bridge and over the diversion past the Stuart. With four tanks in support firing 75mm HE and .30 calibre machine guns, the Germans were forced to call down smoke from their mortars to obscure the tank crews’ vision—but it was too late. The Argylls had taken “Raspberry” and then searched desperately for an opening into the German tunnel complex. Unable to find it, they used demolition charges on every hole they found under the rubble, and turned to driving west the last few hundred yards to link up with the Lincoln and Wellands.

The Lincoln and Wellands, for their part, were unable to assist, with their three bogged Shermans blocking the fourth one in. The tanks supported the Argylls as best they could. The Argylls tried to advance past “Raspberry” but were driven back. One of the Shermans on the east side of the island tried to move forward of the infantry at 1800 just as light began to fail, and was stopped by a Panzerfaust; two of the Sherman crew were cut down by small arms as they bailed out. The two houses had been taken, but for now, the two groups of Canadians were stopped short of each other, only about 50 yards apart.

So, at the end of the day, Lincoln and Welland “D” and “B” Companies were still west of “Raspberry”, while the Argyll’s had taken “Grapes” but were stalled just east “Raspberry”, while the Germans remained in a narrow band between them. During the night, one of the Shermans on the west managed to become unstuck, and the tank moved to the knocked-out tank to prevent it from being used by the Germans as a bunker. The Sherman remained in position without infantry support all night, firing on Germans attempting to enter the knocked-out tank. No other activity took place until first light the next day.

On January 31, fresh tank crews replaced those in the vehicles and covered the Argylls, who managed this time to move the few hundred yards to link up with the Lincoln and Wellands at 0800. It was finally over—after days of German attempts to continuously reinforce their garrison and to mount counter-attacks, during the night, the remaining German paratroopers had simply vanished—they had evacuated the island garrison. A handful of prisoners were all that was left, in addition to the odd mortar bomb lobbed from across the Maas. It was learned later that the German paratroop general (Kurt Student) responsible for the area had been replaced, and that his successor put an end to this unnecessary fight.

An official army report concluded, “It ended against a backdrop curiously twisted by the natural elements, for as the troops cleared away the debris of battle and collected the dead, the intense cold seemed to disappear and the sun broke through the clouds, turning the atmosphere surprisingly warm, and then, as the rays melted the snow, dissolving the ground, already thoroughly churned by the artillery, into a vast sea of mud.”

The Canadian victory at Kapelsche Veer came at a high cost. The Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders of Canada had 50 casualties, 15 being fatal; and The South Alberta Regiment had nine casualties, including four killed. The battle had a staggering effect on the Lincoln and Welland Regiment. The vast majority of their losses were on the first day. In only six days of fighting, the Lincoln and Welland Regiment suffered more than 183 casualties, including 50 dead—one of those was 28-year-old Wilford Walker.

It was on January 28, 1945, approximately four months after arriving in France, that Private Wilford Walker lost his life during Battle of Kapelsche Veer. His remains were buried on February 1, 1945, at a location recorded on the Army Field Service Card as “Holland 4th Canadian Armoured Division Cemetery S’Hertogenbosch sheet M.R. 319479 Plot 2 Row A Grave 1”.

After the battle at Kapelsche Veer, no further offensive operations were mounted by Canadian formations in the Nijmegen Salient. Allied planning had already long since been focused on the upcoming Operation Veritable and the beginning of the Battle of the Rhineland which commenced on February 8, 1945—it put the Canadians onto German soil for the first time.

In the years following the war, in light of the heavy casualties suffered, some questioned the plans by the commanders on both sides to carry out their operations—for the Allies to attack the little patch of windswept ground, and for the Germans to hold it, for territory of little strategic or military value. [Key Allied commanders were Canadian Major-General Chris Vokes and British Lieutenant-General John Crocker]. In the lead up to the battle, Lieutenant-Colonel Dave Stewart of the Argylls was so incensed with Vokes’ attitude and his constant demands for patrols across the Maas that needlessly chewed up troops, that he wrote to Lieutenant-General Guy Simonds, stating he had no confidence in his divisional commander. On January 25, the day before the battle for Kapelsche Veer began, Stewart, who had criticized the whole concept of the operation, was ordered to report to the neuropsychiatric wing of No. 10 Canadian General Hospital to be examined for battle exhaustion. Among the symptoms Stewart was alleged to have was “undue concern for his men.”

In 1986, Geoffrey Hayes wrote a new history of the Lincoln and Welland Regiment (his uncle Major Jim Swayze commanded a battalion there in January 1945). His interviews with surviving Lincs revealed that men talked about Kapelsche Veer as a “dividing point” in the regiment’s history. Hayes wrote that there was a clear perception that something important happened there and many veterans used the words “before” or “after” Kapelsche Veer in telling their story.

More than half a century after the end of the events at Kapelsche Veer, the remains of some of those lost in the battle there were still being discovered. In February 2000, the bodies of two riflemen from the Lincoln and Welland Regiment; Charlie Joseph Beaudry, of New Brunswick, and George Robert Barritt, of Saskatchewan, were uncovered. The remains of both privates were found by Dutch engineers clearing mines and other explosives from the island.

They had both been killed on the morning of January 26, 1945, only a few feet from each other. Barritt was last seen at about 0800 laying on the side of the dyke, very badly wounded; while Beaudry was last seen at about 1015 hours in a slit trench with another soldier fighting off an enemy counterattack. Both died within yards of the enemy, and both were listed as “missing in action, presumed dead.” For years, their families lived with the agony of not knowing what happened to their loved ones. Barritt’s half-brother Gordon said that their mother Mabel was very close to a nervous breakdown when the news of the death of her son George arrived. Only one month earlier, she had received news that her other son, Duncan, was reported missing in France. His remains were found in 1946. Gordon said that for years after, there was only disbelief on her part, and she always thought that someday George would come back.

The remains of Barritt and Beaudry were removed and military funerals were held for both in November, 2001, at Bergen-op-Zoom Canadian War Cemetery. Attending the service were next-of-kin, WWII veterans, former members of the Dutch resistance, local students and citizens, and a Canadian delegation that included current members and a Kapelsche Veer veteran of the Lincoln and Welland Regiment.

The year before, the remains of another Lincoln and Welland Regiment soldier, Private Victor Garton Howey, born near London, Ontario, were uncovered. Dutch workers were fixing a dyke near the harbour of Kapelsche Veer when they came across the remains of a soldier. Howey had last been seen wounded, his body sliding into a dyke. He had been declared missing in action on January 29, 1945. After his remains were discovered in 2000, they were identified, exhumed and reburied in Bergen-op-Zoom Canadian War Cemetery. Also discovered in 2000 by Dutch engineers clearing mines and other explosives from the island, were a large number of German soldiers.

In 2014, the remains of another Lincoln and Welland Regiment soldier who was killed on January 26, 1945 during the Battle of Kapelsche Veer, Private Albert Laubenstein were found. His body was interred in a battlefield grave but, in the chaos that followed the end of the war, that grave could not be re-located and was thought to be lost forever. In June 2014, a metal detector hobbyist discovered a soldier’s remains on the southern bank of the Maas River. The Royal Netherlands Army Recovery and Identification Unit exhumed the remains and, from the few artifacts recovered, and Canadian army dental records, the unknown soldier was identified as Albert Laubenstein of Saskatoon. His remains were interred next to his regimental comrades at Bergen-op-Zoom and were buried with military honours in May 2015.

In late January 1945, a week prior to Wilford’s death, his wife Beatrice Walker had undergone an appendectomy in Sarnia General Hospital and was still a patient there when the telegram arrived at her home informing her of her husband’s death. On February 5, 1945, Beatrice read the following telegram received from the Director of Records in Ottawa: REGRET DEEPLY A108651 PRIVATE WILFORD RUSSELL WALKER HAS BEEN OFFICIALLY REPORTED KILLED IN ACTION TWENTYEIGHTH JANUARY 1945 STOP YOU SHOULD RECEIVE FURTHER DETAILS BY MAIL DIRECT FROM THE UNIT IN THE THEATRE OF WAR STOP TO PREVENT POSSIBLE AID TO OUR ENEMIES DO NOT DIVULGE DATE OF CASUALTY OR NAME OF UNIT.

No other information was provided. Upon leaving the hospital, Beatrice returned to the couple’s Brock Street address, with their two children, Frankie (age 4) and Shirley (age 2), and her sister, Mrs. Gatecliff.

Following is the report from the Sarnia Observer that included Wilford’s photograph;

Gnr. Walker Is Reported As Fatality

Relatives Reveal He Had Served in Belgium and Holland

Overseas in 1944

Former Polymer Guard Had Wife, Parents in Sarnia

            Word was received by his wife, who lives at 257 south Brock street yesterday of the death overseas of Gunner Wilford Walker, son of Mr. and Mrs. Frank Walker, 349 south Mitton. A telegram from Ottawa merely stated that he had been reported killed in action but his relatives revealed that he had been serving in Belgium and Holland.

            Gunner Walker went overseas in September of last year and is believed to have gone to the European battle zone about November 1. Prior to enlisting he had been employed as a guard in the security office of the Polymer Corporation plant.

            A half-brother, LAC Russell Walker, is in the Royal Canadian Air Force and has been in England since June, 1944. It is not known whether or not he has been on active service so far.

            Mrs. Walker Jr., has been living at the south Brock street address with her two children, Frankie, aged four, and

Shirley, two, and her sister Mrs. Gatecliff. The latter is the wife of Gunner R.C. Gatecliff, who is also overseas.

            A week ago the wife of the deceased soldier underwent an appendectomy in Sarnia General Hospital and was still a patient there when the telegram arrived at her home yesterday morning.

            She is the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Guy Weiss, who live just outside the city in the vicinity of Perch creek.

In mid-February 1945, Beatrice received the following letter from the Brigadier, Acting Adjutant-General:

Dear Mrs. Walker:

            It was with deep regret that I learned of the death of your husband, A108651 Private Wilford Russell Walker, who gave his life in the Service of his Country in the Western European Theatre of War on the 28th day of January, 1945.

            From official information we have received, your husband was killed in action against the enemy. You may be assured that any additional information received will be communicated to you without delay.

            The Minister of National Defence and the Members of the Army Council have asked me to express to you and your family their sincere sympathy in your bereavement. We pay tribute to the sacrifice he so bravely made.

Among Wilford’s personal effects that were collected and returned to Beatrice were his cigarette lighter, wrist watch (Bertmar), leather billfold, diary (souv. of Holland), blood donors card, chauffeur’s license and 17 snapshots. Wilford Walker’s death was later officially recorded as Killed in action, in the field (Holland). In June 1945, Beatrice received a War Service Gratuity of $195.37 for the loss of her husband.

In July 1945, she received the following letter from the Colonel, Director of Records, for Adjutant-General:

Dear Madam:

            Information has now been received from the overseas military authorities that your husband, A-108651 Private Wilford Russell Walker, was buried with religious rites in grave 1, row A, plot 2, of a temporary Cemetery located at ‘S Hertogenbosch, Holland.

            The grave will have been temporarily marked with a wooden cross for identification purposes and in due course the remains will be reverently exhumed and removed to a recognized military burial ground when the concentration of graves in the area takes place. On this being completed the new location will be advised to you, but for obvious reasons it will likely take approximately one year before this information is received.

In August 1946, Beatrice received another letter from the Colonel, Director of Records, for Adjutant-General. Following is a portion of that letter:

Dear Madam:

Information has just been received from overseas that the remains of your husband, A108651, Private Wilford Russell Walker, have been carefully exhumed from the original place of internment and reverently reburied in grave 5, row H, plot 15, of Nijmegen Canadian Military Cemetery, four miles South-East of Nijmegen, Holland. Marked map is enclosed. This is a recognized military burial ground and will receive care and maintenance in perpetuity.

The grave will have been marked with a temporary cross which will be replaced in due course by a permanent headstone suitably inscribed. While it cannot now be stated when this work of permanent commemoration will begin, before any action is taken you will be communicated with and an opportunity will be given you to submit a short personal inscription of your own choice for engraving on the headstone…

In January 1948, the Director, War Service Records in Ottawa, sent Beatrice a photograph of the grave and marker over the burial place of her late husband Private Wilford Walker. Wilford was posthumously awarded the 1939-45 Star, the France-Germany Star, the War Medal 1939-45 and the CVSM with Clasp.

Wilford Walker, 28, is buried in Groesbeek Canadian War Cemetery, Netherlands, Grave XV.H.5. On his headstone are inscribed the words SOME DAY, WE KNOW NOT WHEN, WE HOPE TO MEET IN THE BETTER LAND, NEVER TO PART AGAIN.

In May 1985 in the Dutch community of Sprang-Capelle, forty years after the Battle of Kapelsche, a monument was erected in memory of the fierce battle in the winter of 1944/45. The bloody struggle at Kapelsche Veer for a German bridgehead of a few square kilometres cost a total of approximately 1200 men (killed, wounded, prisoners of war and missing). Little has changed at the site—a flat, featureless pasture with the Mass flowing past. The monument is set into the base of a low rise of ground. Above it stands a large and much battered weeping willow. The tree was almost completely destroyed in the battle, but survived. It witnessed the battle close up and remains standing today, an integral part of the memorial.

Since the early 2000s, various people, companies and organizations worked together to improve the monument. An information board was placed next to the monument in 2007, the large central plaque was replaced, and plaques to honour all the units that were involved in the fighting were added to the monument (some of the original copper plaques were stolen and had to be replaced). In 2018, the monument was completely rebuilt and renovated. The design on the pavement in front of the monument has three white stripes—they symbolize the attacks by the Poles (left stripe), the attacks by the Commandos (middle stripe), and the attacks by the Canadians (right stripe).

Along with a new large central bronze plaque, there are 10 small plaques that honour the fallen of each unit that took part in the battle, including the 1^st Polish Armoured Division, the 47 Royal Marine Commandos, The Argyll Sutherland Highlanders of Canada, The South Alberta Regiment, The Algonquin Regiment (Canada) and the Lincoln and Welland Regiment. Together, the plaques tell part of the history of the battle for this bridgehead.

The text, in Dutch, on the large original central plaque translates in English to this:

WORLD WAR II
Kapelsche Veer 1944-1945

The Bergsche Maas formed the border between the liberated and occupied Netherlands after the Allied advance from Normandy in 1944. A large part of this Muese front was guarded by the 1st Polish Armoured Division. Many Polish soldiers were billeted with the local population.

Immediately after the liberation on October 30, 1944, German troops crossed the Bergsche Maas here a number of times and eventually established a bridgehead at this location from December 8.

On December 16, 1944, the Germans unleashed their last major offensive in the Ardennes. The Kapelsche Veer bridgehead seemed to play a role in this.

Warned by, among others, the André resistance group, the Poles attacked the bridgehead. Under difficult circumstances – the polder land offered little cover – they carried out two attacks in vain. Subsequently, British and Norwegian commandos, supported by units of the 1^st Polish Armored Division, placed a third attack; again the intended result did not materialize.
On January 31, 1945, the battle came to an end after the deployment of Canadian infantry, tanks and artillery. In total, there were approximately 450 Allied deaths.

The population of this area lived on in freedom for forty years.

The memory of those who were here in that last winter of the war put up a tough fight

against the Germans, became stronger as time passed. Sprang-Capelle, May 1985

The Lincoln and Welland plaque reads;

In memory of the 50 officers and men of the regiment killed, presumed killed or died of wounds in the battle for Kapelsche veer and in honour of all who served in that action – January 1945. Remembered by their comrades of the Lincoln & Welland Regiment Association in 1997. T. Roy Adams, President

Following Wilford’s death, Beatrice understandably had a difficult time coping, along with caring for their two very young children, Frank Jr. and Shirley Mae. A couple of years later, after she discussed the situation with her family and Wilford’s family, Wilford’s father (Frank Walker Sr.) helped in making the decision that their son Frank should be raised by his father’s family. So, at the age of 7, Wilford and Beatrice’s son Frank Jr. moved in with his aunt Betty (Wilford’s half-sister) and her husband Doug Elliott (they had recently married) on their farm on Plank Rd. Frank Jr. would grow up there in the care of Betty and Doug, along with the support of his grandparents, Frank Sr. and Agnes Walker. He lived with them until his late teen years. Betty and Doug would have two of their own children together, Patricia and Terry. Frank’s sister, Shirley Mae, stayed with their mother, however.

Frank Jr. had very little contact with his mother Beatrice through his younger years, and very little was told to him about the circumstances of his family. He did see his paternal grandparents often and occasionally visited with his maternal grandparents (the Weeses). Beatrice’s brother Keith Weese and his wife Dorie were also willing to take Frank Jr. in at the time of his father’s death.

After Wilford’s death, the relationship between Beatrice and the Walker family could best be described as strained and bumpy at times. She rarely spoke about Frank Jr. in family conversations. She would later have relationships with several other men: Bob Barry, residing at 257 South Brock St. and they had a daughter—Barbara; Al Chapple—they had six children; and a Mr. Baxter. Beatrice passed away in December 2009.

Wilford’s son, Frank Jr. Walker, went on to Hamilton where he tried a year at university, but went no further after that. He had a job with International Harvester for a while. He spent a summer in Saskatchewan as a student on a summer mission field, before going back to McMaster University to finish his undergraduate degree. He spent the summer of 1962 at the Canadian Armored Corps School at Camp Borden and then returned to McMaster. He and a friend got two of ‘the plum postings’ for student chaplains—Frank’s was in Whitehorse, so in the summer of 1963 he headed out west. It was a truly memorable summer for him, during which he decided not to go back to school but to join the army instead. He was commissioned as a 2^nd Lieutenant and posted to the Pay Office of CFB Kingston.

On August 15, 1964, Frank married Margaret (n: McCloy, born June 1940). Margaret grew up in Hamilton, and had attended Delta High School, and Hamilton Teachers’ College and McMaster University to complete a BA program in Religious Studies and English.

After his marriage to Margaret, Frank was posted to Central Command Pay HQ in Oakville but he worked mostly in Toronto where the young couple lived. After several moves around Toronto, ending at CFB Toronto (Downsview), Frank came home one day and expressed his desire to go back to school, to complete his necessary education towards with his Master of Divinity (MDiv) and to begin the process to become a chaplain with the Canadian Armed Forces. To him, this would make his world complete: he would give back to his country for all that he had been given; he could serve the God that guided his life by caring for those who were prepared to give their lives for this country he loved; and he would follow in his father’s and grandfather’s footsteps.

For Frank, it meant three more years of school while at the same time having a wife and two little girls to look after, while on a student loan. He had three churches he was responsible for, and many folks to care for. It was a very busy few years for the couple. He then had to complete two years in a civilian church (military requirements), and then the young family were sent to Kinistino, Saskatchewan. They loved it there and would have stayed but Frank reached the then maximum age to enlist. So, after the paperwork was complete, they were off to CFB Valcartier just outside of Quebec City.

Months of French courses really did not have a lasting effect for Frank. From there, the Walker family went to a radar station on Vancouver Island, CFS Holberg. Then it was off to Germany for two years. Following that, they were back in Canada where Frank received a promotion to Major and a position at St. Hubert, Command HQ. Finally, the family moved to RMC in Kingston with the fine young men and women soon to be the newest officers.

The military combined with the chaplaincy was so very definitely his career and he loved every minute of it. Frank was highly regarded, respected and loved by many. He was a quiet, gentle man, very wise, thoughtful and kind. Marg would say of Frank: “He knew he was in a way serving his country as his father and his grandfather had done, and it gave us a wonderful life in many communities in Canada and Germany.”

Frank Jr.’s father, Wilford Walker, was killed in action on January 28, 1945, while his grandfather and namesake, Frank Sr., passed away on December 11, 1972. World War I veteran Frank Walker Sr. left behind 10 grandchildren, and is buried in Lakeview Cemetery in Sarnia.

Frank Jr.’s wife, Margaret, recalled that over the years, neither Frank Sr. or Frank Jr. spoke much about Wilford—undoubtedly a deep-seated and painful memory for both of them. She said that Frank Sr. never talked about his own wartime experiences in the Great War. Frank Sr. “was such a quiet, gentle man, it was Agnes [his wife] who was full of energy and very talkative.”

Frank Jr. dearly loved and was very close to his grandfather and namesake Frank Sr. Whenever Frank Jr. and Margaret visited, Frank Jr. gravitated to his grandfather—both had a similar nature, and perhaps he hoped “this might be the time that I would learn a bit from him.”

Frank Walker Jr. had the opportunity to visit his father’s grave 3 times between 1980-1982 while he was in Germany. The first time, he was the Padre that accompanied the Canadian contingent of soldiers that took part in the Nijmegen March. Along the way he was honoured and humbled to lead services of worship at all the cemeteries where Canadians were buried. For him the service at Groesbeek was very poignant. Frank was a very sensitive, emotional man and the significance of that experience was immeasurable.

He also accompanied another group of service personnel on a bike tour of the Netherlands, whose purpose was to walk the lands Canadians had fought for—to imagine the scene in the days of war, the challenges, the fears, the loneliness away from families and so much more, as well as conducting services as appropriate. The third time was with his wife Margaret and their three daughters. Frank introduced Margaret to her father-in-law and his children to their grandfather. They sat together on the grass and talked about what their dad meant to them, and the girls were so sorry their dad didn’t know his father. It was a beautiful moment, very emotional for Frank and for his family. It was so very positive for Frank to finally have something to touch, to see, to hold in his heart of his father forever.

Frank Jr. never really got to know his father, Wilford. According to Frank’s wife Margaret, “he was never certain as to whether his memories or the stories others told him were real.” In his later years Frank Jr. recalled, “I think I can remember running down the street to meet him as he returned home in uniform. But was this a military uniform or that of his job as a security guard at Polymer?” He also recalled, “his father being with a group of people in our living room at some sort of a party—they all seemed to be having a good time. I also think I can remember my mother crying at the house when she learned of Dad’s death, although I heard later that she was in the hospital when she heard the news.”

Over the years of his marriage to Margaret, Frank would occasionally wonder what kind of a dad his father would have been over the years. He also wondered what kind of a man he would have been himself if he had grown up with his own father. He was always very grateful for the upbringing he had with his Aunt Betty and Uncle Doug.

When they started to date, Margaret encouraged Frank to see his mother Beatrice more often. It seemed to Margaret to be a strange relationship. She had come from a very close family and she wanted him to know more about his mom and his step brothers and sisters. They would drive up for a day, but Bea’s then partner, Al Chapple, seemed to resent Frank. Frank had done well, and he wanted to know more about his dad, but Al didn’t want that conversation to happen. He was very unkind. Years later, after Al asked Beatrice to leave their home in BC, she moved back to Ontario where Frank and Margaret were at the time. They saw her more often and took her grandchildren and great grandchildren to see her.  

Frank and Margaret Walker had a long-lasting relationship of love, friendship, happiness and experiences. They had three beautiful children: Kimberly Anne (born 1967, a teacher, died tragically in a car accident in 1992 just months before her wedding); Corinne Margaret (born 1969); and Jennifer Lynne (born 1975). Corinne married Rod McGregor in 2000 and they had two children—Nicholas Walker (2004) and Rory William (2006, ‘William’ is in tribute to two of his great grandparents, ‘Wilford’ and ‘Wilfred’). Jennifer married Dave Crossley in 2003 and they had two children: Thomas Brian (2006) and Rudy Lynne (2008). In 2016, Rod and Corinne McGregor, along with their two boys, visited Wilford’s grave at Groesbeek. Nicholas was 12 years old at the time. Years later, when asked about his visit to his great grandfather’s grave, Nicholas simply said, “It was impactful.”

From Margaret’s very humble perspective of Frank, “there could be no one better or greater than the wonderful man I called, husband, partner and friend. So many amazing things happened in the last months above all the others over the years that have given me the courage and the confidence and the peace to move forward without him beside me.” Rev. Frank Arthur Walker passed away on June 27, 2023.

Source: The Sarnia War Remembrance Project by Tom Slater

Editors: Tom St. Amand and Lou Giancarlo

Elliott Courtney Watson was born in Belfast, North Ireland, on April 23, 1924, the eldest son of James Elliott and Mary Elizabeth (nee Courtney) Watson. James and Mary, both born in Belfast, were married in Newtownards, County Down, Northern Ireland, on September 12, 1922.

