Private Loren Stanton O'Hara—Died of Sickness September 18, 1945

 Loren Stanton O’Hara was born in New Harbour, Guysborough County, on November 16, 1903, to George Washington and Sarah Jane (Humber) O’Hara. Loren’s birth year is a matter of debate. A later military document gives the year as 1902, while the 1911 Canadian census lists the date as 1904. While his service files record his first name as “Loren,” the 1911 and 1921 Canadian censuses refer to him as “Lorne.”

Loren Stanton O'Hara

Loren’s father George was the son of Edward O’Hara and Marjorie Henderson, New Harbour, while his mother Sarah was born in Bellburns, Newfoundland, the daughter of Jesse Abe Humber (1845 - 1927) and Ipsey House (1848 - 1905). George earned a living at sea and likely met Sarah through his work. The couple were married in Bartletts Harbour, Newfoundland, on September 6, 1893. According to the marriage register, 23-year-old George was working as a ship’s steward in Bartlett’s Harbour, while 16-year-old Sarah was living in nearby Daniel’s Harbour.

At an unknown date, George and Sarah relocated to New Harbour, where their first child, George Vincent, was born on October 10, 1899. A second child, Marjorie Emma May, arrived on July 1, 1900. Over the next 10 years, another five children joined the O’Hara household—Loren Stanton; Ernest Reginald (DOB June 26, 1906); Oliver Gordon (DOB December 26, 1908); Spencer Cecil (DOB October 30, 1911); and Rufus Milford (DOB December 9, 1914). One son, Marshall, died in infancy at an unknown date. A daughter Martha, born around 1920, also died at a young age.

Loren attended public school from age eight to 14, leaving after completing Grade VI “to earn [a] living as [a] fisherman.” In the spring of 1917, he left home and made his way to Halifax, where he underwent a medical examination on McNab’s Island on May 25, 1917, and joined the ranks of the 63rd Regiment, Halifax Rifles, a local militia unit. Loren was no older than 15—quite likely younger—at the time of his enlistment. He stood five feet, four inches and weighed 134 pounds.

Over the next 12 months, Loren was “absent without leave” (AWL) on several occasions. On May 23, 1918, he was transferred to the 6th Battalion, Canadian Garrison Regiment, which was stationed in Wellington Barracks, Halifax. In early July, Loren was admitted to hospital with a case of the measles. He remained under medical care until August 30, when he was discharged “with a recommendation for light duty.”

On November 6, 1918, Loren formally attested for military service with the Canadian Expeditionary Force. Before month’s end, he returned to the ranks of the 6th Battalion, but appears to have once again left the barracks without permission, On July 31, 1919, he was “struck off strength” as a “deserter,” only to be “apprehended” in mid-November. After a brief period of detention, he was formally discharged from military service on December 24, 1919, and returned to his parent’s residence in Sherbrooke, Guysborough County.

At the time of the 1921 census, 18-year-old Loren was living in Sherbrooke with his father George, occupation “ship’s cook,” and Sarah. While his 22-year-old brother George was working as a “labourer,” Loren was not employed at the time. Also in the home were siblings May, age 20; Reginald, age 14, Gordon, age 10, Cecil, age eight, Milford, age six, and Martha, age one.

Sometime after 1921, Loren left home a second time and headed west. A later note in his Second World War service file summarized his pre-service employment: “For 22 years he has been a transient labourer. Generally a cook in a lumber camp or on railroads. Averaged three months to a job.” Loren had done “kitchen work” for the 10 years prior to his military enlistment and identified his last regular employer as Madison Brock Lumber Company, Kenora, ON.

On June 6, 1941, Loren enlisted with the Canadian Active Service Force (CASF) at Regina, SK. He was living in the city at the time and identified his mother Sarah. Sherbrooke, NS, as his next of kin. According to a note in his service file, Loren had not been in touch with family since 1924. He was likely unaware that his father George had passed away in Sherbrooke on September 22, 1927.

Before month’s end, Loren was posted to No. 120 (Basic) Training Centre, Regina. On July 7, 1941, he was awarded one week’s pre-embarkation leave. Four days later, he was assigned to the Regina Rifles Regiment, which was encamped at Debert, NS, at the time, awaiting orders to proceed overseas. When Loren failed to report for duty, he was “struck off strength” as an “illegal absentee” on August 9. Five days later, the unit departed for overseas.

