Lawrence Arthur Rudolph was born in Little Liscomb, Guysborough County, on December 31, 1923. Lawrence’s mother, Elsie Walters, was a native of Warwickshire, a West Midlands county southeast of Birmingham, UK. His father, Basil Melbourne Rudolph, was born in Liscomb on February 8, 1895, the son of Abraham and Melinda (Kintewater) Rudolph.
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| Gunner Lawrence Arthur Rudolph |
Basil Rudolph entered adulthood as the First World War was raging overseas. The majority of Canadian Expeditionary Force (CEF) personnel were born in the early 1890s. It is thus not surprising that Basil was one of many young Nova Scotians to volunteer for overseas service, enlisting with the 23rd Composite Battalion at Halifax, NS, on June 12, 1915. He arrived in the United Kingdom in late August 1915 and was immediately assigned to the 13th Battalion (Royal Highlanders of Canada). On September 4, 1915, Basil joined the unit in the trenches of Belgium.
The Royal Highlanders of Canada (RHC) is the country’s oldest Highland regiment. Established in Montreal, QC, in 1862, the unit later affiliated with Scotland’s famous Black Watch. As a result, the unit carried the title throughout its First and Second World War service. During the First World War, the Regiment raised three infantry units for service—the 13th, 42nd, and 73rd Battalions. The 13th was part of the First Canadian Contingent that departed for overseas in September 1914. Its personnel entered the trenches of Belgium’s Ypres Salient in April 1915 as part of the 1st Canadian Division’s 3rd Brigade.
At the time of Basil’s transfer, the 13th Battalion was still deployed in Belgium. Basil spent the autumn and winter of 1915-16 in the trenches with the experienced unit. On March 31, 1916, its personnel relieved a British unit in trenches at Hill 60, south of Zillebeke, Belgium. One year previously, a major confrontation had taken place in the same location as part of the Second Battle of Ypres.
During the first few days of April 1916, both sides exchanged daily small arms and artillery fire. Shelling was particularly severe “between the hours of 10.15 and 4.25 pm [April 3], the enemy [firing] about 80 shells, 30 of which were Howitzer, the others were mostly shrapnel and small H. E. [high explosive] Percussion shells.”
The 13th’s daily war diary reported two casualties as a result of the April 3 shelling. One of the injured soldiers was “No. 89022 Pte. B. M. Rudolph - wounded by H. E. shell between Johnson Street [trench] and [a] cutting.” Basil received shrapnel wounds to his left arm, side, leg and ankle, and was transported to No. 10 Casualty Clearing Station the following day. On May 13, he was evacuated to No. 24 General Hospital Étaples, France, where medical staff performed two surgeries to remove pieces of shrapnel from his left side.
On June 20, Basil was invalided to the United Kingdom aboard the hospital ship Brighton. The following day, he was admitted to the Dundee Red Cross War Hospital, Scotland. A note in his service file, dated June 29, 1916, stated that he was “much better… [but] is rather lame.” Discharged to King’s Convalescent Hospital, Bushey Park, on July 12, Basil moved on to the Canadian Convalescent Hospital, Woodcote Park, Epsom, two weeks later. At the time of his arrival there, staff noted that he still had a “few fragments of shrapnel left in [his] arm and leg.”
Once Basil had recovered to the point where he no longer required medical treatment, he received 10 days’ leave on October 28, 1916. Upon returning to duty, he was assigned to Military Police patrol at Hastings, a position he held throughout the winter of 1916-17. During that time, a November 26, 1916, Medical Board recommended that Basil be placed in Category C—fit for duty in England only. A comment in the Board’s report stated: “There are numerous healed wounds all over [Basil’s] left arm and leg. History states many of the fragments remain; pain when wearing puttees or marching.”
On May 1, 1917, Basil reported to the 1st Quebec Regimental Depot. At mid-month, he was transferred to the Canadian Railway Troops Depot, Purfleet. He remained there for only one week before moving on to Ontario Military Hospital, Orpington, Kent, where he was assigned to orderly duty. Basil spent the remainder of his overseas service in this role. During that time, he contracted diphtheria in late April 1918 and spent one month in hospital. For the remainder of the year, his health was fragile, resulting in hospitalization for influenza in August and December 1918.
On July 8, 1918, Basil received permission to marry Miss Elsie Walters, 120 Orchard St., Godalming, Surrey, UK. The ceremony took place in Elsie’s birthplace—Wilnecote, Tamworth, UK—on July 20. Basil continued his work at Orpington until June 12, 1919, when he was assigned to the Canadian Army Medical Corps Casualty Company, the first stage of his journey home. He moved on to the Canadian Discharge Depot, Buxton, on August 1, 1919, and departed for Canada eight days later.