When Elliott was two years old, his sister and he along with their mother immigrated to Canada. They left Belfast aboard the passenger ship Montcalm and arrived in Montreal, Quebec, on May 3, 1926. They soon reunited with husband/father James Elliott, who was then living at 284 King Street, Hamilton, Ontario. The Watson family lived in Hamilton until 1931 and then moved to Toronto.

In 1941, the Watson family moved to Sarnia and lived at 115 Proctor Street. James supported his family by working as a salesman in Sarnia. Elliott had one sister, Marilyn Elizabeth, and one brother, Gerald Todd, who also served in the war as a Sergeant with the R.C.A.F.

Elliott was educated at Withrow Public Elementary School in Toronto from 1931 to 1938; then at Eastern High School of Commerce, 1938-1939; and then at Danforth Technical High School, September 1939-June 1940. Elliott was active in hockey, football, baseball, and basketball, and enjoyed building model aircraft and radio. He was employed at Murtons Bakery in Toronto, 1940-1941, as a driver and salesman. After that, he was employed at Percy Waters Florist in Toronto during 1941, as a delivery driver, until his family moved to Sarnia. In 1942, prior to enlisting, Elliott was employed at Helen Simpson Limited (retail store on Yonge Street in Toronto) as a truck driver.

On June 26, 1942, Elliott Watson, age 18, enlisted in the Royal Canadian Air Force in Toronto, Ontario. At the outbreak of World War II, the military set requirements for volunteers, one being that they had to be, at minimum, 18 years of age. For overseas service, the minimum age was 19.

Elliott stood five feet seven inches tall, had blue eyes and fair hair, was single, and was living at 730 Woodbine Avenue in Toronto at the time (though he recorded his permanent address as 115 Proctor Street, Sarnia). He requested flying duties with no specific preference for a specific role.

From the #11 Recruiting Centre and then #1 Manning Depot in Toronto, Elliott received his air training at #16 Service Flying Training School (SFTS) in Hagersville; at #3 Wireless School (WS) in Winnipeg, Manitoba; and at #2 Bombing and Gunnery School (B&GS) in Mossbank, Saskatchewan. He graduated from #2 B&GS in Mossbank as a Wireless Air-Gunner (4th in the class of 45) and was awarded his Air Gunner’s Badge on May 31, 1943.

After graduating, Elliott returned to Sarnia on a 14-day leave during the first two weeks of June 1943, where he spent time with his friends and family. In mid-June 1943, he was posted #1 Y Depot, and then to Eastern Air Command (EAC) Headquarters in Halifax. In mid-July 1943, he was posted to #160 Squadron, Bomber Reconnaissance stationed in Yarmouth, Nova Scotia.

In late-September 1943, Elliott Watson became a member of RCAF #162 Squadron “Sectabimur Usque Per Ima” (One time, one purpose), with the rank of Wireless Operator/Air Gunner.

RCAF No. 162 Squadron was formed as a Bomber Reconnaissance squadron on May 19, 1942, at RCAF Station Yarmouth, Nova Scotia. Equipped with Consolidated Catalina aircraft (also known as the Canso), #162 was part of Coastal Command that played a pivotal role in the Allied war effort, most notably against U-boats during the Battle of the Atlantic. Other vital contributions included the sinking of enemy warships and merchant vessels and the protection of Allied shipping from aerial attacks. The squadron also provided reconnaissance and carried out air-sea rescue. In October 1943, the squadron moved to Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, where #162 Cansos carried out anti-submarine duties on the East Coast and the Gulf of St. Lawrence.

In January 1944, #162 Squadron was seconded to RAF Coastal Command and stationed at RAF Reykjavik, Iceland. Here #162 Cansos covered the mid-ocean portion of the North Atlantic convoy routes. In May 1944, the squadron moved east to RAF Wick, Scotland, to support the invasion of Normandy. Their task was to intercept U-boats operating from Norwegian ports. No. 162 sank four German U-boats and shared in the sinking of a fifth that tried to break through the North Transit Area (Shetland Islands) to attack the Allied D-Day invasion fleet.

No. 162 returned to Camp Maple Leaf at RAF Reykjavik later in the summer of 1944 and remained there until it returned to Canada in June 1945.

In January 1944, #162 Squadron was seconded to RAF Coastal Command and stationed at RAF Reykjavik, Iceland

From June 3 to June 16, 1944, one year after his last leave, Elliott enjoyed a 14-day leave in which he was able to return to Sarnia, spending time with his parents, family, and friends. He was even able to see his brother, Gerald, who had been on furlough from the RCAF in late May 1944. As Gerald was returning to Three Rivers, Quebec, in early June, and Elliott was just beginning his furlough, the two brothers were able to spend a few hours together between trains.

After his leave, Elliott returned to #162 Squadron which continued to operate at its base in Iceland. He was part of a eight-man crew that had been together for some time—they trained together in Yarmouth, Nova Scotia, and then moved to Shearwater before heading overseas.

On July 29, 1944, Elliott Watson was with his crew aboard Vickers Consolidated Canso aircraft #11062 that took off from Reykjavik on an anti-sub patrol. The Canso aircraft was scheduled to land at RAF Wick, located in the far northeast of Scotland, but stormy weather and heavy fog had moved into the area. The flight started quite like any other—the area that they were working in was prone to heavy fog and bad weather—so it was normal for them to takeoff from one airstrip and land at another.

The flight destination was moved from Wick to RAF Stornoway on the island of Lewis in the Outer Hebrides, but the heading they were given was faulty. The aircraft took the turn to the new destination, but never arrived. In the thick fog, the pilot flew on a course towards Foula Island, in the Shetland Islands north-west of Scotland.

Foula’s barren landscape is dominated by Hamnafield Hill, a 1,100-foot-high hill of rock and moss. The Canso’s altimeter was at 920 feet when she slammed into the hill in the mid-afternoon. The aircraft burst into flames, and the fuel tanks and ammunition exploded. Wreckage tumbled down the mountain. Seven of the eight crew members were killed.

Perishing with Pilot Officer-WAG Elliott Watson were F/Os. Willis Hilson Lloyd, Abram R. Hildebrand, and George Gordon Bradshaw; P/O. James Edwin Bowler; FS. Robert Wilford Ernest Townsend; and WO. Robert Densmore Harvey.

FS. John H. Knight was the only survivor. He suffered serious and near-death injuries, yet he wanted to go to the funeral of his comrades, but the doctors at the hospital thought it best that he did not go. He awoke hours after the August 3rd funeral had concluded.

Elliott Watson’s death was later officially recorded as Killed as a result of a flying accident (overseas), at Foula Island, West of the Shetland Islands (anti-submarine patrol).

In September 1944, James Watson on Proctor Street in Sarnia received the following letter from the R.C.A.F. Casualty Officer, for Chief of the Air Staff in Ottawa:

Dear Mr. Watson:

Advice has been received from the squadron of your son, Flight Sergeant Elliott Courtney Watson, which states that he was buried in the Lerwick Cemetery, Shetland Islands on August 3rd, 1944. The service was conducted by the Royal Canadian Air Force Chaplain, Squadron Leader Davidson. May I extend to you and the members of your family my deepest sympathy.

Funeral for Canso 11062 crew

Source: http://www.canso11062.mikeharvey.ca/funeral.htm

In December 1944, James received another letter from R.C.A.F. Casualty Officer, for Chief of the Air Staff in Ottawa:

Dear Mr. Watson:

            I have been directed to inform you that your son, Elliott Courtney Watson, has been commissioned with the rank of Pilot Officer with effect from July 20th, 1944. His Officer’s number is J48690. May I again express my deepest sympathy to you and the members of your family in the loss of your son whose qualities and ability have thus been recognized.

In September 1945, James and Mary Watson received a War Service Gratuity of $399.85 for the loss of their eldest son.

More than a year later, in mid-October 1946, Mary received the following letter from the R.C.A.F. Records Officer in Ottawa:

Dear Mrs. Watson:

            It is a privilege to have the opportunity of sending you the Operational Wings and Certificate in recognition of the gallant services rendered by your son, Pilot Officer E.C. Watson. I realize there is little which may be said or done to lessen your sorrow, but it is my hope that these “Wings”, indicative of operations against the enemy, will be a treasured memento of a young life offered on the altar of freedom in defence of his Home and Country.

Pilot Officer-Wireless Operator/Air Gunner Elliott Watson, 20, is buried in Lerwick New Cemetery, Shetland, United Kingdom, Terrace 7B. Grave 20. On his headstone are inscribed the words THE LAST PRIVILEGE OF LOVE IS MEMORY.         

The lone survivor of Canso aircraft #11062 crash always remembered the “fallen 7”. Winnipeg-born FS John Haig Knight sustained grievous and life-threatening injuries in the crash which hospitalized him for almost two years before he was well enough to return to his wife in Canada. At one point, doctors thought they would have to amputate one of his arms, but a chance visit by the King of England’s doctor got him the care he needed to save the limb. He raised six children and worked with the federal Department of Veterans Affairs and on hydro projects in Northern Manitoba and Newfoundland. He helped First Nations locals land jobs at these project sites and was elected councilor.

Though he rarely spoke of the tragic incident until late in his lifetime, John kept in regular contact with the parents and family of his fallen comrades. When his health began to fail, his wife, Vina, and he returned to Scotland in 1995 to pay his final respects to his crew members who were all buried at the Commonwealth Cemetery in Lerwick.

John Knight passed away in April 2006.

After John Knight’s funeral, his son, Joe, was bequeathed his father’s framed photo of Foula Island and the barren Hamnafield Hill, which had always been kept in a place of prominence in the Knight family home. Joe hung the faded colour photo in the den of his home, unaware of the photo’s significance. The family had assumed the faded photo was a souvenir of a trip their parents took to Scotland—though they never understood why anyone would travel to such a stark landscape. He found himself wondering why that cliff of rock and moss meant so much to his dad.

Growing up in Winnipeg, the Knight children only knew that their father John was the lone survivor of a plane crash, and he did not wear shorts or short-sleeved shirts because of the scars from his injuries. Joe said of his father, “He didn’t complain, he didn’t brag about himself.” A few years after John Knight’s death, his family learned the full story of their father’s survival and life-long dedication to his fallen crewmates.

They learned the details of the crash including the fact that just before the crash, the 26-year-old had gone to one of the dome blisters along the fuselage of the bomber to smoke a cigarette; the weather was so foggy that John could not see the end of the plane’s wings; when the plane crashed into the hill, he was knocked unconscious by the impact; when he came to, he was still in the back of the aircraft; the aircraft was on fire and there was ammunition exploding all around him; he was able to push open the blister and drop to the ground where he crawled behind a rock to shield himself from the flames and flying shrapnel; three local men hiked up the hill and found John badly injured, his pelvis was broken, and his arms and legs seared from the flames; and the locals loaded John Knight onto a stretcher and descended the steep hill to a local farm and help was called from the mainland.

After his father’s death, Joe Knight commented on his father’s public service: “I now think Dad felt he had to pay back for the fact he survived and his comrades didn’t.” John Knight’s family commissioned a brass plaque memorializing the crash and the heroics of the Foula citizens in saving John’s life. The bronze plaque is mounted on a cairn atop Hamnafield Hill on Foula Island.

Source: The Sarnia War Remembrance Project by Tom Slater

Editors: Tom St. Amand and Lou Giancarlo

Robert Joy Wilcox was born on May 18, 1924, in Vigo, Spain, the youngest child of Henry (Sr.) Tabor and Agnes Winona (nee Johnson) Wilcox. Henry Sr. (born April 1888 in Asheville, North Carolina) and Agnes (born March 1886 in Bonn, Germany) were married on January 7, 1913, and were blessed with three children together: daughter Inez W., born December 11, 1915, in Jamaica; Henry Tabor Jr., born October 29, 1919, in Vineland, New Jersey; and Robert, born 1924 in Spain. Years later, Robert’s brother Henry Jr. resided on Calhoun Street in Battle Creek, Michigan.

Henry Sr. worked as a Consul of the United States of America and Agnes worked for the American Consulate. In 1900, the Wilcox family was living in Vineland, New Jersey, where Henry Sr. was employed at a Trust Company. By 1912, Henry Sr. was employed as an American consular agent in Port Maria, Jamaica. He later worked as a consul in Port Antonio, Jamaica, then in Guadeloupe, French Guiana, and then in Vigo, Spain.

Tragedy struck the Wilcox family when Henry Sr. passed away on June 21, 1925, in Vigo, Galicia, Spain. He was 37 years old, and Robert was less than one year old. After Henry Sr.’s death, the U.S. asked Agnes Wilcox where she wanted to go. She said that she wanted to go as close as possible to home (Vineland, New Jersey). She would be stationed in Canada.

Thirty-nine-year-old Agnes Wilcox travelled from Cherbourg, France, aboard the SS America, and arrived in New York on July 8, 1925, with her daughter Inez (age 9) and her sons Henry Jr. (age 5) and Robert (age 1). The family moved to London, Ontario, where Agnes and her three children resided at 14 Craig Street. In London, Agnes worked for the U.S. Government, American Consulate as a clerk.

Robert attended Victoria Public Elementary School in London, graduating in June 1937, and then attended London South Collegiate from September 1937 until the summer of 1940. At London South, Robert played tennis and was a very valuable member of the school football team as the first-string centre for two years. In a reference letter written by the principal (T.H. Graham) on Robert’s behalf in order to join the service, the principal wrote that during his time here, Robert was studious, intelligent and quite dependable with considerable athletic ability, and was quite popular with the student body.

After 14 years in London, the Wilcox family moved to Sarnia where they resided at 270 North Brock Street. Agnes was employed at the American Consulate in Sarnia. Robert attended Sarnia Collegiate beginning in September 1940. His grade 12 courses included English Composition, English Literature, French Authors, Ancient History, geometry, chemistry, and Latin Authors. He graduated grade 12 in June 1941. In the summer of 1941, Robert worked for a construction company and Webster Air Equipment Company in London. In the fall of 1941, he returned to SCITS for grade 13 and took such courses as English, French, Modern History, biology, and Latin. Robert was very busy before he graduated from SCITS in May 1942. He played centre on the SCITS football team and was also a member of St. George’s Anglican Church. Throughout, he worked part-time on Saturdays at the A&P store in Sarnia.

On June 25, 1942, Robert Wilcox, age 18, began the process of enlisting in the U.S. Naval Reserve by filling in an “Application for Aviation Cadet Training in the United States Naval Reserve” at the Naval Aviation Cadet Selection Board (NACSB) in Detroit, Michigan. Because he was a minor under 21 years of age, he was required to complete a “Consent and Declaration of Parent or Guardian” form that his mother Agnes signed on June 19, 1942, on his behalf. Robert signed up as a Seaman, 2nd Class, to serve for a period of four years.

The NACSB considered Robert Wilcox to be superior material for flight training leading to commission in the Naval Reserve and remarked that Robert was attentive, serious, well-mannered. On August 18, 1942, Robert completed his “Application for Aviation Cadet Training in the United States Naval Reserve” at the NACSB in Detroit. He provided one employer’s reference—George Lewis of National Grocers Co., Cromwell Street, Sarnia—and three character reference letters from other adults who thought highly of him: Principal T.H. Graham of London South Collegiate; his math teacher/football coach A.M. Freeman at London South Collegiate; and Mr. T. Fawkes, the manager of W. McPhillips Electrical Appliance at 170 N. Christina Street, Sarnia.

Eighteen-year-old Robert Wilcox stood five feet six inches tall and had brown hair and blue eyes. He recorded his occupation as clerk, his citizenship as United States, his home address as 270 N. Brock Street, Sarnia, and his next-of-kin as his mother, Agnes Wilcox, in Sarnia. Officially becoming a member of the U.S. Naval Reserve, he was given the rank of Aviation Cadet, V-5, with a pay of $75 per month. Then he was ordered home to “inactive duty status” and returned to Sarnia awaiting orders to active duty.

On December 28, 1942, Robert was called to active duty and ordered to report to the Officer-in-Charge at the Naval Aviation Cadet Selection Board no later than January 5, 1943, in Detroit. On January 5, 1943, now age 18 ½, Robert crossed the Blue Water Bridge at Sarnia to Port Huron on his way to Detroit to report to the Naval Aviation Cadet Selection Board (NACSB).

Aviation Cadet V-5 Robert Wilcox was first posted to U.S. Naval Flight Preparatory (NPF) School at Wooster College in Wooster, Ohio. He trained there until April 14, 1943, when he returned to NACSB in Detroit, remaining there until July 15, 1943. During that time, he satisfactorily completed CAA-WTS Elementary Pilot Training at Highland Park Jr. College, Highland Park, Michigan. He was then posted to U.S Navy Pre-Flight School (USNPS) in Iowa City, Iowa, training there until October 5, 1943. The next day, he was transferred for Primary Flight training at Pre-Flight Naval Air Station (NAS) in Memphis, Tennessee, where he remained until January 29, 1944. On January 30, he was posted to Naval Air Training Centre (NATC) in Pensacola, Florida, for Intermediate Flight training. Robert remained there until June 29, 1944.

He spent the summer, June 30-August 22, 1944, training at U.S Naval Air Training Station (NATS) Great

Lakes, Illinois. During that period, on July 3, 1944, he was upgraded in rating from AvCad V-5 to Apprentice

Seaman (A.S.) V-6, and on August 3, 1944, he was upgraded in rating to Seaman Second Class (S2c) V-6.

His next training post was NA Tech Training Centre in Memphis, Tennessee, from August 23 to December 25, 1944. There he passed his Naval Aviation Swim Test, completed an 18-week course at Aviation Radioman School (final mark of 90), and a 2-week course at Airborne Radar OP’s School (final mark 96). On December 9, 1944, he was upgraded in rating from S2c V-6 to S1c (ARM) V-6 [Seaman First Class—Aviation Radioman].

Robert was next posted to Naval Air Gunners (NAG) School in Miami, Florida, from December 25, 1944, until February 6, 1945, where he satisfactorily completed a ground course in Naval Air Gunnery and was designated a Naval Air Gunner. He was then transferred to VTB-2, Operational Training Unit (OTU)-NAS in Miami, training there from February 6 to April 20, 1945. On April 5, 1945, at VTB-2, OTU in Miami, Robert completed Aircrew Operational Training in VTB (TBF-1 and TBM-1) combat type aircraft and was designated a Combat Air-crewman.

Notes on a few of the above codes:

U.S. Naval Reserve classifications: V-5 = Aviation Cadet vs. V-6 = General Service and Specialists

VTB = Torpedo-bombing plane. Two types are;

TBF = “Avenger”, single engine Navy torpedo-bomber manufactured by Grumman

TBM = “Avenger”, single engine Navy torpedo-bomber, manufactured by General Motors

*The TBF/TBM Avenger torpedo-bomber was the main torpedo bomber used in the Pacific during WWII.

On April 20, 1945, Seaman First Class (ARM) Robert Wilcox was posted to VT(N), OTU #1, Naval Auxillary Air Station (NAAS) in Kingsville, Texas, to begin a three-month course on night torpedo training. In early May 1945, with approximately 287 hours of total flying time in his two-and-a-half years of service, Robert submitted his formal request for training as a Naval Aviation Observer (Navigation) to the Chief of Navy Personnel at NAAS in Kingsville, Texas. Robert passed the physical examination for flying, and on May 28, 1945, the Commanding Officer (C.H.B. Morrison) forwarded his approval to the Chief of Naval Personnel recording: During the limited time in this unit WILCOX has established officer-like qualities. It is recommended that favourable consideration be given his application for training as Naval Air Observer (Navigation).

Only three days later, on May 31, 1945, and three weeks after VE Day, Seaman First Class Robert Wilcox of the U.S. Naval Reserve, lost his life in a plane crash over the Gulf of Mexico.

During that night, five torpedo-bombing planes took off from Northfield, USNAAS, Kingsville, Texas, in a scheduled overwater Navigation flight. Robert Wilcox was part of a 3-member crew aboard TBF-1 #24189, an “Avenger” single engine Navy torpedo-bomber. During the flight, the TBF-1 aircraft that Robert was aboard was involved in a mid-air collision, striking the starboard wing of another plane. The TBF-1 aircraft lost control, broke apart, and fell into the ocean. The accident occurred at approximately 11:10 p.m., 100 miles, 110^o from Yarborough Pass, Kingsville, Texas.

On June 1, 1945, the U.S. Navy reported Robert Wilcox as Missing from routine flight, presumably dead, on May 31, 1945. Last contact about eighty-one miles, bearing 121^o True, from U.S. Naval Air Station, Corpus Christi, Texas. Robert Wilcox and two others were aboard the aircraft that crashed into the ocean, and their bodies were never found. Also killed in the crash were 22-year-old Richard Joseph Chouinard, Naval Aviator, and 19-year-old Floyd Haskel Clark, Aviation Machinist.

On June 2, 1945, the Sarnia Canadian Observer had the following report on his death:

Mrs. Agnes Wilcox, 270 north Brock Street, received word today that her son, Robert J. Wilcox, who is serving with the American Navy Air Force is missing and presumed dead, as the result of an aircraft crash in the Gulf of Mexico on Thursday, May 31. He was a well-known Sarnian and received his education at the local schools and was graduated from the Collegiate Institute and Technical School. His mother is attached to the American Consulate in this city. A brother, Captain Henry T. Wilcox, is serving with the American Military Forces and is stationed at Colorado Springs, Colorado, and a sister, Mrs. McLean Bradford, resides with her mother.

            On July 8, 1945, Agnes Wilcox on Brock Street in Sarnia received the following letter from the U.S. Navy:

My dear Mrs. Wilcox:

I extend to you my personal condolence in the death of your son, Robert Joy Wilcox, Seaman first class, United States Naval Reserve, which occurred on 31 May 1945. There is little that I can say to lessen your grief, but I want you to know that the Navy shares in your sense of bereavement.

In late August 1945, the U.S. Navy Department in Washington, D.C. Board of Investigation completed its report on the incident. Following are portions of their report:

Re: Mid-air collision between TBF-1 airplane Bu. #24189 and TBF-1D airplane, Bu. #47974

Bodies of: Richard J. Chouinard, Naval aviator, late ensign, A1, USNR

            Robert J. Wilcox, late seaman first class, USNR

            Floyd H. Clark, aviation machinist’s mate third class, USNR

were not recovered, the circumstances attendant upon the plane crash at sea in this case justify a conclusion that they are dead and the deaths occurred on 31 May 1945, not as the result of their own misconduct.

Finding of Facts:

1. On May 31, 1945, Ens. Richard J. Chouinard, A1, USNR; was pilot of a TBF-1 airplane, Bu. #24189, equipped with a Wright engine and said plane was assigned to VT(N) OTU #1, NAAS, Kingsville, Texas; and that Ens. Chouinard was assigned to duty and undergoing instruction as a night torpedo pilot with this OTU.

2. On May 31, 1945, Robert J. Wilcox, S1c, USNR was the regularly assigned aircrew of Ens. Chouinard; was listed as a passenger on the airplane and was temporarily certified for flight orders for the month of May 1945; he was regularly assigned to duty and training with VT(N), OTU #1 at the time.

3. Flight took off from Northfield, USNAAS, Kingsville, Texas on May 31, 1945, a scheduled overwater Navigation flight.

4. The flight was composed of five planes. The flight was authorized. The actual collision was not observed by any member of the flight, but immediately thereafter the chase pilot, Lt. Batten, saw the plane in 3 or 4 pieces and observed what he thought to be the fuselage and one wing of plane Bu. #24189 dive into the water.

5. Since TBF-1 airplane, Bu. #24189, and its occupants Ens. Richard J. Chouinard, Robert J. Wilcox, S1c, and Floyd H. Clark, AMM3c, were seen to plunge into the sea and have not been seen or heard from since that time, the occupants are presumed to be dead.

The collision resulted when some portion of TBF-1, piloted by Ens. Richard J. Chouinard struck the starboard wing of TBF-1D airplane, Bu. #47974, piloted by Ens. George H. Traylor.

