Bert MacIntosh Hattie was born on July 12, 1918, the second of Robert Cumming and Margaret Ross (MacDonald) Hattie’s five children. While several documents in Bert’s service file identify his birthplace as Barney’s River, the estate form completed by his mother Margaret after his death states that he was born in St. Martha’s Hospital, Antigonish.
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| Private Bert MacIntosh Hattie |
Nova Scotia’s Hattie families trace their roots to three MacHattie brothers—Alexander, George and William—who emigrated from Scotland to Nova Scotia in 1786. While the trio all landed in Halifax, they headed to different parts of the British colony. William settled in Barney’s River, Pictou County, while George made his way to Newport, Hants County.
Alexander, born around 1757, dropped the “Mac” from his surname sometime after arriving in British North America. He initially followed his brother William to Pictou County, where he settled in West River. Alexander later purchased a piece of land along the Antigonish - Sherbrooke Road and close to the St. Mary’s Cross Roads, a location known today as Aspen. A stonemason by trade, Alexander also operated a farm and lumber mill in the community.
In 1790, Alexander married Catherine McDonald, daughter of Joseph McDonald, a native of Crofton, Perthshire, Scotland. The McDonald family had initially immigrated to Rhode Island before relocating to Nova Scotia. Alexander and Catherine raised a family of 12 children—eight sons and four daughters—in their East River St. Marys home. In their later years, the couple resided in Glenelg with their youngest daughter Janet and her husband, David McKeen. Catherine passed away there on May 30, 1839, while Alexander died in 1842 at 85 years of age.
One of Alexander and Catherine’s sons, Daniel, was born in West River, Pictou County, on April 6, 1810, and married Mary MacQuarrie, a native of Scotland, on October 24, 1833. (Coincidentally, Mary’s sister Anne married Daniel’s brother John.) Daniel was also a stonemason by trade. He initially built a house in Denver but later relocated to Caledonia, where he constructed a second residence in 1844. Daniel passed away there on June 1, 1898.
Daniel and Mary’s son John Lauchlin Hattie was born in Upper Caledonia on August 19, 1826, and married Elizabeth Sutherland, Lower Caledonia, on February 13, 1862. One of John Lauchlin and Elizabeth’s sons, James Blake Hattie, entered the Presbyterian ministry and served as a missionary in China for a number of years. During his adult life, James restored the “Mac” to his surname. One of James Blake’s sons, Harvey Donald MacHattie, served as a Lieutenant with the West Nova Scotia Regiment during the Second World War.
Robert Cumming Hattie, the sixth of John Lauchlin and Elizabeth’s children and a brother to James Blake, was born on February 1, 1875. Robert learned the blacksmith’s trade and lived in Kenzieville, Pictou County, for a number of years. While working there, he met Margaret Ross MacDonald. The daughter of Janet “Jennie” (Gerrard) and Duncan MacDonald, Margaret was born in Rossfield on January 19, 1886.
Upon completing nursing studies in Jamaica Plains, MA, Margaret had returned to Nova Scotia, where she worked as a nurse midwife in Pictou, Guysborough and Antigonish Counties, often in the company of a Dr. Chisholm. Robert and Margaret were married on June 16, 1915, and first established residence in the Barney’s River area. Their eldest son, James Homer, was born there on August 7, 1916.
Over the following years, four more children joined the Hattie household—Bert, Robert Gerrard (June 11, 1922), John Duncan “Jack” (August 2, 1924), and Jean Elizabeth (April 19, 1929). Sometime prior to the 1931 Canadian census, Robert Sr. moved the family back to Upper Caledonia, where he pursued farming and lumbering. The Hatties resided in a large house that formerly served as the Presbyterian Manse. Sadly, young Jean Elizabeth passed away there on April 30, 1936, the cause identified on her death certificate as “acute nephritis.”