Basil arrived in Quebec City, QC, aboard HMS Corsican on August 18, 1919, and was discharged from military service two days later. He returned to Nova Scotia by train and took up residence in Little Liscomb, Guysborough County, where his wife Elsie joined him shortly afterward.
Basil worked in the local fishery while operating a family farm. Over the next 15 years, Basil and Elsie welcomed seven children into their home. Their oldest child, Daisy Eleanor, was born in 1920. Over the following decade, four more children arrived—Florence Silvia (DOB March 24, 1921), Lawrence Arthur (DOB December 31, 1923), Lillian May (DOB September 26, 1925), and Robert Owen (YOC c. 1927). Two more sons—Basil Norman (DOB January 27, 1930) and Brian Theodore (YOB c. 1934)—were born in the 1930s.
Lawrence, the oldest of the four Rudolph boys, was raised on a mixed farm in Little Liscomb. After completing Grade VI, he left school at age 14 to “help his father fish.” He also worked “around home” on the farm, where he learned to handle a team of horses, and helped his father “cure” his catch. He also did chores on an uncle’s farm and worked in the woods “driving a horse” for one winter.
In December 1942, Lawrence headed to Halifax, where he found work as a “pipe-fitter’s helper” with Royal Canadian Engineers, National Defence, Halifax. On April 21, 1943, he enlisted with the Canadian Active Service Force (CASF) at Halifax and was placed on No. 6 District Depot’s “General List.” An assessment completed at the time commented, “This young man is barely 19…. Farm life background… [with] apparent mechanical aptitudes. [He is] somewhat slight but seems to have [the] right attitude.”
Lawrence was recommended for service with a Royal Canadian Artillery (RCA) “medium artillery” unit. On April 19, he commenced basic training at No. 60 Canadian Army (Basic) Training Centre, Yarmouth, NS, and moved on to Canadian Army (A2) Training Centre, Petawawa, ON, for artillery training on July 1, 1943.
In late August, Lawrence received two week’s leave. He then returned to Petawawa to complete “Advanced Training in “RCA (Medium).” On September 30, he was deemed “suitable for overseas service.” After a month-long wait in Petatawa On November 4, Lawrence was posted to No. 1 Training Field Brigade, RCA, in Debert, NS.
Following a two-week pre-embarkation leave in early December, Lawrence briefly returned to Debert before departing for overseas on December 15, 1943. Upon landing in the United Kingdom six days later, he was posted to No. 2 Canadian Army Reinforcement Unit. On January 13, 1944, Lawrence was assigned to the 5th Anti-Tank Regiment.
The tank made its military debut during the latter stages of the First World War. Due in large part to mechanical imperfections, it was not an effective weapon at that time. Developments during the post-war years transformed the mechanical innovation into a formidable weapon that played a critical role on battlefields of the Second World War. All combatants established armoured units, deploying them in support of virtually every major infantry attack.
Similarly, each army developed weapons and trained units to counter the other side’s mobile armaments. At the time of the outbreak of war in Europe, however, Canada’s military was ill-prepared for such a task. Its meagre arsenal consisted of only 29 Bren guns, 23 anti-tank rifles, and four two-pounder anti-tank guns.
During the first two years of the war, plans to prepare the Canadian military for combat on a European battlefield gradually took shape. In January 1942, the Canadian government commenced an overhaul of its artillery resources to address the threat tanks presented to its infantry units on the battlefield. The first step was to replace its anti-tank regiments’ two-pounders with six-pounder guns. As time progressed, the units were also equipped with 17-pounder weapons.
By the time Canadian units entered combat in France in mid-1944, American self-propelled three-inch M-10 guns and some self-propelled 17-pounders were available for use on the battlefield. While some anti-tank regiments retained “towed” six- and 17-pounders throughout the war, the mobile American weapons gradually proved to be the most effective anti-tank force on the battlefield.
The 5th Anti-Tank Regiment officially mobilized at Camp Sussex, New Brunswick, on September 10, 1941, as part of the 4th Canadian Armoured Division (4th CAD). It initially consisted of three anti-tank Batteries—96th (Edmonton, AB), 65th (Grenfell, SK) and 3rd (Ganonoque, ON). Each battery contained four “troops,” outfitted with four guns. The unit trained in Sussex for nine months before travelling by train to Halifax, NS, on June 3, 1942, and departing for overseas aboard the Duchess of York the following day.