6. The ensuing crash was due to the loss of control resulting from the collision.

Robert Wilcox, 21, is memorialized in the Arlington National Cemetery, Virginia, and in the family plot in Vineland, New Jersey. On the memorial headstone in Arlington are inscribed the words IN MEMORY OF ROBERT JOY WILCOX US NAVY WORLD WAR II MAY 18 1924 – MAY 31 1945. On the memorial headstone at Siloam Cemetery in Vineland, New Jersey are inscribed the words ROBERT JOY WILCOX DIED IN NAVAL AIR SERVICE 1924 – 1945.

Source: The Sarnia War Remembrance Project by Tom Slater

Editors: Tom St. Amand and Lou Giancarlo

Floyd George Williams was born in Sarnia, on March 9, 1922, the son of Captain Arthur David Williams and Letitia Belle (nee Corcoran) Williams. Arthur Williams was born on March 11, 1880, in Sarnia, and at age 23, married 18-year-old Letitia Corcoran (born in Iowa) in Sarnia on June 25, 1903. Arthur and Letitia had six children together: Ernest, born 1905, later resided in Philadelphia; Earl, became a Reverend in Brantford; Dorothy Patricia, born 1915, later became Mrs. Robert Koehler of Petrolia; Frederick Arthur, born 1921, and at the time of Floyd’s death was a private serving with the Army in Italy; Floyd, born 1922; and Randall.

In January 1915, thirty-four-year-old Arthur Williams, married with two children, joined the Royal Canadian Regiment (RCR). In early June 1915, he underwent his medical exam in London.

Eight months later, on September 20, 1915, Arthur enlisted in the Canadian Over-Seas Expeditionary Force becoming a member of the 34th Battalion with the rank of lieutenant. He had served with the 27th St. Clair Borderers Regiment for four years and recorded 13 months of prior military experience—with U.S. Expeditionary Force in the Spanish-American War and in the Philippines and in Cuba. He stood five feet five inches tall, had brown eyes and hair and was employed as a contractor. He and Letitia lived at 360 Maria Street at the time. Arthur Williams embarked overseas bound for the United Kingdom in mid-October 1915.

After arriving in England, Lieutenant Williams spent time at Bramshott, then Shorncliffe Camps, receiving Officer’s training and gaining qualifications in Signalling and the Lewis Machine Gun. In March 1916, he became a member of the 17th Reserve Battalion. On June 4, 1916, he was transferred to the 7th Brigade Machine Gun Company and arrived in France.

In early September 1916, while in the Ypres Salient, Arthur Williams reported sick with severe myalgia (muscle pain). He was treated in hospitals in France and then England. He was later diagnosed with sciatica (back pain due to problem with sciatic nerve) and acute articular rheumatism. He remained in hospital until early November 1916.

On November 10, 1916, Lieutenant Williams, again a member of the RCR, sailed for Canada on a one-month sick leave. In Canada, medical officials determined Arthur had sciatica; treatment continued, and his leave was extended to April 6, 1917. Health problems persisted and, by April, doctors in London, Ontario, determined that he had valvular disease of the heart. He continued to receive treatment, and his leave was extended twice into August 1917. The Medical Board ultimately determined that he was no longer fit for service, and his disability was permanent. He was struck off strength on December 19, 1917, by reason of being medically unfit. Arthur returned to his family and home at 167 North Brock Street in Sarnia.

Including his pre-war experience, Arthur was a painting contractor and decorator in Sarnia for 30 years. On May 26, 1941, at age 61, Arthur passed away in Sarnia (Floyd was 19 years old). The Canada War Graves Register (Circumstances of Casualty) record Arthur’s death as due to “Cerebral haemorrhage, arterio-sclerosis, etc. Death was due to service.” Arthur Williams is buried in Lakeview Cemetery.

Floyd Williams completed his grade 10 at Sarnia Collegiate, but part way through grade 11 he left school at age 16. He was a well-known, all-round athlete in Sarnia, having played lacrosse, hockey, baseball, golf, rugby, and tennis. He played the trumpet and euphonium and was a member of the Sarnia Boys Band and Pressy’s Transport Band that played at the C.N.E. in Toronto and on tours in the United States. He worked one summer in a sheet metal factory in Sarnia as a checker and shipper. He then worked as a store clerk for three years with the Sarnia Sport Shop on Christina Street, where he earned $20.00 per week.

When father Arthur died in 1941, widowed Letitia and their sons Floyd, Fred, and Randall were living at their home at 167 North Brock Street, Sarnia. Years later, Letitia lived at 165 North Vidal Street. Approximately 15 months after Arthur’s death, the Williams family experienced a joyful event.

On August 14, 1942, Floyd’s older brother, Frederick, married Miss Jean Anna Kemsley, the only daughter of Mr. and Mrs. George Kemsley of Sarnia. The wedding took place in the White Street Gospel Mission in Sarnia, the first wedding solemnized there. Floyd served as best man for his brother, Bombardier Frederick Williams, of the 48th Light Anti-Aircraft Battery, Petawawa.

When war broke out in 1939, 17-year-old Floyd Williams had tried to enlist in the R.C.A.F., but was not accepted because he was under-age. From May 1942 until the date he enlisted, Floyd served with the 2-26th Field Battery, Royal Canadian Artillery (RCA) in Sarnia, with the rank of gunner.

On August 24, 1942, Floyd Williams, age 20, enlisted in the Canadian Army in Petawawa, Ontario. He stood five feet eight-and-a-quarter inches tall, had brown eyes and dark brown hair, was single, and was living at home with his widowed mother on Brock Street at the time. After the war, he planned to become a sheet metal draftsman or to operate his own sporting goods store.

Gunner Floyd Williams began his army training in Petawawa as a member of the 48 Light Anti-Aircraft (LAA) Regiment, Royal Canadian Artillery (R.C.A.). In December 1942, he was posted to the 9 Light Anti-Aircraft (LAA) Regiment, R.C.A. in Vancouver, where he advanced to Acting Lance Bombardier. In early January 1943, he returned to the 48 LAA in Terrace, British Columbia. He continued his army training in Wainwright, Nanaimo, Prince Albert, and again in Terrace where he attended a Mountain Warfare Course in January 1944. He rose to the rank of Bombardier with the 48 LAA. That spring, he experienced a big change in his life.

In December 1907, Pleneus Wellington Demeray married Alice Mabel Bissell in Sarnia. Pleneus and Alice lived at 226 Napier St. and raised a large family together that included sons—Ervin Wellington, Lloyd Royden Frederick, Norman Leslie, John Elmer, Donald, Norris Allen, Orville, and Ronald Veil—and daughters Verna Gertrude, Margurite Oril, Grace, and Averial Norine. Four of the Demeray boys served in World War II: Ervin, Lloyd, Donald, and Norris. Gunner Norris Demeray was one of at least 36 young men from Sarnia who took part in the fateful Dieppe Raid on August 19, 1942. Norris was among a number of them who was captured at Dieppe and spent the duration of the war as a POW.

Averial Norine Demeray was born around 1925 and went by her middle name, Norine. She and Floyd Williams had been dating since sometime in 1941. They enjoyed spending their time together and socializing with their many friends. At age 16, light-brown haired Norine was living at the Demeray family home on Napier St. and working at Auto Lite in Sarnia. She was a bridesmaid for one of her close friends, Lena Maccio, when she married John Devereau at Our Lady of Mercy Church in Sarnia.

In the spring of 1944, after being granted permission to marry and obtaining a 25-day leave from April 6 – 30, 1944, the then Sergeant Floyd Williams married Averial Norine Demeray, the daughter of Mrs. Alice Demeray, on April 22, 1944. The wedding ceremony was held at the Parker Street United Church in Sarnia and was performed by the bridegroom’s brother Rev. Earl Williams of Port Colborne, who was assisted by Rev. J.N. Gould. The bride entered the church on the arm of her brother, LAC Leslie Demeray. Her maid of honour was Miss Eileen Walker, while Doris Walker acted as bridesmaid, and Diane Martin, niece of the bride, was junior bridesmaid. Floyd’s best man was Bob Koelher, brother-in-law of the groom, while Bill White and Neil McArthur were the ushers. Following the ceremony, a reception was held in the church basement for approximately 50 guests. Afterwards, the young couple left on a short honeymoon before Sgt. Floyd Williams returned to his duties on the west coast. The newlywed couple’s home address was 167 North Brock Street, Sarnia.

In mid-July 1944, Floyd was stationed at #2 Training Brigade Group in Debert, Nova Scotia. Floyd, along with his brother Fred, embarked overseas on August 4, 1944 (less than four months after he got married) and arrived in the United Kingdom on August 10. Not long after, Letitia Williams in Sarnia received a telegram from her sons informing her that they had both arrived safely in France with a Canadian army unit.

Gunner Floyd Williams was initially posted to #2 Canadian Army Reinforcement Unit (CARU). In early September 1944, he was transferred to #1 Canadian Signals Reinforcement Unit (CSRU) where he continued his training in the U.K. In late September 1944, he became a member of the Winnipeg Grenadiers, reverting to the rank of private. One month later, he was transferred to #3 Canadian Infantry Reinforcement Unit (CIRU).

On November 3, 1944, Private Floyd Williams departed the U.K., arriving in Italy on November 18, 1944. He became a member of the Canadian Army Irish Regiment of Canada, Royal Canadian Infantry Corps (R.C.I.C.).

The Irish Regiment of Canada (Machine Gun) was placed on active service in September 1939 and mobilized for active service in May 1940, and was then redesignated The Irish Regiment of Canada, CASF (Canadian Active Service Force), in August 1940. It embarked from Halifax bound for Great Britain aboard the RMS Queen Elizabeth on October 28, 1942.

The Regiment departed Liverpool aboard the Troopship Monterey in late October 1943 and landed in Naples on mainland Italy on November 10, 1943. The Regiment served in Italy as part of the 11^th Infantry Brigade of the 5^th Canadian Armoured Division. During its time in Italy, the Irish Regiment were awarded Battle Honours including Liri Valley, Melfa Crossing, Gothic Line, Montecchio, Coriano, Lamone Crossing, Fosso Munio, and Conventello-Comacchio.

The Italian Campaign, the first sustained Canadian Army operation of the War, began with the invasion of Sicily on July 10, 1943. The fierce fighting on the mountainous island lasted more than four weeks, during which the Canadians advanced through difficult mountainous terrain against an ever-stiffening German resistance. By August 17, the Germans had evacuated the island to the Italian mainland.

In early September 1943, Canadian and Allied forces invaded Italy. Though Italy surrendered shortly after, the occupying Germans made it clear their fight was not over. Liberating Italy would be a painstaking northward crawl, lasting 20 months, over a range of landscapes, through challenging weather, and against a series of well-protected defences held by some of the German army’s best troops. The campaign came at a cost of more than 26,000 Canadian casualties including nearly 6,000 Canadians killed.

Floyd Williams served with the Irish Regiment of Canada, part of the 11^th Infantry Brigade (that also included The Perth Regiment and The Cape Breton Highlanders), as they advanced northward. He would serve in Italy for only a month-and-a-half.

In December 1944, Floyd sent a Christmas card/letter from Italy to his mother-in-law, Mrs. Alice Demeray in Sarnia. On the front of the card were the words “Christmas Greeting: Canadian Army-Central Mediterranean Forces-Italy 1944”. Inside the card were the words “Buon Natale; Sincere Christmas Greetings and best wishes for the New Year.” He signed the inside with Love Floyd. On the back of the card, he wrote the following:

Dear Mother-in-Law,

I guess I sure owe you a letter, Mrs. Demeray so I shall fulfill two birds with one stone. I am trying to seek Ian and Lloyd but no luck so far. I hope that this Christmas and New Year you will have joy and happiness Mrs. Demeray and next Christmas may we all spend it together in rejoicing. I hope the boys are all okay and soon be home but I guess these are the things we pray for and must continue to… Well now, love and look after that sweet wife of mine and watch her goo goo eyes. (ha, ha)

Floyd

Not long before he was killed in action, Floyd Williams was awarded the Medal of Honour for his heroic actions. In a letter written by Pte. W.E. LeRoy (after Floyd’s death) to Floyd’s wife, Norine, he described how Floyd had risked his own life to rescue a wounded comrade in his unit. Pte. W.E. LeRoy and Floyd Williams had become close friends during their time together with the Irish Regiment while fighting in Italy. On this occasion, their section was moving from a house under German shell and mortar fire to another house 175 yards away when Pte. LeRoy was wounded in the stomach and arm.

“I didn’t pass out, but I couldn’t get up,” Pte LeRoy’s letter said. “Floyd and the others were okay as they were still going for the house. I think I had just about given up all hope of getting anywhere when I saw Floyd turn his head and look back. I guess he realized I was hit because the next second he was coming across that open field. I tried to holler to him to get the hell into the house, but my voice was no more than a whisper. Even if I could have yelled it, I doubt if he’d have heard me; the mortars and shells exploding all around made too much noise. When he reached me I told him to scram but it was no use talking. He got me on my feet and by half-carrying me we got back across the field to the house. I’ll never know how but we did. I was laid on a mattress and Floyd helped to put on the shell dressings. That was the last time I saw Floyd, as they moved on and I was taken out to hospital. I don’t think I need tell you how I felt when they told me Floyd didn’t come back. And I’ll never forget how he looked coming back across that field to get me. People like him never really die, Mrs. Williams. Perhaps they live only in the memory of those who knew them, but they live”.

On January 2, 1945, Private Floyd Williams was killed in action while fighting in Italy.

From January 2-6, the 5^th Canadian Armoured Division, 11^th Brigade (with the Irish Regiment) and 12^th Infantry Brigade, with three British units attached, engaged in a hard-fought battle clearing the enemy between Valli di Comacchio and Conventello. On January 2, it was the 11^th Brigade that cleared the village of Conventello. They continued to hold the village against a German counterattack on the night of January 3/4.

By mid-January the Canadians reached their final positions in Italy, running along the Senio and Reno Rivers. They subsequently settled into a defensive campaign, and in February 1945, the I Canadian Corps began to move into northern Italy before moving to northwest Europe.

In mid-January 1945, widowed Letitia Williams in Sarnia received a telegram from Ottawa informing her that her son PTE FLOYD WILLIAMS HAS BEEN KILLED IN ACTION IN ITALY. At the time of Floyd’s death, his wife Norine was residing with her mother, Mrs. Alice Demary at 226 Napier Street, Sarnia. In mid-January 1945, Norine received the following letter from the Major-General, Adjutant-General:

Dear Mrs. Williams:

            It was with deep regret that I learned of the death of your husband, A69366 Private Floyd George Williams, who gave his life in the Service of his Country in the Mediterranean Theatre of War on the 2nd day of January, 1945.

            From official information we have received, your husband was killed in action against the enemy. You may be assured that any additional information received will be communicated to you without delay.

            The Minister of National Defence and the Members of the Army Council have asked me to express to you and your family their sincere sympathy in your bereavement. We pay tribute to the sacrifice he so bravely made.

Floyd Williams’ death was later officially recorded as Overseas casualty, killed in action, in the field (Italy). In August 1945, Norine Williams received a letter from the Colonel, Director of Records, for Adjutant-General. Following is a portion of that letter:

Dear Madam:

Information has just been received from overseas that the remains of your husband, A69366 Private Floyd George Williams, have been buried in grave 2, row A, plot 2, of 5th Canadian Armoured Division Cemetery,

Villanova, seven miles West of Ravenna, Italy. Marked map is enclosed. This is a recognized military burial ground

and will receive care and maintenance in perpetuity.

The grave will have been marked with a temporary cross which will be replaced in due course by a permanent headstone suitably inscribed. While it cannot now be stated when this work of permanent commemoration will begin, before any action is taken you will be communicated with and an opportunity will be given you to submit a short personal inscription of your own choice for engraving on the headstone…

In October 1945, Norine Williams received a War Service Gratuity of $265.05 for the loss of her husband Floyd. In May 1947, the Lt.-Colonel, Director of Records, for Adjutant-General, sent Norine a photograph of the grave and marker over the burial place of her late husband.

Floyd Williams, 22, is buried in Villanova Canadian War Cemetery, Italy, Grave II, A, 2. On his headstone are inscribed the words HE WALKS WITH THEE AN ANGEL KIND FOR GOD IS LOVE AND SERVES MANKIND. 

Source: The Sarnia War Remembrance Project by Tom Slater

Editors: Tom St. Amand and Lou Giancarlo

Harley James Williams was born on the Sarnia Indian Reserve on April 13, 1925, the son of James Bryon and Florence (nee Bressette) Williams of the Sarnia Indian Reserve. James, born on the Sarnia Reserve, supported his family by working as a carpenter for the Canadian Oil Company. He was also a member of the Native Council. Florence (born on the Kettle Point Reserve) had given birth to a son, Irvine, before marrying James, and Irvine Bressette became an older half-brother of Harley.

Tragedy hit the Williams family when Florence passed away in 1930 when Harley was only five years old. James later re-married, this time to Mrs. Loveday Williams. Harley had one brother—Floyd Francis—and three half-brothers: Reynold Alton, Calvert Vincent, and Warren Eric. Harley also had two sisters, Bernice Bula and Virginia Ruth, as well as one half-sister, Verda June.

Harley completed grade seven and attended grade eight but did not complete the final examinations. In 1941, at the age of 16, he had finished his schooling for good. He was able to speak and read in both English and Chippewa and kept himself very busy. He was active in hockey and baseball and enjoyed hunting and reading. Harley worked on a 48-acre farm for five months and then was employed as a labourer for a little over a year at Synthetic Rubber Company in Sarnia. He continued to work as a labourer for three months at Mueller Brass Company in Sarnia and then spent two months working for Morton Salt Company in Port Huron.

Harley Williams had a first cousin, Lloyd Henry Bressette, who also served in the war. Lloyd Bressette, born June 20, 1924, at Kettle Point, the son of Archibald and Alma Bressette of Ravenswood, Ontario, enlisted in the

Canadian Army on August 12, 1943, in Toronto. Nineteen-year-old Lloyd trained in Brantford, Camp Borden, and

Camp Debert before going overseas in early April 1944. As a member of the Stormont, Dundas & Glengarry Highlanders, Lloyd first saw action against the enemy on June 6, 1944—the D-Day landings in France. Two days later, he was transferred to the Queen’s Own Rifles of Canada, with the rank of rifleman. One-and-a-half months later, Rifleman Lloyd Bressette was killed in action in France during the Battle of Normandy.

Twenty-year-old Lloyd Bressette is buried in Beny-sur-Mer Canadian War Cemetery, Calvados, France, Grave XV.E.10. On his headstone are inscribed the words “MY HEAVENLY HOME IS BRIGHT AND FAIR AND NO PAIN OR DEATH CAN ENTER THERE” MOM.

One of Harley William’s brothers was also in the army, so Harley was eager to join as well.

On March 24, 1944, Harley Williams, age 18, enlisted in the Canadian Army in London, Ontario. At the outbreak of World War II, the military set requirements for volunteers, one being that they had to be, at minimum, 18 years of age. For overseas service, the minimum age was 19.

Harley and other members of the Aamjiwnaang First Nation who volunteered to serve in the war did so at a time when Indigenous people across the country had every reason not to do so. First Nations people did not have the full rights of Canadian citizenship and were treated as federal wards of the state. At the outbreak of the war, both the Royal Canadian Air Force and the Royal Canadian Navy required volunteers to be “of pure European descent and of the white race” until 1942 and 1943 respectively. Despite the racial prejudice and cultural obstacles that they faced, at least 4,300 First Nations and Metis from across the country volunteered and served in the armed forces. And First Nation soldiers left a remarkable record of wartime accomplishments as commissioned officers, platoon leaders, combat instructors, reconnaissance scouts and snipers, and “code-talkers”. Many were decorated for their bravery on the battlefield.

When he enlisted, Harley stood five feet six-and-a-quarter inches tall, had brown eyes and black hair, was single, but had a steady girlfriend at the time. He planned to return to Morton Salt Company in Sarnia for employment after the war.

From #1 District Depot in London, Harley received his army training at #12 Canadian Army (Basic) Training Centre (CIBTC) in Chatham, and then at A-29 Canadian Infantry (Advanced) Training Centre (CICTC) at Camp Ipperwash. The Basic and Advanced Training Army Examiner’s evaluation of Harley mentioned that Williams is a rugged lad, good natured and strong… has an excellent Army attitude and has made a good adjustment to Army routine. He knows his work well… Williams is above the average in field work… Should make a good rifleman.

After completing his training at CICTC, Harley was granted a 14-day furlough and embarkation leave. By mid-September 1944, he was transferred to #2 Training Brigade Group in Debert, Nova Scotia. On October 12, 1944, Harley embarked overseas from Debert, Nova Scotia, bound for the United Kingdom.

Harley was initially posted in the U.K. with #2 Canadian Infantry Reinforcement Unit (2CIRU). In late October 1944, he was transferred to #2 Canadian Infantry Training Regiment (2CITR) where he continued his training. On January 29, 1945, Private Harley Williams sailed from the U.K. bound for the Northwestern Europe Theatre of War, where he was initially posted as an X-4 Reinforcement, Canadian Infantry Corps (CIC). 

The Canadians’ war in Europe began the previous summer with the June 6, 1944, D-Day landings at Juno Beach. In the months that followed, as part of the Allied forces, the Canadians engaged in tenacious fighting against fierce and ruthless German forces as they advanced east through Normandy, then the Long Left Flank of northern France and Belgium, and then the gruelling Battle of the Scheldt in northern Belgium and the Netherlands.

After the Battle of the Scheldt, over the winter of 1944-1945, most of the weary Canadians were given a rest, although the front, with patrols and large-scale raids remaining constant, was never quiet. Canadian troops were stationed along the Nijmegen sector in the Netherlands. They were tasked to hold and to defend the Nijmegen salient and a small piece of Allied-held territory north of the Maas River. This bridgehead would be used as a starting point for crossing the Rhine (in February 1945), and the Allies had to give the enemy the impression that an assault was imminent, to force the Germans to leave troops in that area. The Germans did their best to push the Canadians out of “the island” by flooding the area and constantly harassing them with mortar fire, artillery, and aggressive patrols. Constantly vigilant, the men dug deep slit trenches, covered themselves with whatever was handy, and tried to keep warm from the snow and cold during one of the most frigid winters on record in northern Europe.

In February 1945, the Allies launched a great offensive, the Battle of the Rhineland that was designed to drive the Germans eastward back over the Rhine River. There would be two formidable thrusts: one by the Ninth U.S Army; and one by the First Canadian Army, strengthened by the addition of Allied formations. The resilient Germans had spent months improving their defences; winter rains and thaw had turned the ground into a thick, muddy quagmire; and the enemy fought fiercely to defend their home soil. During one month of fighting, the Canadians succeeded in clearing the Reichswald Forest, in breaking the Siegfried Line, and in clearing the Hochwald Forest. But victory came at a high cost—between February 8 and March 10, 1945, over 5,300 Canadians were killed, wounded, or captured.

Private Harley Williams served with the Essex Scottish Regiment, Royal Canadian Infantry Corps (R.C.I.C.) as it advanced into Germany.

The Essex Scottish Regiment had originally arrived in England in August 1940, and two years later experienced their first fight—the ill-fated Dieppe Raid on August 19, 1942, which almost decimated the Regiment completely. In July 1944, after regaining their strength, the Regiment moved on to northwestern Europe where they fought through France, Holland, and Germany. They went on to earn numerous Battle Honours including at Bourguebus Ridge, Falaise, The Scheldt, South Beveland, The Rhineland, Goch-Calcar Road, The Hochwald, Xanten, Groningen, and Oldenburg.

It was at Xanten, Germany, during the Battle of the Rhineland, that Harley Williams lost his life, only five weeks after arriving in the NW European Theatre.

The Essex Scottish Regiment had spent Christmas 1944 in the line east of Groesbeek (just south of the town of Nijmegen); New Years in reserve near Boxtel; and then returned to Groesbeek to conduct patrols and probe German positions. The regiment, including Harley Williams, then crossed into German territory and fought fierce battles at Goch-Calcar, February 19-21, (suffering 150 casualties); and then at the Hochwald Forest, February 26-March 4 (suffering 138 casualties). Their next operation was to capture Xanten.

