Edison Reynolds Smith was born on May 11, 1924, on Port Hood Island, Inverness County. Edison’s father, Henry Guy Smith, was also a Port Hood Island native, the son of Joshua and Sarah Smith. His mother, Emma Grace, was the daughter of Hugh and Ada Watts, Port Hood. 26-year-old Guy was working as a fish merchant on Port Hood Island when he married 19-year-old Emma in Port Hood on January 9, 1918.
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| Private Edison Reynolds Smith |
Guy and Emma’s first child, Sarah May, was born on Port Hood Island on January 13, 1919. A second daughter, Ruth Emeline, arrived on February 9, 1920. The following decade brought the birth of three more children—Edison (1924), Dorothy Ellen (c. 1926) and Wesley Guy (c.1927).
The 1920s also saw a series of deaths that eventually led to the family’s dissolution. On January 23, 1928, Edison’s mother Emma passed away in St. Martha’s Hospital, Antigonish, after a four-week battle with septic pneumonia. His older sister Ruth succumbed to scarlet fever on December 23, 1928, while his father Guy died from “acute encephalitis”—inflammation of the brain caused by infection—on January 3. 1929.
In the aftermath of their parents’ and sister’s deaths, the remaining Smith children—Sarah, Edison, Dorothy and Wesley—were taken in by Elsie Smith, their father Guy’s sister. Elsie had married Roland Morton Myers, son of George W. Myers and Abigail Atwater, Cook’s Cove, in December 1920. At the time of the 1931 census, the four Smith children were living in the Myers’ Cook’s Cove home with their aunt Elsie, her husband Roland, and the their daughter Abigail Lillian, age six.
Edison attended school in Cook’s Cove, completing Grade VIII. He left at age 14 to work on the Myers farm and in the local woods. “Coming of age” in the midst of a global conflict soon impacted Edison’s life. On August 24, 1942, he enlisted with the Non-Permanent Active Militia of Canada at Guysborough. Edison served with the Pictou Highlanders in the Mulgrave area for one year before he was “called up” under the National Resources Mobilization Act. Upon reporting to No. 6 Military District, Halifax, he attested with the Canadian Active Service Force on August 31, 1943.
Edison commenced instruction at No. 60 Canadian Army Basic Training Center, Yarmouth, in mid-September and proceeded to A14 Canadian Infantry Training Center, Aldershot, for advanced instruction in mid-November. With the exception of five days’ leave for the Christmas holiday and two weeks pre-embarkation leave in late January/early February, he remained at Aldershot until February 19, 1944, when he was transferred to the 1st Canadian Training Brigade, Debert.
Edison proceeded overseas on April 5 and arrived in the United Kingdom seven days later. He was immediately assigned to No. 4 Canadian Infantry Reinforcement Unit (CIRU), where he awaited a transfer to an infantry battalion. As preparations for the impending D-Day landings continued, Edison was placed on the reinforcement list for the North Nova Scotia Highlanders on May 8, 1944. However, he did not join the unit’s ranks prior to D-Day.
One day after Allied forces landed in Normandy, Edison was transferred to the Canadian Scottish Regiment and joined its ranks in France on June 8, 1944. It is not clear when he landed in France. The speed with which he joined his new unit suggests that he had arrived with a group of infantry reinforcements on or immediately after D-Day.
The Canadian Scottish Regiment (CSR) traces its roots to the 88th Regiment, Victoria Fusiliers, Victoria, BC, authorized on September 3, 1912. After the First World War, the unit amalgamated with the 50th Regiment (Gordon Highlanders of Canada), Victoria, BC, to form the Canadian Scottish Regiment. The unit mobilized a battalion for overseas service in 1940 and trained in Debert, NS, until August 1941. Its personnel then departed for the United Kingdom, where the unit was assigned to the 3rd Canadian Division’s 7th Brigade.
