Benjamin Havelock “Ben” Cole was born in Canso, Guysborough County, on May 8, 1921. Ben’s parents were also Guysborough County natives. His father, William Howard Cole, was the son of John and Frances (Barss) Cole, Canso, while his mother, Melinda Caroline Greencorn, was the daughter of Christopher and Abigail “Abbie” Greencorn, Halfway Cove.
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| Gunner Benjamin Havelock Cole |
Howard and Melinda were married in Canso on March 7, 1904. At the time of the 1911 Canadian census, the Cole household included four children—Harold, age five (DOB February 1906); John “Jack,” age three (DOB August 1907); Luella, age two (DOB August 1908); and Martin, age one (DOB February 1910).
Over the next decade, three more children joined the Cole family—Aleta Edith (DOB January 25, 1913); Thomas William (c. 1918); and Ben, the youngest. Two daughters died in infancy—Jessie Mae (May 13, 1906) and Alice Myrtle (December 23, 1914)—while Aleta passed away in January 1931 at age 18.
Ben left school upon completing Grade X and worked in the local fishery for three years. On March 8, 1943, he enlisted with the Canadian Active Service Force in Halifax, NS. At month’s end, he reported to No. 60 Training Centre, Yarmouth, for basic infantry instruction. On June 3, Ben proceeded to A2 Canadian Army Training Centre (CATC), Petawawa, ON, where he qualified as a “Driver I/C [internal combustion] Class III” in mid-July.
Upon completing the Petawawa program on August 1, Ben received a two-week furlough. Shortly after returning to duty, he was posted to A7 Canadian Signal Training Centre, Kingston, ON. On November 19, he qualified as an “Artillery Signaller, Group C” and was awarded five days’s leave in early December. He then returned to Petawawa, where he awaited orders to proceed overseas.
On March 9, 1944, Ben was transferred to the Training Brigade Group, Debert, NS, where he spent one month prior to his overseas departure. He arrived in the United Kingdom on April 18 and was assigned to No. 1 Canadian Artillery Reinforcement Unit (CARU), St. Lucia Barracks, Bordon. While trained for service as an Artillery Signaller, he qualified as “Driver I/C Class B” in mid-May and “Driver Op [Operator] C” in mid-August.
Ben was placed on the Royal Canadian Artillery (RCA) reinforcement list on August 24 and departed for France the following day. Before month’s end, he was assigned to the 19th Canadian Army Field Regiment (CAFR), RCA. The unit consisted of three batteries from Ontario’s Military District No. 1—55th Field Battery (London, ON); 63rd Field Battery (Guelph, ON); and 99th Field Battery (Wingham, ON).
19th CAFR initially mobilized in August 1941 and trained in several locations across Canada—Camp Borden, ON; Prince Rupert, SK; and Petawawa, ON—from September 1941 to July 1943. Initially equipped with standard 18-pounder guns and 4.5 inch howitzers, the unit was later outfitted with 25-pounder RAMs, Canadian-designed, self-propelled artillery vehicles commonly known as “Sextons.”
Now a “self-propelled” unit assigned to the Royal Canadian Artillery, the 19th’s personnel adopted the nickname “Hell on Wheels.” 19th CAFR departed for overseas on July 21, 1943, and was assigned to the 5th Canadian Armoured Division (CAD). When 5th CAD departed for Italy in late 1943, the unit remained in the UK, where it was transferred to the 3rd Canadian Infantry Division’s artillery section.
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| Gunner Benjamin Havelock Cole (date and location unknown) |
During the winter of 1943-44, 19th CAFR exchanged its Canadian-made Sextons for American M7 Priests, self-propelled armoured vehicles equipped with 25-pounder guns. On D-Day, the unit was one of four artillery units attached to the 8th Canadian Infantry Brigade. Personnel strapped their Priests to landing craft as they escorted two waves of infantry units ashore, firing their guns at enemy positions throughout the process.