Following is a portion of the Essex Scottish Regiment War Diaries as they prepared to attack the suburbs of Xanten:

March 7

            At 1900 hrs the Pioneer Ofr and the I.G. taped the start line. Our first indication of the degree of toughness of the next battle was when an SSR patrol [Special Support and Reconnaissance] reported that the enemy was digging in with strength. The day closed with all ranks attempting to get some rest for the hard days to follow.         

In the early morning hours of March 8, the Essex Regiment, as part of the 4^th Canadian Infantry Brigade, set off in the darkness and driving rain for the town of Xanten. On their right was the Royal Hamilton Light Infantry (RHLI). Both were supported by a smokescreen, tank and flamethrowing Crocodile tanks, and artillery.

Following is another portion of the Essex Scottish Regiment War Diaries:

March 8

            During the early morning hours the SSRs kept us well supplied with information re the enemy and continued to do so until 0345 hrs. At 0400 hrs the troops moved off… At 0510 hrs all coys were reported in position and ready to go. The arty barrage started at 0530 hrs and came down perfectly-like all hell breaking loose.

Against heavy enemy mortar and small arms fire, all the Essex companies were able to reach the town by noon, having paused only to clear enemy paratroopers from farms on the outskirts of town. The RHLI, however, had been stopped cold due to enemy artillery, mortar, and machine-gun fire. The Royal Regiment of Canada was sent in through the Essex to assist the RHLI, and by late afternoon, the fighting in the town was almost finished. Attacks and counterattacks continued for another day, and the Allies did capture Xanten. For the Essex Scottish, it came at a cost of 119 casualties.

 It was on March 8, 1945, that Private Harley Williams was killed in action while fighting in the area of Xanten, Germany. His remains were buried at a location recorded on the Army Field Service Card as “MR 097/411 Xanten sh. Germany”. The two-day battle at Xanten cost the Essex Scottish Regiment 119 casualties.

In late March 1945, Mr. and Mrs. James Williams of the Sarnia Reserve received a telegram from Ottawa informing them that their son PRIVATE HARLEY JAMES WILLIAMS HAS BEEN KILLED IN ACTION ON THE WESTERN FRONT.Exactly two months after Harley Williams’ death, the war in Europe ended.

In April 1945, James received the following letter from the Major-General, Adjutant-General:

Dear Mr. Williams:

            It was with deep regret that I learned of the death of your son, A110154 Private Harley James Williams, who gave his life in the Service of his Country in the Western European Theatre of War on the 8th day of March, 1945.

From official information we have received, your son was killed in action against the enemy. You may be

assured that any additional information received will be communicated to you without delay.

            The Minister of National Defence and the Members of the Army Council have asked me to express to you and your family their sincere sympathy in your bereavement. We pay tribute to the sacrifice he so bravely made.

The following is a portion of a report from late March or early April 1945 in the Sarnia Observer:

Point Edward Man Missing, Indian Dead

Wireless Air Gunner Eiler Andersen is Unreported

            OVERSEAS ONE YEAR

Pte. Harley J. Williams of Reserve, Killed

            A Point Edward airman was missing and the first fatality overseas among Indians from the Sarnia Reserve was reported in casualties revealed by relatives here today…

Indian Was 19

            Mr. and Mrs. Jim Williams, of the Sarnia Reserve have been notified from Ottawa that their 19-year-old son, Private Harley James Williams, has been killed in action on the Western front. His father is a member of the council and Harley is the first Indian boy from the reservation to pay the supreme sacrifice in this war.

            Pte. Williams, who has worked for the Pigott and Kellogg construction companies before enlisting in 1943, went overseas last December. He had trained at London, Chatham, Camp Ipperwash and Debert, N.S.

            He was one of a family of three boys and three girls and was born on the reserve. His real mother died in 1930 and his father has since remarried.

William’s death was later officially recorded as Overseas casualty, killed in action, in the field

(Germany). In February 1946, James Williams received a War Service Gratuity of $130.07 for the loss of Harley.

In August 1946, James received a letter from the Colonel, Director of Records, for Adjutant-General. Following is a portion of that letter:

Dear Sir:

Information has just been received from overseas that the remains of your son, A110154 Private Harley James Williams, have been carefully exhumed from the original place of internment and reverently reburied in grave 9, row G, plot 3, of Nijmegen Canadian Military Cemetery, four miles South-East of Nijmegen, Holland. Marked map is enclosed. This is a recognized military burial ground and will receive care and maintenance in perpetuity.

The grave will have been marked with a temporary cross which will be replaced in due course by a permanent headstone suitably inscribed. While it cannot now be stated when this work of permanent commemoration will begin, before any action is taken you will be communicated with and an opportunity will be given you to submit a short personal inscription of your own choice for engraving on the headstone…

In January 1948, the Director, War Service Records, sent James Williams a photograph of the grave and marker over the burial place of his late son. Harley Williams was the first Native Canadian from the Sarnia Reserve to pay the supreme sacrifice in the Second World War.

Harley Williams, 19, is buried in Groesbeek Canadian War Cemetery, Netherlands, Grave III.G.9.

There is also a memorial plaque to honour him on one of the entrance pillars of the Chippewas of Sarnia Cemetery, which reads “In memory of Harley Williams, April 13, 1925-March 8, 1945, who was killed in action during World War II.”

Harley Williams’ name is also inscribed on the Aamjiwnaang First Nations cenotaph in Sarnia. The central column of the Aamjiwnaang cenotaph is inscribed with these words: “To our glorious veterans who have served our nation and its allies for peace and freedom – Lest We Forget.” One of the side columns is inscribed: “World War II – In memory of the young men and women who loyally served throughout the world 1939-1945 – Harley Williams”.

Source: The Sarnia War Remembrance Project by Tom Slater

Editors: Tom St. Amand and Lou Giancarlo

William Patrick Logie Williams was born in Sarnia, on March 17, 1920, the son of Charles Herbert and Zillah (nee: Worsley) Williams. In 1891, 19-year-old Charles Herbert Williams, born June 16, 1873 in Sarnia, was residing in Sarnia with his parents, David and Melissa (nee: Finch), and his six brothers and one sister. Ten years later in 1901, Charles was a soldier, residing with his mother and six brothers in Sarnia.

On April 20, 1905, Charles Williams married Zillah Worsley (born October 1884 in Sarnia) in Port Huron, Michigan (they were residing in Sarnia at the time). Charles and Zillah had six children together: sons Clarence Elmer (born 1908); William Patrick (born 1920), and Edward Albert (born around 1922); and daughters Beatrice Doris (born 1910); Gladys Pearl (born 1913); and Madeline (born 1914). In 1910, Charles was supporting his family working as a sawmill employee.

On October 8, 1915, Charles Williams, age 42, and married with four children at the time, enlisted in the Canadian Over-Seas Expeditionary in Sarnia. He stood five feet six inches tall, had blue eyes and brown hair, and lived with his family at 273 Cameron Street at the time (it was later changed to 481 George St., then 215 Water St., and then 360 Nelson St.). He recorded his occupation as “acid stiller” and recorded having prior military service—six years with the U.S. Army in the Spanish American War (April 21 – July 17, 1898). The recruitment officer recorded Charles’ “apparent age” as 35. Charles became a member of the 70th Battalion, CEF. During his training in Canada, he rose in rank from private to lance corporal, to corporal, and to sergeant in January 1916.

Charles embarked overseas from Halifax bound for the United Kingdom aboard the SS Lapland on April 24, 1916. He arrived in Liverpool on May 5 and trained at Shorncliffe and later West Sandling where he was transferred to the 39th Battalion. Less than four months after disembarking in the U.K., Charles reverted to the rank of private at his own request in order to proceed overseas.

He arrived in France on August 27, 1916, a member of the 18th Battalion, Canadian Infantry. Approximately two weeks later, he joined the 18th Battalion “in the field” at the front lines. In mid-November 1916, he joined the 4th Field Company, Canadian Engineers, serving with them for one month before rejoining to the 18th Battalion.

Charles survived the war that ended in November 1918. He returned to England in April 1919, and to Canada in mid-May. Charles Williams, age 45, was discharged on demobilization on May 24, 1919, returning to his home in Sarnia, then at 215 Water St.

In 1921, Charles and Zillah, and their children at the time—Clarence (13), Beatrice (10), Gladys (8), Madeline (7), and William Patrick (1)—lived at 360 Nelson Street in Sarnia. One year later, on March 6, 1922, Charles and Zillah had their sixth child—Edward Albert Williams. The Williams family later lived at 817 East Talfourd St., Sarnia. Charles supported his family by working as a pipefitter, and later worked at Imperial Oil where he eventually retired.

The Williams’ daughters, after marrying, were Mrs. James E. Logan of Port Huron (Beatrice); Mrs. James K. Hamilton, Telford Street, Sarnia (Gladys); and Mrs. Alfred E. Hutcheson, Brock Street, Sarnia (Madeline).

The youngest Williams’ child, Edward, graduated from SCITS in 1939. He worked in at Silverwood Dairy for a time before finding work in October 1941 as a carman’s helper (CN Railway). At the age of 21, on March 19, 1943, he enlisted in the army at No. 1 District Depot in London (his older brother Patrick had enlisted in October 1940).

Private Edward Williams (A-106380) became a member of the Royal Canadian Engineers (RCE). On May 20, 1943, he advanced in rank to sapper and two months later, on July 20, 1943, he arrived aboard RMS Queen Elizabeth in the United Kingdom. He earned his riveter qualifications while in the UK. In December 1943, his brother, Patrick, who was then serving in Italy, sent Edward a Christmas card. The words written at the bottom of the card read “Together you and I we will see this thing through to the end”.

Edward Williams served with the No.1 Railway Operating Group, No.1 Workshop Company, Royal Canadian Engineers. When the war began, the United Kingdom repeatedly requested that Canada provide railway units. On March 19, 1943, Canadian authorities finally saw fit to raise these railway troops: No. 1 Railway Operating Group RCE–No. 1 and No. 2 Railway Operating Companies; No. 1 Railway Workshop Company; and No. 1 Railway Telegraph Company. After some basic military training the Railway Operating Group was despatched overseas. Training in the UK included work with British railway organizations—military and civil—and some military training. Soldiers of No. 1 Railway Operating Group went on to conduct railway operations—repairing, constructing and operating rail lines, locomotives and machinery—in France, the Netherlands, Belgium and Germany.

Edward arrived in Belgium on March 20, 1944, the same day he was advanced in rank to acting lance corporal. Three months later, on June 20, 1944, Edward advanced to lance corporal. Edward Williams went on to serve in France, Belgium and Germany. When the war ended, and after 30 months service with the RCE Corps, Lance Corporal Edward Williams was discharged on March 27, 1946. The war medals he earned included the France and Germany Star, Canadian Volunteer Service Medal and Clasp, Defence Medal and War Medal 1939-45.

After the war ended, Edward returned to Sarnia and on June 21, 1947, he married Ilean Darrach. They resided on Vidal Street for a time before moving to Chestnut Avenue. They had two children together, daughters Linda and Carol. He returned to his job at CNR as a carman and eventually retired from the railway in May 1986.

However, the experiences of war stayed with him. For at least two decades he experienced frightening nightmares. Years later, his daughter Linda (Evers) recalled hearing her father yell unintelligibly about the war in his sleep. Asleep in the middle of the night he would start yelling, groaning, thrashing, and sweating—his wife Ilean would shake him and hold him in an attempt to wake and console him. He had no recollection of what had transpired; if he did, he never divulged anything. This went on for years.

Edward had a very close connection to his brother Patrick, who was just two years older. He placed his late brother “on a pedestal and felt guilt, I think, that he had survived the war and Pat didn’t,” Linda speculates. “When he spoke about Pat, he always mentioned that Pat was the greatest guy in the world.” Losing his brother Patrick had a tremendous impact on Edward. He missed his brother terribly and felt guilt for being the one that came home.

For the rest of his life, Edward never talked about the war or his brother—it hurt too much. He did join the Point Edward Ex-Servicemen’s Club, likely as a place to meet and share experiences with other veterans. Edward’s hobbies included fishing, vegetable gardening and playing cards at the Ex-Servicemen’s Club.

He never attended Remembrance Day ceremonies—he would drop his wife and children off, then park on Queen Street to listen to the service from the privacy of his own car. Until he passed away in March 2001, he wanted to feel the pain of his brother’s loss alone.

William Patrick Logie Williams, who went by Patrick, was educated in Sarnia, including two years at Sarnia Collegiate, and was a member of the 2-11th Field Company, Royal Canadian Engineers for two-and-a-half months. Prior to enlisting, Patrick was employed as a labourer (rigger) for a year-and-a-half at the Sarnia Elevator Company.

On October 22, 1940, Patrick Williams, age 20, enlisted in the Canadian Army in Chatham, Ontario. He stood five feet seven inches tall, had grey eyes and fair hair, was single, and lived with his parents on Talfourd Street at the time. He planned to enter the field of tool and die making after the war.

Patrick became a member of the Kent Regiment and began his training in Chatham. In March 1941, he had advanced in rank from private to lance corporal, and continued his training in London, Ontario. He had to be admitted to London Military Hospital on two occasions: in January 1941 for 10 days with influenza; and in May 1941 for 6 days with colonic stasis.

On March 8, 1941, just over four months after he had enlisted, Patrick Williams married Maxine Thelma McGill of London, Ontario, the eldest daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Thomas W. McGill of 311 George Street, Sarnia. At the ceremony held in the manse of Paterson Memorial Church, Miss Edna Allen of Sarnia served as bridesmaid, and Private Donald Cranmer of the Kent Regiment R.C.I. of London served as the best man. After the ceremony, a reception and dinner were held at the home of the bride’s parents on George Street. The young couple took up residence at 251 Hyman Street in London where Patrick was stationed. By March 1943, Maxine Williams had moved to 122 South Brock Street, Sarnia.

Seven months after marrying, on October 17, 1941, Patrick began his 7-day embarkation leave. In early November 1941, Patrick Williams of the Kent Regiment was transferred to Halifax, Nova Scotia. On November 13, 1941, he embarked overseas bound for the United Kingdom. Initially posted to #1 Canadian Division Infantry Reinforcement Unit (CDIRU), Lance Corporal Williams was transferred to the Royal Rifles of Canada (R.R.C.) in early December 1941 where he continued his training until March 1942.

He was in England to celebrate his 22^nd birthday. From the Sarnia Observer;

ST. PATRICK’S DAY BABY WAS NAMED “PAT”

Corporal W.P.L. Williams Now Overseas With Canadians

            A baby born on St. Patrick’s Day 22 years ago is celebrating his birthday today as a soldier of the King somewhere in England. He is Corporal “Pat” Williams, son of Mr. and Mrs. Charles H. Williams, Talfourd street east, a member of the 1^st Kent Regiment, now at Niagara-on-the-Lake, who is in England for instructional duty.

His mother related today how he came to be called Pat. The late Dr. William Logie attended at the birth of the future soldier, and because the child was the first boy the doctor had ever brought into the world on St. Patrick’s Day the physician claimed the right to name him.

The child was accordingly christened William Patrick Logie Williams and has always been known as Pat. He has been in England three months. His wife resides at 306 Christina street south.

On March 3, 1942, Patrick was promoted to the rank of corporal, attached to the Kent Regiment, and returned to Canada attending Canadian Small Arms Training School (C.S.A.T.S.) in Terrace, British Columbia. He continued his training in Canada for just over one year. In February 1943 he was promoted to the rank of acting sergeant, and in late April 1943, he was back in London, Ontario, a corporal in the Kent Regiment.

On May 13, 1943, Corporal Patrick Williams again embarked overseas bound for the United Kingdom. After disembarking, he sent a telegram to Maxine, then residing at 122 South Brock Street, letting her know of his safe arrival. Patrick was initially attached to the #3 Canadian Infantry Reinforcement Unit (3CIRU).

In June 1943, still in the U.K., Patrick learned that his father Charles, a Great War veteran, had passed away on June 12, 1943, four days before his 70th birthday. He is buried in Lakeview Cemetery in Sarnia.

The next month, his youngest brother, Edward, embarked overseas to serve with the Canadian Army in the U.K.

One year after Charles’ death, the following In memorium was in the Sarnia Observer;

In loving memory of Sgt. Charles H. Williams, who passed away one year ago, June 12, 1943.

When evening shades are falling,

And we sit in quiet alone,

To our hearts there comes a longing

If he only could come home.

Friends may think we have forgotten

When at times they see us smile;

But they little know the heartaches

Our smiles hide all the while.

Ever remembered by his wife Zillah, Clarence, Beatrice, Gladys, Madeline and Eddie overseas.

On September 10, 1943, Patrick completed his Will, bequeathing his entire estate to his wife Maxine on East Talfourd St., Sarnia. The next day, Patrick reverted to the rank of private at his request in order to proceed on draft. He then embarked from the U.K. and arrived in the Italian Theatre on September 13, 1943, as a member of the Royal Canadian Regiment (RCR).

The Italian Campaign, the first sustained Canadian Army operation of the War, began with the invasion of Sicily on July 10, 1943. The Royal Canadian Regiment landed at Pachino in the opening waves of the Allied invasion of Sicily. The fierce fighting on the mountainous island lasted for more than four weeks, during which the Canadians advanced through difficult mountainous terrain, against an ever-stiffening German resistance. By August 17, the Germans had evacuated the island to the Italian mainland.

After the 38-day campaign on the island was completed, the Royal Canadian Regiment, as part of the 1^st Infantry Brigade, 1^st Canadian Division, were part of the amphibious Allied landing of the Italian mainland at Reggio de Calabria on September 3, 1943. Ten days later, Patrick Williams joined the RCR in Italy on September 13. Though Italy surrendered soon after the invasion, the occupying Germans made it clear their fight was not over. Liberating Italy would be a painstaking northward crawl, lasting 20 months, over a range of landscapes, through challenging weather, and against a series of well-protected defences held by some of the German army’s best troops.

Battle Honours awarded the RCRs on mainland Italy include Landing at Reggio, Motta Montecorvino, Campobasso, Torella, San Leonardo, The Gully, Ortona, Cassino II, Gustav Line, Liri Valley, Hitler Line, Gothic Line, Misano Ridge, Rimini Line, San Martino-San Lorenzo, Pisciatello, Lamone Crossing, and Fosso Vecchio.  

Patrick Williams served with the RCR, “A” Company, who were attached to the British 8^th Army, as it advanced north through Italy. The RCR fought many battles on the Italian mainland, including during the first few months at Reggio, Motta Montecorvino, Campobasso, Torella, San Leonardo, and in two key engagements in December 1943. That month, the Canadians were given the objective to cross the Moro River and capture the Adriatic port of Ortona. The Germans, however, were determined to make a stand both in the town and south of it along several defensive positions, their “Winter Line”.

Crossing the Moro River and the “Gully”, and then capturing the small town of Ortona built on a rocky outcrop high over the Adriatic, would become one of the defining Canadian battles of the war. The two battles would last from December 6 to December 28, 1943. Crossing the Moro and the “Gully” and reaching the edge of Ortona cost 1,000 Canadian casualties. It was during this engagement, on December 19, 1943, three months after arriving in Italy, that Patrick Williams was wounded in action by shrapnel.

The first obstacle that faced the Canadian troops to their Ortona objective was the Moro River. Winter rains had turned the stream into a swollen river, and its soft bottom and high, muddy banks made it a serious obstacle. The battles to the south of Ortona saw both sides rely heavily on massed mortar and shellfire, and the bombardments were the most intense faced by Canadians to that point in the war. Devastated farmhouses were fought over in see-saw battles, vineyards became sites of mass killing, and irrigation ditches were held with brutal tenacity. The battlefield soon resembled the shell-blasted, muddy wasteland of the Great War’s No Man’s Land. Attacks and counterattacks continued as the Canadians slowly advanced, with heavy casualties on both sides in what Canadian war correspondent Matthew Halton described as “little Passchendaeles of mud and blood.”

On December 8, working under fire, Canadian combat engineers were able to establish bridges over the Moro River for the Sherman tanks (that would engage the German Panzer Mk III and Mk IV tanks) and for troops to cross. After crossing the Moro, the Canadians came to the next formidable position, known as “The Gully,” a deep trench 5 kilometres long and measuring about 60 metres deep. Ranging from 60 to 200 metres wide, it was filled with thorny acacias, olive trees lined its slopes, and the Germans were dug-in all around it, with established camouflaged machine-gun positions, anti-tank mines and heavy artillery gun support. The Gully required a frontal assault by the Canadians against a deeply fortified position.

Behind a creeping barrage and as both sides ground down over a period of days, Canadian battalions one after another continued to press forward. By December 19, the day Patrick Williams was wounded, the Germans evacuated “The Gully” and fell back into Ortona. The casualties were high for the RCR between December 18 to 20 with 34 killed, 54 wounded and 24 missing.

On December 20, as Christmas neared, the Canadians began their advance into Ortona. What followed was eight days of fierce urban combat warfare—the streets were a deathtrap, and the Canadians perfected “mouse-holing” where they moved from house-to-house by advancing from room to room and from floor to floor. Canadian war correspondents broadcast from the town, providing hour-by-hour progress to Canadians at home. The BBC and American networks also picked up the broadcast, making Ortona an important symbol.

On December 25, the Canadians “celebrated” Christmas in Ortona with soldiers going in shifts to a bombed-out church courtyard for Christmas dinner with the sounds of machine-gun fire and exploding shells close by.

It’s very likely that Patrick’s mother, Zillah, along with his siblings in Sarnia, and his wife, Maxine, and his brother, Edward in England, listened intently to the broadcasts. On December 28, Ortona was in Canadian hands. The Battle of Ortona came at a cost of another 2,330+ Canadian casualties.

Three months after arriving in Italy, on December 19, 1943, Patrick was wounded in action by shrapnel. The RCRs at the time were engaged in the fierce fighting at The Gully and the advance to Ortona.

On December 26, 1943, Maxine Williams in Sarnia received the following telegram from the Director of Records in Ottawa: SINCERELY REGRET INFORM YOU A50442 PRIVATE WILLIAM PATRICK LOGIE WILLIAMS OFFICIALLY REPORTED WOUNDED IN ACTION NINETEENTH DECEMBER 1943 STOP NATURE AND EXTENT OF WOUNDS NOT YET AVAILABLE STOP FURTHER INFORMATION FOLLOWS WHEN RECEIVED.

Soon after, the Sarnia Observer announced his wounding, a portion reads;

Pat Williams Is Injured in Italy

            Pte. W.P.L. (Pat) Williams is officially reported as having been wounded in action in Italy on December 19, according to word received by his wife, Mrs. Maxine Williams, East Talfourd street. He is a son of Mrs. Zillah Williams of East Talfourd street, and the late Sergt. Charles H. Williams… A brother Sapper Eddie Williams is also serving overseas.

Patrick was hospitalized for three weeks, given a brief furlough, and then returned to action as Acting Lance Corporal with the Royal Canadian Regiment in January 1944. On February 5, 1944, Maxine received another telegram from the Director of Records: A50442 PRIVATE WILLIAM PATRICK LOGIE WILLIAMS PREVIOUSLY REPORTED WOUNDED IN ACTION NATURE OF WOUNDS NOW REPORTED ABRASIONS AND CONTUSION LEFT THIGH STOP FURTHER INFORMATION FOLLOWS WHEN RECEIVED.

In early March 1944 in the Sarnia Observer, photos of Edward and Pat Williams were accompanied with the following information:

Sarnia Soldier Wounded in Italy

            Lance Corporal Pat Williams, who enlisted in the Kent Regiment at the beginning of the war, is recuperating after being wounded in the Italian campaign. Pat, who will be 24 years old on St. Patrick’s Day, has been overseas for some time. A brother, Sapper Eddie Williams, formerly of the First Canadian Railway Workshop, who has been overseas since last July, is 22 years old today. They are the sons of Mrs. Charles Williams, east Talfourd street, and the late Sergt. Williams, who was a veteran of the First World War.

