Pegasus Bridge ...
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The battle for the bridges crossing the Caen Canal and the Orne River were the first objectives of the 6th British Airborne Division in the early hours of D-Day. Codenamed Operation Deadstick the aim of the mission was to secure exit routes for Allied forces from the beaches, and to prevent a German counter-attack.
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| RAF Harwell June 5th, paratroopers from the British 6th Airborne Division, waiting and preparing to be dropped into Normandy |
On the
night of 5 June 1944, a force of 181 men commanded by Major John Howard, took
off from RAF Tarrant Rushton in Dorset, aboard six Airspeed Horsa gliders towed by Halifax
bombers. The assault group was made up of men from D Company second airborne
battalion together with the Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire light infantry. The
gliders reached their targets shortly after midnight and took Germans
completely by surprise. After 10 minutes of fierce fighting Pegasus Bridge (named after the 6th Airborne insignia) and the nearby Horsa Bridge (named after the Horsa gliders that carried the men into battle) were captured. The bridges had
been prepared by the enemy for demolition, ultimately all the unset charges
were removed by Royal Engineers. It was therefore just 90 minutes after taking
off from England, Major Howard was able to issue the codewords Ham and Jam, signaling that both bridges had been secured intact.
The original bridge which was replaced in 1994 by the wider and stronger structure, now resides in the grounds of the Pegasus Museum, which was inaugurated by the then Prince of Wales on 4 June 2000.
The original bridge in the grounds of the Pegasus Museum ...
Pegasus Bridge June 1944 ...
Words written by Len Buckley of the Parachute Regiment ~
“We landed about 40 minutes after midnight, just about 70 yards from the bridge. After brief rendezvous in an orchard nearby, we had to go at the double to relieve the Ox & Bucks who had already taken the bridge. They had obviously had quite a fire-fight; we passed an armoured half-track on fire. Hit by a PIAT, the vehicle was exploding all over the place as its ammunition went off. Under pressure, we held the bridge from enemy counter attacks but I took a bullet which was deflected off the butt of my sten gun and then passed right through my elbow. If it wasn’t for that Sten, I would have got it in the chest. I was pretty lucky. They evacuated me back to the beach, through a casualty clearing tent and onto a LCT (Landing Craft Tank). There we were strafed by two German fighters – machine gun bullets hitting all around. The chap next to me was killed, but I was fine. Once again, I couldn’t believe my luck.”
During this early action of D-Day, the first house on French soil, Cafe Gondree, was liberated. Close by the first British soldier of the Normandy invasion was killed in action ~ Lieutenant Herbert Denham Brotheridge, he was mortally wounded by gunfire as he made a grenade attack on a machine gun position.
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Café Gondree on the left |
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| Café Gondree in the centre background |
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| Café Gondree can be seen on the left beyond the crashed glider |
The grave of Lieutenant Herbert Denham Brotheridge, the first British soldier killed in the Normandy invasion …
Lieutenant
Herbert Denham (Den) Brotheridge was born on 8 December 1915, the son of
Herbert Charles and Lilian Brotheridge, of Smethwick, Staffordshire. Educated
at Smethwick Technical College, he was a keen sportsman playing football for
Aston Villa Colts and cricket for Mitchell and Butlers, of Smethwick. He later
became a weights and measures inspector for Aylesbury Borough Council. He married Margaret (Maggie) Plant on 30 August 1940.
"Den" was commissioned into the Ox and Bucks Light Infantry in July 1942 and quickly became a popular member of his unit. At 00.16 hours on 6th June, his glider landed less than 50 feet from Pegasus Bridge. He was hit by machine gun fire while leading his platoon in the first charge of the day. He was taken to the Casualty Collection Post but died moments later aged 29. His wife Maggie gave birth to their daughter Margaret 19 days later.
Chosen by his wife, the personal message inscribed on his gravestone at Ranville Churchyard reads ~
“OUT OF THE BITTERNESS OF WAR, HE FOUND THE
PERFECT PEACE”.
Lieutenant
Brotheridge was recommended for a Distinguished Service Order (DSO), but
later his actions were recognized by a Mention in Dispatches which was
confirmed in the London Gazette on 28 September 1944. The citation reads ~
"Lieutenant
Brotheridge's Company was selected to take part in a coup de main assault by
glider to seize the bridge over the Caen Canal at Bénouville on 6th June 1944.