Military authorities “apprehended” Loren in Regina on September 24. He departed for overseas in mid-November and arrived in the United Kingdom on November 23, 1941. Five days later, he reported for duty with the Regina Rifles. Approximately 38 years of age at the time, Loren was considerably older than the majority of his comrades. It is thus not surprising that the demands of military training soon led to health issues.

On January 8, 1942, Loren was admitted to No. 5 General Hospital for treatment of “rheumatism.” Discharged from medical care in late February 1942, “having been re-boarded [re-examined by a Medical Board,” he was placed in Category E—unfit for service for at least six months. Soldiers in this category were not fit for active military duties and likely required lengthy medical treatment or recuperation.

Loren was re-admitted to hospital on March 13, 1942. “Re-boarded” as Category C—free of serious illness but only fit for “sedentary work” or “home-based garrison duties”—Loren was assigned to No. 3 Canadian Infantry Reinforcement Unit (CIRU) several days after he entered hospital. Discharged on March 19, he joined No. 3 CIRU’s ranks.

During the late spring and summer of 1942, Loren received two seven-day leaves. On October 21, 1942, he was “granted permission to marry” on or after that date. As there is no record of a change in his next of kin nor any further mention of marriage in his service file, it appears that he never married. Loren remained with No. 3 CIRU until July 3, 1943, when a disciplinary infraction during the previous month resulted in his removal from the Canadian Army’s Permanent Establishment.

On December 20, 1943, Loren was posted to No. 1 Non-Effective Transit Depot as “surplus.” Five weeks later—January 27, 1944—he departed for Canada. Upon arriving in Regina, SK, on February 17, 1944, he was posted to No. 8 Platoon, No. 2 Dispersal Company, and granted one month’s leave. Upon returning to duty. Loren indicated that he was “anxious to continue in the service as a general duty man.” A note in his service file suggested that “he can be employed as a caretaker, fireman, rough painter, etc. He has a friendly manner and may be a handy general duty man, if required.”

Loren was assigned to the Canadian Army’s Base Post Office, Canadian Postal Corps, Ottawa, on May 1, 1944. Over the next six weeks, he was “AWL” on four occasions. A June 19, 1944 assessment of his situation stated that he was “of sturdy build but suffers from rheumatoid arthritis.” While his performance as a”fatigue man” in the United Kingdom had been “satisfactory.” he appeared to have “adopted a non-cooperative attitude” since returning to Canada. While “naturally good-humoured and fairly industrious,” he had become “thoroughly ‘fed up’ and determined to get dismissed from the Army.” 

The report recommended that Loren be returned to No. 12 District Depot, Regina, “for disposal.” On August 5, Loren was “struck off the strength” of Base Post Office, Canadian Postal Corps, and returned to Regina. He was deemed “unable to meet the required military physical standards” on August 25, 1944, and officially discharged from military service.

While Loren appears to have remained in Regina over the next 12 months, details of his circumstances during that time are unavailable. Admitted to General Hospital in late summer 1945, he passed away on September 18, 1945. Medical staff identified the cause of death as “generalized oedema of lungs” and “cardio-renal disease.” Three days later, a “semi-military” funeral took place in Regina Cemetery, where Loren was laid to rest in Soldiers Plot 5, Lot 15, Block C. An official military stone later marked his final resting place.

Military authorities subsequently determined that Loren’s death was “due to service.” On April 11, 1946. a Memorial Bar was sent to his mother Sarah, who was still living in Sherbrooke at that time. Sometime afterward, Sarah married Robert Clooney. On March 9, 1950, Loren’s service medals were dispatched to Mrs. Sarah Clooney, Berwick, Kings County, NS. Sarah (Humber O’Hara) Clooney passed away in Berwick on May 6, 1962.

Photograph of Loren Stanton O'Hara courtesy of William Joby Bond, Toronto, ON.

Private John Dennis Kelly—Accidentally Killed August 19, 1945

 John Dennis Kelly was born in Mulgrave, Guysborough County, on January 24, 1918, the seventh of John Sr.and Bridget Anastasia (Keay) Kellly’s nine children. John Sr. was the son of Matthew and Elizabeth (Kavanaugh) Kelly, while Bridget Anastasia was the daughter of Dennis and Sarah (Breen) Keay. Both of John Dennis’s parents were St. Francis Harbour natives.