When Acting Lance Corporal Patrick Williams returned to action in January 1944, the Canadians were about two kilometres north of Ortona, which was then an important winter headquarters and seaport for supply. The 1^st Canadian Division went into a holding pattern here for almost four months. During this time there were a number of skirmishes and the RCR suffered some casualties. The Canadians faced the Germans who were dug in along a series of ridges. There was an empty and blasted No Man’s Land between the two sides, abandoned by day yet active at night. The bleak slush and muddy landscape resembled World War I battlefields, with slit trenches, more permanent trenches, weapon pits, and concentrations of barbed wire. Sniper fire back and forth was a constant.

In mid-April 1944, Patrick Williams advanced to the rank of Acting Corporal. During April and May, the Eighth British Army, including the 1st Canadian Division, were secretly moved to the western side of Italy to join the Fifth U.S. Army in the struggle toward Rome. It was up to the British, with the Canadians as one of the key formations in the line, to probe and harass enemy positions, gather information, raid and patrol aggressively. Blocking the way, the Germans had constructed two formidable lines of reinforced fortifications: the Gustav (Winter) Line, stretching from the Adriatic to the Mediterranean; and ten kilometres behind it was the kilometer-deep Hitler Line. Both Lines were daunting defensive positions bristled with pillboxes, tank turrets mounted on concrete emplacements, reinforced redoubts, anti-tank guns, and vast concentrations of barbed wire and mine fields.

On the western side of the Gustav Line, German positions generally ran along the valleys created by the Rapido River, Liri River, and the Garigliano River. The entrance to the Liri Valley, which had a highway that led to Rome, was dominated by the huge hill Monte Cassino, and in front of it stood the little town of Cassino. The Allied mission to take the mountain and capture Cassino began in mid-January 1944, and would be a bitter struggle that stretched over four months and involve forces from many nations. In May, the RCR was in close proximity and was in a support role for this operation, and they did experience some casualties. The battle ended on May 18 when a British Division captured the city of Cassino, and Polish troops captured the battered abbey at the summit of Monte Cassino.

The Gustav Line blocked the entry into the Liri Valley. The main Allied attacks went forward on May 11, 1944, with one of the most intense artillery barrages ever used, including the 1st Canadian Armoured Brigade. Some elements of the 1^st Canadian Division were called into this battle on May 12. After the Gustav Line had been broken on May 16, the 1^st Canadian Division moved ahead with the objective of smashing the Hitler Line.

The Liri Valley had to be crossed to achieve this, so in the early morning hours of May 17, 1944, the RCR moved through the valley and advanced three miles with little opposition; however, they encountered an enemy position “held in strength” between the Pegnataro and the Liri River. After attempting to bypass this low hill position, A Coy moved up and attacked it, with the support of a tank. When A Coy started to consolidate their position later in the day, C Coy moved up to support them, and then a devastating enemy mortar and cannon fire shoot descended on them. Both companies were ordered to withdraw, and this was carried out in excellent fashion. Unfortunately, Corporal Patrick Williams, four months after returning to action after being wounded, lost his life on May 17.

On the next day the advance continued with heavy tank losses, but good gains for the infantry. By afternoon the RCR had seized positions three miles west of the town of Pignataro, and by last light the entire 1st Canadian Divisional front was secured. The Germans had left the Liri Valley and then the Canadians and the RCR was ready for the next objective, the Hitler Line. The RCR casualties for the Liri Valley battle was 17 killed over 20 wounded.

The Hitler Line, one of the most formidable enemy positions in Italy, was the climax of the fighting in the Liri Valley in Central Italy. The 1^st Canadian Division was given the task of smashing the Hitler Line after breaking out of the Liri Valley. The assault was launched by the Eighth Army, with soldiers from ten national forces, on the hazy morning of May 23. The Canadians were able to breach the Hitler Line, the cost to the Canadians on the 23rd, and in repelling counterattacks in the early hours of the 24th, was 879 killed and wounded.

Desperate fighting continued as the Canadians continued to advance, and once they were over the Melfa River, the major fighting for the Liri Valley was over by the end of May. Most of the Canadians who fell in the Liri Valley are buried in two cemeteries in the area south of Rome—Caserta War Cemetery and Cassino War Cemetery. Cassino War Cemetery is the largest Second World War cemetery in Italy, with over 4,200 Commonwealth headstones that includes 855 Canadians who died during the battles of the Gustav and Hitler Lines and the advance toward Rome.

Two Sarnians are buried at the Cassino Cemetery: Private Garnet Core, age 21, and Corporal Patrick Williams, age 24.

Corporal Patrick Williams lost his life on May 17 in the battle to cross the Liri Valley and to advance to the Hitler Line. His remains were buried on May 18, 1944 at a location recorded on the Army Field Service Card as “MR-805132, Sheet 160 Cassino, 100 yards north on side road west side of road. Italy”.

On May 24, 1944, Maxine received the following telegram from the Director of Records in Ottawa:

REGRET DEEPLY A50442 PRIVATE WILLIAM PATRICK LOGIE WILLIAMS OFFICIALLY REPORTED KILLED IN ACTION SEVENTEENTH MAY 1944 STOP FURTHER INFORMATION FOLLOWS WHEN RECEIVED.

In late May, Zillah Williams in Sarnia, who had lost her husband less than a year earlier, received a telegram from the Casualty Officer at Ottawa, informing her that her son LANCE CORPORAL WILLIAM PATRICK LOGIE WILLIAMS WAS REPORTED AS OVERSEAS CASUALTY KILLED IN ACTION ON MAY 17 IN THE FIELD (ITALY).

Soon after, the Sarnia Observer reported on Patrick’s death;

Sarnia Boy War Victim

Wm. P.L. Williams is Killed in Action

            Lance Corporal William Patrick Logie Williams, 24-year-old son of Mrs. Zillah Williams, east Talfourd street, was killed in action in Italy on May 17 according to information received from the casualty officer at Ottawa by his mother yesterday. No details were given.

Wounded in December

Lance Corporal Williams, who had been in Italy with the Canadian army since last September, was wounded by shrapnel on December 19 during the Italian campaign. He was hospitalized for three weeks, given a brief furlough and went back into action according to information in letters sent home.

            He enlisted four years ago this coming October with the Kent Regiment and after training at various centres he went overseas in 1942 where he took a Commando course. Later he returned to Canada and was an instructor at an army camp in British Columbia. A year ago last April he went overseas again. On March 18, 1941 he married Maxine Thelma McGill of London, Ontario.

            Born in Sarnia on March 17, 1920 Lance Corporal Williams attended local schools and prior to his enlistment was employed at the Sarnia elevator.

            He is survived by his mother; his wife; two brothers, Lance Corporal Edward Albert Williams who is with the Canadian Army in England and Clarence in Sarnia; three sisters, Mrs. James Logan of Port Huron and Mrs. Alfred Hutchinson and Mrs. James Hamilton of this city. His father, who was a veteran of the last war, died last June.

On May 29, 1944, Zillah Williams received the following letter [errors included] from the Canadian Corps Association in Sarnia:

My Dear Mrs. Williams:-

            I have been instructed to convey to you the deep sympathy of the members of Sarnia Unit #10 at the loss of your brave son. We pray that God in his mercy, will give you strength to find consolation in the fact that he gave his for each of us, fearing nothing, but wanting to do his duty, to you, to his God, and to his Homeland that he loved so well, he has gone to meet his Dad, another loyal warrior, some day you will all meet again, where sorrow and pain are no more, may God bless you.

May I add my personal tender sympathy to you, and the family, he was a great boy, a real son of Charlie, who was one of my greatest and dearest of friends. God guard you and keep you, till that day when you gather together again.

Your’s in deep sympathy

W.G. Ewener   Acting Secretary Canadian Corps Association Sarnia

Soon after Patrick’s death, the following gratitude appeared in the Sarnia Observer:

Mrs. Charles H. Williams and family, East Talfourd street, wish to thank their friends and neighbors for their kindness and sympathy, cards, and the Rev. Phinn for his kind words in the recent loss of Corporal Pat Williams, who was killed in action in Italy May 17. They also wish to thank the Canadian Corps Association and Mr. W.T. Ewener of 494 Wellington street, Sarnia.

In June 1944, Maxine received the following letter from the Major-General, Adjutant-General:

Dear Mrs. Williams:

            It is with deep regret that I learned of the death of your husband, A 50442 Acting Corporal William Patrick Logie Williams, who gave his life in the Service of his Country in the Mediterranean Theatre of War on the 17th day of May, 1944.

            From official information we have received, your husband was killed in action against the enemy. You may be assured that any additional information received will be communicated to you without delay.

            The Minister of National Defence and the Members of the Army Council have asked me to express to you and your family their sincere sympathy in your bereavement. We pay tribute to the sacrifice he so bravely made.

Among Patrick’s personal items that were returned to his family were two ties, a dress shirt, a snapshot album, a notebook, a personal letter, greeting cards, a shoe charm, and a Bible.

In early April 1945, Maxine, then residing on Wyman Street in London, received the following letter from the Colonel, Director of Records, for Adjutant-General:

Dear Madam:

            Further to correspondence in connection with the regretted death of your husband [though the letter said son], the marginally named, I am directed to inform you that according to information received from overseas military authorities, the remains of Corporal Williams were buried on May 18th, 1944, in a temporary isolated grave located at a point approximately 6 miles South-West of Cassino, Italy, in the immediate vicinity in which his death occurred.

            The grave will have been temporarily marked with a wooden cross for identification purposes and in due course the remains will be carefully exhumed and removed to a recognized military burial ground when the concentration of graves in the area takes place. After this has been done, the new grave will be photographed and a print of the picture will be forwarded to you as soon as it is available. It should be borne in mind, however, that for obvious reasons it may be some considerable time before this photographic work can be completed.

Sometime after Patrick William’s death, Maxine remarried, becoming Mrs. Maxine Thelma Brown, who resided on Simcoe Street in London, Ontario.

In August 1945, Maxine Brown received a letter from the Colonel, Director of Records, for Adjutant-General. Following is a portion of that letter:

Dear Madam:

Information has just been received from overseas that the remains of your husband, A50442 Corporal William Patrick Logie Williams, have now been carefully exhumed from the original place of interment and reverently reburied in grave 10, row A, plot 5, of Cassino Military Cemetery, Cassino, Italy. Marked map is enclosed. This is a recognized military burial ground and will receive care and maintenance in perpetuity.

The grave will have been marked with a temporary cross which will be replaced in due course by a permanent headstone suitably inscribed. While it cannot now be stated when this work of permanent commemoration will begin, before any action is taken you will be communicated with and an opportunity will be given you to submit a short personal inscription of your own choice for engraving on the headstone…

In mid-February 1948, the Director, War Service Records, sent Maxine a photograph of the grave and marker over the burial place in Cassino, Italy of her late husband Patrick. He was posthumously awarded the following medals: 1939-45 Star, Italy Star, Defence Medal, War Medal 1939-45 and the Canadian Volunteer Service Medal with Clasp. 

William Patrick Logie Williams, 24, is buried in Cassino War Cemetery, Italy, Grave V.A.10.

Patrick’s mother, Zillah, saved and treasured all the newspaper clippings, photos, and relics of Patrick’s and Edward’s service, including Edward’s medals and Patrick’s Bible. She kept framed photographs of her two sons on her living room table.

She also saved the In Memorium tributes printed in the Sarnia Observer. Following are some of those;

In loving memory of a dear son and brother,                   In loving memory of our dear brother, Cpl. Pat

Cpl. Pat Williams, killed in action May 17^th,                  Williams, killed in action May 17^th, 1944, in Italy.

1944, in Italy.                                                               Surrounded by friends I am lonesome,

The stars and moon are shining on a lonely                    In the midst of my joys I am blue;

grave,                                                                           With smiles on my face I’ve a heartache,

Where lies a loving son and brother we could                 Longing, dear brother, for you.

not save.                                                                      Sadly missed by his sister Beatrice, brother-in-law

Always smiling, happy content,                                     and family.

Loved and respected wherever he went;

Always willing, thoughtful and kind,

What beautiful memories he left behind.                        In loving memory of my dear brother, Corporal

Sadly missed by mother and brother Eddie                     Pat Williams, who was killed in action in Italy  

in Belgium.                                                                  May 17^th 1944.

                                                                                    Our lips cannot tell how we miss him,

                                                                                    Our hearts cannot tell what to say;

In loving memory of a dear brother, Cpl.                        God alone knows how we miss him,

Pat Williams, killed in action May 17, 1944,                  In a home that is lonesome today.

in Italy                                                                         Sadly missed by his loving sister Madeline,      

No one knows how much we miss you,                          brother-in-law Alf, nieces Gloria and Diane.

No one knows the bitter pain                            

We have suffered, since we lost you,

Life has never been the same.                                        In loving memory of Cpl. Pat Williams, who was

In our hearts your memory lingers,                                killed in action in Italy, one year ago today,

Sweetly tender, fond and true;                                       May 17, 1944.

There is not a day, dear brother,                                     Time may heal the broken heart,

That we do not think of you.                                          Time may make the wound less sore;

Always remembered by sister Gladys,                           But the time can never stop the longing

brother-in-law and family.                                             For the brother gone before.

                                                                                    Fondly remembered by his brother Clarence

                                                                                    and family.

In loving memory of a dear son and brother,

Cpl. W.P.L. (Pat) Williams, killed in action

in Italy May 17, 1944.

Loved in life and living yet,

In hearts of those who can’t forget;

Beautiful memories are treasured ever,

Of the days when we were all together.

Ever remembered by Mother, Sisters

and Brothers.

After Pat Williams died in action during World War II, his family in Sarnia had a difficult time accepting it.  His niece, Linda Evers, who had never met her Uncle Pat, recalled that “for decades after he died, my grandmother never mentioned him by name, such was her grief.”

Zillah Williams passed away in February 1981 and is buried alongside her husband Charles in Lakeview Cemetery in Sarnia. On the Williams’ headstone are engraved three names: Charles H. 1872-1943 Father; Zillah H. 1883-1981 Mother; Pat ‘Italy’ 1920-1944 Son.

Source: The Sarnia War Remembrance Project by Tom Slater

Editors: Tom St. Amand and Lou Giancarlo

John Everette Stanley Wilson was born in McIrvine Township (Fort Frances suburbs), Ontario, on July 7, 1921, the youngest son of Edward (born in Beechburg, Ontario) and Rose Biddeson (nee Standish, born in Liverpool, England) Wilson. Edward Wilson (a bridgeman) and Rose Standish were married on October 7, 1903, in Fort Frances, Ontario, where they resided at the time. Edward and Rose had seven children together: sons Edward Standish (born 1905); Walter William (born 1914, who served during the war with the R.C.A.F.); and John Everette (born 1921); and daughters Mabel Grace Priscilla (born 1904); Dorothy May (born 1908); Mary Ellen (“Nellie”, born 1910); and Ruby Pearl Irene (born 1912, died only 3 months later).

John Wilson attended school in Fort Frances, where he completed most of grade eight, before he left school at the age of 16. Growing up in northern Ontario, he was active in baseball and hockey, and enjoyed hunting, fishing, skiing, and swimming.

John was employed as a maintenance worker with Canadian National Railways in Port Arthur, Ontario, from 1938 to 1942. On July 3, 1941, only days before his 20th birthday, John married Ellen Ottilia Wilson (of Athabaska, Alberta) in Fort Frances, Ontario. For two months in 1942, he worked with Ontario Sulphide Pulp and Paper Mill in the grinding room in Fort Frances.

In October 1942, the young couple moved to Sarnia, where they resided at 500 Confederation Street. From October 1942 until he enlisted, John was employed with Pigott’s Construction Company in Sarnia, as a truck driver and receiver. John was living in Sarnia when he enlisted and, not long after he went to war, Ellen moved back to Fort Frances, and later Bergland, Ontario. The couple later had a son together, James Stanley Wilson, born September 21, 1943, in Fort Frances.

On March 18, 1943, John Wilson, age 21, enlisted in the Canadian Army in Toronto, Ontario. He stood five feet five-and-a-half inches tall, had brown eyes and red hair, was married, and was living at 500 Confederation Street in Sarnia at the time. He recorded his occupation as truck driver. He planned to become a machinist after the war.

Initially attached to #2 District Depot, Infantry, #7 Company in Toronto, he began his army training at #20 Canadian Army (Basic) Training Centre (BTC) in Brantford, Ontario. In June 1943, he was transferred to A-10 Canadian Infantry Training Center (CITC) at Camp Borden for advanced infantry training. In late September-early October 1943, he received a 14-day furlough, in time to witness the birth of his newborn baby son, James.

On November 25, 1943, John Wilson embarked overseas bound for the United Kingdom. Arriving on December 2, 1943, he was initially posted to the #4 Canadian Infantry Reinforcement Unit (CIRU), where he continued his training.

In mid-February 1944, Private John Wilson left the U.K. and arrived in Italy on February 18, 1944. Initially posted to the X-4 Reinforcement List, he became a member of the 48th Highlanders of Canada, Royal

Canadian Infantry Corps (R.C.I.C.).

The Italian Campaign, the first sustained Canadian Army operation of the War, began with the invasion of Sicily on July 10, 1943. The fierce fighting on the mountainous island lasted more than four weeks, during which the Canadians advanced through difficult mountainous terrain against an ever-stiffening German resistance. By August 17, the Germans had evacuated the island to the Italian mainland.

In early September, Canadian and Allied forces invaded Italy. Though Italy surrendered shortly after, the occupying Germans made it clear their fight was not over. Liberating Italy would be a painstaking northward crawl, lasting 20 months, over a range of landscapes, through challenging weather, and against a series of well-protected defences held by some of the German army’s best troops.

Private John Wilson served with the 48th Highlanders as they advanced north through Italy.

The Italian Campaign began for the 48^th Highlanders on July 10, 1943, with the landing at Pachino, Sicily. They landed on mainland Italy on September 3, 1943, as part of the 1^st Canadian Infantry Brigade, 1^st Canadian Infantry Division. Battle Honours awarded to the 48^th Highlanders as they fought their way up the Italian mainland included Landing at Reggio, Campobasso, Torella, San Leonardo, The Gully, Ortona, San Nicola-San Tommaso, Cassino II, Gustav Line, Liri Valley, Hitler Line, Gothic Line, Lamone Crossing, Misano Ridge, Rimini Line, San Martino-San Lorenzo, and Fosso Vecchio.

In late August 1944, the entire I Canadian Corps, within the British Eighth Army, began its attack on the Gothic Line—the last major German defensive line in Italy and the most fortified position the German army had yet thrown into the Allied Forces’ path. During that summer, Hitler had rushed a dozen additional divisions to the front including new panzer divisions. For 28 days, referred to as “Canada’s Month of Hell”, troops relentlessly battered their way forward through a rugged killing ground, in maze of fortified ridges and towns, hills and deep valleys, and across rivers. On September 21, the Canadians reached their objective—the city of Rimini.

Throughout the late fall and winter of 1944, the Allies continued their advance northward. Incessant rain turned the ground into a muddy quagmire as they trekked forward, crisscrossing rivers, irrigation canals, and dykes, with all bridges blown and most positions covered by mortar fire. In early December, the Canadians participated in the liberation of Ravenna, as well as numerous other towns, villages, and smaller communities. North of Ravenna, the Allies were challenged by two main rivers—the Lamone and Senio.

Crossing the Lamone, December 2-13, 1944, necessitated two attacks by the Canadians. The first, a hastily organized, chaotic attack across the river was repelled by the Germans and forced a Canadian retreat, at cost of close to 200 casualties. In the second offensive, one week after the first failure, nothing was spared: two Canadian divisions, that included the 48^th Highlanders, attacked simultaneously, supported by artillery and aerial bombing of enemy positions on the other side of the river. By December 12, the Allies crossed the Lamone River. The Allies continued to expand the bridgehead beyond the Lamone—for the 48^th Highlanders, this was to Fosso Vecchio.

The Canadians pressed on and by year’s end, they reached the Senio River, and this would be the farthest advance they would make in Italy as they subsequently settled into a defensive campaign.

Ten months after arriving in Italy, on December 21, 1944, John Wilson lost his life during fighting when the 48^th Highlanders were battling at the Lamone Crossing and Fosso Vecchio. His remains were buried at a location recorded on the Army Field Service Card as “Lamone River Cem (48 Highrs) Russi Cemetery sheet 1/50,000 MR 414348”.

John’s death was later officially recorded as Overseas casualty, killed in action, in the field (Italy).

Among John’s personal effects collected and sent home was a copy of the New Testament, some snapshots, a Canadian Legion card, a package with a lock of hair, and the souvenir icing and candle from his son’s first birthday cake.

In early January 1945, Ellen Wilson in Bergland, Ontario, received the following letter from the Major-General, Adjutant-General:

Dear Mrs. Wilson:

            It was with deep regret that I learned of the death of your husband, B144418 Private John Everette Stanley Wilson, who gave his life in the Service of his Country in the Mediterranean Theatre of War on the 21st day of December, 1944.

            From official information we have received, your husband was killed in action against the enemy. You may be assured that any additional information received will be communicated to you without delay.

            The Minister of National Defence and the Members of the Army Council have asked me to express to you and your family their sincere sympathy in your bereavement. We pay tribute to the sacrifice he so bravely made.

In August 1946, Ellen received a letter from the Colonel, Director of Records, for Adjutant-General. Following is a portion of that letter:

Dear Madam:

Information has just been received from overseas that the remains of your husband, B144418 Private John Everette Stanley Wilson, have been carefully exhumed from the original place of internment and reverently reburied in grave 12, row G, plot 5, of Ravenna British Empire Cemetery, five miles West of Ravenna, Italy. Marked map is enclosed. This is a recognized military burial ground and will receive care and maintenance in perpetuity.

The grave will have been marked with a temporary cross which will be replaced in due course by a permanent headstone suitably inscribed. While it cannot now be stated when this work of permanent commemoration will begin, before any action is taken you will be communicated with and an opportunity will be given you to submit a short personal inscription of your own choice for engraving on the headstone…

John Wilson left behind his mother Rose and father Edward; his two brothers and three sisters; his wife of a little over three years, Ellen, and his 15-month-old son James Stanley Wilson.

In June 1945, Ellen received a War Service Gratuity of $318.90 for the loss of her husband. Ellen later remarried, becoming Ellen Locher, who resided in Meanook, Alberta.

John Everette Stanley Wilson, 23, is buried in Ravenna War Cemetery, Italy, Grave V.G.12. On his headstone are inscribed the words FOR EVER REMEMBERED BY WIFE AND SON.

Source: The Sarnia War Remembrance Project by Tom Slater

Editors: Tom St. Amand and Lou Giancarlo

Richard “Dick” Norman Wilson was born in Sarnia, on December 21, 1920, the eldest child of Norman John (born June 1886) and Vera Hannah (nee: Lobb, born October 1896) Wilson. Norman and Vera were blessed with two daughters, Ferne and Muriel Vera (born October 1929); and two sons, Richard (Dick, born 1920) and William (born May 1931). Norman supported his family working as a schoolteacher. In 1921, the Wilson family was residing at 158 Richard St., and by 1931, they were residing at 135 Penrose St.

In November 1939, when Dick was 18, tragedy struck the Wilsons when the patriarch of the family, Norman, passed away at the age of 53. He is buried at Lakeview Cemetery in Sarnia.

Dick attended Sarnia public schools and Sarnia Collegiate and was in the Boy Scouts for two years. He was very active in sports, playing junior and senior WOSSAA rugby at Sarnia Collegiate as well as hockey, softball, badminton, and tennis. He enjoyed swimming, fishing, and reading, and was very interested in music, as he was a piano player in a local orchestra. One year while at Sarnia Collegiate, he was on the editorial staff for the Collegiate Magazine. He was member of Our Lady of Mercy Catholic Parish, and a member of the Central United Church Century Club, where he played softball for the club.

After graduating from Sarnia Collegiate, Dick worked for two-and-a-half years at Imperial Oil Limited, before going to the University of Western Ontario in September 1941. At Western, he took an Honours Art course, specializing in French and English, and he also played on the football team. At Western, he also received Canadian Officer Training Corps (COTC) training from September 22, 1941, until January 1943, with the rank of cadet. After completing his COTC training, he requested a commission with the artillery. The COTC Officer Commanding wrote that Cadet Wilson is highly recommended by his company commander as alert and as a good soldier.