His glider crash landed close to strong enemy defences and some of the men were
too stunned to get out quickly. Lieutenant Brotheridge, however, rallied the
remainder and led them over the bridge in the face of superior numbers of enemy, who were entrenched on the far bank with machine guns sited to fire on the
bridge itself. Lieutenant Brotheridge showed the highest qualities of
leadership and bravery and his outstanding example and dash was responsible for
getting his men across and seizing the bridge intact - a vital factor in the
success of the airborne plan."
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| Lieutenant Herbert Denham Brotheridge the first Allied serviceman killed on D-Day |
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| Lieutenant Herbert Denham Brotheridge with his wife Maggie on their wedding day |
The churchyard at Ranville contains 47 Commonwealth burials, one of which is unidentified and one German grave.
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| Ranville Churchyard "Known Unto God" |
Ranville Churchyard unknown German grave
Below is a video from 2019 by the Imperial War Museum titled “Operation Deadstick” about the airborne assault on Pegasus Bridge, click on the image or the link ~
The British
designated Sword Beach, as the easternmost beach of the five landing areas of
the Normandy Invasion was assaulted by units of the British 3rd Division, with
French and British commandos attached. It was divided by Allied planners into
four sectors named (from west to east) Oboe, Peter, Queen and Roger. The D-Day objectives
for those landing on Sword, were to push across the beach and pass through
Ouistreham to capture Caen and the important Carpiquet airfield nearby. The
attached commandos, under Simon Fraser, Lord Lovat, had the mission of pushing
some 5km (3 miles) inland towards the Orne River and Caen Canal bridges (Pegasus
and Horsa), where they were to link up with the airborne forces.
The beach occupied an 8km (5 mile) stretch of the Normandy coastline from Lion-sur-Mer on the west to the city of Ouistreham, at the mouth of the Orne River, at the east. It was also approximately 15 km (9 miles) north of the hub city of Caen, a key transportation city for the Germans and an intended one for Allies.
The Germans
had fortified the area with relatively light defenses consisting of beach
obstacles and fortified emplacements in the sand dunes. For the most part, the
defense of the beach was anchored on 75-mm guns located at the coastal town of
Merville, some 8 km (5 miles) to the east.
The invading forces landed at 07.25 hours on D-Day and were greeted with moderate fire. By 13.00 hours the commandos had achieved their most important objective; they had linked up with airborne troops at the Pegasus and Horsa Bridges. On the right flank the British had been unable to link up with Canadian forces from Juno Beach. At 16.00 hours tank forces and mechanized infantry units from the 21st Panzer Division launched the only serious German D-Day counterattack at Sword Beach. The 192nd Panzer Grenadier Regiment reached the beach at 20.00 hours, but the division’s 98 panzers were halted by antitank weapons, air strikes and Allied tanks ~ the counterattack was stopped.
Sword Beach 6th June 1944 ...
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| HMS Warspite shelling German positions at Sword Beach |
A video from the Imperial War Museum of the landings on Sword Beach, click on the image or the link ~
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cpU9Bcz6rBA
Private Bill Millin the D-Day Piper at Sword Beach ...
While the
crackle of gunfire and rumble of explosions filled the ears of those landing on
the Normandy beaches on D-Day morning, the men on Sword beach heard another
noise, one that would lift their spirits in their most fearful hour ~ the sound of bagpipes.
Around
08:20am, 21-year-old Private Bill Millin of the 1st Special Service Brigade
Commandos, stepped off his landing craft and into the icy waters of the English
Channel. The man next to him was shot in the face and was killed instantly, his body
dropping into the sea and sinking below. Dressed in his father’s WWI kilt and
armed only with a ceremonial dagger, Millin began wading through the waist-deep
water towards the shore. As he did, he started playing “Hielan’ Laddie” on his
bagpipes, which I reckon was perhaps to be the deadliest performance of his life.
Born in
Regina, Saskatchewan on 14th July 1922, Millin spent his first few years in
Canada before his Scottish father returned to Glasgow to become a policeman. At
the age of 12, he began to learn the bagpipes, at 17 he joined the
Territorial Army in Fort William, before going on to play the pipes for several
Scottish battalions prior to joining the Commandos.
During training, Millin was appointed the personal piper to the eccentric but brilliant military commander Brigadier Simon Fraser, the heredity chief of the Clan Fraser and the 15th Lord Lovat. It was the 32-year-old Lovat who asked Millin to play the pipes as they stormed Sword Beach on D-Day. This was totally against army regulations, pipers had been banned from the frontline during WWII, due to their high number of their casualties in WWI, when they had made easy targets. When Millin reminded Lord Lovat of the rules, he replied, “Ah, but that’s the English War Office. You and I are both Scottish and that doesn’t apply.” ~ so Millin knew he had a job to do, one that he did bravely and wholeheartedly.