Private John Dennis Kelly, Mulgrave, NS

John Sr. and Bridget Anastasia were married in St. Francis Harbour on June 27, 1906. The couple settled in Mulgrave, where John worked as a brakeman on the Intercolonial—later Canadian National—Railway. Their first child, Alonzo James “Lon,” was born on May 22, 1907. A second son, Thomas Matthew, arrived on January 4, 1909. Another seven children joined the Kelly household during the ensuing years—Augusta Marie “Gussie” (DOB June 24, 1911); Mary Elizabeth (DOB March 7, 1913); Kathleen Sarah “Kay” (DOB November 2, 1914); Josephine Mary (DOB June 14, 1916); John Dennis; Bernard Ambrose (DOB December 12, 1920); and Daniel Jerome “Danny” (DOB September 4, 1922).

John Dennis Kelly completed Grade IX at Mulgrave Public School before leaving in June 1934 at age 16. After working as a tractor and truck driver in the local community for several years, he obtained a job as a locomotive fireman with Canadian National Railways, Mulgrave, in 1939. That year, John celebrated his 21st birthday on January 24, making him an ideal candidate for military service after the outbreak of war overseas in September 1939.

On January 29, 1941—five days after his 23rd birthday—John underwent a National Resources Mobilization Act (NRMA) medical examination at Mulgrave and was placed in “Category A”—fit for military service. Another year passed before NRMA authorities contacted him. As he had severely sprained an ankle while playing hockey in January 1942, officials recommended that he be “recalled” in three months.

On May 18, 1942, military authorities completed a Certificate of Medical Unfitness for Enrolment at No. 61 (Basic) Training Centre, New Glasgow, placing John in “Category D”—temporarily unfit for service for another three months. Finally, on August 21, 1942, a third medical examination concluded he was fit for military service and recommended he commence training in preparation for posting to a Royal Canadian Artillery anti-tank regiment.

John formally attested for military service at No. 6 District Depot, Halifax, on September 9, 1942. Eight days later, he reported to No. 61 (Basic) Training Centre, New Glasgow for initial instruction. In mid-November 1942, he proceeded to A2 (Advanced) Training Centre, Petawawa, ON, where he commenced artillery training.

While an initial assessment recommended a posting to the Home Defence Establishment (HDE),  John expressed a strong desire “to get Overseas.” In response, military officials recommended “further training in Artillery as a Driver,” after which “he should be returned to [the] Army Examiner for further review.” On January 20, 1943, John qualified as Driver Class III and was awarded a two-week furlough shortly afterward.

During John’s absence, military authorities re-evaluated his circumstances. A note from a Petawawa official described “a history of weak spells” and pains under the heart…,” raising concerns about his suitability for overseas service. While John had expressed a “desire… to serve as a stoker in the Navy,” officials recommended that “he be employed as [a] fireman on HDE [Home Defence Establishment]” and requested that a Medical Board reassess his fitness category.

In early February 1943, John returned to Petawawa, where he awaited a final decision on his military future. Due to a low score on the PULHEMS System—Physique, Upper body, Lower body & Locomotion, Hearing, Eyes, Mental capacity and Stability—a Medical Board placed John in Category C-1—fit only for “home defence” duty—on June 1, 1943. Two weeks later, he was assigned to duty at a “Field Experimental Station” located in Suffield, AB.

Suffield Experimental Station was established to replace a similar British/ French facility that operated at Beni Ounif, approximately 300 kilometres south of Oran, Algeria, until German forces gained control of the French territory in mid-1940. An initial group of British scientists arrived in Alberta in the spring of 1941 and the station commenced operation on June 11, 1941.

During its wartime operation, approximately 600 individuals from a broad spectrum of scientific fields—chemistry, physics, meteorology. pharmacology, veterinary science, mechanical and chemical engineering—conducted chemical and biological defence research in support of the Allied war effort. Their primary focus was the development of countermeasures against the potential use of chemical weapons. During the years after the war, the Station’s work provided the scientific basis for the development of several modern-day chemotherapy cancer treatments.

Canada’s Home Defence Establishment (HDE) provided a detachment of military personnel that guarded the facility and carried out a variety of non-scientific operational tasks. An entry in John’s service file, dated June 14, 1944, assessed his performance during his first year of service there as “efficient, dependable and industrious.” However, the note also indicated that “he had lost interest in the Army since lowered Pulhems [score] prevent[ed] overseas service.”