On February 10, 1943, Dick Wilson, age 22, enlisted in the Canadian Army in London, Ontario. He stood six feet one-and-three-quarter inches tall, had grey-brown eyes and brown hair, was single, though he had a steady girlfriend, and was residing at 208 Huron Street in London. He was a second-year student at Western but left university hoping to be recommended for Officers Training Corps (OTC).

He had little to worry about in this regard. The Army Recruiting Officer, in recommending Dick for OTC, wrote this about Dick: A tall, loosely built man, with a very pleasant, easy-going manner… This man has superior ability and a winning personality. While his dress is sloppy, this is probably due to his democratic outlook on life, and University custom. He states a preference for R.C.A. but has no particular reason for doing so.

From #1 District Depot in London, Dick Wilson attended Officers Training Corps (OTC) at Brockville, Ontario, beginning on February 19, 1943. After graduating in mid-June 1943, he attended A-4 Canadian Army Training Centre (CATC) in Brandon, Manitoba, as a second lieutenant, Royal Canadian Artillery (RCA). In August 1943, he was qualified as a lieutenant, allocated to RCA Anti-Tank Artillery in Brandon, Manitoba. In April 1944, Dick was attached to OTC in Brockville for a Special Infantry course.

He volunteered for transfer (on loan) to the British Army, part of the CANLOAN scheme. In early June 1944, Dick was attached to A-34 Special Officers Training Centre (SOTC) in Sussex, New Brunswick, before proceeding overseas. SOTC at Camp Sussex had been established as an intensive, three-week refresher course commanded by Brigadier Milton Gregg, a WWI Victoria Cross recipient. The centre’s syllabus stressed physical fitness, weapons training, night operations, field works—including mines and booby traps—infantry tactics, leadership, and personnel management. Additionally, officers were expected to have a basic grasp of British regimental traditions and even mess etiquette.

In the fall of 1943, with the Canadian Army only fighting on one front at the time (Italy), the Canadian Army had a surplus of junior officers. At that same time, British forces had been plunged into an acute labour crisis following a succession of costly campaigns. Authorities needed to fill the ranks of lieutenants and captains. In September 1943, Ottawa requested that the Canadian Military Headquarters in London determine whether the British Army could absorb any of its surplus officers. Both countries came to an agreement—the Canadian Government offered to loan Canadian Infantry junior officers to the British Army on a voluntary basis, under the code name “CANLOAN”.

 The primary condition laid out by the British was that the bulk of the transferred officers would be subalterns (below the rank of captain), although a proportion could be captains at a ratio of 1:8 in favour of lieutenants.

For the Canadians, there were several conditions: that the CANLOAN scheme be entirely voluntary; that officers should be loaned with the understanding that they could be recalled if required; that Canada should be responsible for pay; that age limits should meet Canadian Army criteria; that their service be restricted to the European and Mediterranean theatres (excluding a few exceptions to the rule further down the line); and that Canada would select volunteers that the British Army would accept without question.

It was likewise agreed that any junior officer deemed worthy of promotion could rise through the British ranks, and any deemed unsuitable for service could be returned to the Canadian Army after a trial period.

Calls went out across the country and many answered. The reasons for participating in the program varied between officers. As a rule of thumb, boredom and disillusionment with service in Canada were leading factors in the decision-making process, often coupled with the desire to be part of the invasion of Western Europe.

A total of 673 Canadian officers, including Dick Wilson, volunteered and served under the CANLOAN scheme. Each was given a special serial number with the prefix “CDN”, and once overseas, each was posted immediately to British regiments, where the majority took part in the bitter fighting in North-West Europe in 1944-45.          

The CANLOAN officers departed for Britain in nine groups or “flights.” On June 16, 1944, (ten days after D-Day) Dick Wilson embarked overseas with his flight from Sussex, New Brunswick bound for the United Kingdom. He arrived on June 24, 1944, and was then provided with his distinct identification number—CDN 664—that became unique to the scheme, and a “Canada” flash emblazoned on his British battledress. Where possible, the officers were afforded the chance to join affiliated British regiments; for example, members of the Black Watch (Royal Highland Regiment) of Canada joined the United Kingdom’s Black Watch; soldiers from The Seaforth Highlanders of Canada joined the British Seaforth Highlanders.

Cultural differences led to some issues for Canadian officers commanding British soldiers. There would be occasional misunderstandings in one another’s accents and turns of phrases; and the use of the word “colonial” by superiors became a source of frustration among some Canadian lieutenants and captains.

Yet despite the odd hurdle, CANLOAN officers adapted to their circumstances, ironed out any personal difficulties and became integral to their respective formations, thus earning the rightful respect of their comrades. It mattered not that their lives, upbringings and experiences back in Canada differed from those of the British troops beneath them. Fighting a war calls for capable and valued leaders, and that’s what the CANLOAN officers could provide, along with the clear capacity to inspire courage and fortitude in the British Second Army soldiers they commanded.

Dick Wilson was attached to the Queen’s Royal Regiment, 1/7th Battalion, a lieutenant in the infantry with the British Army. He was stationed at Barnard Castle in England for six or seven weeks, where he took an Advanced Armoured Infantry Course and was in charge of a tank.

On August 17, 1944, Lieutenant Dick Wilson departed from the U.K. and disembarked the next day in the North-West Europe Theatre in France (during the Battle of Normandy). He served with the Queen’s Royal Regiment (West Surrey), 1/7th Battalion – 7th Armoured Division.

The 7th Armoured Division was an armoured division of the British Army. Prior to Wilson joining them, the 7th Armoured Division had fought in most major battles during the North African Campaign (where it gained the nickname “The Desert Rats”). Later, the 7th Division landed and fought in the Italian Campaign during the early stages of the invasion of Italy and began its fight in North-West Europe by landing in Normandy during the afternoon of D-Day, June 6, 1944. 

After breaching the “Atlantic Wall” of “Fortress Europe”, Allied armies began their breakout from the narrow Normandy bridgehead to carve out a foothold on the French mainland. To accomplish this took a whole summer of tenacious fighting that saw the Canadians pushing against fierce and ruthless German forces to advance east across France.

As part of the Allied force, the 7th Armoured Division was equipped with Cromwell cruiser tanks and Sherman Firefly tanks. The Division took part in operations that liberated villages and towns including Caen, Villers-Bocage, and Falaise. By late August 1944, most of the German Army in Normandy had been destroyed.

Dick Wilson served with the Queen’s Royal Regiment, 1/7th Battalion – 7th Armoured Division in the final days of the Battle of Normandy, and then as they advanced across France through Belgium and the Netherlands in months of bitter fighting against a tenacious enemy.

In mid-September 1944, the Canadian (Sarnia) Observer printed portions of two letters that Dick had written home to his widowed mother, Vera. Following is a portion of the first letter received:

We left camp in England and marched about 2 ½ miles to the station, with something like 60 pounds on our backs. It’s a bit tiring at first, but you get numb and don’t notice it. A band played for us at the depot and as we pulled out they played, ‘In the Mood’. The quarters on the ship were excellent and the meals wonderful. The next day we saw Normandy. At first all you could see were hundreds of ships and barrage balloons which really says a lot for our superiority when you realize the Allies can leave that much shipping riding at anchor unmolested. We went from the ship to landing craft and then marched another seven or eight miles to the first position. The British Tommies are small and some were just about whipped. In this section of the country there was not much in ruins. It was all in good shape and the army has made new roads.

In his second letter, he described a section of the country 70 miles inland. One morning, he observed 20 Germans from a local prison camp heading out as a work party:

They were a scruffy looking lot, most of them about 15 years old. They seemed very happy though. The Germans left this area just six days ago. On our way in we passed towns where there was absolutely nothing standing except the odd bit of jagged wall lurching into the air. The remainder was nothing but brick and rubble. You have to see this to know what I mean by rubble-it is sort of dust. I saw a few rather peculiar things such as a bombed house with nothing in it but a silly looking yellow chandelier, undamaged, hanging precariously from a split timber.

Among the roads and in the fields, are blown-up tanks and armored cars and vehicles of every type. Occasionally I saw a German grave and the Iron Cross on its marker. The roads are clear of mines, but in most cases they guarantee no safety anywhere more than three feet either side of the road. Many fields are pock-marked with huge bomb craters and I often saw many abandoned positions where Jerry had dug in. Along the roads there is an incessant stream of traffic. Besides army traffic, there are hundreds of French families returning to their homes, although I fear most of them won’t find any. They have two-wheel cars loaded high with every domestic article. Two or three horses pull these carts, and others are behind cows and goats. Baby prams and bicycles are also used for transportation.

Dick Wilson took part in fighting around Arnhem in the Netherlands in September 1944, where Allied Paratroopers had been trapped. Operation Market Garden was a mission to capture eight bridges that spanned a network of canals and rivers on the Dutch/German border. The plan, devised by British Field Marshal Bernard Montgomery, comprised two operations: “Market” – airborne forces tasked with seizing bridges and other terrain; and “Garden” – British ground forces tasked with moving northward. The Operation began on September 17, 1944, when British and American airborne divisions descended from the sky by parachute drops and glider landings behind enemy lines.

The Operation failed at a bridge over the Rhine River at Arnhem, ‘a bridge too far’, where British forces encountered far stronger resistance than anticipated. By September 20, the bridge at Arnhem could no longer be defended, and the remaining British forces, with dwindling supplies, sought refuge within the town itself. On September 25, small assault boats manned by British and Royal Canadian Engineers were used to evacuate whatever battered troops they could out of the area. Of a total force of 35,000 Allied soldiers involved in Operation Market Garden, 1,400+ were killed and more than 6,000 were taken prisoner.   

CANLOAN officer Dick Wilson of the Queen’s Royal Regiment, 7th Armoured Division served in the North-West Europe Theatre for approximately two-and-a-half months as the Allies advanced through northern Belgium and southwestern Netherlands.

In early September 1944, Allied forces captured the inland port of Antwerp, Belgium, the second greatest port in Europe at the mouth of the Scheldt River; however, German forces still controlled the 45-mile-long Scheldt estuary (the Belgian-Dutch border area) that connected the port of Antwerp to the North Sea.

In early October 1944, a series of military operations began, led by the First Canadian Army, with Canadian, Polish and British units attached, to open up the shipping route to Antwerp so that its port could be used to supply the Allies in north-west Europe. The operation to liberate the estuary innorthern Belgium and the Netherlands, known as the Battle of the Scheldt (October 1 – November 8, 1944), was among the most difficult and grueling struggles in the war. The bitter fighting against a well-fortified and heavily entrenched enemy was made worse by the harsh conditions. Bitter winter temperatures in a wet and freezing muddy quagmire proved challenging, but the Allies prevailed.

On October 2, 1944, Lieutenant Dick Wilson was killed in the Battle of the Scheldt during the early stages of the Liberation of Belgium and the Netherlands. After originally being reported as “missing in action”, he was later recorded as “missing, now for official purposes presumed killed in action”.

In mid-October 1944, Vera, his widowed mother in Sarnia, received a telegram from Ottawa informing her that LIEUTENANT R.N. WILSON WAS REPORTED MISSING ON OCTOBER 2.No other details were given. Vera suspected that whatever happened to her son likely occurred in Belgium, as she had received a recent letter from him telling of some of his experiences in Belgium.

In late July 1945, more than two months after VE-Day, Dick Wilson’s name was mentioned in a newspaper story on the 7th Armoured Division (Desert Rats), and he was described as “missing presumed dead”.

Vera had not received any notification of her son’s death at that point but received the news later that her son was officially recorded as For official purposes, presumed killed in action, in the field (Western Europe).

Vera Hannah Wilson passed away at the age of 94 in September 1991 in Sarnia. She is buried with her husband Norman at Lakeview Cemetery.  

Of the 673 Canadian officers that served in the CANLOAN scheme, approximately 75% were either wounded, killed (128) or taken prisoners of war. CANLOAN officers across multiple British regiments earned many accolades including 41 Military Crosses (MC) and several other honours from the French, Belgians, and Americans. Few British soldiers, no matter the rank, doubted qualities of their Canadian comrades. In one instance, Canadian D-Day veteran Lieutenant Leonard Robertson—himself a Military Cross recipient—asked his men to choose between a British and CANLOAN officer for a replacement. Their decision was unanimous, “Bring us the goddamned Canadians.”

In peaceful Stanley Park on the banks of the Rideau River in Ottawa stands a simple three-sided memorial, unveiled on June 3, 1961, by the Governor General of Canada, the Right Honourable Georges P. Vanier. On the CANLOAN National Memorial are recorded the names of 128 fatal CANLOAN casualties. Lieutenant Richard Norman Wilson is one of those names on the memorial.

            The legacy and sacrifices of the CANLOAN officers are also recognized on a similar monument at the 5^th Canadian Division Support Base in Gagetown, N.B., and a plaque at the residence of the British High Commissioner to Canada.

Lieutenant Richard “Dick” Wilson, 23, has no known grave. His name inscribed on the Groesbeek Memorial, Netherlands, Panel 10.

Source: The Sarnia War Remembrance Project by Tom Slater

Editors: Tom St. Amand and Lou Giancarlo

Frederick (“Freddie”) Ervine Wise was born in Sarnia, on June 4, 1916, the son of Adam and Margaret May (nee Cridland) Wise. On February 18, 1903, in Walsingham in Norfolk County, Adam Wise (born 1872 in Welland County) married Margaret Cridland (born 1879 in Norfolk County), a union that would produce six children: daughters Ethel Winnifred, and Jennie Agnes; and sons Frank Edwin, Norman Earl, and Frederick Ervine. Their other son, Herman Allan Wise, born 1910, died when he was an infant due to cholera on September 3, 1912.

The Wise family lived at 415 Nelson Street, Sarnia. Their son Norman also joined the services, enlisting in August 1942, and he became a trooper with the Canadian Army. Norman Wise would serve in England, Italy, France, and Germany.

Frederick Wise attended Durand Street and London Road public elementary schools in Sarnia from 1924 to 1930 and then Sarnia Collegiate Institute from September 1930 until June 1937. He was very active in hockey and, also enjoyed playing baseball, and swimming, and his hobby was mechanics.

In 1940, he took an International Correspondence course in advertising. Frederick was an employee of the Canadian Observer in Sarnia, working in the circulation department as a clerk for a number of years until he enlisted. In that time, he had also done some sales and repair work on small motors for Hoover Company.

On December 20, 1940, Frederick Wise, age 24, enlisted with the Royal Canadian Air Force in London, Ontario (his father Adam was retired by then). Frederick stood five feet ten inches tall, had blue eyes and fair hair, was single, and was residing at home with his parents on Nelson Street at the time. He recorded his occupation as “clerk” and that he preferred to be a pilot, and if not that, then an observer or air gunner.

In a reference letter written for the RCAF Recruiter on behalf of Frederick Wise, P.T. McGibbon of McGibbon’s Drug Store in Sarnia wrote that I have known Fred E. Wise since he was a child and I have much pleasure in recommending him to any person or corporation requiring his services. He has always been a very industrious, diligent and willing worker and liked by every person who has ever come in contact with him. I also know the rest of the Wise family and they command the respect of every person who has the pleasure of knowing them.

Another reference letter was written by the Circulation Manager of the Canadian (Sarnia) Observer, R.J. Knowles. In a portion of that letter he wrote that When publisher asked me to supply a boy to fill an office vacancy, I recommended him and for the past two years he has been making himself of real value to this company. He maintains a good appearance, is punctual, courteous, honest and in addition has shown willingness to ‘pull more than his weight’.

The Recruiting Officer wrote this of Frederick: A smart clean cut chap, good appearance and personality, keen, alert and observant, the determined aggressive type, will respond to training, excellent material for Air Crew.

From #1 Manning Depot in London and then from #1 Auxillary Manning Depot (AMD) in Picton, Frederick began his air training at #6 Service Flying Training School (SFTS) in Dunnville, followed by #1 Initial Training School (ITS) in Toronto. The Commanding Officer at #1 ITS wrote that Frederick was Cool, reliable, steady type of Trainee, with fine service spirit. Applied himself well at the school.

Frederick continued his training at #19 Elementary Flying Training School (EFTS) in Virden, Manitoba; and at #10 Service Flying Training School (SFTS) in Dauphin, Manitoba. The Commanding Officers in Manitoba wrote this of Frederick: Hard worker and keen. Punctuality and deportment good. Flying above average… Very good student. Recommended for Fighter Squadron. On October 24, 1941, Wise was awarded his wings as a qualified pilot in the Royal Canadian Air Force, graduating at Dauphin, Manitoba. Following his graduation, he received a 14-day leave in which he was able to return home to visit his parents, siblings, and friends in Sarnia.

Frederick embarked overseas from Halifax bound for the United Kingdom on November 11, 1941. He travelled overseas with fellow Sarnian James L. Wright (also included in this Project), who had attended the same training centres as Frederick. Both Sarnians reunited later as members of the R.C.A.F. in the Middle East.

From #3 Personnel Reception Centre in early December 1941, Frederick was posted to #59 Operational Training Unit (59 O.T.U.) at RAF Turnhouse, receiving further training to fly single-seat fighters. In late February 1942, he was transferred to the Middle East where he continued his training. In June 1942, he was posted to #22 Personnel Transit Centre (P.T.C.), RAF Almaza, Egypt, and then to No. 25 P.T.C.

In mid-July 1942, Frederick became a member of RAF #238 Squadron “Ad Finem” (To the end), with the rank of Flight Sergeant-Pilot.

No. 238 Squadron, a fighter squadron formed in mid-May 1940, was originally equipped with Spitfire fighters, but converted to Hawker Hurricanes in June. During its first year, the squadron was posted to several RAF bases in England and took part in the Battle of Britain. In May 1941, the squadron began to move to the Middle East, part of No. 258 Wing, Western Desert, Middle East Command. Here, the squadron was used for bomber escort missions and fighter patrols.

In September 1942, a letter from Fred Wise arrived at the Sarnia Observer and the former employee described his life in the Middle East. The following is a portion of that letter dated August 21, 1942:

On Sunday I was in Alexandria and had a dip in the Mediterranean, but this salty water isn’t good for swimming when one is used to Lake Huron. I have been here three weeks, and feel fairly settled after travelling nearly all over Egypt. So far I have made five trips, mostly patrols over Alamein. It was only last Sunday that I saw my first Jerry hits.

Today we had a rather important job and came out of it with flying colors. On this particular we were top cover for a Hurricane bomber squadron, and watched the boys pull off and “drop their eggs.” On the way home over Alamein we were attacked by four Messerschmidts. They came down on us like a bat out of hell. We fixed them again, and in the dog fight which followed one of the beggars got in front of me for a second, so yours truly got a good burst in. However I’m afraid I missed, though by mighty little. It was good to get home again, but I’m ready to go back at them anytime.

The North African Campaign began in June 1940 and continued for almost three years, as Allied and Axis forces pushed each other back and forth across the desert. Battles between British Commonwealth, U.S., and French forces against Italian-German Axis and Vichy France forces took place across Libya, Egypt, Morocco, Algeria, and Tunisia. Canadians fought as part of British army units, as members of the RAF or the Royal Canadian Air Force and serving in the Royal Canadian Navy.

As part of Middle East Command, RAF #238 Squadron took part in the Second Battle of El Alamein (October 23 – November 11, 1942). Taking place near the Egyptian railway halt of El Alamein, the battle was won by the Allies and marked the beginning of the end for the Axis in North African Campaign (the campaign would end in May 1943).

After serving in the desert campaign for almost nine months, Frederick Wise was killed in action. On November 4, 1942, Flight Sergeant-Pilot Wise’s Hurricane aircraft failed to return from a ground strafing mission against the enemy around Alala, in North Africa.

In mid-November 1942, his parents Adam and Margaret in Sarnia received a telegram informing them that their son, Frederick Ervine Wise, was reported missing, and that he had not returned from an operational flight in the Middle East.

Days later, they received the following letter from the Flight Lieutenant, R.C.A.F. Casualties Officer, for Chief of the Air Staff:

Dear Mr. Wise:

            It is my painful duty to confirm the telegram recently received by you which informed you that your son, Sergeant Frederick Ervine Wise, is reported missing on Active Service.

            Advice has been received from the Royal Canadian Air Force Casualties Officer, Overseas, that your son was the sole occupant of an aircraft which failed to return to its base due to enemy action on November 4th, 1942.

            I desire to point out that this does not necessarily mean that your son has been killed or wounded. It might be that he is a prisoner of war and inquiries have been made through the International Red Cross Society and all other appropriate sources. Official announcement that your son has been reported missing will not be made through the Press for at least five weeks, and until then, you are requested not to give any information to the Press or Radio. It is

possible that he has landed in enemy territory and in that event publicity at this time might imperil his chance to escape.                                                                                                                                                                   

            This is all the information that we have at these Headquarters but your son’s Commanding Officer is writing you a letter which you should receive shortly which will give you all available details. Please be assured that any further information received will be communicated to you immediately. May I join with you and Mrs. Wise in the hope that better news will be forthcoming in the near future.

About the same time that Adam and Margaret received the above letter, they received the following letter from R.C.A.F. Records Officer, for Chief of the Air Staff in Ottawa:

Dear Mr. Wise:

            I am directed to advise you that your son, Frederick Ervine Wise, has been promoted to the rank of Warrant Officer Second Class with effect from October 24th, 1942.

            This promotion follows a procedure adopted by the Royal Canadian Air Force, that all aircrew members of the service if recommended by their Commanding Officer should at the end of the required lapse of time from their last promotion be promoted to higher rank. This promotion procedure has been made retroactive in order to extend the same recognition to those who have unhappily lost their lives.

            It is my sincere hope that you may find sustaining comfort in the knowledge that the qualities of your gallant son are thus recognized, and it is regretted that this information could not be passed to you at an earlier date but the delay in notifying you was unavoidable. May I express to you and the members of your family my profound sympathy.

In early December 1942, the staff of the Canadian (Sarnia) Observer received Christmas greetings via telegraph from Frederick Wise, the former member of the Observer circulation department. The greeting had been sent from the Middle East, dated October 31, 1942, only a few days before he was reported missing.

In late December 1942, the Royal Canadian Air Force Casualty List still recorded Frederick Wise as Missing after air operations in North Africa.

Seven months later, in July 1943, Frederick Wise was officially recorded as Previously reported “missing” after air operations (overseas), now for official purposes, presumed dead.

In August 1945, Adam received the following letter from the R.C.A.F. Casualty Officer, for Chief of the Air Staff in Ottawa:

Dear Mr. Wise:

            The Director of Estates has asked me to reply to your recent enquiry concerning your son, Warrant Officer Class II Frederick Ervine Wise. It is indeed regretted that despite all possible efforts no further information has been received concerning your son since he was reported missing.

            There are several Services set up in an endeavor to find all particulars possible of crashed aircraft. Some information is available concerning a great many aircraft which crashed or were shot down by the enemy and every possible effort on an organized basis is being put forth to secure all information available. It is the duty of the Graves Registration Units, which are under the control of the Military Authorities to enquire for and locate the graves of all personnel known or believed to have crashed and to have been buried in occupied areas.

            A Royal Air Force and Dominion Air Force Missing Research and Enquiry Service has been organized for the purpose of research and enquiry in liberated territories into the circumstances of aircrews reported as casualties. This Service endeavours to obtain additional information to supplement that already received. The civilian population of these areas is being contacted by Radio, Press, and Proclamations through the various civic authorities to centralize through this Service any information or concrete evidence they may have about Air Force personnel or crashed aircraft. Similar instructions have been issued to all Service personnel in these areas.

            I wish again to assure you that when any additional information is received concerning your son, it will be forwarded to you. I am sure you will realize that owing to the conditions existing in Europe at the present time and the great number of enquiries confronting these enquiry services, some time may pass before more information is received. May I extend to you and the members of your family my most sincere sympathy.

