Leonard William Mattie was born in Mattie Settlement, Guysborough County, on October 28, 1921, the fourth of Arthur Norman and Mary Jane (DeWolfe) Mattie’s 12 children. According to his Second World War service file, Leonard was fluent in both English and French, a reflection of Acadian lineage on both sides of his family.
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| Private Leonard William Mattie |
Mary Jane De Wolfe was a direct descendant of Augustine Wolfe, born in Strasbourg, Alsace, France, around 1727. Augustine later immigrated to Île Royale (present-day Cape Breton), where he married Catherine Quimine in 1751. Among their children was a son, Thomas DeWolfe, born at Chezzetcook in 1764.
Thomas eventually relocated to Pomquet, Antigonish County, where he and his wife, Felicité-Jeanne Vincent, raised a family. Among their children was a son Jean-Baptiste, born in Pomquet in 1796. Jean-Baptiste married Charlotte Benoit on January 15, 1822. The couple established a home in Summerside, where they raised a family of nine children. Tragically, Jean-Baptiste was struck by a falling beam and killed on May 24, 1840.
John, one of Jean-Baptiste and Charlotte’s six sons, was born at Pomquet in October 1838 and married Angelique Benoit. Their son, William John, was born in March 1869 and married twice. His first marriage to Felicité Benoit resulted in no children. Following Felicité’s passing, William John married Lucy Anne Melanson. The couple raised a family of six children—three boys and three girls. One of their daughters, Mary Jane DeWolfe, was born on November 11, 1895.
On his father’s side,
Leonard was a direct descendant of Alexandre Mathe, birthdate unknown, a
native of the Isle of Jersey, which is now a part of the United
Kingdom. Alexandre is believed to be the “pioneer” to the Mathe/Mattie
families who presently reside in the Antigonish - Guysborough area.
Alexandre
immigrated to Cape Breton, where he married Marie-Jeanne Benoit, who
was born in Bras d’Or on January 10, 1765. The couple raised a family of
at least six children, one of whom was a son Alexandre Jr., birthdate
unknown. Alexandre Jr. married Oiste Ursule Briand (Brillant/Breen), who
was born in St. Pierre and Miquelon around 1798.
Alexandre Jr. and Oiste Ursule raised a family of 11 children, one of whom was a son Frederick, born February 21, 1817. Frederick married Marie Courtin on February 15, 1841, and the couple raised a family of 11 children. Frederick passed away at Mattie Settlement on October 14, 1902.
One of Frederick and Marie’s sons, Norman Mathe/Mattie, was born on April 9, 1858, and married Charlotte Mathe. The couple raised a family of six boys and five girls. One of their sons, Arthur Norman, was born at Mattie Settlement on December 17, 1894, and married Mary Jane DeWolfe at Pomquet on January 29, 1918.
Exactly five months later, Arthur attested for military service at Camp Aldershot, NS, under the terms of the Military Service Act (1917). His time in uniform was brief—discharged as “medically unfit” on July 19, 1918, he returned home to Mattie Settlement, where he and Mary Jane raised a large family.
Leonard Mattie, one of Arthur and Mary Jane’s seven sons, left school after completing Grade VII and went to work on the family farm. In mid-1942, he commenced a carpenter’s apprenticeship with Foundation Maritime Ltd., a Halifax building contractor. For two months prior to his enlistment, Leonard was employed as a “tool checker” in the company’s store room.
Leonard attested for military service at Halifax, NS, on January 22, 1943. While his age at the time meant that he was eligible for “mobilization” under the National Resources Military Act, he had not been called to duty. Leonard commenced basic training at No. 60 Canadian Army Basic Training Camp, Yarmouth, on February 12 and moved on to the advanced program at No. 14 Infantry Training Camp, Aldershot, NS, in mid-May 1943.
Upon completing the training course in early July, Leonard received six days’ leave and likely returned to Mattie Settlement for a visit. On July 18, 1943, he departed for overseas. Upon landing in the United Kingdom 10 days later, Leonard awaited appointment to an active combat unit.
On October 26, 1943, Leonard was placed on the West Nova Scotia Regiment’s reinforcement list. Recruited in the Halifax, South Shore and Annapolis Valley areas, the unit had mobilized at Bridgewater in September 1939 and departed for overseas in late December 1939.
The West Nova’s personnel spent three and a half years in the United Kingdom, during which time they completed “home defence” assignments and participated in numerous training programs. Finally, in late June 1943, the unit departed for the Mediterranean theatre, where its soldiers took part in the July 10, 1943 Allied invasion of Sicily.
