James David Dort was born in Little Dover, Guysborough County, on February 19, 1923. His parents, David Leander Dort and Bertha Reynolds/Rhynold, were also natives of the Canso area. David Leander was born in Canso on May 26, 1896, the youngest child of Albert and Abigail (George) Dort.
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| Private James David Dort |
On June 6, 1918, David Sr. was conscripted into military service at Camp Aldershot, NS. He departed for overseas on August 2, 1918, and arrived in Liverpool, England, two weeks later. David was immediately assigned to the 17th Reserve Battalion, which provided reinforcements for Nova Scotian infantry battalions at the front.
After spending two months at Camp Bramshott, David was assigned to the Royal Canadian Regiment (RCR) “for service on the continent” on November 16, five days after the armistice that brought fighting to an end. He spent one month at the Canadian Corps Reinforcement Camp in France before joining the RCR’s ranks on December 24.
In total, David spent six weeks on the continent with the unit before returning to England on February 8, 1919. He departed for Canada aboard SS Adriatic on March 1 and arrived in Halifax one week later. On March 15, 1919, he was discharged from military service and returned home to Canso.
On October 7, 1922, David Leander Dort married Bertha Rhynold [surname recorded as Reynolds on marriage license], daughter of James and Esther Jane (Snow) Rhynold, Dover, at St. Ann’s Roman Catholic Church, Guysborough. Tragically, David Sr. passed away in mid-December 1922 at 26 years of age. The exact date and circumstances of his death are unknown, as no formal death certificate is available.
Pregnant at the time of her husband’s passing, Bertha gave birth to James David Dort at Little Dover on February 19, 1923. The following day, a second family tragedy occurred when Bertha passed away at age 23. Her death certificate identifies the cause of death as kidney disease and “apoplexy”—unconsciousness or incapacity from a cerebral hemorrhage. Bertha’s death certificate makes no mention of James David’s recent birth.
David, as he was known to family, was taken in by his maternal grandparents, James and Esther Rhynold, Little Dover. James passed away at age 64 on August 4, 1924, while his wife Esther died on April 13, 1931. After Esther’s passing, an elder cousin, James Boudreau, and his wife, Eliza Blanche Keefe, assumed responsibility for David’s care. (James was the son of David’s maternal aunt Margaret (Rhynold) Boudreau and her husband John.)
From an early age, David aspired to a career in aviation. To further his education, around 1936 he moved to Springhill, where he lived with Frances Carrigan, another maternal aunt, and her husband William “Bill.” Each summer, however, David returned to the Boudreau home in Little Dover.
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| David Dort (right) with aunt Frances (Rhynold) Carrigan (center) and her daughter Gertrude |
After completing two years of high school, David decided it was time to set out in pursuit of his dream. In the early summer of 1940, he headed to Toronto, where he found work as a “bus boy” at the National Club, a men’s social facility. At the time of his arrival in the city, interest in the war overseas was spreading across the country. Caught up in the excitement, David enlisted with the 2nd Battalion, Irish Regiment of Canada, a local militia unit, on July 26, 1940.
From September 9 to 21, David attended the regiment’s annual training session at Niagara Camp, ON. While there, he made the decision to enlist for overseas service with the regiment’s 1st Battalion. His attestation document lists his occupation as “aviation student,” an aspiration mentioned elsewhere in his service file.
At the time of his enlistment, David gave his birth date as February 19, 1922, exaggerating his age by one year. He was actually 17 years and seven months old when he joined the Canadian Army. David listed his aunt, “Mrs. William Carrigan, Springhill,” as his next of kin, and later named Frances as heir on his military will. In the event of Frances’s death, James Boudreau, Little Dover, was identified as an alternate heir.
The Irish Regiment of Canada traces its origins to the 110th Irish Regiment, authorized on October 15, 1915. Based in Toronto, the unit recruited soldiers for the 180th and 208th Battalions during the First World War. After arriving overseas, both units were dissolved and their personnel dispersed to existing units.
Re-designated the Irish Regiment following the war, the unit expanded its title to “The Irish Regiment of Canada” in 1932. Four years later, it amalgamated with the 1st Machine Gun Battalion, Canadian Machine Gun Corps, to form The Irish Regiment of Canada (MG).
On September 1, 1939, the Irish Regiment was placed on active service for local guard duty and formally mobilized for overseas service in May 1940. Six months later, the Regiment dropped its machine gun role and became a regular infantry unit. As a result, it was re-designated “The Irish Regiment of Canada, CASF.”