Bert MacIntosh Hattie left school at age 16, and worked on the family farm and in the local woods for several years. In the spring of 1941, “truckman” Lloyd Chestnut, Stellarton, hired Bert as a “helper.” Bert’s age at the time—he celebrated his 23nd birthday in early 1941—made him an ideal candidate for military service. On July 31, 1941, he completed a National Resources Mobilization Act (NRMA) enlistment form at New Glasgow, NS, and was attached to No. 61 Training Centre, New Glasgow, for basic training.
Upon completing his introduction to military service, Bert reported to Camp Aldershot for advanced infantry training on October 1, 1941. In early December 1941, he was assigned to the Pictou Highlanders’ active personnel list. As a Canadian militia unit, its soldiers were eligible for service in Canada only.
On February 3, 1942, Bert enlisted with the Canadian Active Service Force, making him eligible for overseas service, He completed a Class III wheeled drivers’ course in the spring of 1942 and spent four months in Halifax before travelling to Sussex Camp, NB, for further training on December 3, 1942.
Bert returned to Halifax in early January 1943 and remained there for nine months, On October 8, 1943, he was “struck off strength” by the Pictou Highlanders and reported to No. 1 Transit Camp, Windsor, NS. He departed for overseas on November 25, 1943, and landed in the United Kingdom six days later. Shortly afterward, he changed his “next of kin” from his father Robert to his mother, Mrs. Margaret Hattie, Caledonia, Guysborough County.
Canadian infantry units had been fighting in Italy since July 1943. Allied progress in the campaign was a slow, grinding affair that created an increasing demand for reinforcements. On February 17, 1944, Bert was assigned to the Mediterranean Theatre reinforcement pool and departed for Italy the following day. Placed on the West Nova Scotia Regiment’s reinforcement list, he was assigned to its active combat roster on March 11, 1944, and joined the unit in the field shortly afterward.
In 1936, the Lunenburg and Annapolis Regiments—two local militia units—amalgamated to form the West Nova Scotia Regiment. The unit officially mobilized for overseas service on September 1, 1939, and was assigned to the 1st Canadian Division’s 3rd Brigade. Throughout the war, the “West Novas” served alongside the Royal 22e Régiment (Quebec’s VanDoos) and the Carleton & York Regiment (New Brunswick).
The West Novas departed for the United Kingdom in December 1939 and spent three and a half years training and serving in various “home defence” roles. In early July 1943, the 1st Canadian Division departed for the Mediterranean theatre as part of a large Allied force that landed in Sicily on July 10. Throughout the following month, Canadian soldiers fought alongside British, Commonwealth and American units, clearing Italian and German forces from the island by mid-August.
On September 3, 1943, the 1st Canadian Division landed at Reggio on the Italian mainland’s southernmost tip. Throughout the autumn of 1943, its units fought its way northward through the central area of the Italian peninsula. Before year’s end, tts Canadians liberated the town of Ortona, located on the Adriatic coast. The West Nova Scotia Regiment served in sectors north of Ortona throughout the early months of 1944, a time period during which both sides held their positions. Each side dispatched regular night-time patrols, probing their opponent’s defences and seeking to capture prisoners for interrogation.
Private Bert MacIntosh Hattie joined the West Novas’ ranks in mid-March and spent five weeks in the Adriatic sector. On April 21, 1944, an Indian army unit relieved the battalion and its soldiers moved out to the Campobasso region, approximately 150 kilometers northeast of Naples, for a period of rest and training. Early the following month, personnel exchanged their winter battle-dress for khaki denims as temperatures began to rise.
On May 12, 1944, Bert wrote a letter to his mother Margaret during the break from front line service. Its content makes no mention of his military circumstances at the time. Rather, Bert focused on recent communication with family members:
“The day before yesterday, I got a big parcel from you and I think that calls for a letter anyway, or for as much as time will permit. And yesterday along came another big parcel from Jack [Bert’s younger brother] so you see the mailman has been pretty good to me. They couldn’t have come at a better time….
“I had a lot of mail when I got around to answer[ing] any this time and there are still quite a few coming in so the pile is coming down slowly…. I have three air graphs and an ordinary letter from Dad to answer yet. I hope he doesn’t think I’ve given up writing but I’ll look after them real soon.