After the
first tune had been completed, Lovat asked Millin to move into a rendition of “Road
to the Isles”, which he did while slowly walking up and down the Sword Beach,
lifting the spirits of those around him. Some even stopped what they were doing
to wave their arms and cheer him on, while one soldier yelled out “mad bastard.”
~ the legend of the “mad piper” had been born. In the end, it was those pipes
that kept Millin alive, and the reason he survived that day without a scratch on
him ~ two captured German snipers would reveal later via a translator why the
piper on the beach had not been shot at ~ they said it was because they thought
he was “dummkopf” ~ a foolhardy idiot.
Bill Millin
died on 17 August 2010 ~ you have to fully admire that wonderful fearless Scottish
culture …!!!
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| Bill Millin as he was in 1944 and then years later on Sword Beach |
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| Bill Millin in the foreground about to exit the Landing Craft while holding his Bagpipes |
Juno Beach ...
Juno Beach the second beach from the east among the five landing areas of the Normandy invasion, was the responsibility of units from the Canadian 3rd Infantry
Division. The landings were aided by sea transport, mine sweeping, and a naval
bombardment forces provided by the Royal Canadian Navy and the Royal Navy, as
well as elements from the Free French, Norwegian, and other Allied navies. The
Canadians took heavy casualties in the first wave but by the end of the day
succeeded in wresting control of the area from defending German troops.
The beach landing area approximately 10km (6 miles) wide and stretched on either side of the small
fishing port of Courseulles-sur-Mer. Two smaller villages, Bernières and
Saint-Aubin, lay to the east of Courseulles. Smaller coastal villages lay
behind the sand dunes and had been fortified by the occupying Germans with
casemates and adjacent fighting positions.
The beach
was divided by the Allied command into two designated assault sectors: Nan
(comprising Red, White, and Green sections) to the east and Mike (made up of
Red and White sections) to the west The objectives of the Canadians on D-Day, were to cut the
Caen-Bayeux road, seize the Carpiquet airport west of Caen, and form a link
between the two British beaches of Gold and Sword on either side of Juno Beach.
The first
assault wave landed at 07.55 hours fully three hours after the optimum rising
tide. The beach obstacles were already partially submerged, therefore the engineers
were unable to clear paths to the beach. As a result the landing craft were forced to feel their way in, the mines below took a heavy toll. Roughly 30
percent of the landing craft at Juno were destroyed or damaged. As the first
wave troops waded ashore and worked their way through the obstacles, they took
dreadful losses, the chance of becoming a casualty in that first
hour was almost 1 in 2. By mid-morning, hard fighting had brought the town of
Bernières into Canadian hands and later Saint-Aubin was occupied. Progress
inland past towns and villages was good, aided by armoured units arriving in later waves.
By evening the 3rd Division had linked up with the British 50th Division from Gold Beach to the west, but to the east the Canadians were unable to make contact with the British 3rd Division from Sword Beach—leaving a gap of 3km (2 miles) into which elements of the German 21st Panzer Division counterattacked.
Juno Beach 6th June 1944 ...
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| German POWs on June Beach |
The Juno Beach Centre ...
For many
years, I had followed with tremendous interest the progress in the
establishment of the Juno Beach Centre, so today it good to finally tick this location off my Bucket List.
The Juno
Beach Centre is Canada’s WWII museum and cultural centre located in
Courseulles-sur-Mer, situated just behind Juno Beach. The centre pays homage to
the 45000 Canadians who lost their lives during WWII, of which 5500 were killed
during the Battle of Normandy. Opened on June 6, 2003 by veterans and
volunteers with a vision to create a permanent memorial to all Canadians who
served during WWII, a mandate to preserve their legacy for future
generations through education and remembrance. The project began initially as a
grassroots fundraising campaign which eventually gained the financial support of
many institutions, businesses and with Canadian and French governments at
many levels
Maison de Queen's Own Rifles of Canada (Canada House) ...
Canada
House was liberated by Queen's Own Rifles of Canada, who within the first few
minutes of the landings, lost over 100 men killed or wounded within its sight
at Juno Beach. It may also have been the first house liberated by any of the seaborne
forces on D-Day.