On the morning of June 6, 1944, CSR’s C Company came ashore on Juno Beach, Normandy, during the first wave of landings. The remainder of the unit followed in the second wave, wading ashore in chest-deep water under German mortar and machine gun fire. By day’s end, the unit’s A Company had advanced almost 10 kilometers inland, where its soldiers “dug in” and sent out patrols.
A total of 22 CSR soldiers were killed and another 61 wounded during and shortly after the D-Day landings, creating a need for reinforcements. Private Edison Reynolds Smith was part of a group that joined the unit’s ranks on June 8. Later that day, a major German counter-attack near Putot-en-Bassin threatened to break through the Allied forward line.
During the night of June 8/9, Canadian Scottish soldiers engaged the attackers, preventing them from advancing toward the newly established Normandy beach-head. According to his service file, Edison was wounded during the fighting and evacuated to hospital on June 9. His injuries appear to have been slight as he rejoined the unit two days later. While Edison remained with the CSR in the Normandy beach-head for the rest of the month, he was transferred to the North Nova Scotia Highlanders on June 30.
Initially established as a machine gun unit in 1936 following the amalgamation of militia units from Cumberland, Colchester and Hants Counties, the North Nova Scotia Regiment established its headquarters in Amherst after the outbreak of war overseas. The unit was subsequently re-designated an infantry battalion and assigned to the 3rd Canadian Division’s 9th Brigade, where it served alongside the Highland Light Infantry of Canada (Waterloo, ON) and Stormont, Dundas & Glengarry Highlanders (Cornwall, ON).
The “North Novas” departed for overseas on July 18, 1941, and spent almost three years in the United Kingdom training and supporting British “home defence” efforts. On June 6, 1944, its personnel came ashore in the second wave of D-Day landings. Similar to the Canadian Scottish Regiment, the Nova Scotians advanced a considerable distance inland the following day. Its soldiers reached the village of Authie, approximately 17 kilometers from the beaches, before they encountered stiff resistance and were forced to retreat to Villons-les-Buissons.
At the time of Edison’s arrival, the North Novas were still located in the vicinity of the village. He had requested a transfer partly because two Cook’s Cove acquaintances—Percy Lumsden and George Myers, his uncle Roland’s nephew—were serving with the unit. When Edison connected with George, he was shocked to learn that his younger brother Wesley had drowned on May 27, 1944, when the lobster boat on which he was working sank in Tracadie Harbour.
Edison was assigned to the unit’s C Company. He saw his first combat with the North Novas on July 8 as the unit secured the villages of Authie and Franqueville on the outskirts of Caen. The engagement proved costly as the unit suffered 53 fatalities and another 88 soldiers wounded during the operation. Personnel subsequently assisted in clearing enemy forces from suburban areas around Caen before retiring from the line for a brief rest.
Ten days later, the North Novas helped 7th Brigade units secure Faubourg de Vaucelles, south of Caen. Sergeant George Myers was among the soldiers reported “missing in action” following the operation. Months passed before his family in Cook’s Cove received word that he had been “killed in action.”
On July 25, the North Novas participated in a large-scale attack on Verrières Ridge, an area of high ground south of Caen. The failed effort proved to be one of the costliest Canadian engagements of the war. The Nova Scotian unit recorded 58 fatalities and another 44 wounded, while approximately 30 of its soldiers were taken prisoner.
Edison came through the July engagements without injury and retired to Cormelles with his comrades for a period of rest and reorganization. At month’s end, a group of 210 much-needed reinforcements arrived in camp. During the month of August, the North Novas participated in two major advances along the Caen - Falaise road as Allied forces attempted to close the “Falaise gap.” While casualties continued throughout both operations, the numbers were significantly lower than the previous month.
By August 20, the North Novas had reached Trun, close to the location where the remnants of the German army had escaped before Allied forces closed the Falaise pocket. Three days later, the unit began an advance northward toward the Seine River in a pursuit of retreating enemy forces. Personnel crossed the famous water course near Elbeuf on August 29 and established camp on the outskirts of the city of Rouen, where they remained for several days.