Upon landing in Liverpool nine days later, 5th Anti-Tank travelled by train to Dudley Hill, Surrey, where it established its initial camp. Following the overseas arrival of 4th CAD’s Headquarters, the unit relocated to Camp Bramshott, Liphook, UK, on October 1, 1942, training there throughout the autumn and early winter.
On February 1, 1943, personnel moved to Fleet, Hants, where they entered accommodations in “requisitioned houses.” The following month, the unit established a new battery—the 14th—after a decision at Command level to expand each Ani-Tank Regiment to four batteries. The new sub-unit drew its personnel from all five Canadian Divisions, resulting in the nickname “Rainbow Battery,” a reference to the Divisions’ different colour patches.
Over the course of the year, 5th Anti-Tank participated in several major exercises. In mid-August 1943, two of its four Batteries—14th and 96th—were converted to “self-propelled” units, operating American M-10s outfitted with three inch guns and powered by diesel engines. Before year’s end, the unit’s other two Batteries—3rd and 65th—converted from six-pounder to 17-pounder guns. The rest of the unit’s M-10s also arrived during that time.
On November 5, 1943, 5th Anti-Tank relocated to Sheffield Park, Sussex, where it trained until its departure for France. Gunner Lawrence Arthur Rudolph joining its ranks during its time there and was assigned to its 14th Battery, one of the two sub-units equipped with M-10s. Preparations for deployment in Western Europe continued through the spring and into early summer. 4th CAD was not part of the June 6,1944, D-Day landings, its personnel remaining in the UK with the 2nd Canadian Infantry Division. During the second week of July, units from both Divisions began making their way across the English Channel to the Normandy beach-head.
On July 18, 1844, 5th Anti-Tank moved out to Tilbury Docks, located on the River Thames, 40 kilometers east of London. Over the next several days, personnel boarded ships while equipment was loaded aboard vessels. Once ready for departure, ships joined a convoy gradually assembled at South End, near the mouth of the Thames. After several delays due to poor weather and a shortage of landing craft, the flotilla departed for France, 5th Anti-Tank personnel coming ashore in Normandy on the morning of July 23, 1944.
It was several days before all equipment was unloaded and ready for service. On July 29, 5th Anti-Tank, “less two batteries,” entered a section of the front line south of Caen, France. Over the next several days. 4th CAD units relieved 3rd Canadian Division and 7th British Armoured Division personnel who had been in the line since D-Day.
5th Anti-Tank’s 3rd Battery was the first to experience “serious action.” While deployed near Ifs, south of Caen, its personnel endured significant mortar and artillery fire, resulting in the unit’s first combat casualties. On July 31, one of its gun Troops supported an unsuccessful Calgary Highlanders attack on Tilly-la-Campagne, atop Verrières Ridge. That same day, 96th Battery entered positions near Ifs, while the 65th deployed in nearby Grentheville and Soliers. 14th Battery remained in the artillery gun area, where its personnel were subjected to hostile artillery fire.
During the second week of August, Allied forces launched two major offensives along the main highway running southward from Caen to Falaise. 4th CAD units participated in the second phase of “Operation Totalize,” which commenced on August 8. All four 5th Anti-Tank Batteries took part in the opening stage of “Operation Tractable,” launched on August 14. During the initial advance, one of 14th Battery’s Troops entered a German “trap” at Quesnay Wood. Only one of its four gun crews managing to escape as enemy fire destroyed all four of their M-10s. Five more gunners later managed to return to the unit, while seven were killed in action and another four listed as “missing.”
By the third week of August, the remnants of German units in Normandy began a rapid retreat northward toward the Seine River, Allied forces following in pursuit. 5th Anti-Tank’s Batteries crossed the famous French watercourse near Pont-de-L’Arche on August 29 and 30. While the 2nd and 3rd Canadian Infantry Divisions swung northwest to clear German forces from the “Channel ports,” 4th CAD units began a rapid advance northward toward the Belgian frontier.
5th Anti-Tank crossed the Somme River at Pont Remi, the 14th Battery’s M-10s providing support for the South Alberta Regiment’s tanks, which encountered German “rear guard” forces along the way. As the speed of the advance soon exceeded the reach of Allied supply lines, units paused north of the Somme for several days of rest and equipment maintenance.