For over 90
years, this grand two-storey home had sat alone on the beach in the village of
Bernières-sur-Mer, looking out towards England across the English Channel. It
was not built by Canadians and Canadians do not own it, but on June 6 1944, it
became a part of Canadian military history. From Juno Beach the soldiers of the
Queen’s Own Rifles opened fire on it, pushing out the German soldiers who had
claimed the house as their own. It became a landmark for the Canadian troops, because to almost every one of them who landed on Juno Beach, the large timber
home was their first view of France, which could be seen clearly from the approaching
landing crafts.
One month after the soldiers had landed on Juno Beach, several men from the Queen’s Own Rifles went back to the location to pay tribute to their friends who had died. The soldiers laid flowers on the temporary graves near the house. Today the Canada House receives thousands of visitors each year and stands as a landmark to the Canadian sacrifice in Normandy, a place where people can remember the Canadians who helped liberate the people of France.
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| The temporary Canadian graves near Maison de Queen's Own Rifles of Canada |
Today’s visit to Pegasus Bridge, Sword and Juno Beaches, ended with me paying my respects, at two of the cemeteries where most of those who died during the airborne assault on Pegasus, and the beach landings at Sword and Juno are buried.
Ranville War Cemetery ...
Ranville
was the first village to be liberated in France, when the bridges over the Caen
Canal (Pegasus and Horsa Bridges) were captured intact during the early hours of 6 June, by
troops of the British 6th Airborne Division, who landed nearby by parachute and
glider. Many of the division's casualties are buried in Ranville War Cemetery
and the adjoining Ranville churchyard.
The
cemetery contains 2236 Commonwealth burials of which 90 are unidentified. There
are also 323 German graves and a few burials of other nationalities.
German graves at Ranville War Cemetery ...
Private Robert Edward Johns buried at Ranville War Cemetery, was the youngest British Paratrooper killed in Normandy and is possibly the youngest British serviceman to die during WWII.
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The family inscription on his gravestone ~ HE DIED AS HE LIVED, FEARLESSLY |
Private Robert E. Johns was the son of William Henry and
Daisy Nellie Johns (nee Searle), of Stamshaw, Portsmouth. He was born in
Portsmouth in 1927 and had at least four other siblings. He was the youngest
British paratrooper to drop into Normandy on the night of 5/6 June ahead of
the main invasion force.
A tall well-built teenager, Robert, known as “Bobby” to
his comrades, enlisted at just 14, lying about his true age while running away
from his Portsmouth home. Bobby’s actions terrified his parents Henry and
Daisy, they were still mourning the death of his older brother William (Royal
Navy) ~ his submarine HMS Narwhal was bombed in the North Sea in July
1940.
Distraught at the disappearance of their son, Bobby’s
parents contacted his friends, the police, and the local authorities to no
avail. They finally filed an “underage enlistment” report, which prompted The
War Office to begin an investigation. However, with the rapid planning and
preparation for D-Day, such a request was not high on the military authority’s
agenda.
Meanwhile, Bobby had volunteered for the Parachute Regiment.
He successfully passed the jump course during January 1944 and was posted to ‘A’
Company, 13th (2/4th South Lancashire) Battalion. His instructors reported that
he was “the youngest pupil on the course and the best performer” At the age of
just 15 he earned his paratroopers’ wings, then not long afterwards he saw action.
After taking part in the D-Day landings, the battalion
remained highly active in Normandy. By late July, 13th they were engaged in the
6th Airborne defence of Le Mesnil crossroads. Major David Reynolds described
this action as being “at the forefront of the main effort to prevent a German
counter-attack”. The 13th Para Battalion War Diary for 23 July 1944 recorded ~ “The
enemy was very sensitive all day and fired on the least provocation. 'C' Coy were unfortunate in sustaining a
number of casualties from enemy mortar fire. As a result of very accurate fire
from 50mm and 81mm mortars on their forward positions, two casualties resulted ~ one of which was Bobby."
Major Jack Watson, A Company Commander, said of Bobby ~ "He was quite a big lad when he did his training, and it was only when he died that we found out he had lied about his age."
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| Bobby with his mother |
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| Ranville War Cemetery ~ Bobby's parents at his grave |
A CWGC video about Ranville War Cemetery, click on the image or link ...
Bény-sur-Mer Canadian War
Cemetery ...
The cemetery lies at the top of a gently rising hill overlooking the landing zones assigned to the 3rd Canadian Infantry Division and its supporting units on June 6th, 1944.