As British and American units veered eastward toward Paris, Canadian forces pushed northward to the French coast for their next assignment—clearing German forces from the “Channel Ports.” After securing Dieppe without a fight, the Canadians moved on to the Boulogne area, where they encountered considerable German resistance. The port was finally secured during a four-day operation that commenced on September 18. The North Novas were actively involved in the fighting, suffering a total of 97 casualties.
While a large Canadian force continued northward toward Calais, the North Novas were assigned the task of capturing several large coastal artillery guns located at Cap Gris-Nez, north of Boulogne. The operation commenced on September 28 and stretched into the following day, resulting in another 25 casualties. The North Novas and their 9th Brigade mates then headed northeast, crossing the border into Belgium and establishing camp in Desteldonk, five kilometers northeast of Ghent, on October 3.
While Allied forces had successfully secured the city of Antwerp, Belgium, in early September, German forces still controlled the northern and southern banks of the West Scheldt, a water passage that connected the large port to the North Sea. Securing access through the inlet would allow Allied forces to use its facilities as a much more efficient supply line for units deployed in Belgium and the Netherlands.
Allied military commanders divided the task into two separate campaigns, both of which involved Canadian formations. The North Novas’ 3rd Canadian Infantry Division and part of the 4th Canadian Armoured Brigade received orders to clear the “Breskens pocket,” a large section of Belgian and Dutch territory northeast of Brugge, Belgium. Named for a town on the West Scheldt’s southern bank, the German-occupied area stretched from Zeebrugge, Belgium, in the west to Braakman Inlet in the east.
While the 3rd Canadian Division focused on the Breskens pocket, the 2nd Canadian Infantry Division and the remainder of the 4th Canadian Armoured Division would secure the South Beveland peninsula and the island of Walcheren, located along the West Scheldt’s northern bank. 4th Canadian Armoured units would cover the 2nd Division’s eastern flank while its infantry brigades first concentrated on securing the isthmus leading to the peninsula.
The Battle of the Scheldt commenced on October 6, 1944, as soldiers from the 3rd Division’s 7th Brigade crossed the Leopold Canal north of Maldegem, Belgium. Simultaneously, units from the 2nd Division’s 4th and 5th Brigades began an advance northward from the outskirts of Antwerp, with the objective to securing the isthmus leading to South Beveland. While the 7th Brigade managed to establish a small bridgehead on the Leopold Canal’s northern side, its units were unable to advance further inland. Within days, the focus shifted to an impending 9th Brigade assignment.
While their Canadian comrades commenced the Scheldt offensives in other locations, the North Novas and their 9th Brigade comrades prepared to launch an amphibious landing across the mouth of the Braakman Inlet, north of Ghent. A canal leading to Terneuzen, the assignment’s departure point, was located near Desteldonk. The 9th Brigade would be transported to the location and across the inlet in newly acquired British amphibious LVTs—“landing vehicle tracked”—known as “Buffaloes.”
Each LTV had sufficient room for one platoon of soldiers. As a significant number of 9th Brigade soldiers had not participated in the D-Day landings, a flotilla of Buffaloes gathered in the canal before the operation. Non-commissioned officers (NCOs) received a tour of the vehicles on October 6 and trained their men in the process of loading and unloading the following day. The North Novas’ war diary commented, “The men [were] rather impressed with what [the Buffaloes] will do.”
On October 7, the three 9th Brigade units assembled along the canal late in the day and boarded their assigned landing crafts. At 1930 hours, the flotilla proceeded northward toward Terneuzen. A series of obstacles in the water course caused delays, particularly near Terneuzen, where a sabotaged lock required the vehicles to climb out of the canal onto land and re-enter the water on the other side.
As a result, the operation, originally scheduled for early morning October 8, was postponed for 24 hours. The 9th Brigade spent the day “getting… straightened around ready to make another start tonight.” Several vehicles stranded atop obstacles were freed and the North Novas’ Buffaloes “proceeded to the point where the rest of the vehicles were in the harbour.”