After driving German and Italian forces from the island in a month-long campaign, Allied forces prepared to cross the Strait of Messina to the Italian mainland. On September 3, the West Novas were part of a Canadian force that landed at Reggio and proceeded northward up the centre of the Italian peninsula. A second, larger, invading force composed of British and American units landed at Salerno, south of Naples, six days later.
While Italian forces officially surrendered on September 8, Hitler instructed German units to defend Italian soil from the invading Allied forces. As the Canadians pressed northward, British and American forces attempted to cut across the Italian peninsula, in an effort to trap German forces in the south.
By early December, Canadian units relocated to the Adriatic coast, where they engaged German units along the Moro River. Over the ensuing weeks, the West Novas participated in heavy fighting at Casa Berardi, west of the town of Ortona, suffering significant losses during a 16-day tour that included eight days of fierce combat.
After a brief rest, the unit returned to the front line south of the Arielli River, the next major Canadian objective. Winter conditions resulted in several months of stalemate, during which both sides reverted to the “trench warfare” tactics of the First World War. During this time, the 3rd Canadian Brigade, to which the West Novas belonged, maintained two battalions in the line, with a third nearby in reserve.
While Leonard departed for the Mediterranean theatre on November 6, 1943, he remained in reserve until January 16, 1944, when he joined the West Novas in the field. Three days previously, the Cape Breton Highlanders had relieved the battalion in the line and its personnel had marched out to a camp near Lanciano.
After several days’ rest, the soldiers commenced a program of courses and training. Two days after Leonard’s arrival, the West Novas relocated to the recently captured town of Ortona, where the 3rd Brigade assumed an “operational role” in support of the 1st and Second Brigades.
Courses and training continued throughout the remainder of the month. On January 23, the unit’s war diary reported “light intermittent enemy shelling of [the] Ortona area during [the] day. While the following day’s entry makes no mention of losses, records indicate that three soldiers were killed on January 24, 1944—Private Forest Roy Himmelman, Eastern Passage, NS; Private David James McGuigan, St. Mary;s Road, PEI; and Private Leonard William Mattie, Mattie Settlement.
Official documents reported that all three men were “killed in action,” but provide no details on the circumstances of their death. Captain Alan Nicholson, a West Nova officer, later wrote to Mrs. Barney McGuigan, providing some insight into the circumstances in which her son David and his companions, Roy and Leonard, were killed.
I was about 25 yards away from your boy when he was hit. I reached him before he passed on. He was every inch the man and the soldier right to the end and did not suffer much and complained not at all…. While attempting to do what I could in the line of first aid[,] David said, ‘Look after the other boys first. Sir, you can help them; nobody can save me now.’
“Because of the nature of the operation we were on at the time[,] it was possible for the whole company to attend the burial service. There were eight officers present. All saluted the open graves. David was buried side by side with two of his pals who were hit at the same time. The graves are situated on a beautiful hillside not much disfigured by war.”
Leonard’s service file and those of his two fallen comrades contained burial cards that provided a map reference and directions to the location of their graves:
“Near top of hill above last sharp turn in road is a house. One hundred yards east is another house. Graves almost on line from one house to other, Lanciano, Italy [approximately 20 kilometres south of Ortona].”
The West Nova war diary indicates that the unit was engaged in training at the time of Leonard’s death. The fact that the entire Company attended their fallen comrades’ funeral further suggests that the soldiers were not in the front line when the incident occurred. The forward area along the Arielli River was approximately 17 kilometres north of Lanciano, and the unit’s January 23 war diary entry mentioned intermittent artillery fire in the Ortona area. These facts combine to suggest that the three soldiers were killed by an exploding artillery shell.
On February 3, 1944, Mary Mattie received a telegram from Canadian military authorities, informing her that “Private Leonard William Mattie [was] officially reported killed in action twenty fourth January, 1944.” One week later, The Casket informed its readers of Leonard’s death, mistakenly stating that he “died in North Africa as a result of wounds received in an air raid.”
The brief news item also mentioned two of Leonard’s siblings. At the time of their brother’s death, Clarence was a member of No. 13 Platoon, 2nd Battalion (Reserve), Pictou Highlanders. He and Leonard, along with a third sibling Clifford, “occasionally put on a singing and musical program from CJFX last year.”
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| Pte. Leonard Mattie's headstone, Moro River Canadian War Cemetery |
On August 21, 1944, Leonard and his two West Nova comrades were re-interred in Moro River Canadian War Cemetery, three kilometres south of Ortona, Italy.
Images courtesy of Pte. Leonard Mattie's niece, Linda Boyle, Antigonish, NS.