The unit spent more than two years in Canada before heading overseas. From July 1940 to April 1941, its personnel were stationed at Camp Borden, ON. In August 1941, the Regiment travelled by train to Camp Aldershot, NS. By that time, it had been assigned to the 4th Canadian Armoured Division’s 11th Canadian Infantry Brigade.
After arriving in Nova Scotia, the Irish Regiment’s soldiers were assigned to guard duty at various strategic locations around the province. “A” Company—the section to which David belonged—was sent to the Strait of Canso, while the remaining three Companies proceeded to Halifax for duty in and around the capital city.
On October 11, 1941, David was admitted to military hospital at Debert for treatment of a concussion. The circumstances in which he sustained this injury are not recorded in his service file. David spent one week under medical treatment before being discharged to “three days light duty.” He then resumed his regular routine. While at Debert, David completed his military will, naming his Aunt Frances as his heir.
The Regiment received new assignments in April 1942. “B” Company travelled to Shelburne, while “C” Company departed for coastal duty in the Gaspé. The unit’s remaining soldiers were stationed at Mulgrave. While there, Lieutenant Colonel Robert C. Clark assumed command and would eventually lead its soldiers into combat.
The battalion returned to Debert in August 1942 and commenced preparations for its overseas departure. On October 28, 1942, the Irish Regiment of Canada departed for overseas aboard the Queen Elizabeth and disembarked at Greenock and Gourock, Scotland, one week later. Personnel began to arrive at Aldershot Camp, Hants, England, on November 6.
Over the ensuing months, the men completed a training regimen that included speed and route marches, obstacle courses, and basic tactical drills. On December 15, David was granted one week’s leave, returning to Aldershot in time to celebrate the unit’s first overseas Christmas with his mates.
Early in the New Year, an officer completed a confidential assessment of David. The document describes him as a “very sensible lad [who] [h]as seen tough times in his upbringing. Wants to join Air Force because he feels that he is wasting his time here….Stable. Wants to learn, but doesn’t want promotion here.”
On January 11, 1943, the Regiment’s 11th Infantry Brigade was transferred to the 5th Canadian Armoured Division. The composition of Canada’s two Armoured Divisions—4th and 5th—differed from their infantry counterparts. The 1st, 2nd and 3rd Canadian Infantry Divisions each contained three brigades, consecutively numbered 1st through 9th. In contrast, Canada’s two armoured divisions included only two brigades—one armoured and one infantry.
The 5th Canadian Armoured Divisions’ 5th Armoured Brigade included the 2nd Armoured Regiment (Lord Strathcona’s Horse); the 5th Armoured Regiment (8th Princess Louise’s Hussars, New Brunswick); and the 9th Armoured Regiment (British Columbia Dragoons). Its 11th Infantry Brigade included the 1st Battalion, Perth Regiment (Ontario); 1st Battalion, Cape Breton Highlanders; and 1st Battalion, Irish Regiment of Canada. The 11th Independent Machine Gun Company (Princess Louise Fusiliers) rounded out its combat personnel.
Three days after the change in assignment, the Irish Regiment relocated to Wadhurst, approximately 70 miles east of Aldershot. The men were billeted in the community’s castle during their time in the area. While stationed there, David completed a driver’s course, qualifying as “Driver I/C [In Charge] (Wheeled), Class III” on February 19, 1943.
Later that same month, the unit participated in Scheme Spartan, a three-week exercise during which its personnel pursued a retreating “enemy” across southern England. After its completion, the soldiers returned to Wadhurst for another two months’ training. During that time, David received a nine-day personal leave on April 20.
On May 16, 1943, the Irish Regiment proceeded to Salisbury Plains for training in conjunction with the 3rd Army Tank Brigade. The soldiers practiced “in close Company - Squadron co-operation,” a dress rehearsal for active combat service. On July 4, personnel relocated to King’s Lynn, Norfolk, approximately 100 miles north of London, for training. While stationed there, the Regiment provided the Royal Guard while King George VI and his wife, Queen Elizabeth, visited nearby Sandringham House, one of their royal residences.
In mid-August, the Irish Regiment returned to southern England and set up camp in Barton Stacey, Winchester. While there, its soldiers participated in Exercise Harlequin, a dress rehearsal that simulated an invading force’s troop movements. The nature of the exercise suggested that departure for an assignment on the continent was imminent.
In fact, several months previously, Allied forces had commenced their first major combat offensive in Europe. In late June 1943, a convoy containing British, Canadian and American units departed from the United Kingdom for the Mediterranean theatre. The troops landed on the shores of Sicily on July 9 and crossed to the Italian mainland in early September 1943.