By February 1946, Adam and Margaret had still not received any further information about their son. Margaret wrote the following letter to the RCAF Estates Branch in Ottawa: It is 3 years and 3 months and a half today since he was reported missing, but his plane, nor him, nor his grave have ever been found, so we are at a loss to know what did happen to our dear son.

In late March 1946, she received the following reply letter from the R.C.A.F. Casualty Officer, for Chief of the Air Staff in Ottawa:

Dear Mrs. Wise:

            The Director of Estates has asked me to reply to your recent enquiry concerning your son, Warrant Officer

Class II Frederick Ervine Wise. It is indeed with regret that I must advise you that despite all possible efforts no

information has been received regarding the fate of your son since the night he was reported missing.

            Please be assured that the Missing Research and Enquiry Service and the Graves Registration Units are doing everything in their power to secure definite information regarding the fate of your son and just as soon as any word is received, you will be at once advised. I am sure you will realize, however, that in view of the vast number of enquiries confronting these enquiry services some considerable time may elapse before more information is received. May I again extend to you and the members of your family my most sincere sympathy.    

In mid-June1946, Margaret received the following letter from the R.C.A.F. Records Officer in Ottawa:

Dear Mrs. Wise:

            It is a privilege to have the opportunity of sending you the Operational Wings and Certificate in recognition of the gallant services rendered by your son Warrant Officer Class II F.E. Wise. I realize there is little which may be said or done to lessen your sorrow, but it is my hope that these “Wings”, indicative of operations against the enemy, will be a treasured memento of a young life offered on the altar of freedom in defence of his Home and Country.

In late November 1952, more than 10 years after the loss of their son, Adam and Margaret received a letter from the R.C.A.F. Casualties Officer, for Chief of the Air Staff in Ottawa. Following is a portion of that letter:

Dear Mrs. Wise:

It is with reluctance that after so long an interval, I must refer to the loss of your son, Warrant Officer Class II Frederick Ervine Wise. A report has, however, been received from our Missing Research and Enquiry Service which states that their efforts to locate your son’s grave have been unsuccessful. Under the circumstances, therefore, it must be regretfully accepted and officially recorded that he does not have a “known” grave.

            Due to the extreme hazards attending air operations there are, unhappily, many thousands of British aircrew boys who do not have “known” graves and all will be commemorated on General Memorials that will be erected at a number of locations by the Imperial War Graves Commission (of which Canada is a member), each Memorial representative of a theatre of operations. One of these Memorials will be erected at El Alamein, and the name of your son will appear on that Memorial….

            I realize that this is an extremely distressing letter and that there is no manner of conveying such information to you that would not add to your heartaches. I am fully aware that nothing I may say will lessen your great sorrow, but I would like to express to you and the members of your family my deepest sympathy.

Frederick Wise, 26, has no known grave. His name is inscribed on the Alamein War Memorial, Egypt, Column 264.

Source: The Sarnia War Remembrance Project by Tom Slater

Editors: Tom St. Amand and Lou Giancarlo

James Wright, who always referred to himself as “Jim”, was born as a fraternal twin on August 19, 1916, in Sarnia. Both his parents were born in England—Thomas William Wright was born in April 1881 in Isle of Guersney; and Margaret (nee Wisby) Wright, was born in Harston, Cambridgeshire. Thomas Wright was a British Home Child who arrived in Canada in 1894 and then resided in Forest, Ontario. He had been married previously (in February 1905) to Harriet “Hattie” Wisby, who was Margaret’s younger sister, but tragically Hattie passed away from tuberculosis in February 1912. 

Thomas and Hattie had three children together: Herbert Wisby Wright (born February 1906); Ellis John Wright (born December 1910); and Florence Wright (born October 1911). Tragedy struck the Wright family a second time in February 1912 when their infant daughter Florence passed away from meningitis a few days after Harriet had passed away.

Two years later in March 1914, widower Thomas Wright married Margaret Wisby, his sister-in-law who had immigrated to Forest, Ontario, from Harston, Cambridgeshire, England, around 1905. Margaret Wisby also had a previous marriage. She had married Charles Kershaw in June 1910, but he died in August 1911, around the time their daughter, Mary, was born.

Thomas married Margaret Kershaw (nee Wisby) in Forest, Ontario, on March 5, 1914. At the time, Thomas recorded his address as Port Huron, Michigan, and their family later resided at 240 Bright Street in Sarnia.

Thomas and Margaret had three children together: Clifford Wright (born September 1914); and twins Edith Selena and James (Jim) Wright, born on August 19, 1916, in Sarnia. Jim was given the middle name Le Noury, which was his grandmother’s maiden name (Julia Le Noury of Mount Durand, Guernsey).

In February 1916, Thomas Wright, a 34-year-old father, enlisted to serve in the First World War with the Canadian Over-Seas Expeditionary Force (CEF) in Sarnia, becoming a member of the 149th Battalion. At the time, Thomas was a grocer. His wages supported Margaret and their six children—Herbert Wisby (11 yrs.); Ellis John (7 yrs.); Mary Umfreville Kershaw Wright (5 yrs.); Clifford Wisby (2 yrs.); and twins James LeNoury and Edith Salina (4 months). In late 1916, the Wright family was living at 128 Penrose Street.

In April 1917, 14 months after enlisting, Thomas arrived in England, and three months later, in July 1917, he disembarked in France as a member of the 3rd Canadian Labour Battalion. The 3rd Canadian Labour Battalion was later designated, in November 1917, as the 11th Battalion, Canadian Railway Troops (CRT).

Seven months after arriving in France, on February 18, 1918, Thomas Wright, in his role as a sapper, was awarded a Good Conduct Badge in the field.

Sappers carried out dangerous work in support of the infantry, including digging trenches and tunnels for mines underneath enemy trenches; building roads, bridges, rail lines, and field fortifications; setting up communication lines; breaching obstacles; ensuring safe water supplies; and joining the infantry as fighting troops when necessary.

Approximately one year after arriving in France, Thomas was embroiled in The Hundred Days Campaign, one that featured intense and brutal fighting as the end of the war neared. Waged from August 8 to November 11, 1918, in France and Belgium, it was the “beginning of the end” of the Great War. Canadians were called on again and again over the three-month period to lead the offensives against the toughest German defences. The series of victories repeatedly drove the Germans back, culminating in Germany’s unconditional surrender on November 11, but it came at a high price: approximately 46,000 Canadians were killed, wounded, or missing.

On October 22, 1918, Thomas Wright was appointed the rank of acting lance corporal, 11th Battalion, Canadian Railway Troops. Twelve days after being appointed that rank, on November 3, 1918, Thomas was admitted to No. 56 Casualty Clearing Station (CCS) where his condition was recorded as “dangerously ill, influenza”.

Six days later, on November 9, 1918, Thomas passed away at No. 56 CCS, the result of the Spanish flu (influenza and broncho-pneumonia).

Two days after Thomas’ death, the Armistice was signed, ending the Great War.

Thomas Wright, 37, is buried in Grevillers British Cemetery, Pas de Calais, France, Grave XVII.E.8.

Many years later, his two former wives, sisters Harriet (nee Wisby, passed away in Forest 1912) and Margaret (nee Wisby, passed away in Sarnia 1964), were both buried in Beechwood Cemetery in Forest. An empty spot lies between them for their husband Thomas William Wright. The space will always be there, as Thomas is buried in France with his fallen brothers in arms.

Thomas William Wright’s name is inscribed on the Sarnia cenotaph on the World War I section. His story is included in the World War I section of this Project.

His son, James (Jim) Wright, also has his name inscribed on the Sarnia cenotaph.

So, Margaret raised Jim all on her own, along with his other five siblings—Herbert, Ellis, Mary Kershaw, Clifford, and Jims’s twin sister Edith—at 240 Bright Street, Sarnia.

Jim was educated at Russell Street, George Street, and Lochiel Street public elementary schools from 1922 to 1929. He then attended Sarnia Collegiate from 1929 to 1935, where he specialized in drafting and completed two years commercial. Jim loved sports, especially swimming, hockey, football, rugby, softball, and tennis, and he had a keen interest in photography. After completing high school, Jim worked as a bookkeeper at Head Laundry Limited in Sarnia for one year in 1935-1936. From 1936 until he enlisted, Jim was employed at Electric Auto-Lite Limited in Sarnia, first as an inspector and, upon getting a promotion, as an office clerk in 1939.

On December 16, 1940, Jim Wright, age 24, enlisted in the Royal Canadian Air Force in London, Ontario. He stood five feet six inches tall, had blue eyes and light brown hair, was single, and was living at home on Bright Street with his family at the time. He requested flying duties, with a preference to be a pilot or an observer. His plan for after the war was to possibly go back to school.

A reference letter for the RCAF Recruiter on behalf of James Wright was written by the President of Brown & Urquhart Limited (Front Street, Sarnia). In it, he wrote I have known him personally and have had business dealings with him and have always found that he was honest and conscientious and of good character.

His employer at Electric Auto-Lite also penned a reference letter. Again, he had a sterling recommendation for Jim: James L. Wright has been in the employ of the Electric Auto-Lite Limited, Sarnia for approximately three and one half years and during that period the writer has known the above to be a steady, conscientious worker, of excellent character, and I am pleased to provide this recommendation of Mr. Wright’s qualifications.

After the interview, the Recruiting Officer wrote that Jim Wright possesses a good knowledge of photography, drafting and mechanical drawing. We recommend him because he is very frank in conversation, honest and conscientious.

From the Recruiting Centre in London, then #1 Manning Depot in Toronto, and then #1 Auxillary Manning Depot (AMD) in Picton, Jim Wright received his air training at #6 Service Flying Training School (SFTS) in Dunnville; at #1 Initial Training School (ITS) in Toronto; at #19 Elementary Flying Training School (EFTS) in Virden, Manitoba; and at #10 Service Flying Training School (SFTS) in Dauphin, Manitoba. The Chief Instructor at #10 SFTS wrote the following of Wright: First class student has a quiet way about him that is quite attractive. Student type, deportment good. Recommended for Fighter Squadron.

 Graduating on October 24, 1941 in Dauphin, Manitoba, Jim Wright was awarded his wings as a qualified pilot in the Royal Canadian Air Force. During his training, Jim flew in a variety of aircraft, mostly Hurricanes, but also Spitfires, Hudsons, Dakotas, and Marauders. Following his graduation, he received his 14-day embarkation leave and was able to return home to visit family and friends.

On November 11, 1941, Jim embarked overseas from #1 Y Depot in Halifax bound for the United Kingdom. He travelled overseas with fellow Sarnian Frederick E. Wise (also included in this Project), who had attended the same training centres as Jim. Both Jim Wright and Frederick Wise were reunited later as members of the R.C.A.F. in the Middle East.

Initially posted to #3 Personnel Reception Centre (PRC) on November 23, 1941, Jim Wright was transferred to #55 Operational Training Unit (O.T.U.) at RAF Usworth, on December 9, 1941. There he received further training as a fighter pilot.

In early March 1942, he was transferred to the Middle East where he continued his training at #22 Personnel Transit Centre (P.T.C.), RAF Almaza, Egypt. In late June 1942, he was posted to No. 1 Aircraft Delivery Unit (A.D.U.) in Cairo. Jim served overseas in North Africa and the Middle East until August 1944.

Overseas for almost three years, Jim was part of aircraft delivery—flying planes to areas that included North Africa, Egypt, the Middle East, and India. This included flying aircraft from the West African coast to the Middle East during the Tunisian Campaign, as well as piloting planes to Iran, and transports and fighters to India. In August 1942, James celebrated his 26th birthday somewhere in the Middle East.

In November 1942, while stationed in Africa, he was hospitalized for close to two weeks, after contracting malaria. One year later, in November 1943, he received his commission and was promoted to Flight Officer.

In April 1944, the Sarnia Observer featured a story on Mrs. Margaret Wright’s three children who were serving at the time—Mary, Clifford, and James.

Her daughter, Flying Officer Mary Kershaw of the R.C.A.F. (W.D.), had attended public school and Sarnia Collegiate Institute. She trained at Strathroy General Hospital and was at the Charlotte Eleanor Englehart Hospital in Petrolia for four years. Prior to enlisting, she nursed for 1 ½ years at the Sanitorium in Weston. She enlisted in the R.C.A.F. 16 months prior to the newspaper story. Stationed at Trenton during that time, Mary had recently been appointed to the Radio Station Hospital in Clinton where she was in charge of the 25-bed hospital.

Margaret’s son, Clifford Wright, who had been employed with Mueller Brass Company of Port Huron, enlisted in January 1944 in the United States Navy (USN). Clifford was stationed at Scott Field, Farragut, Idaho, from where he graduated in February 1944. Following a 21-day leave in Sarnia, Petty Officer Clifford Wright of the USN was transferred to Santiago, California.

Her other son, Jim Wright, was also featured in the story. At the time, Pilot Officer Jim Wright of the R.C.A.F., had been overseas for two years and had been stationed for some time in the Middle East where he had received his commission.

In mid-August 1944, Jim returned home from overseas and made what turned out to be his last trip to Sarnia, a 30-day leave to visit his mother Margaret, twin sister Edith, and the rest of his family. Jim had completed his duties in Africa, the Middle East, and other areas, and had been sent back to Canada with the privilege of taking his discharge if he so elected. He had more than 800 flying hours to his credit; yet, he chose to continue in the service.

While in Sarnia, when asked what things had impressed him on his return to Canada, Jim stated There certainly is no serious shortage of food in Canada. It is wonderful to be able to go into a restaurant and order a steak, and to see a menu with so many choices on it. In England there are no menus now such as there are here, while in Africa, on the ferry command, food was often pretty grim. On choosing not to take his discharge, he expressed his eagerness to return to the battlefront. The leave is fine, but I’m not used to having nothing to do, and hope to be sent back overseas again. He expressed that this time, he wanted to use his training as a fighter pilot to get into the thick of things.

In describing the “grim” accommodations and food to which he became accustomed, he stated that in some of the R.A.F. stations along the ferry routes, native cooks were used with R.A.F. personnel supervising: We frequently used a native set-up with mud and straw huts, and wooden frames with ropes for mattresses…. The R.A.F. considered it more important to bring in war material first and accommodations later if there was time. The Americans, on the other hand, brought in their equipment first, including prefabricated huts, real beds, complete refrigeration, and so on.

He was unimpressed with Cairo and Alexandria; in fact, Jim was quite disgusted with the lack of proper sanitation he found, even in new Cairo. He said that the old city was dirty and full of disease spread by flies. Nor was he impressed with the Egyptians he found in his travels there, claiming to have lost many articles to pickpockets. He described Alexandria as cooler than Cairo in the summer, with a breeze from the Mediterranean Sea: The heat on the West African coast was oppressive with a high humidity, while it was 125 degrees in Iran falling to 100 degrees at night.

After his 30-day leave at home, Jim Wright reported to Ottawa for posting, and returned overseas on September 27, 1944. Part of his new posting was taking a course on Spitfires equipped both as fighters and for photographic work.

In late September 1944, the mother of another Sarnia R.C.A.F. officer showed Jim’s mother, Margaret, a letter that her son had written to her. The officer praised Jim Wright’s splendid record. The letter said that F/O Wright had earned his month’s leave at home by taking part in a particularly hazardous undertaking with two colleagues. It also revealed that Jim, despite three attacks of malaria, had made 46 flights in single-engine fighter planes from the west coast of Africa to Burma and Russia and had spent 10 days in the desert after being forced down by engine trouble.

In the spring of 1945, Jim Wright was stationed at RAF Hawarden, Wales, attached to RAF #41 Operational Training Unit (O.T.U.), part of No. 12 Group Fighter Command.

No. 41 OTU was formed in September 1941 to train tactical reconnaissance pilots using Lysanders and Tomahawks. By April 1942, the Lysanders were retired and Mustangs arrived to supplement the Tomahawks. In November 1942 the unit moved to RAF Hawarden. In September 1944, it was transferred to No. 12 Group, by which time it was using aircraft that included Hurricanes, Spitfires, and Masters Harvards. In February 1945, the unit was split into two with No. 41 OTU Day Fighter Wing moved to RAF Poulton where it was re-designated No. 58 OTU; the Hawarden element became No. 41 Fighter Reconnaissance Wing and moved to RAF Chilbolton. This latter unit is where Flying Officer Jim Wright was posted. 

On March 15, 1945, Jim Wright lost his life in a tragic flying accident in Wales. He took off from RAF Hawarden in his Spitfire aircraft BM636, and along with another Spitfire, the two were taking part in a combat exercise at 5,000 feet. After completing the exercise, Jim decided to fly low over the house of some friends. He dropped to a height of 50 feet and as soon as he went over the house, he completed a slow roll. He then attempted a second low level roll but, due to insufficient speed, tragically flew straight into the ground. The aircraft passed between two trees and struck the ground with its starboard wing tip, fell down on to its nose, and then bounced about 30 yards in a field, disintegrating as it did so. The fuselage burst into flame and began to burn fiercely. 

The crash occurred at approximately 18.45 hours at Paper Mill Lane, Oakenholt, Flintshire, Wales. A local farmer who witnessed the crash, rushed over and pulled Jim out of the flaming plane, but Jim was already dead. His death was the result of multiple injuries and extensive burns.

Investigators later concluded that, even though Jim Wright was an extremely competent pilot with 745 hours of flying time, including 95 hours in Spitfire aircraft, the accident was the result of low aerobatics and “showing off”, something that even experienced pilots like Jim were not immune to.

His funeral was held at the Regional Cemetery in Chester, conducted by a Canadian Padre, with full service honours, including a firing party and the sounding of the Last Post. His coffin was draped with the Union Jack and was carried by fellow airmen from his squadron.

Approximately one week later, Margaret Wright on Bright Street in Sarnia received a telegram from Ottawa informing her that her son PILOT OFFICER JAMES WRIGHT WAS KILLED RECENTLY ON ACTIVE SERVICE WITH THE RCAF OVERSEAS. No further particulars were given in the official message.

James Lenoury Wright’s death was later officially recorded as Killed in flying accident, overseas (Wales).

Shortly after receiving the above telegram, Margaret received the following letter from the Air Commodore, Acting Air Member for Personnel in Ottawa:

Dear Mrs. Wright:

            It is with deep regret that I must confirm our recent telegram informing you that your son, Flying Officer James Lenoury Wright, was killed on Active Service.

            Advice has been received from the Royal Canadian Air Force Casualties Officer, Overseas, that your son lost his life during flying operations at 6:55 P.M. on March 15th, 1945. The aircraft, of which he was the sole occupant, crashed at Paper Mill Lane, Oakenholt, Flint, Wales.

            You may be assured that any further information received will be communicated to you immediately. I realize that this news has been a great shock to you, and I offer you my deepest sympathy. May the same spirit which prompted your son to offer his life give you courage.

Shortly after receiving the news of Jim’s death, Rev. F.G. Hardy of St. George’s Church, Sarnia, spoke in sympathetic terms at a morning service at the church. The rector said that in peace times, before his enlistment, Jim had taken an active part in the young people’s work and older members of the Boy Scouts would remember his activities and his talent for leadership. Rev. Hardy added that it was a sad duty to make the announcement of the supreme sacrifice of this young boy.

In May 1945, Margaret received the following letter from E. Plumtree, the RAF Wing Commander, No. 41 R.A.F. Station, Chilbolton, Stockbridge, Hants:

Dear Mrs. Wright,

            Before you receive this letter you will have had information of the very sad loss of your son James. He was flying a Spitfire aircraft which was seen to dive into the ground at very high speed, and there is no doubt that he was killed instantly. A searching inquiry has been made in order to try and find any possible cause of the accident, but no real conclusion can be arrived at. There is no evidence of any technical fault in the aircraft which was flying perfectly a few moments before. Your son was an extremely competent pilot and there is certainly no question of it being due to anything within his control. In view of the above, it is considered probable that your son may have lost consciousness due to an unknown reason, causing the aircraft to dive out of control into the ground. I am afraid that it was one of the unfortunate, unexplainable accidents that are part and parcel of the normal risks of flying a fast fighter aircraft.

            Owing to the time taken to communicate under present conditions, it was not possible to ascertain your wishes regarding the funeral in the time available and I had therefore to arrange a burial without reference to you. You will, I am sure, understand the necessity for this action and I sincerely trust that the arrangements we were able to make were such as you would have wished.

            Your son’s funeral took place at the Regional Cemetery, Chester, the service being conducted by a Canadian Padre. Full service honours were accorded, the coffin being carried by men of his own squadron who also provided a firing party. The coffin was covered with the Union Jack and Last Post was sounded. Photographs have been sent to you which I hope you have received.

            You will wish to know that all war graves are cared for by the Imperial War Graves Commission, which will erect a temporary wooden cross pending the provision of a permanent memorial by them. Your son’s effects have been gathered to-gether and sent to the Royal Air Force Central Depository, by whom they will be forwarded to the Administrator of Estates, Ottawa, who will be writing to you in this regard in due course.

            May I now express the great sympathy which all of us in the Unit feel with you in the sad loss which you have sustained. Your son was a most popular and well liked officer throughout the Unit and he could always be depended on to do his work and his flying with great keenness. We all miss him very much indeed.

The chaplain in England that presided over Jim Wright’s funeral wrote the following in a letter to his family: Blacon Cemetery, just outside the ancient walled city of Chester, is a beautiful spot. The heavy mist that has hung over the countryside has lifted, but the sky was clouded over during the funeral; overhead, two aircraft hovered around as though in tribute to your son.

An inquiry into the circumstances of the flying accident was held in the spring of 1945. Following are some of the findings of that investigation:

F/O J.L. Wright took off in Spitfire aircraft BM636 from R.A.F. Hawarden and completed a combat exercise with F/L Kusel at 5,000 feet. Having completed the exercise F/O J.L. Wright decided to “beat-up” the house of some friends, where he had been to dinner previously, even though he had read Station Flying Station Orders forbidding the practice. F/O J.L. Wright made an attack on the house, at a height of about 50 feet, and as soon as he had gone over the house, he completed a slow roll, as soon as he was level again, he attempted a second roll and flew straight into the ground.

To the witnesses, the aircraft appeared to be gradually but consistently losing height all the time during these slow rolls and did not dive into the ground but flew in his line of flight. The aircraft passed between two trees and struck the ground with its starboard wing tip, falling down on to its nose, it then bounced about 30 yards, disintegrating as it did so. The fuselage burst into flame and began to burn fiercely. Mr. Herbert Ward Hughes fought his way into the flames and extricated the burning body of the pilot. This must have taken Mr. Hughes several minutes as he had only just recovered the body when other witnesses arrived at the scene. The accident is a typical example of the effects of low aerobatics and “showing off” and shows that even experienced Pilots are not immune from this practice.

F/O Wright had total solo flying experience of 745 hours on all types including 95 hours on Spitfire aircraft. The investigating Officer recommends that some form of recognition be awarded to Mr. Herbert Ward Hughes of Oakenholt Farm, Flint, for his bravery in extricating the body of the pilot (F/O Wright), an action which might have saved the Pilot’s life had there been any hope.

In March 1946, Margaret received a War Service Gratuity of $1060.12 for the loss of her son. Jim Wright’s well-deserved awards include the Africa Star with 42-43 bar; a Defence Medal; a War Service Medal; and a Canadian Volunteer Service Medal with bar.

Flying Officer-Pilot James LeNoury Wright, 28, is buried in Chester (Blacon) Cemetery, Cheshire, United Kingdom, Section A, Grave 97. On his headstone are inscribed the following words: BE THOU FAITHFUL UNTO DEATH AND I WILL GIVE THEE A CROWN OF LIFE. REV.2.10.

James (Jim) Wright’s name is inscribed on the Sarnia cenotaph, on the World War II section. His father, Thomas William Wright, also has his name inscribed on the Sarnia cenotaph, on the World War I section. Thomas Wright’s story is included in the World War I section of this Project.

Thomas and James (Jim) Wright are the only father and son combination from Sarnia to lose their lives while serving Canada in two different World Wars.