Many of the men who fell on Juno Beach and in the bitter battles that followed are buried in Beny-sur-Mer Canadian War Cemetery. The site was created after the war as a permanent resting place for Canadian soldiers, who had been temporarily interred in smaller plots close to where they fell. Within the perimeter wall lie 2044 Canadians, 3 British and one Frenchman. Sadly nineteen gravestones that bear the maple leaf, have the simple inscription ~ “A soldier of the Second World War, A Canadian Regiment, Known into God”
Below are two videos by the CWGC
about Bény-sur-Mer Canadian War Cemetery, click on the image or links ~
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fAmevYcEp1Y
Some of my thoughts about Canada in Normandy and it’s WWI and WWII legacy ....
As the summer of 1944 fades from living memory into history, memorials preserving the record of Canada's part in the Normandy battles, have come to stand among the monuments of other ages in this deeply historical region of France. I have read about the plaque honouring servicemen from Ontario affixed to the 12th-century Chapelle St- Georges in Caen. Cairns in village squares that commemorate Canadian soldiers and regiments, the local signs inscribed Rue de Colonel Charles Petch (of the North Nova Scotia Highlanders), Avenue des Glengarriens, Impasse des Regina Rifles, which mark roads and laneways. There are many other memorials, such as the one to the murdered Canadian POWs at Abbaye Ardenne, the decimation of The Black Watch at Verrières Ridge and the fate of the British Columbia and Algonquin regiments at Estrées-la-Campagne.
It is similar to what I saw last year while at the battlefields of the Great War in The Somme and Flanders, Canadians are not forgotten, the memory of the WWI campaigns they fought, and the huge sacrifices they made, are etched forever in the stone of grand monuments that rise so abruptly from bright green rolling landscapes.
Carved below the national emblem
on a Canadian war gravestone, as in all Commonwealth graves, is a sequence of details which identifies each soldier;
service number, rank, name, regiment, date of death and in most cases their age. The
gravestone also contains space for a cross to be engraved below those details,
but if a soldier had indicated no religious affiliation, or if the family so
wished, the religious symbol was omitted. Families also had the option to choose
or compose a personal inscription, not to exceed 66 characters, to serve as a
last farewell.
The gravestones reveal different degrees of loss. Some note the death of only one son, in the instance of an only child, whereas others bear witness to the compounded tragedy suffered by a distressingly high number of families. No less than 12 pairs of brothers lie buried in Bény-sur-Mer War Cemetery, a total of double bereavement unmatched in any other Commonwealth cemetery of WWII. Six families had to cope with the loss of two sons on the same day in the same action. The Westlake family of Toronto lost one son on June 7, and two more just four days later. The tally does not end there, five soldiers in Bény-sur-Mer War Cemetery have a brother buried in one of the other Normandy cemeteries; eight have brothers at rest in Italy, Belgium or The Netherlands. One family, the Wagners of Teeterville, Ontario, has a son buried in Bény-sur-Mer War, a second son on the road to Falaise in the Bretteville-sur-Laize Canadian War Cemetery, and a third in the Groesbeek Canadian War Cemetery in The Netherlands. Another family, the Lanteignes of Caraquet, New Brunswick lost three sons between June 12 and September 15, 1944., one buried in Bény-sur-Mer War Cemetery, the second in Bretteville-sur-Laize, and a third in the Coriano Ridge War Cemetery in Italy. The Kimmels of Milner, British Columbia, lost two sons ten days apart in Normandy and a third in Italy six months later.
This afternoon while walking
between the many rows of white gravestones at Bény-sur-Mer, where all but 4 of
the 2048, are engraved with the Canadian Maple Leaf, my thoughts were exercised about my 37 years
living in Canada, and the many people I have crossed paths with. During all those years, I have always felt there is a tragic lack of knowledge about
their country's human and material contribution to both WWI and WWII. Perhaps it is considered that the events of those wars, if known to any level, belong to the generations of the past and have no relevance today.
I do not think for one minute that it is solely a Canada problem, I have no doubt it will be similar
in all of the Allied countries, such as Britain, USA, New Zealand and Australia.
Perhaps the memory has no applicability in those countries, because none had suffered the deprivation of an extended occupation followed by the euphoria of a liberation. I know from my past travels within
European countries ~ locations that did endure a foreign army’s subjugation, to
be later liberated by another ~ they have long generational memories. From the
infants in school to their parents and grandparents, they know the stories and have learned of the human cost. It has become embedded deep within their culture, to
the point that I can never imagine it will be forgotten.