“The parcel, Mother, was in very good shape when it got here. Only the crackers were broken a little and that didn’t hurt them any, and oh boy is the honey ever good. It’s a long time since I had honey in the army ha ha. In fact it is… heard tell of only when someone is wishing they had some.
“I hope Homer [Bert’s oldest brother] likes it in Moncton. He said Newfie was a rocky, barren-looking place, well it is all of that in lots of places…. Well Mother thanks a million for the nice parcel and the best in the world to you. Love, Bert.”
The West Novas soldiers resting and training in the Campobasso area were unaware of impending war plans. Canadian units would soon be engaged in their first campaign on the Italian peninsula’s western side. While American units had landed at Anzio Beach in late January 1944, hoping to outflank their German opponents and force their retreat, a superior enemy force prevented them from expanding beyond a small beach-head. In response, Allied commanders decided to have British, Canadian and Commonwealth forces pursue a second path northward, toward the Italian capital of Rome.
The Liri Valley lies approximately 75 kilometers inland from the Tyrrhenian Sea, which is located along Italy’s western coast. The Liri River runs through the valley’s western edge in a northwesterly direction toward Rome. The entrance to the valley stretches for approximately 30 kilometers from the Lepini Mountains on its western side to the main chain of the Apennine Mountains on its eastern side. Atop the eastern ridge sat a monastery, named after the town of Cassino below it. “Monte Cassino” provided German forces with an excellent view of Allied forces as they assembled along the valley entrance.
In anticipation of an Allied offensive, German forces had constructed two defensive lines in the Liri Valley. The first, called the Gustav Line, was located in the region of Pignatoro, while a second major series of fortifications, located several kilometres up the valley near Pontecorvo, formed the Hitler Line. Streams ran from the mountains into the valley on both sides, carving deep gullies that impeded the progress of tanks and armoured vehicles. Thick shrubs and bushes along their banks provided perfect cover for anti-tank and anti-personnel weapons.
The Allied attack commenced on May 11, 1944, with French, British and Indian units advancing as far as the Gustav Line on the first day. While Polish forces on the eastern flank struggled to dislodge German units atop Monte Cassino, Allied commanders focused on the central and western sections of the line, where further progress appeared possible.
On May 15, Canadian units made their way into support areas behind the Allied line’s western sector. The West Nova Scotia Regiment travelled from Bucciano aboard motor transport and arrived in an assembly area near Pignatoro around midnight May 15/16. Shortly afterward, the unit received orders to enter the front lines in relief of two Indian and two British companies the following day.
The West Nova war diary described the situation on the morning of May 16:
”The Liri valley and especially Monte Cassino and the Monastery were well smoked [by Allied artillery smoke shells] and some difficulty was experienced by everyone in finding the location of the battalion we were to relieve…. [U]nder heavy shelling and mortar fire[,] the relief was successfully completed by 2100 hours [May 16]. Morale was high and everyone in good spirits at the thought of really getting going again after the long weary months on the Ortona front.”
Spread out in front of the West Novas’ position lay the remainder of the Gustav Line’s defences—a series of slit trenches, fortified houses, machine-gun and mortar pits. The unit prepared to attack the enemy positions at 0630 hours May 17. “A hot breakfast was brought up and under intermittent shelling and mortar fire the rifle companies formed up along the Pignatoro road…. At 1030 hours [May 17] the order at last came through to attack.”
All four West Nova companies crossed the start line in perfect order and captured numerous prisoners during the advance’s first few hundred meters. One “D” Company platoon lost its bearings and two others “overshot the objective,” luckily passing through a supporting artillery barrage with few casualties. The remaining platoons quickly reached their targets and consolidated their positions.
Tanks supporting the advance had encountered a ditch about 300 meters from the start line and lagged behind the infantry. The vehicles soon caught up and assisted in establishing a new front line. “Resistance was slight and most of the casualties were caused by shelling and mortar fire….” According to the unit’s war diary, “fairly heavy shelling… continued until after dark, at which time the rifle companies moved forward about two miles [three kilometers] to form a firm base from where the Carleton and Yorks [their New Brunswick Brigade mates] could advance the next morning.”