Source: The Sarnia War Remembrance Project by Tom Slater

Editors: Tom St. Amand and Lou Giancarlo

John “Jack” David Wright was born in Petrolia on March 29, 1912, the only son of David and Florence Ellen (nee Crozier) Wright. David Wright, a liveryman at the time, and Florence Crozier, were married on January 18, 1909, in Marthaville, Ontario. They had two children together: John, who went by “Jack”, and Elizabeth Mary, who years later married Howard Vince and resided at 409 Devine Street, Sarnia.

David Wright was an oil-drilling superintendent in Trinidad for a time, so his son, Jack, lived in Trinidad, British West Indies for six years, where he received part of his early schooling. The Wright family returned to Sarnia in 1924, where David was employed with a local automobile sales group. The Wright family lived at 320 Davis Street in Sarnia.

Jack completed his public school education in Sarnia and then attended Sarnia Collegiate from September 1926 to June 1930. While there, he was a member of the high school rifle team. He was also a member of Central United Church. Following his Sarnia Collegiate graduation, Jack began his employment at Imperial Oil Limited in Sarnia as an assistant in the engine-testing laboratory. It was during this time period that tragically, Jack lost both of his parents in a six-month period: his mother Florence, on December 5, 1934 (age 51); and his father David, on June 30, 1935 (age 53). Florence and David Wright are buried together in Hillside Cemetery in Petrolia.

In September 1935, Jack began a five-year education co-operative program with Imperial Oil Limited. The program involved him spending six months in college and six months working at Imperial Oil. Jack attended college at Lawrence Institute of Technology in Detroit where he studied Mechanical Engineering to obtain his Bachelor of Science Degree in Mechanical Engineering.

During this period, Jack, who was always interested in military matters, served for one year in the Non-Permanent Active Militia (NPAM), with the First Field Park Company, Royal Canadian Engineers (RCE) in Sarnia. Initially a private, he advanced to the rank of second lieutenant on October 1, 1938. Jack was in his final year of his Mechanical Engineering co-op program, when the outbreak of war caused him to leave his duties with the chemical staff of the Imperial Oil Limited to enlist for overseas duty.

On September 3, 1939, Jack Wright, age 27, was mobilized into service with the Canadian Active Service Force (CASF) of the Canadian Army in Sarnia. Two days earlier, on September 1, German forces had swept into Poland in a “blitzkrieg” attack triggering the start of the Second World War. On September 3, Britain, Australia, New Zealand, and France declared war on Germany. On Sunday, September 10, Canada and Newfoundland declared war on Germany.

At his mobilization, Jack stood six feet tall, had hazel eyes and brown hair, was single, and recorded his occupation as engineer. He was residing at 409 Devine Street with his sister at the time. Completing his Officer’s Declaration Paper on September 3rd in Sarnia, he was given a commission as second lieutenant with the 11th Field Company, Royal Canadian Engineers, headquartered in Sarnia.

Wright received his army training in Sarnia and London, Ontario, as a member of the Royal Canadian Engineers (RCE). He was promoted to the rank of lieutenant with the RCE on November 27, 1939.

In February 1940, he was interviewed by a Major of the 11th Field Company with regard to his offer of active service with the Royal Canadian Engineers overseas. Jack was evaluated based on his previous military service, his education, his civil employment, and his references. A portion of the Major’s assessment included these remarks: This officer has gained excellent education, both in theory and practical engineering. He is industrious and very keen, and sound in handling men. He has proven himself to be a leader and to be very popular with his associates and men working under him. His habits of living are of a very high standard, also his character and reputation. I desire to highly recommend him for an appointment with a Field Company in the R.C.E., where in my opinion, he would prove himself to be a most capable officer.

In July of 1940, Jack spent his last furlough in Sarnia.

He embarked overseas from Halifax bound for the United Kingdom on August 22, 1940, as a member of the 11th Field Company, Royal Canadian Engineers (RCE), with the rank of lieutenant. Upon arrival at Greenock, Scotland, in the U.K., he was posted to Badajos House in Aldershot, England. In the spring of 1941, he was still serving in England.

It was during the time of the German Blitz—the nightly indiscriminate bombing of major British cities. After Hitler’s invasion plans failed, night and night, beginning on September 7, 1940, the Luftwaffe dropped tons of high explosives and lethal gas bombs on London, Coventry, and Plymouth. At one point, London, England, was bombed for 57 nights in a row. Britain’s wartime propaganda department created the catchphrase “Keep Calm and Carry On” and Londoners, for the most part, did exactly that.

On a Saturday night in March 1941, Lieutenant John “Jack” David Wright lost his life while in London, during a German bombing raid, a nightly occurrence at that time.

On March 8, 1941, Jack was visiting the popular Café de Paris jazz nightclub, in Leicester Square, London, with a group of Canadian friends, including Lieutenant Jack C. Clunie, son of Mr. and Mrs. H. Clunie of 218 Davis Street, Sarnia, and Canadian Nursing Sisters Thelma Stewart and Helen M. Stevens. Thelma and Helen were both physiotherapists stationed at No. 1 Canadian General Hospital in Birmingham. All were looking forward to an evening of fun and entertainment that the nightclub promised to offer. On that tragic night, both Sarnians would display acts of heroism.

During the Blitz, the Café de Paris was considered to be one of the safest places in the West End of London, due to the fact that the bulk of the club was located several floors underground in the basement below a theatre. In reality it was no safer than any other building in the neighbourhood. The club had an ordinary ceiling and, above that, only the glass roof of the Rialto theater. 

Built in 1924, years later, club owner Martin Poulsen had taken a threadbare and ill-maintained restaurant and had converted it into a trendy jazz club. Patrons enjoyed the club’s live music and the ambience of its luxurious interior modeled on the ill-fated ocean liner RMS Titanic. The Café de Paris was a famous landmark, and it featured performers like Marlene Dietrich, Cole Porter, Dorothy Dandridge, Aga Khan, and was where the Charleston was introduced to Londoners.

Poulsen billed his club as “the safest and gayest restaurant in town—even in air raids. Twenty feet underground.” While few restaurants and bars remained open for business in the West End, officials permitted Poulsen’s club to continue operating. With the Café de Paris being so far underground, they knew that none of the club’s lights would advertise its location to German pilots above.

On that Saturday night of March 8—the official start of London’s social season—the clear weather under a moon that was three-quarters full, enticed well-dressed young ladies and their gentlemen escorts in suits and uniforms to leave their homes to get out dancing and socializing. Local pundits termed it “Glitz in the Blitz.” The excellent weather was promising for German bombers too.

As darkness descended, across the city, anti-aircraft gunners and searchlight operators were preparing for a busy night. The club was already busy at 8:15 when the air raid sirens began to sound, just before waves of German bombers circled over the capital city. By 9:00, the Café de Paris was half full, and amidst the background noise of war taking place outside, people continued to drink, laugh, and dance. Mary Churchill at a nearby club (the daughter of PM Winston Churchill), could make out the muffled sounds of anti-aircraft bursts and exploding bombs, which she described as “odd bumps and thuds above our chatter and the music.”

At 9:45, popular bandleader Ken “Snakehips” Johnson arrived at the Café de Paris in his sleek tux and a red carnation. At 9:55, the popular West Indian bandleader took the stage and began conducting the band as it started to play the rousing jazz tune, “Oh Johnny, Oh Johnny, Oh!” Originally a hit in World War I, the fast-paced song had garnered renewed interest in 1939 with its re-release by the Andrews Sisters.

Jack Wright and his partner, 23-year-old nursing sister Thelma Stewart of Toronto, liked the song and continued dancing in the throng of 75 whirling couples. Jack Clunie and his partner, nursing sister Helen Stevens of Dunnville, Ontario, either didn’t care for the song or didn’t care to dance to it, so had left the dance floor and were sitting down at a table on the balcony overlooking the dance floor.

At 9:59, one bomb, weighing 110 pounds, fell through the thin roof of the Rialto theater, penetrated all the way to the basement dance floor of the Café de Paris. It landed in front of the stage and exploded on impact. Survivors later reported seeing a bright blue flash and then a cloud of dust and cordite in the coal-black darkness.

Jack Wright’s last actions were both instinctive and heroic—he threw his body across his dancing partner and took the brunt of the blast, and was killed as a result. Nursing sister Thelma Stewart was saved by his actions, suffering a hand injury that required hospitalization.

Nursing sister Helen Stevens later described what happened: The crash sounded like a bunch of firecrackers and stunned me for a few minutes. The whole place filled with smoke fumes. I thought at first it was gas. Lieutenant Wright shielded Miss Stewart as soon as he heard the bomb screaming. He died protecting the Canadian nurse.  

In seconds, the popular nightclub had become a nightmarish scene of carnage. Those who were dancing or playing in the band took the brunt of the blast. The force of the bomb sheared off the legs of dancers and killed people as they sat at tables ringing the dance floor, simultaneously tearing the cloths off their bodies. Moans and cries of help rippled in the darkness, and the dead and dying lay in heaps everywhere. In one pile of crumpled, lifeless bodies were Jack Wright, whose chest had been blown away; owner Martin Paulsen; and “Snakehips” Johnson, who had been decapitated in the blast. Broken furniture, instrument cases, and stage decorations had been hurled in all directions. A troupe of 10 cabaret dancers who were ready to entertain the crowd when “Oh Johnny” ended, survived the blast because they were waiting in the wings off stage when the bomb detonated.

Amid the ensuing chaos, Jack Clunie and his partner Helen Stevens, both dazed and injured themselves, administered first aid and helped to extricate the dead and injured for hours. They moved about the debris pouring champagne on the wounds of the injured as an antiseptic, bound gaping wounds with tablecloths and clothing, and put broken limbs in makeshift splints.

Miss Helen Stevens, 23, not a nurse, but a physiotherapist, disregarded her own injuries to tend to others. Afterwards, she said she had no thought of doing anything heroic: I did what any Canadian nurse would be proud to do. As Jack Clunie moved through the glimmering light, seeking injured under the debris, he found John Wright’s body. According to Helen Stevens Jack and those who helped were as cool as a Canadian spring breeze. They worked with might and main. It seemed to give me courage too. Jack Clunie was “mentioned in dispatches” for his work in the rescue operations.

Nursing Sister Helen Stevens, who lost several of her friends in the bombing, was given official recognition by the Canadian Army. Hailed by the press as a “Canadian heroine in London,” the military recorded her

distinguished conduct with these words: Miss Stevens, who was dining in the restaurant at the time, was slightly injured and considerably shaken by the explosions. However, she unhesitantly proceeded to render first aid to the injured amidst the scene of confusion and continued to do so for nearly an hour and a half. She was the last woman to leave the building and then only after other services had the situation in hand. Her conduct throughout merited the highest praise and is fully in accordance with the best traditions of the service. Miss Helen Stevens was the second Canadian woman to be mentioned in military orders.

Following is a story on Miss Helen Stevens published in the Ottawa Citizen on March 11, 1941, under the headline London Newspapers Praise Canadian Nurse’s Heroism:

A smiling Canadian brunette, Nursing Sister H.M Stevens of Dunnville, Ont., was hailed by London’s press today as a “Canadian heroine of London.” Miss Stevens distinguished herself Saturday night by rendering first aid to victims of the bombing of the Café de Paris by Nazi raiders.

Pictures of the smiling nurse appeared in all papers. The Daily Telegraph carried the story of her heroism under a heading: “Heroic Nurse in Restaurant” and told of the “devoted courage of a party of Canadians who were dancing at a London restaurant which was struck by a high explosive bomb Saturday night.

The Mirror ran a two-column story under the heading: “Nurse Was Bomb Heroine.” The Daily Herald called her “A Heroine of Restaurant Bombing.” The Daily Mail spoke of her as the “Last Dance Heroine.”

When the bombing concluded on March 8, German planes had dropped over 130,000 incendiary bombs and 130 tons of high explosives on London. An initial casualty count recorded that 34 people were killed and at least 80 were wounded in the bomb explosion of the Café de Paris. In the days following, London civil defense authorities cited March 8 as “the worst raid since January.” London newspapers gave accounts and pictures of the bombing. The papers gave great credit to the valour of Lieutenant John Wright in giving his life in an effort to shield from injury Nursing Sister Thelma Stewart. Credit was also given to Lieutenant Jack Clunie and Nursing Sister Helen Stevens, who attended the wounded.

Ottawa-born Ross Munro, a prominent war correspondent in London, had interviewed Helen Stevens for the British press on the day after the explosion. Two years later, they wed in England and returned to Canada after the war. In a nearby hospital on the night of the bombing, medical staff amputated one of Thelma Stewart’s fingers and treated her for a slight back injury. After convalescing for two nights, she was released and returned to work. The following December, she married Canadian surgeon, John Dickison, in Horsham, England. After the war, the couple settled in Montreal and were parents to three children. She enjoyed a full and happy life until 1983, when at the age of 65, Thelma passed away after a brief illness.

Jack Clunie returned to Sarnia after the war and eventually settled in the United States. A highly respected research chemist and teacher, Dr. Jack Clunie died in 2016 at the age of 98.

Jack Wright and three others (Captain Philip Seagram of Toronto; Corporal G.W. Quinn of Pembroke; and Sergeant R.A. Bradshaw of Ottawa) were killed in the cabaret explosion, and many others were wounded. Captain Philip Seagram, who was killed in the tragedy, was well known to a number of Sarnians. He was a member of Lieutenant-General MacNaughton’s headquarters staff and a particular friend of Lieutenant M.J. Chilton and Mrs. Chilton of Sarnia.                                                                                                                                           

On March 9, 1941, Jack Wright’s sister, Elizabeth Mary (Mrs. Howard Vince) at 409 Devine Street in Sarnia, received the following telegram from the Officer of Records in Ottawa: REGRET DEEPLY LIEUTENANT JOHN DAVID WRIGHT OFFICIALLY REPORTED KILLED ENEMY ACTION MARCH EIGHTH FURTHER INFORMATION FOLLOWS WHEN RECEIVED.

Jack’s aunt, Mrs. Margaret Crozier, was also residing at 409 Devine Street at the time of his death. The Commanding Officer of the local garrison, Lieutenant-Colonel S.G. Stokes of the 2-11th Field Company, (Reserve) Royal Canadian Engineers, organized a local memorial service for Lieutenant Wright, “because of the heroic aspects of his death.”

Jack Wright’s death was later officially recorded as Overseas casualty, killed due to war operations (enemy action), Charing Cross Hospital, London, England.

In mid-March 1941, Elizabeth Mary Vince received the following letter from the Major, District Chaplain, Headquarters in London, Ontario about her brother:

Dear Mrs. Vince:

            The District Officer Commanding, Brigadier D.J. MacDonald, has asked me to convey to you his sincere sympathy in the death of your brother, Lieut. D.J. Wright, as the result of a bombing raid on London, England.

            I would also add to the Brigadier’s sympathy that of all the staff of this military headquarters. We had a high regard for your brother and his loss is keenly felt by us all. May I add my personal sympathy to you.

In early April 1941, Jack Wright’s relatives in Sarnia received a letter from Lieutenant Arthur Hueston of a Western Ontario Regiment. Hueston had witnessed the large military funeral accorded Jack Wright in England on March 12, 1941. His flag-draped casket was borne on a gun carriage hauled by a military truck. After a church service that was attended by virtually all the officers and men from Sarnia who were in the area, Jack’s remains were buried in Brookwood Military Cemetery. Among those there were Lieutenants Jack Clunie, Howard Stuart, Colin Hunter, Jack Williams, Walter Claxton, Tom Richardson, Bill Craig, Charles Kennedy, Tom Doherty, Bill Ewener, and Ken Hunter; Captains Frank Payne, Charles Wrenshall, Charles Kindersley; and Major Eric Harris. The cemetery for Canadian war dead contained graves marked by the conventional simple white crosses at that time.

In September 1946, the Colonel, Director of Records, for Adjutant-General sent Elizabeth a photograph of the grave and marker over the burial place in Brookwood Cemetery in Surrey, England of her late and only brother.

Lieutenant John “Jack” Wright, 28, is buried in Brookwood Military Cemetery, Surrey, United Kingdom, Grave 30.C.1. His name is also inscribed on the Sarnia Refinery Plaque. Unveiled in 1949, the plaque has the names of 24 Sarnia Imperial Oil employees who made the ultimate sacrifice in World War II.

Source: The Sarnia War Remembrance Project by Tom Slater

Editors: Tom St. Amand and Lou Giancarlo

More information on this soldier is available in

Valour Remembered: Sarnia-Lambton War Stories by Tom Slater and Tom St. Amand

Isaac “Bucky” Zierler was born in Sarnia on March 20, 1922, the son of Abraham and Leah (nee Rathman) Zierler. Abraham and Leah Zierler were both born in Galicia, Poland, and were married on June 11, 1911, in Kalusz, Poland. Thirty-two-year-old Abraham Zierler, born about 1889, and Leah immigrated to Canada aboard SS Canada and arrived in Quebec on September 18, 1921. They had no money but were determined to make a home in Canada. Abraham’s brother had paid his passage over and he arrived with only $20.00. Determined to reside with his brother, Max, in Sarnia, Abraham found work as a farm labourer and eventually made it to Sarnia to join Max at 145 Front Street.

Abraham eventually became a furniture merchant in Sarnia where Leah and he raised their three sons: Isaac, David Solomen, and Samuel. Tragically, Samuel drowned when he was 14 years old. The Zierler family resided at 233 Davis Street and provided much for their children. Isaac was educated in Sarnia, where he attended Wellington Street (1927-1929); George Street (1929-1931); and Lochiel Street (1931-1934) public elementary schools. He then attended Sarnia Collegiate Institute from 1934 to 1939. Isaac was very active in sports, especially boxing, rugby and basketball, along with baseball, hockey, golf, lacrosse, tennis, swimming and riding. His hobby was music.

In 1939, Isaac attended the University of Toronto in the Commerce and Finance Program. At university, he was extremely busy. He played rugby, was the Athletic Director at the University College and was the president of his Pi Lambda Phi Fraternity. He won the Reverend Cody Award for his athletic achievements and the Jewish Gold Key Award of the Jewish Inter-Fraternity Council for his “scholarship, leadership, character and games” and for being an outstanding scholar and athlete among the fraternity men on campus.

From September to November 1942, Isaac served with the Canadian Officers Training Corps (C.O.T.C.), the University of Toronto contingent, where he attained the rank of sergeant. He had a number of jobs before enlisting that included being a porter on the Noronic, Canada Steamship Lines in the summer of 1940; working as an accounting clerk with Imperial Oil Limited in Sarnia in the summer of 1942; and finding other jobs during summer and Christmas vacations such as being a store cashier/clerk and truck driver.

In June 1943, Isaac, 20, was expected to earn his Bachelor of Commerce degree after four years at U of T, but he enlisted in the Royal Canadian Air Force on January 7, 1943, in Toronto. He stood five feet nine inches tall, had hazel eyes and dark brown hair, was single, and was residing at 158 St. George Street in Toronto at the time as a graduate student (though he recorded his permanent address as 233 Davis Street, Sarnia). He stated his motivators for serving included his friends and his eagerness to fly. He requested flying duties. His plan for after the war was to take post-graduate work at U. of T., leading to work in the field of personnel management.

From the Recruiting Centre in Toronto, he was posted to #1 Manning Depot in Toronto; and then #9 Pre-Aircrew Education Detachment (PAED) at McGill University. He began his air training at #3 Initial Training Centre (ITS) in Victoriaville, Quebec; and then at #4 Air Observer School (AOS) in London, Ontario. Isaac Zierler was awarded his Navigator’s Badge and commission as a Pilot Officer on January 28, 1944 at #4AOS. Isaac then received a 14-day pre-embarkation leave. In mid-February 1944, he was stationed at #2 Aircrew Graduate Training School (AGTS) in Quebec. The next month, he was posted to #1 Y Depot in Lachine, Quebec.

Isaac embarked overseas from Halifax bound for the United Kingdom on April 29, 1944. Arriving on May 7, he was initially posted to #3 Personnel Reception Centre. In mid-May 1944, Isaac sent his mother Leah a Mother’s Day greeting from overseas. The next month, he was transferred to #8 (Observers) Advanced Flying Unit (AFU), and a month later in mid-July, he was transferred to #24 Operational Training Unit (OTU). In October 1944, he was transferred to #1664 Conversion Unit (CU). Less than three months later, on January 6, 1945, Isaac became a member of RCAF #433 Porcupine Squadron “Qui S’y Frotte S’y Pique” (Who opposes it gets hurt), part of Bomber Command, with the rank of flying officer-navigator.

During the course of the war, one of this country’s most significant contributions was the approximately 50,000 Canadians who served with the RCAF and RAF in Bomber Command operations. Next to Britain, Canada was the largest contributor to Bomber Command, making up more than a third of all of Bomber Command personnel. The men who served in Bomber Command faced some of the most difficult odds of anyone fighting in the war.

RCAF #433 Squadron, part of No. 6 (RCAF) Group, was formed on September 25, 1943, at RAF Skipton-on-Swale, Yorkshire, England. The squadron acquired the nickname “Porcupine” because the unit was adopted by the Porcupine District of Northern Ontario. Originally equipped with Handley Page Halifax aircraft, in January 1945, the squadron converted to Avro Lancaster aircraft, the British four-engine heavy bomber.

In early March 1945, Isaac Zierler sent his mother Leah a bouquet of flowers.

The following month, on April 10, Isaac Zierler was killed in action while a member of the crew aboard Lancaster MK. I aircraft PB903 (markings BM-F). The aircraft took off from Skipton-on-Swale at 13.13 hours to carry out a late-day bombing mission detailed to attack the Engelsdorf and Mockau railway yards in Leipzig, Germany. On that evening, their Lancaster was hit by predicted flak as it approached the aiming point of their target over Leipzig. The starboard inner engine caught fire, but instantly being feathered, the crew extinguished the fire immediately. Witnesses saw the Lancaster lose height to starboard when an explosion flipped the aircraft on its back. The Lancaster then spiralled into the ground, whereupon the bomb load exploded, approximately 15 miles north of Leipzig. Witnesses saw no one parachute from the aircraft.

On April 13, 1945, Abraham and Leah in Sarnia received the following telegram from Ottawa: REGRET TO ADVISE THAT YOUR SON FLYING OFFICER ISAAC ZIERLER J FOUR NOUGHT EIGHT NINE NOUGHT IS REPORTED MISSING BELIEVED KILLED RESULTS AIR OPERATIONS OVERSEAS APRIL TENTH STOP PLEASE ACCEPT MY SINCERE SYMPATHY STOP LETTER FOLLOWS.

Less than one month after the Zierlers received this disturbing telegram, the war in Europe ended. Perishing with Isaac Zierler were P/Os Francis Gerald Seeley, Joseph Michael Hirak, and David William Roberts; F/Os William Gordon McLeod and Robert James Grisdale; and Sgt. Walter Alfred James Thurston (RAF).

Isaac Zierler’s death was later officially recorded as Previously reported missing after air operations, now for official purposes, presumed dead, overseas (Germany). In June 1947, Abraham and Leah Zierler received a War Service Gratuity of $383.98 for the loss of their son.

Isaac “Buck” Zierler, 23, is buried in Berlin 1939-1945 War Cemetery, Germany, Grave 8.F.9.

Isaac Buck Zierler and thirteen other local men had their names engraved on a plaque honouring fourteen Jewish members of the armed services from Sarnia. The plaque was unveiled in the Ahavas Isaac Synagogue, Davis Street, Sarnia on March 30, 1945. The men honoured on the plaque were all from Sarnia: M. Berger, S. Bernard, R. Heller, I. Haber, M. Kirk, Dr. I. Mann, A. Rosen, G. Shabsove, M. Skosov, Mitchell Smith, Murray Smith, L. Swartz, I.B. Zierler, Isaac Zierler. Three of the men–Isaac Buck Zierler, Max Berger and Mitchell Smith–made the supreme sacrifice. Isaac Zierler is also honoured in the memorial book “Canadian Jews in World War II”.

SOURCES: A, B, C, D, E, F, G, J, L, M, N, 2C, 2D, 3J, 4B, 6O, 7C, 8X, 8Y, 10B, 10U

Source: The Sarnia War Remembrance Project by Tom Slater

Editors: Tom St. Amand and Lou Giancarlo