In fact, John submitted an Application for Discharge from military service on April 4, 1944, requesting a return to employment with the CNR at Mulgrave. While his Commanding Officer, Major R. C. Lister, supported the application, the request appears to have proceeded no further. John was quite likely disillusioned at his inability to serve overseas and failure to receive a discharge, his service file recording several disciplinary infractions during his second year of service at the facility.

On July 4, 1945, John was transferred to No. 29 Company, Veterans Guard of Canada, which was responsible for security at Internment Camp 130, Seebe, Alberta, 330 kilometres west of Suffield. It is not clear whether the change of assignment occurred as a result of John’s disciplinary infractions or the need for additional personnel at the facility.

Guard Tower at Internment Camp 130, Kakanaskis, AB (date unknown)

Situated in the Rocky Mountains approximately 30 kilometers east of Canmore, Internment Camp 130, also known as “Camp K” (Kananaskis), had operated as an “unemployment relief camp” from 1934 to 1936. Temporarily abandoned after that time, the facility accepted its first “civilian detainees” on September 8, 1939, two days prior to Canada’s official declaration of war on Germany.

The facility initially housed “known and suspected enemy [German and Italian] sympathizers” from Ontario and Western Canada. While set in a picturesque location, the camp was remote and provided few programs for its detainees. Eventually, the majority of its internees were given several opportunities to work—improving and enlarging the camp’s facilities, landscaping the site, and cutting wood for winter fuel—in exchange for a small salary

By July 1941, some of Camp K’s initial detainees had been released following clearance by an investigative board. The remaining men were transferred to camps in Fredericton, NB, and Petawawa, ON. Re-designated Camp 130, the facility re-opened in November 1941 as a “prisoner of war” (POW) camp, following the arrival of 500 German “Enemy Merchant Seamen” from a facility in Red Rock, ON.

While detained in Kananaskis, the new arrivals participated in a variety of recreational activities—football (soccer), ice sports, gymnastics, boxing, wrestling, and music—and later took advantage of courses covering a wide variety of subject areas, offered at a wide range of levels. Many of the men were craftsmen who produced handcrafts—model ships, desk sets, cigarette boxes, etc.—that internees traded with one another and were later permitted to sell to staff and guards. Volunteers also cut firewood in the nearby forests, while select inmates received permission to work on farms in the Brooks, AB, area, approximately 200 kilometers east of Calgary.

In mid-1944, the arrival in Canada of increasing numbers of POWs captured during the Normandy campaign resulted in the camp’s transition to a facility for “combatant officers.” Its remaining civilian detainees were relocated to a camp at Monteith, ON, in July 1944 and were replaced by German officers and a small group of “other ranks” POWs who served as orderlies.

As German POWs arrived in Canada, officials categorized them according to their perceived “political opinions.” Camp 130 received individuals considered “Black,” or pro-Nazi. The recreational and educational activities offered to previous detainees continued throughout the duration of its POW operation. After the cessation of hostilities in Western Europe in early May 1945, interested detainees were hired to clear brush at nearby Barrier Lake, where the Calgary Power Company planned to construct a hydroelectric dam.

A combination of Veterans Guard of Canada (VGC) personnel—approximately 100 First World War veterans—and Home Defence Establishment (HDE) men—a similar number of Canadian Infantry Corps recruits and “young soldiers”— were responsible for security at Camp 130. The facility’s perimeter contained eight guard towers, seven of which were manned by three “other ranks” (OR). One Corporal and five OR were responsible for the eighth position, located at the enclosure’s main gate. With the exception of three Lance Corporals, all personnel on guard duty carried loaded weapons.

Guards worked a 12-hour rotation, relief taking place at the main gate at 0600 and 1800 hours daily. On each occasion, personnel commencing and completing shifts followed strict protocols with regard to ammunition. Each soldier reported for duty with five rounds of ammunition on their person, obtained from a quantity of 20 cartridges stored in their quarters. Guards commencing duty loaded their rifles in the presence of the shift’s Guard Officer and Camp Field Officer.

The rifle bolt was closed and the safety engaged during the loading process, eliminating any possibility of a live round being loaded into the firing chamber. Bullets were placed in a magazine, which was then inserted into the rifle. Each weapon bore a unique serial number recorded at the time of issue, allowing officials to distinguish one soldier’s gun from another’s.