The following day—May 18—German forces quickly withdrew to the Hitler Line. The 3rd Brigade moved forward with little resistance, encountering only artillery and mortar fire. Upon reaching a designated location, the West Novas once again dug in under mortar fire, forming a line through which the Carleton and York Regiment could once again pass and continue the advance.
On May 19, the West Novas withdrew to the vicinity of the 3rd Brigade’s rear battalion, where the men received a hot meal. At 0830 hours, the unit formed up once more and moved out under heavy mortar and artillery shelling, relieving the Royal 22e Régiment, whose men had endured heavy enfilade throughout the morning. The West Novas once again dug in under intense mortar, artillery and machine gun fire. Rain commenced around 1600 hours, making conditions increasingly uncomfortable.
The rain and enemy fire continued into the following day as hot meals were once again brought forward to the men in the morning. By early afternoon, the sun broke through as the battalion continued to hold its position. While rumours of imminent relief circulated on May 21, no such instructions arrived. As the day passed, mortar and artillery shells continued to bombard the West Novas’ location.
Finally, on May 22, the Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry (PPCLI) relieved the West Novas during the afternoon hours as German forces withdrew to the Hitler Line. The Nova Scotians had spent six hard days in the line. During that time, the battalion recorded 23 fatalities among its ranks. While the majority occurred during the May 17 advance, persistent mortar and artillery shelling inflicted daily losses. Private Bert MacIntosh Hattie was one of the men lost during the combat tour, killed by enemy shelling on May 20, 1944.
Bert was initially buried in a Pontecorvo cemetery on the day of his death, his grave marked by a wooden cross. Several days later, Margaret received a telegram from military authorities, informing her that her son had been killed in action. On February 8, 1945, Bert’s remains were re-interred in Cassino Military Cemetery, Cassino, Italy.
Two of Bert’s Hattie cousins were in uniform overseas at the time of his death. Harvey Donald MacHattie, son of Janet Sutherland Macdonald and Reverend James Blake MacHattie—a younger brother to Robert Cumming Hattie—enlisted with the Royal Canadian Engineers Corps on June 6, 1942—by coincidence, his 22nd birthday—and commenced service with the commissioned rank of 2nd Lieutenant. Harvey departed from the United Kingdom in late March 1943 and was initially assigned to an engineering field squadron attached to the 4th Canadian Armoured Division.
In late July 1944, Harvey returned to the 1st Canadian Engineers Reinforcement Unit and was placed on the Mediterranean Theater reinforcement list two months later. Assigned to the West Nova Scotia Regiment on November 21, 1944, he joined the unit in Italy in mid-December. Tragically, Harvey died of wounds received while on duty on January 27, 1945.
A second cousin, Edna Christina Margaret Hattie, was also in the United Kingdom at the time of Bert’s death. Edna was the daughter of Joseph Wilfred Hattie, another of John Lauchlin and Elizabeth Hattie’s sons. Wilfred married Isabel MacGregor Keir. Their daughter Edna was born in Caledonia, Guysborough County, on October 13, 1914. Edna completed nursing studies at the Royal Victoria Hospital, Montreal, QC, graduating in 1937. After working at the “Royal Vic” for several years, Edna returned to university, earning a certificate in Public Health Nursing from McGill University in 1940.
Edna worked as a Public Health nurse at the Royal Vic for two years. On September 18, 1942, she enlisted with the Canadian Army Medical Corps at Halifax and received the commissioned rank of Lieutenant. Edna served in Canada for 18 months and departed for overseas on January 22, 1944. Upon arriving in the United Kingdom, she spent time on with No. 12 and No. 13 Canadian General Hospitals before departing for the Mediterranean Theatre on July 16, 1944.
Upon arriving in Italy, Edna was assigned to No. 14 Canadian General Hospital (CGH), whose initial personnel were recruited in Montreal, QC. With the exception of a week’s service with No. 5 CGH, she remained with No. 14 for the duration of her time in the Mediterranean theatre.