At 2240 hours October 8, the column of Buffaloes made its way into Terneuzen harbour. Once assembled, the vehicles departed shortly after midnight for their destination—two beaches on the western side of Braakman Inlet. The North Novas’ war diary described the journey as “rather cold and eerie” as the LVTs made their way toward a landing area several kilometers east of the village of Hoofdplaat.
Supporting artillery marked the two landing areas with red flares as the North Novas and their Highland Light Infantry (HLI) comrades prepared to land on their respective beaches. Shortly after 0200 hours October 9, the Nova Scotians came ashore on Green Beach, closer to Hoofdplaat. German forces in the area were completely taken by surprise and offered no resistance. As HLI soldiers landed on Amber Beach on the North Nova’s left flank, they were met with small arms fire but were soon safely ashore.
According to the North Novas’ war diary, “the beach was a hive of industry, the great motors roaring and those huge amphibious monsters crawling like great reptiles from the sea, out over the dyke [while] spitting flame from their exhausts.” All was quiet while the soldiers established a defensive perimeter, but enemy artillery shells soon struck the area and German soldiers launched several small counter-attacks on the unit’s positions later in the morning. The unit war diary commented, “Companies are well dug in but shelling fairly heavy. The beach is getting quite a pasting.”
A firm beach-head having been established, the 9th Brigade’s third unit, the Stormont, Dundas and Glengarry Highlanders—known as “the Glens”— were soon ashore, along with machine gun and mortar support units. By dawn, German guns on the West Scheldt’s northern bank soon targeted the entire area with artillery fire that continued throughout the day. While the Glens advanced westward toward the village of Hoofdplaat, their two Brigade comrades began to push inland in a southward direction.
The battlefield over which the invading force began its advance was unlike any other the soldiers would encounter during their service in Western Europe. Dykes criss-crossed the entire landscape, dividing the flat, reclaimed land into fields called “polders.” With the exception of farm buildings built adjacent to the dykes, there was no shelter for advancing infantry. The ground was so saturated that shallow slit trenches normally dug for protection quickly filled with water.
Any advance required the soldiers to clear the entire perimeter of each rectangular polder before moving on to the next field. The process was slow, one Company advancing a short distance and establishing a defensive position, a second Company then passing through its line. This “leap-frog” pattern continued throughout the offensive. To make matters worse, the entire campaign was fought in cold, wet weather that created very uncomfortable conditions.
Enemy forces concentrated their defensive positions in the corners of each dyke and at strategic crossroads where dykes intersected. The only available roads ran atop the dykes, exposed to enemy fire and strewn with land mines. While the landscape was not suited for “all-out” tank warfare, M-10s—self-propelled, tracked, three inch guns—and “Wasps”—tracked carriers armed with flame throwers—were eventually used in support of infantry attacks.
The North Novas’ first objective was the village of Drievegen, the first “outer bastion” of the Breskens defences, located approximately five kilometers from the beach. Attempts to move inland on the first day were largely unsuccessful. A second advance launched at dawn October 10 made some headway but progress was slow. By the morning of October 13, the unit had reached the outskirts of Drievegen and managed to secure what had become a “heap of rubble” before day’s end.
The advance continued, moving from one farm to another, systematically clearing each polder before moving on to the next. On October 14, the unit’s HLI comrades relieved the North Novas, allowing the weary soldiers to retire to an area behind Hoofdplaat for a good meal and few hours’ rest. During the day, the arrival of four M-10s bolstered the unit’s available weaponry, the first armoured vehicles to land in the beach-head. The soldiers returned to the line before day’s end, their push inland benefiting from the newly arrived armour.