While on duty, all ranks were instructed that “at no time is a round to be moved into the chamber unless any emergency calling for the firing of the rifle arises.” After loading and inspection, the new shift assembled at a flag pole in the yard, formed into two groups, and proceeded along a catwalk to their assigned posts. At each location, one soldier commenced sentry duty on the tower’s upper floor, while his comrades awaited their turn in a room below.

At the end of each shift, soldiers returned to the main gate in two groups and unloaded their weapons under a senior officer’s supervision. Personnel extracted the magazines from their rifles, removed the shells and placed them in their pockets. The bullets were then returned to safe storage in their quarters, where soldiers were required to maintain a supply of 20 rounds “available at all times in case of alarm.” Once unloaded, rifles were inspected to ensure that proper procedure had been followed.

Not all soldiers were “dedicated followers” of the Camp’s military procedures. Lt. James Bateman, No. 29 Company, VGC, noted that the “young soldiers” often exhibited a different attitude with regard to the routines than the older, experienced veterans: “I would say that the new personnel are eager and conscientious but do not seem to realize the importance of carrying out the details of the procedure[,] in spite of checking.”

An incident that took place on the evening of August 19, 1945, provided a deadly example of the perils of guard duty with loaded weapons. At 1800 hours that day, the routine guard shift change commenced as scheduled. Among the soldiers being relieved were Privates John Dennis Kelly, Ian Bruce Mathies, Toronto, ON, and Harry Plumb, Hamilton, ON. All three had recently arrived at Camp 130, although at different times. John and Pte. Mathies had been on duty in Tower 3 with a third soldier, Pte. David Lees. The trio were “standing in a ragged line” with a group of comrades near the facility’s Scout Office, awaiting orders to “fall in” prior to dismissal from duty.

Private Plumb had also completed his shift in Tower 1. He had already unloaded his weapon while in the room below his guard tower and placed it on a two-gun rack prior to the arrival of relief shift. As the soldiers coming on duty entered the room, one of the men told those being relieved to “get [your] rifles the hell out of here,” as no space was available on the rack for the new shift’s weapons.

Private Plumb went to retrieve his weapon from the rack and later recalled having seen “a rifle being taken out of the rack” where he thought he had placed his gun. As he had “tightened the sling” on his rifle, he looked around the room and saw one on a nearby bed. It “looked just like mine… [as] the sling was tight so… I took it out.” He then exited the room and “stepped off the step in front of the tower.” As he descended into the yard, he executed a procedure that soldiers with advanced infantry training had been taught to follow, to ensure that their weapons were not loaded:

“I was facing the outer wire. From habit[,] I raised the rifle to the low port [position - butt stock touching the shoulder, muzzle pointed down at the ground in front of one’s feet], opened and closed the bolt and eased the springs. I was not looking at my breech. We had been taught not to look at the bolt or safety catch when easing springs.”

Assuming that his weapon was not loaded, Pte. Plumb then squeezed the trigger to ensure that the chamber was empty. To his horror, the weapon immediately discharged. The round struck two soldiers who had just come off duty and were standing close by—Privates John Kelly and Ian Mathies. The bullet  “through [Mathies’] chest wall from side to side,” striking Private John Kelly under his right arm. Both men immediately fell to the ground.

Personnel standing nearby immediately notified the camp’s Medical Officer, Lieutenant H. Krivel, who quickly arrived on the scene. Krivel later recalled that the builet “had passed through {Pte. Mathies’] chest wall from side to side.” He was “gasping for breath and in an extreme state of shock” as he lay on the ground.

Lt. Krivel checked for vital signs, but a “radial pulse could not be felt.” Both shooting victims were hastily transported by stretcher to the camp’s Medical Inspection Room, where Krivel “again examined [Mathies] and found he was dead.” Meanwhile, John had been “covered in blankets and hot water bottles placed around him.” He was also in a state of shock, with no detectable radial pulse and very shallow respiration.

Medical staff immediately started “continuous intravenous fluid” and “the patient started to rally,” John’s pulse and respiration improving. Lt. Krivel later described what followed in testimony given to a Court of Inquiry:

“This improved period lasted only about three-quarters of an hour. His respirations then became progressively weaker…. At 2020 hours, the heart stopped… [and Private Kelly] was pronounced dead.”

Twenty minutes later, the Commanding Officer of No. 29 Company, VGC, dispatched a telegram to Mr. John Kelly, Mulgrave, stating:
 
“Deeply regret [to] inform you that your son… Pte. John Dennis Kelly died at 2020 hours 19 August 1945 as a result of a rifle accident. You will be notified later [with regard to] arrangements for funeral. Body will be forwarded to Mulgrave unless you desire otherwise[.] Please advise.”