On September 4, 5th Anti-Tank’s Batteries assembled southeast of Abbeville and moved out two days later. Personnel reached Saint-Omer, 30 kilometers east of the Belgian border, at dawn September 7. The unit then swung eastward to avoid high velocity German guns at Dunkirk and crossed into Belgium at Oost-Cappel, where personnel once again paused for rest and maintenance.
Despite covering 160 kilometers in less than two days, the men were rested and in good spirits, ready to move at short notice. Belgium’s clean, paved highways replaced France’s muddy roads, making travel much easier. 5th Anti-Tank continued to advance northeastward toward Bruges, 4th Canadian Armoured Brigade’s infantry and tank units reaching the Belgian city on September 11.
Meanwhile, 5th Anti-Tank personnel encamped in a wooded area at Jabbeke, 15 kilometres west of Bruges, for another period of rest and maintenance. By this point in the war, the unit was 15 to 20 % under-strength, due to losses incurred since its arrival on the continent. The disbandment of a Light Anti-Aircraft Regiment deemed no longer necessary provided 50 much-needed trained artillery reinforcements.
By mid-September, 5th Anti-Tank’s Batteries were deployed in various roles in the Bruges area. 3rd Battery supported 10th Infantry Brigade units fighting German forces near Eeklo, 30 kilometers east of Bruges. 14th Battery’s M-10s supported the Lake Superior Regiment’s tanks in defensive positions along the Leopold Canal, with their 65th Battery comrades deployed to their left.
4th CAD’s initial task was to prevent German forces north of Ghent from retreating eastward. During the third week of September, its armoured units crossed the Ghent Canal at Moerbrugge, south of Bruges, and pushed eastward through Maldegem and Eeklo. The units then turned northward toward the Braakman Inlet, located on the southern coast of the West Scheldt estuary.
Earlier in the month, Allied forces had secured the Belgian port city of Antwerp. Their immediate goal was to clear German forces from the northern and southern banks of the West Scheldt estuary that connected the strategic port to the North Sea. Once the areas north of Bruges, Ghent and Antwerp were secured, the Allies could use the undamaged port facilities as a much-needed a supply line for units deployed in Belgium and later in the Netherlands.
While 4th CAD units pushed northward toward the West Scheldt, the 1st Polish Armoured Division on their right flank cleared enemy forces north of a highway running from Ghent to Antwerp. By September 20, Polish units reached the estuary’s southern banks. That same day, 4th CAD’s Algonquin Regiment and 22nd Canadian Armoured Regiment advanced to Isabella Polder, located at the southern tip of Braakman Inlet. The following day—September 21—4th CAD’s Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders reached Terneuzen, east of the inlet, completing a defensive line that prevented German forces north of Bruges and Ghent from retreating eastward.
German units now found themselves trapped in what became known as the “Breskens pocket,” an area along the West Scheldt estuary stretching from Zeebrugge, north of Bruges, Belgium, to the Braakman Inlet, Netherlands. The area consisted of reclaimed agricultural land called “polders,” surrounded by dykes. As the geography and soft conditions were not suitable for armoured units, the 2nd and 3rd Canadian Infantry Divisions focused on clearing the area, while 4th CAD guarded the eastern boundary.
While 2nd and 3rd Division infantry units commenced the Scheldt campaign in early October, 4th CAD units gathered near Eeklo for a period of rest, training and maintenance, their first extended break since landing in France. On October 16, the unit moved out to a 4th CAD assembly area east of Antwerp. Three days later, the Division commenced an advance to the north-northwest, protecting the flank of an infantry advance toward Woensdrecht.
On October 21, 4th CAD units reached Eschen, approximately 15 kilometers west of Woensdrecht. Four days later, personnel crossed the border into the Netherlands, clearing German forces from Bergen-Op-Zoom before month’s end. The advance continued northward, reaching an estuary connected to the Maas River by November 4. Throughout the operation, 5th Anti-Tank Batteries supported specific infantry units as they attacked and cleared enemy positions.
5th Anti-Tank remained in Bergen-Op-Zoom until November 8, when 4th CAD relocated to an area along the Maas River, east of Tilburg. After relieving a British Division, personnel occupied an eight-kilometre section of the line, where they fulfilled an infantry role, conducting regular night-time patrols. 5th Anti-Tank’s Batteries rotated in and out of the line in pairs, patrolling an area along the Maas near Lith.
During the last week of November, 4th CAD units entered reserve, gathering in the villages of Poppel and Weelde, Belgium, for a planned two-week rest period. On December 4, however, personnel returned to sectors along the Maas for duty, amid growing concerns of a German attack across the river. As cold weather set in, fuel was scarce as personnel resumed regular patrols in uncomfortable conditions.