No. 14 CGH had arrived in Italy in mid-November 1943 after a harrowing journey. German U-boats sunk the vessel on which its personnel were travelling, forcing all passengers to abandon ship. Fortunately, all on board survived the experience. After landing in Naples, the unit established operations at Caserta, where it remained for eight months. From August 1944 to March 1945—the time period that corresponded with Edna’s Italian service—No. 14 CGH established operations in an abandoned tobacco factory located in Perugia, north of Rome.
In early April 1945, the hospital’s personnel returned to the United Kingdom. Edna departed for Canada on July 20, 1945, and joined the staff of Montreal Military Hospital after her arrival. On August 19, 1946, she was officially discharged from the RCAMC, but remained part of the unit’s reserve. She worked for the Department of Veterans Affairs for several years and later taught in the Royal Vic’s nurse training program. Late in life, Edna married Claude Fairfield, an American soldier whom she met while nursing overseas. She passed away in St. Petersburg, Florida, on November 24, 1976.
Bert’s younger brother Robert Gerrard “Bob” Hattie also served in uniform. Bob enlisted with the Royal Canadian Air Force and completed pilot training in Canada. Upon arriving overseas, Bob was assigned to 440 Squadron (RCAF), a fighter bomber unit based in Ayr, Scotland. The unit’s pilots flew Typhoon aircraft and were given the task of “softening up” German defenses in France prior to D-Day. After the Normandy invasion, the squadron provided close support to ground forces, dive-bombing and strafing German strong points, bridges, rail and road traffic.
On two occasions, Bob was forced to evacuate his aircraft after it was hit by enemy anti-aircraft fire. A news item in the August 3, 1944 edition of the Antigonish Casket described one of the incidents:
“A recent news report from the Normandy front contains the story of a Guysborough County airman who was forced to bail out of his burning aircraft while flying over Normandy. He is Flying Officer Robert G. Hattie, Lower Caledonia, who is flying in a Typhoon fighter-bomber squadron. The squadron was in a dive-bombing operation against heavily defended railway marshalling yards at Aunay-sur-Odon, far behind the German lines. Hattie, however, landed behind the Allied lines and within twelve hours was on his way back to England to rejoin his squadron.”
After returning to Canada, Bob married and raised a family in Rivière Qui Barre, northwest of Edmonton, AB. He passed away there on September 24, 2009.
James Homer, the oldest of the Hattie brothers, commenced a career in civil aviation prior to the outbreak of war in Europe. Hired by Trans Canada Airlines, Winnipeg, MB, as a “helper” in 1938, Homer advanced to the position of mechanic in 1939. He subsequently completed pilot training at Parks Air College, St. Louis, MO, and returned to Canada.
In February 1941, Homer was promoted to First Officer. Transferred to TCA’s Toronto operations in April 1942, he advanced to the rank of Captain in September 1943. Homer was stationed in Newfoundland for short period of time, after which he was transferred to TCA’s Moncton, NB, operations in February 1944.
On September 2, 1946, Homer and First Officer Kenneth David Moreland, Saul Ste., Marie, ON, were conducting a test flight on a twin-engine Lodestar aircraft. After take-off, the plane climbed to a height of 60 meters when it suddenly lost altitude and crashed to the ground. Eye-witnesses reported that one of the aircraft’s two motors appeared to stall as the plane was gaining altitude, causing it to plunge to earth. The two pilots, the aircraft’s only occupants, were killed in the incident.
Margaret Ross Hattie passed away at Victoria General Hospital, Halifax, on April 5, 1958, after a year-long battle with cancer. Her husband Robert lived in the Caledonia family home from spring to autumn and spent the winter months with his youngest son Jack in Kentville. Robert passed away in Blanchard Fraser Memorial Hospital, Kentville, on December 16, 1963. Both Margaret and Robert were laid to rest in a family plot in Bethel Presbyterian Church Cemetery, Caledonia, alongside their son Homer and daughter Jean.
Special thanks to Brenda Hattie, Salmon River Bridge, NS, who provided a picture of her uncle Bert and extensive information on the Second World War service of Bert's siblings and cousins.
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