On August 21, military officials convened a Court of Inquiry at Camp 130, to investigate the “circumstances surrounding the deaths of… Pte. Mathies, I. B. and… Pte. Kelly, J. D., both of CIC [Canadian Infantry Corps], posted supernumerary [to] No. 29 Company, VGC.” Over a period of two days, the Court heard evidence from 14 witnesses, including Pte. Plumb. Their testimony allowed officials to determine what had led to the tragic incident.

Private Frederick Stokes, one the soldiers coming on duty at Tower 1, stated that he “automatically went to the two-rifle rack” in the room where Pte. Plumb was waiting to be relieved and there were “two rifles in it.” He “automatically took one rifle out, and put it on the bed, and then put my own in its place.” After the shooting occurred, he asked his comrades in Tower 1 “if they had their own rifles, and they started checking the [serial] numbers.”

One of the pair, Pte. S. Saltmarsh, “took his rifle out of the rack[,]… opened the bolt” and discovered that the gun was empty. Pte. Stokes reported that Pte. Plumb “had not left the tower when I changed rifles in the rack.” Stokes did not see Plumb take a rifle, nor could he say “whether or not the rifle I took out of the rack was loaded. I don’t know whose rifle it was.”

Pte. Saltmarsh also confirmed that he had loaded his weapon prior to entering the guard room below Tower 1 and placed it in the gun rack. When he checked his gun after the incident, he discovered that it was empty. Upon examining the serial number, he realized that it was not his rifle. Using the record of serial numbers recorded at the time of issue, officials determined that the rifle in Pte. Saltmarsh’s possession had been issued to Pte. Plumb, while the weapon from which the bullet had been fired belonged to Pte. Saltmarsh.

From his testimony at the hearing, officials also learned that, contrary to regular procedures, Pte. Plumb had removed the bullets from his gun’s magazine while inside the guard tower, not at the main gate with his comrades, in the presence of a supervising officer. Had he followed the required routine, he would have known that his gun was loaded as he exited the room below Tower 1 and the tragic incident would not have occurred.

John’s remains were transported to Mulgrave, where a military funeral was held on August 30. Following the service, he was laid to rest in St. Lawrence Parish Roman Catholic Cemetery, Mulgrave. John Kelly Sr. died in Mulgrave on November 23, 1955, at 78 years of age, while his wife Bridget Anastasia passed away in the home of her son-in-law, Ernest Miller, Stellarton, on March 5, 1963.

John’s younger brother, Daniel Jerome “Danny,” also enlisted during the Second World War, serving in combat in Western Europe with an unknown unit. Upon returning to Canada, Danny settled in Sept Îles, QC, where he worked as a locomotive engineer while raising a family of five children. He passed away there on January 6, 1982, at 59 years of age.

Josephine Mary Kelly, John Dennis and Danny’s older sister, had married John Theodore “Ted” Chisholm, Mulgrave, prior to the war. Ted’s older sister, Ellen Irene, was born in Hadleyville, Guysborough County, on February 28, 1906, and later completed nursing studies. Ellen was a member of the staff at Camp Hill Hospital, Halifax, when King George VI and his wife Queen Elizabeth visited the facility during the couple’s May/June 1939 Royal Tour of Canada.

King George VI and Nurse Ellen Irene Chisholm at Camp Hill Hospital, Halifax, 1939

At an unknown time during her youth, Ellen was diagnosed with “diabetes mellitus.” During the spring of 1943, she fell into a diabetic coma and died of anemia in the Halifax Infirmary, Halifax, on June 3, 1943. Ellen Irene Chisholm was laid to rest in St. Francis Harbour, Guysborough County.

Special thanks to twin sisters Eleanor (Chisholm) Smith and Ellen (Chisholm) MacDonald, Antigonish, NS, daughters of Ted and Josephine (Kelly) Chisholm, Mulgrave. Ellen and Eleanor contributed pictures of their uncle John Dennis Kelly and aunt Ellen Chisholm, and provided background information on the Kelly family. 

Private Marsall McLaren Hodgson—Died of Wounds June 23, 1945

 Marshall McLaren Hodgson was born in Country Harbour Mines, Guysborough County, on May 9, 1923, the oldest of Murray Wilbert and Helen Grace (McLaren) Hodgson’s three children. Murray was also a Country Harbour Mines native, the son of Edward James Hodgson and Mary Jane Hudson, while Helen was born in Country Harbour, the daughter of Alexander Douglas McLaren, a Halifax native, and Mary Ann Dickey.