On October 15, 1943, the Irish Regiment travelled to Eastbourne, where preparations commenced for the 5th Canadian Armoured Division’s departure for Italy. The 15,000-man strong Division constituted the main fighting force in a second contingent of Canadian units assigned to the Italian campaign. Before departure, the men were issued supplies appropriate for service in the Mediterranean—tropical anti-gas ointment, mosquito netting, and anti-malaria tablets, among other items.
After a long train journey to northwest England, the Regiment arrived in Liverpool, where its personnel boarded the Grace Line vessel Monterey on October 23. Over the ensuing days, a convoy of 26 vessels subsequently assembled in the Clyde River and departed for the Mediterranean theatre on October 27. The vessels passed through the Straits of Gibraltar on November 4 and continued across the Mediterranean Sea toward their final destination.
The journey was not without its drama. On November 6, a small group of German aircraft attacked the convoy. Torpedoes struck two vessels—a Dutch ammunition ship and the Saint Elena, a troop ship carrying the 14th British General Hospital’s personnel. While the Dutch vessel was destroyed, the Saint Elena remained afloat long enough for the Monterey to pull alongside and evacuate its passengers.
The following day, the convoy anchored in Philippeville Harbour, Algeria, for a day before resuming its voyage. On November 10, the Irish Regiment landed in Naples, Italy, and marched through the streets behind its pipe band. The men then set up camp in the village of Afragola, on the city’s outskirts.
The 5th Canadian Armoured Division was assigned to I Canadian Corps, which operated under the command of the British 8th Army. To reduce the amount of cargo, the Armoured Division had arrived in Italy without its tanks and vehicles. Instead, military commanders decided that the Division would inherit the equipment of the British 7th Armoured Division, the unit they were to relieve.
Unfortunately, the British vehicles had been used during the North African campaign conducted earlier in 1943. The harsh desert conditions meant that most were worn and badly in need of repair. The fleet also consisted mainly of two-wheel drive vehicles that were poorly suited for the Italian terrain. When the deficiencies were presented to military authorities, a decision to re-equip the armoured units with replacement vehicles transported from the UK delayed their deployment until February 1944.
The situation for the 11th Infantry Brigade’s units, however, was quite different. On November 19, its personnel moved to Altamura in southeastern Italy, where they spent the remainder of the year. The three battalions participated in a training exercise at nearby Irsina from December 18 to 23 before returning to Altamura for a traditional Christmas feast.
As some point during his time in the UK—likely during one of his leaves—David had met Teresa Gilfedder, a young Glasgow resident. His service file contains a letter from Teresa, dated January 1944. Teresa wrote:
“Do you know that this is my fifth air-mail to you? I can’t understand why you are not receiving any of them. Thank you very much for your Greetings at Christmas. Believe it or not darling I actually received your Air-graph Xmas morning…. [A]s you said, we are going to have great times together, when you do come home. By the way, darling, please tell me how to send my photograph on to you. I thought of sending it in that frame you gave me. But if there is a safer way of it reaching you, please let me know. There is an air-mail to follow. Bye for now.”
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| Teresa Gilfedder, Glasgow, Scotland |
David’s service file also contains his pay book, a document that soldiers kept among their possessions throughout their service. Glued to the inside the front cover is a photograph of Teresa, quite possibly the picture mentioned in her January 1944 message. The fact that Teresa’s letter was preserved in David’s service file suggests that it did not reach him prior to his death.
On January 9, 1944, the Irish Regiment and its Brigade counterparts departed Altamura and arrived at San Vito Chietino, south of Ortona, after a two-day journey. On the night of January 12/13, its personnel marched through the ruins of Ortona under cover of darkness. Before daybreak, the soldiers relieved the Royal 22nd Regiment in the front lines as the Irish Regiment commenced its first combat tour in Italy.
The 11th Brigade’s sector was located at the coastal end of a 50-mile front, stretching inland for 3,000 yards across an area of high ground between Ortona and the Riccio River. On its left flank were experienced 1st Canadian Brigade units. The Canadian positions ran along a deep, rugged river valley through which the Arielli River flowed into the Adriatic Sea.
Opposing German forces occupied slit trenches on a high bank opposite Allied units. The Canadians sheltered in fortified buildings during daylight hours, when the situation was usually quiet. Soldiers not assigned to guard duty cleaned their equipment or rested. Artillery and mortar fire at dawn and dusk was routine. As night fell, soldiers moved into slit trenches along the perimeter of each infantry company’s positions.
During the winter months, the area was a “static front” where soldiers conducted “holding” operations, maintaining sufficient defensive positions to repel an attack. Both sides also maintained “around the clock” observation and listening posts tomonitor their opponent’s movements. As movement by either side during the daylight hours prompted retaliatory artillery and mortar fire, both groups dispatched night patrols to prevent enemy forces from infiltrating their positions.