The launch of a major German counter-offensive through the Ardennes forest on December 16 prompted Allied commanders to order 4th CAD to gather in the area of Vught, Boxtel, Best and Tilburg. 5th Anti-Tank arrived on the outskirts of Tilburg on December 21. Three days later, 4th CAD received notice to prepare to move out within 24 hours.
At 1420 hours December 25, the Division’s units followed a circuitous route to an area south of Breda, with instructions to counter any German attack launched from the north toward Antwerp. Despite the circumstances, personnel gathered for a Christmas dinner later in the day. After a tense 24 hours, the threat receded. On December 27, 5th Anti-Tank moved into Breda, where they remained into the New Year, training and participating in several recreational events.
On January 8, 1945, 5th Anti-Tank returned to duty with their 4th CAD comrades along the Maas near Lith. Personnel received white coveralls for use during winter patrolling. During the first week of February, Allied aircraft conducted intensive patrols north of the Maas, while 4th CAD personnel constructed “dummy” batteries along the river. Supporting artillery guns also fired rounds across the Maas, actions designed to create the impression of an impending Allied offensive across the river.
Persuaded that an attack was imminent, German forces destroyed dykes in the area, causing water levels to rise almost two meters overnight. When the Allied offensive was launched on February 8, 1945, however, it took place east of Nijmegen, where British units launched an invasion of German territory between the Rhine and Maas Rivers.
While 2nd and 3rd Canadian Infantry Division units soon joined the Allied advance into the Rhineland. 4th CAD remained in its positions along the Maas for the first 10 days of the offensive, On February 19, 1945, 5th Anti-Tank moved out to a concentration area near Helvoirt and Vught, where battle groups assembled for an upcoming operation south of Kleve, Germany.
“Operation Blockbuster” commenced in “abominable weather” at dawn February 26. Heavy rains resulted in muddy conditions that made it impossible for 5th Anti-Tank to transport and operate its 17-pounder guns. Fortunately, British command provided its “assaulting formation” with several dozen Crusader Tower gun tractors and drivers. The large vehicles “did outstanding work… as armoured troop carriers to get infantry through heavy fire on their objectives, and then… to move casualties and supplies.” Several were lost due to direct hits, while others were disabled by mines. A total of 16 survived the day’s advance without damage.
During the operation’s initial stage, 5th Anti-Tank’s 14th Battery was placed under the command of 4th CAD’s 10th Infantry Brigade. Two of its Troops moved out to a concentration area in convoy formation at 0745 hours February 26. The “cross country route [was] very tough going [and the] forward concentration area [was] shelled occasionally by enemy.” Fortunately, the Troops suffered no casualties.
At 1800 hours, 14th Battery moved out with the South Alberta Regiment, travelling for approximately two kilometers before digging in for the night. The Battery’s war diary reported “very heavy gun fire all night - mostly outgoing” as the unit’s guns targeted enemy positions.
The morning February 27, 1945, was cloudy and overcast, with fair visibility. 14th Battery’s Headquarters and two Troops “proceeded forward” to an area near Keppeln, approximately four kilometers north of Uedem, Germany. The Battery’s war diary summarized the events that took place that morning:
“On route to battery area convoy fire on by snipers…. Gunner Rudolph # 52353 was killed and died instantly. Bombardier Lawhead was wounded and taken to Casualty Clearing Station. Battery arrived [in] designated area, but [was] forced to move several times by enemy shelling.”
Gunner Lawrence Arthur Rudolph was initially interred in a temporary cemetery along the Kappeln - Kalkar road, Germany. On March 7, 1946, his remains were re-interred in Groesbeek Canadian War Cemetery, 10 kilometers southeast of Nijmegen, Netherlands. Lawrence’s death was the second tragedy to impact the Rudolph family during the winter of 1944 - 45. On December 4, 1944, Lawrence’s 14-year-old brother, Basil Norman, had died in Little Liscomb, the result of an “accidental discharge of [a] gun containing shot.”
According to several Ancestry family trees, Basil Rudolph died in Little Liscomb around 1975. No further details are available on his death or final resting place. Elsie (Walters) Rudolph passed away in Herring Cove, Halifax County, on December 17, 1987, and was laid to rest in St. Luke’s Anglican Cemetery, Liscomb.
Photograph of Gunner Lawrence Arthur Rudolph courtesy of Irvin Hartling, Liscomb, NS.
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