I believe it is worth highlighting some facts about Canada during WWII. It was the only Allied country whose overseas military was made up from volunteers, of which over 45,000 gave their lives. Unlike in Britain and the United States (Pearl Harbour in 1941), they were not motivated to join up because their country was attacked or bombed., they did so because it was the right thing to do.
As a percentage of population (11,500,000 in 1941), the Dominion’s contribution to the war effort was by far, the largest amongst any of the Allied nations. By the end of the war Canada had the fourth largest air force and the third largest navy in the world. During WWII, the Canadian Merchant Navy had completed over 25,000 voyages across the treacherous Atlantic. An incredible number of over 130,000 Commonwealth pilots and aircrews were trained at many locations across the country, as part of the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan. For the relative population size of Canada, the contribution to both WWI and WWII in all forms was huge ~ which should always be a source of enormous pride to all Canadians today, tomorrow and forever into the future.
The following video by Historica Canada, says in one minute some of what I tried to say above, click on the image or the link ...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-AuKXAftIts
The soldier mentioned in the above video, Major John Archiebald MacNaughton, was the oldest Canadian casualty of D-Day. Below is more about his life and military service ...
From Vimy to Juno ...
John Archibald MacNaughton was born in Black River Bridge, New Brunswick on October 7, 1896. He had two sisters, Katie and Annie.
Archie, as he was called by all who knew him, enlisted in the First World War in November 1915. He served with the 104th and 236th battalions as a Private, he was discharged in 1919 after fighting in France and Belgium.
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| Archie in WWI |
He returned home to Black River Bridge to farm his own land He married Grace, and raised two children Francis and Margie. Archie was an active member of his community, well loved by all who knew him and being a devout Christian, taught Sunday School.
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| Archie and Grace's wedding |
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| Margie, Archie, Grace and Francis |
He attended
annual summer training camps with the North Shore New Brunswick Regiment,
rising in the ranks and esteem of his men. In 1939, he enlisted for WWII at the
age of 42, by September 1940, he had earned the rank of Major. In 1942, he
received the Extended Service Award.
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| Archie in WWII |
Archie
spent time in Woodstock and Camp Sussex before returning to a war in to Europe for
a second time in August 1941. He underwent extensive training with his men,
taking special pride to make sure they were always the best appearing in
parades.
Due to his
age and rank, Archie was offered the opportunity to retire prior to D-Day or to
return to the relative safety of Canada in a training role, he refused. He saw
no option but to lead his men ashore. They saw him as a father figure, he saw
them as brothers and sons. Two days before the invasion, on June 4, he wrote to
his wife, “Don’t worry if you don’t hear from me for some time…This has been a
busy time, but I am awful glad I was in it. No matter how things go.”
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Archie (far right) with soldiers of “A”
Company, The North Shore New-Brunswick Regiment.   |
On June 6,
1944, despite being shot through the hand during the initial landings, Archie
pushed on, leading “A” Company to their objectives. They encountered unexpected
German resistance in Tailleville. Of 800 men involved, there were 125
casualties, including 34 deaths. The only North Shore New Brunswick officer to
lose his life in the battle was Major John Archibald MacNaughton, taken down as
he tried to lead his men out of the line of fire. He is buried at the
Bény-sur-mer Canadian War Cemetery …
Major John Archiebald MacNaughton
North Shore (New Brunswick) Regiment, R.C.I.C.
6 June 1944, aged 47
Son of John
Archibald and Maria MacNaughton, of Black River Bridge, New Brunswick; husband
of Grace Helen MacNaughton, of Black River Bridge.
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| Archie's funeral at Bény-sur-mer Canadian War Cemetery |
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| Temporary grave maker |
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| Grace made her first visit to her late grave in the 1963. She wore her Silver Cross, bestowed upon her when Archie was killed in 1944 |
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From left to right .. WWII ~ British War Medal, Victory Medal WWII ~ 1939-1945 Star, France-Germany Star, Defence
Medal, Canadian Volunteer Service Medal with Overseas Clasp, War Medal
1939-1945 with Oak Leaf (Mentioned in Dispatches) and Canadian Efficiency
Decoration |
So many beautiful pictures that tell a million true stories, stories we must never forget. Brian Karim
ReplyDeleteSo many beautiful pictures which tell a million true stories which we must never forget. Thanks Graeme. Brian Karim
ReplyDeleteBeautiful and great interesting stories.
ReplyDelete