Private Marshall McLaren Hodgson

Murray and Helen were married in Holy Trinity Church, Country Harbour Mines, on September 27, 1922. Marshall, their oldest child, arrived the following spring. A daughter, Florence Louise, was born on July 13, 1924, while their youngest child, Wilmer Stanley “Bill,” joined the family in 1925. Murray worked in the local gold mines and operated a farm at Country Harbour Mines, where the Hodgson children spent their early years.

Marshall attended the local school, leaving at age 12 after completing Grade V. He worked on the family farm for several years and was employed at a gold mine for one year. In early 1943, he commenced work with George Jones, Country Harbour Mines, who operated a general trucking business. Marshall drove a half-ton truck for two months before enlisting with the Canadian Active Service Force at Halifax, NS, on March 18, 1943.

It is not clear whether Marshall had been “called up” under the National Resources Mobilization Act (1940) or decided to volunteer before having to report for compulsory training. On April 29, 1943, he commenced infantry instruction at No. 60 (Basic) Training Centre, Yarmouth, and proceeded to No. 14 (Advanced) Training Centre, Camp Aldershot, on July 1.

At month’s end, Marshall received six day’s pre-embarkation leave. Upon returning to duty, he spent several weeks at Camp Aldershot before departing for overseas on August 26, 1943. Six days later, he arrived in the United Kingdom and was posted to No. 7 Canadian Infantry Reinforcement Unit (CIRU).

Marshall’s arrived overseas at a busy time. In June 1943, the 1st Canadian Infantry Division had departed for the Mediterranean theatre. An Allied force landed in Sicily in early July and moved on to the Italian mainland in September 1943. Meanwhile, the 2nd and 3rd Canadian Infantry Divisions spent the autumn and winter of 1943-44 preparing for an invasion of German-occupied Western Europe.

On November 11, 1943, Marshall was transferred to the North Shore Regiment (New Brunswick). Several other Guysborough County men later served with the Maritime unit following its D-Day landing—Andrew Davidson, Goldboro; John Kingston George, Halfway Cove; Robert Leonard Lawrence, Guysborough; William Thomas “Bill” Markie, East Erinville; and Thomas Joseph Richard, Larry’s River. None of them returned home.

The North Shore (New Brunswick) Regiment traced its origins to the 73rd Northumberland New Brunswick Battalion of Infantry, a Bathurst-based Canadian militia unit established on February 25, 1870. The regiment went through several title changes before it was officially designated the North Shore (New Brunswick) Regiment (NSR) on April 1, 1922.

While the unit’s predecessor recruited an infantry battalion—the 132nd (North Shore)—for service during the First World War, it never saw combat. After arriving in the United Kingdom in November 1916, the 132nd provided reinforcements for existing Canadian Expeditionary Force units until early 1917, when it was dissolved and its remaining personnel transferred to the 13th Reserve Battalion.

On September 1, 1939, the North Shore Regiment (NSR) was placed on active service and departed for the United Kingdom in mid-July 1941. The battalion was assigned to the 3rd Canadian Division’s 8th Brigade, which also included the Queen’s Own Rifles of Canada (Toronto, ON) and Le Régiment de la Chaudière (Chaudière-Appalaches, QC). The 3rd Division spent almost three years performing home defence duties in the UK while training for operations in Western Europe.

During the winter and spring of 1943-44, units in the United Kingdom completed final preparations for tan invasion of German-occupied France. While the timing and location remained a closely guarded secret, training exercises focused on amphibious landings. The NSR was located in Chilworth Camp South, UK, in late May 1944, when its Companies began the move to their designated marshalling areas. The last of its personnel left Chilworth on June 3, 1944.

While weather the following morning was “clear and warm,” the arrival of rain and southeastern winds later in the day resulted in a 24-hour postponement of “Operation Overlord.” Rather than leave the men aboard ship, troops “disembarked and paraded to a reception centre prepared on the docks,” where “they were given meals, a wash, [a] free issue of 25 cigarettes, [and access to a] reading and writing room.”

