Canada Kicks Ass
Trying to trace a grand uncle's voyage after D-Day.

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ShepherdsDog @ Sat Jun 06, 2015 4:23 pm

He was one of those who died without sharing too much info about his walking tour of Europe. He wept inconsolably when he had a few drinks and tried to talk about it. My cousins( my mother's actually) are trying to trace events from the D-day landings through France and Germany. He started in the Winnipeg Rifles and was transferred to the Lorne Scots. he survived the war, but lost his final battle with cancer.

   



Jabberwalker @ Sat Jun 06, 2015 5:20 pm

The Lorne Scots is our local regiment.

Is there anything archival that I can ask about on your behalf? I know the QOR's historian personally and he would be able to guide me to the right people.

   



Thanos @ Sat Jun 06, 2015 5:57 pm

If he was in the Rifles he would have been involved in all of the horror show around Caen, Falaise, and the Scheldt, which is enough to explain why he ended up with what sounds like some pretty severe PTSD.

   



ShepherdsDog @ Sat Jun 06, 2015 6:49 pm

One of my cousin has a few of his letters written while he was walking east, so I think they might have the unit info there.

   



martin14 @ Sat Jun 06, 2015 10:24 pm

ShepherdsDog ShepherdsDog:
He was one of those who died without sharing too much info about his walking tour of Europe. He wept inconsolably when he had a few drinks and tried to talk about it. My cousins( my mother's actually) are trying to trace events from the D-day landings through France and Germany. He started in the Winnipeg Rifles and was transferred to the Lorne Scots. he survived the war, but lost his final battle with cancer.



That might be more difficult than at first thought.

$1:
The Lorne Scots was one of the first regiments to be mobilized in the Second World War but never served as a cohesive regiment. Instead, members of the Regiment were organized into defence platoons and attached to various brigade, division and army headquarters.

Members of The Lorne Scots served in every theatre of war in which Canada fought with the exception of Hong Kong. A platoon of Lornes served with the Queen's Own Rifles of Canada at the capture of Boulogne. Fifty percent of the platoon was killed or captured. Other platoons took part on the raid at Dieppe and landed on the beaches of Sicily. Since the war, .



Best would be to start with his service record.

   



Thanos @ Sat Jun 06, 2015 11:04 pm

They certainly didn't do Shep's relative any favours if they sent him to Italy after his service in Normandy. The main effort might have been in France but that Italian campaign didn't get any easier for the Allies after Rome was taken. Still a damn hard fight, made even worse as men and equipment were taken out of Italy and sent to France in the last few months of the war.

   



Jabberwalker @ Sun Jun 07, 2015 5:52 am

martin14 martin14:
ShepherdsDog ShepherdsDog:
He was one of those who died without sharing too much info about his walking tour of Europe. He wept inconsolably when he had a few drinks and tried to talk about it. My cousins( my mother's actually) are trying to trace events from the D-day landings through France and Germany. He started in the Winnipeg Rifles and was transferred to the Lorne Scots. he survived the war, but lost his final battle with cancer.



That might be more difficult than at first thought.

$1:
The Lorne Scots was one of the first regiments to be mobilized in the Second World War but never served as a cohesive regiment. Instead, members of the Regiment were organized into defence platoons and attached to various brigade, division and army headquarters.

Members of The Lorne Scots served in every theatre of war in which Canada fought with the exception of Hong Kong. A platoon of Lornes served with the Queen's Own Rifles of Canada at the capture of Boulogne. Fifty percent of the platoon was killed or captured. Other platoons took part on the raid at Dieppe and landed on the beaches of Sicily. Since the war, .



Best would be to start with his service record.


That's interesting because even to this day, the Lorne Scots are split up into small, local "micro armouries" in several towns (The armoury here in downtown Oakville is the smallest Armoury in NATO, they proudly proclaim.) They are also attached to the Argyll and Sutherland's in Hamilton and probably still with the nearby Queen's Own Rifles, too. There is a Lorne Scots battle standard hanging in a local old Anglican church with a Lorne Scot shield included in one of the stain glass windows, yet they are never there, have nothing whatsoever to do with that church, have never trooped their old colors.

It's a funny sort of chopped up regiment, yet still very much alive.

   



martin14 @ Sun Jun 07, 2015 10:42 am

Regina Regina:
Service records is your first stop. Once you get that them you may be able to trace his steps through the fight in the actual regimental history which is also available in detail.



That was exactly my point.

The regimental history may not show much, if they were always split up into
platoons or at best company level.
One platoon in Italy, one in France, one in Holland, etc.

There might not even be much of a regimental history. :|

   



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