Patrol size varied, depending on the assignment. A “recce patrol” usually consisted of an officer and three to four “other ranks” (OR). Tasked with reconnoitring enemy positions, the men were instructed to avoid any contact with the opposing side.
A “standing patrol” consisted of any number up to platoon size (20 to 50 soldiers) and was intended to provide protection against attack by an enemy patrol. Its soldiers were prepared to ambush and kill enemy personnel, if any were encountered.
A “fighting patrol” consisted of an officer and 10 men to 25 men, Its assignment was to move through the “no man’s land” between opposing lines and make contact with the enemy. The goal was to identify enemy units on the other side, ideally by returning with a prisoner.
As the 11th Brigade settled in for its first tour in the line, its officers received word of plans for a two-battalion attack across the Riccio River and into German-held territory. The Perths and Cape Breton Highlanders would carry out the offensive action, with the Irish Regiment remaining in reserve. The attack took place on the night of January 17, but did not unfold as planned. While the Irish Regiment sheltered in reserve trenches, supporting tanks drew German machine gun fire onto their location, inflicting the unit’s first casualties of the war.
Meanwhile, the Perths and Cape Breton Highlanders crossed the Riccio River toward the German line in a staggered attack. Their opponents, seasoned and disciplined soldiers of the 1st German Parachute Division, repelled both advances, inflicting eight officer and 177 OR casualties in the Brigade’s first combat experience. A major reason for the failure was a decision to have the Perths attack their objective first, followed shortly afterward by the Highlanders. The ill-conceived plan allowed enemy artillery to concentrate its fire first on one party before transferring to the other.
The 11th Brigade remained in the line for the remainder of the month, conducting routine patrols in wet weather that turned the heavy clay ground into a muddy quagmire. Night-time temperatures dropped below freezing, making conditions even more uncomfortable. On January 31, a German patrol attacked a “C” Company Irish Regiment platoon but was driven off. The following day, a “B” Company patrol brought in the unit’s first prisoner of war.
On February 8, the unit relieved the Carleton & York Regiment in a nearby section of the line. The move took place over muddy terrain in a steady rain, under cover of darkness. The new Irish position consisted of open slit trenches filled with muddy water, typical of most locations along the line. Three days later, the weary soldiers marched out to the village of Roatti for a welcome five-day rest.
The Irish Regiment returned to the line in relief of the Cape Breton Highlanders on February 16. The unit’s second tour in the line involved “intensive patrolling.” On February 22, the battalion recorded its first combat fatality when Lieutenant R. D. Heard, the officer in charge of its Scout Platoon, was killed when he stepped on a mine on the German side of the Arielli River.
There was one “decent ford” across the river in the 11th Brigade’s sector. At various times, both sides waded through its shallow water and into the other side’s lines. The Irish Regiment’s nightly patrols headed out through a dark valley leading to the ford, scrambled up the mine-infested slope on the opposite side and into German-held territory.
On the evening of February 29, 1944, Major George Macartney led an “A” Company fighting patrol, consisting of 25 men, across the Arielli. The group “opened up a heavy firefight” with German forces at a location known as “Cork” and “did much damage before withdrawing to their own side of the river.” Two Irish soldiers were wounded in the encounter, but safely made their way back with their comrades.
After returning to the Irish Regiment line, Lt. Macartney realized that one soldier—Private James David Dort—was missing. The officer later returned to the location of the firefight with a patrol in search of “Porky,” the nickname his comrades had given their lanky young comrade. Unfortunately, Macartney “was unable to find any trace” of David, who was officially listed as “missing in action.” Shortly after the incident, authorities notified David’s aunt Frances of his disappearance.
Several months passed with no sign of David. On November 18, 1944, officials sent a telegram to Frances, stating that her nephew, “previously reported missing in action[,] has now been for official purposes presumed killed in action” in Italy on February 29, 1944. Over the ensuing months, there was no trace of David’s remains.
Private James David Dort’s name is inscribed on the Cassino Memorial, erected at Cassino, Frosinone, Italy, in memory of more than 4,000 British and Commonwealth personnel lost in the Sicilian and Italian campaigns who have no known graves. Its green marble walls display the names of 193 Canadian soldiers who died without a trace while serving in the Mediterranean theatre.
Photograph of Pte. James David Dort in uniform courtesy of Betty Boudreau, Little Dover, Guysborough County. Remaining images obtained from Pte. Dort's service file. Special thanks to the children of Teresa (Gilfedder) Flynn, Glasgow, Scotland, for consenting to the inclusion of her picture and letter in this post.