Later that day, personnel re-boarded their transports. The vessels headed to sea at 0645 hours June 5, sailed around the Isle of Wight and headed toward the coast of Normandy, France. The NSR’s war diary commented, “It was a slow convoy and the swell was indusive to seasickness.” At 1930 hours, word arrived that “the op was on and set to land tomorrow.”

On the morning of June 6, 1944, the 8th Brigade’s Queen’s Own Rifles (QOR) boarded landing craft at 0630 hours and came ashore at Bernières-sur-Mer, Normandy, France, in the first wave of the D-Day landings. At 0745 hours, the North Shore Regiment’s A and B Companies clambered into their LCVPs (landing craft vehicle personnel). Private Marshall Hodgson was among the B Company soldiers who came ashore on the beach at Saint-Aubin-sur-Mer 25 minutes later.

According to the NSR’s war diary, “only a few casualties occurred” while the two Companies crossed the beach. A Company, on the right flank, suffered its first losses when a platoon entered several booby-trapped houses along the beach. The Company managed to reach “the line of the beach-head” at 0948 hours, having sustained a total of 24 casualties—killed and wounded—in the process.

B Company’s task proved more challenging, as a major fortified position lay beyond its landing area. The soldiers quickly discovered that a preliminary aerial and naval gun bombardment of German positions had inflicted “no damage to the defences of the strong point.” The Company “nevertheless… proceeded to clear the village,” allowing D Company, which had landed in support, “to get on with their [sic] task.”

By 1007 hours, D Company had advanced “without much opposition, reaching the beach-head report line.” To this point in the fighting, B Company reported an estimated 16 casualties. The unit “called on tanks to assist in the reduction of the strong point” and the combined infantry/armoured assault “gradually reduced” enemy resistance. By 1115 hours. “four hours and five minutes after landing[,] the area was cleared… [and] one of the Atlantic Wall’s bastions which had taken four years to build was completely reduced.”

“A firm base” having been established, C and D Companies passed through their comrades’ lines and advanced toward their D-Day objective, the village of Tailleville. While “the defs [defences] of the town were much stronger than the information had reported,” C Company successfully cleared enemy forces from the location with assistance from a tank troop.

As light was failing and “the troops were weary,” the NSR reorganized at Tailleville for the night. It had been a far more difficult landing than the unit’s officers had anticipated. A total of 34 soldiers were killed, while another 90 were wounded during the day’s fighting. Marshall was among the casualties, suffering a “penetration gunshot wound to the head[,]… spine and left eye.” The exact circumstances in which he was injured are unknown.

Evacuated to a field hospital, Marshall was admitted to a “Neuro unit” on June 11. He received medical care in Normandy until July 29, by which time he had recovered sufficiently to be evacuated to a Neurology facility in United Kingdom. He remained there for 10 days before departing for Canada aboard a hospital ship.

Marshall arrived in Halifax on August 18 and was immediately transported to Debert Military Hospital. At month’s end, he travelled by train to St. Anne’s Hospital, St. Anne-de-Bellevue, Montreal, QC, a Canadian Forces facility. His service file provides no details on his situation or progress while a patient in the hospital’s Rehabilitation Wing.

On December 21, 1944, Marshall was discharged from military service at Montreal, as authorities determined he was “unable to meet the required military physical standards.” He received a $100 clothing allowance and 30 days’ pay as he headed home to Country Harbour Mines. Information in his service file indicates that he also received a $45 “rehabilitation grant.”

Within months of returning home, Marshall’s health began to deteriorate. On May 1, 1945, he was admitted to Camp Hill Hospital, Halifax, where his condition worsened. Private Marshall McLaren Hodgson died in hospital on June 23, 1945. The official cause of death—“meningitis (pneumococcal)”—was attributed to his combat wounds. Military authorities confirmed that his “death [was] due to service.” Marshall’s remains were transported to Country Harbour Mines, where he was interred in Holy Trinity Anglican Cemetery. An official military headstone marks his final resting place.

Pte. Marshall Hodgson's headstone, Holy Trinity Anglican Cemetery, Country Harbour Mines

Marshall’s mother Helen passed away in St. Martha’s Hospital, Antigonish, on July 16, 1961, after a six-month battle with cancer and was laid to rest in Holy Trinity Anglican Cemetery, Country Harbour Mines. Marshall’s father Murray died in Country Harbour Mines on September 23, 1964, at 71 years of age, and was interred beside his wife.

Photograph of Private Marshall McLaren Hodgson courtesy of his niece Theresa Beiswanger, Country Harbour Mines.