The following day, the advance resumed in damp, cool conditions. A small party of reinforcements bolstered the unit’s ranks as the North Novas made gradual progress. The leap-frog pattern continued into October 16, 1944, A and D Companies leading the attack down opposite sides of a polder. While B Company successfully passed through its comrades, C—Edison’s Company—was forced back by a well-fortified position in its first attempt to advance. A second attempt almost succeeded when machine gun fire forced the soldiers to retreat once more.
Officers then organized a third attack with support from mortars and the flame-throwing Wasps. German soldiers were dug in beneath piles of hay piled atop a dyke to dry. The Wasps moved forward and hit each pile, creating a row of fire that forced enemy personnel to abandon the positions. C Company’s Lieutenant George A. Gibson then quickly advanced with his platoon to round up the German soldiers as they surrendered.
During the process, a quick burst of machine gun fire from a position approximately 1,000 meters away struck and killed Lt. Gibson. The remainder of C Company moved forward and established a defensive perimeter at the troublesome corner before pushing toward its final objective, a nearby crossroads. The soldiers were quickly pinned down by the same machine gun fire that had struck their Lieutenant.
The Highland Light Infantry, located in positions on the North Novas’ flank, called in artillery support and pushed its M-10s forward to assist. C Company then rushed the crossroads, overcoming its occupants and consolidating the position.
The day’s fighting proved costly. Besides Lt. Gibson, one non-commissioned officer and seven “other ranks” (OR) were killed. Private Edison Reynold Smith was one of the day’s fatalities, killed during C Company’s difficult advance. A later letter to his aunt Elsie, written by his Company’s second-in-command, described the circumstances in which he died:
“…the Company was leading the battalion in an attack along a stubbornly defended dyke. The going was slow and difficult but owing to the courage and determination of your nephew and his pals, the position was eventually taken. It was after we had reached our first objective and your nephew was bringing in some prisoners, that a burst of machine-gun fire from another direction hit him and instantly killed him. The same burst of fire killed his platoon officer [Lt. Gibson] and another one of his pals who were with him.”
Edison and his fallen comrades were buried in a temporary cemetery near Hoofdplaat, Netherlands. On October 30, unaware that Edison’s next of kin had died in late May 1944, military authorities send a telegram to his younger brother Wesley, informing him of his sibling’s death.
By November 1, Canadian units had cleared enemy forces from the entire Breskens pocket. Three days later, the North Novas moved out to Ghent, having recorded a total of 31 soldiers killed and another 95 wounded during the campaign.
On June 13, 1945, Private Edison Smith’s remains were re-interred in Adegem Military Cemetery, Adegem, Belgium. Edison’s aunt Elsie (Smith) Myers passed away in Guysborough Memorial Hospital, Guysborough, on July 3, 1956, and was laid to rest in Evergreen Cemetery, Guysborough. Her husband Roland died in Weir’s Nursing Home, Salmon River, Colchester County, on September 2, 1967, and was buried beside her.
Both of Edison’s remaining siblings married and settled in Nova Scotia. Sarah May Smith married Cameron Scott Williams, son of Howard and Emma (Chisholm) Williams, Antigonish, in Halifax on January 15, 1941. Scott was an electrical engineer and Army Officer at the time of the ceremony, while Sarah was employed as a school teacher. The couple were living in Port Shoreham, Guysborough County, at the time of Edison’s death.
After the war, Edison’s sister Dorothy “Dot” married Elliott Stephen Morrow, son of Benjamin and Carrie (Myers) Morrow, Boylston, in New Glasgow on April 15, 1948. Dorothy was employed as a Registered Nurse, while Elliott was working as a “sawyer” at a local lumber mill at the time of their marriage, which took place in New Glasgow.
Photograph of Private Edison Reynolds Smith courtesy of Lisa (Morrow) De Coste, Tracadie, NS. Details on the circumstances of Private Smith's death obtained from Pieter and Daria Valkenburg's "On the War Memorial Trail" blog, which contains excerpts from letters written to the Smith family during Edison's time overseas. The information is available in two separate posts—Part I and Part II.
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