63rd Battery landed at St. Aubin-sur-Mer at 0910 hours June 6, 1944. 19th CAFR’s two remaining batteries came ashore throughout the morning and the unit organized outside the village, where its guns provided close fire support, repelling German counter-attacks on Canadian infantry units. During its first 24 hours in France, the unit suffered three fatalities, while another 18 men were wounded.
Gunner Benjamin Havelock Cole joined 19th CAFR’s ranks at Ryes, France, on August 29, 1944, and was assigned to the 63rd Battery, where he served as a Driver. The unit had just received 25 new RAMS, self-propelled guns also known as Mk 2 Cruiser tanks. At the time of Ben’s transfer, personnel were busy training in the new vehicles while maintaining and repairing old equipment.
Within 48 hours of Ben’s arrival, 19th CAFR was on the move, heading northward toward Belgium with the 4th Canadian Armoured Division (4th CAD) in pursuit of retreating German forces. Personnel crossed the French-Belgian border in the early morning hours of September 8 and proceeded to Moerbrugge, near the banks of the Leopold Canal.
Over the next two weeks, 19th CAFR’s batteries supported 4th CAD’s 10th Canadian Infantry Brigade (10th CIB) as its three battalions slowly pushed northeastward into Belgian territory. Their objective was the southern banks of the West Scheldt, a strategically valuable inlet that connected the port of Antwerp to the North Sea.
By late September, Canadian forces had contained German units in an area of Belgium and the Netherlands northeast of Bruges, known as the “Breskens pocket.” While the 3rd Canadian Infantry Division concentrated on clearing enemy forces from the pocket throughout October, 19th CAFR accompanied 4th CAD to an area north of Antwerp midway through the month.
For the remainder of October, 19th CAFR personnel supported the 10th Canadian Infantry Brigade as it advanced northward toward Bergen-Op-Zoom, Netherlands. Meanwhile, 2nd Canadian Infantry Division units on their left flank pushed westward into the Beveland peninsula, with the goal of securing the West Scheldt’s northern shore. Following the capture of Bergen-Op-Zoom on October 28, 4th CAD units continued to push northward. Within a week, the entire West Scheldt was under Canadian control.
On November 9, 19th CAFR travelled eastward to Loop op Zand, 30 kilometers southwest of s’Hertobenbosch, Netherlands. After a five-day defensive assignment along the Maas River, the unit relocated further east to a section of the front line on the Waal River, near Nijmegen.
German forces occupied the opposite bank, the two sides exchanging artillery fire daily as they settled in to their positions for the winter months. As the days passed, the river’s water levels began to rise, resulting in “considerable flooding” by November 26. The following day, 19th CAFR was relieved and retired to Molenhoek, 10 kilometers south of Nijmegen.
On November 28—the unit’s first full day out of the line in months—personnel serviced vehicles and equipment, “a difficult undertaking in the wet, muddy Holland flats.” That same day, Ben was “evacuated on medical grounds.” He was experiencing “some deafness and discharge from both ears,” the result of exposure to an explosive blast during his time in the line.
While both ears were infected, neither ear drum was perforated. On December 3, Ben was admitted to No. 6 Canadian Casualty Clearing Station, where he remained for one week before moving on to No. 109 British General Hospital, Duffel, Belgium. He spent the remainder of the month there before he was invalided to the UK on January 1, 1945.
After brief stays in St. Richards Hospital, Chichester, and No. 9 Canadian General Hospital, Horsham, Ben was admitted to No. 24 Canadian General Hospital, Horley, Surrey, where he remained under medical care for two months.
On February 28, Ben was discharged to No. 4 Canadian Convalescent Depot, where he spent another two months. During his time there, he experienced “vague head pain on exertion,” but medical staff could find no “objective” cause for the discomfort.
A May 2 medical assessment recommended discharge to a reinforcement unit “for full duty trial.” Six days later, Ben reported to 1 Canadian Reception Depot, where he was immediately granted 16 days’ leave. Upon returning to duty, he was assigned to No. 1 Canadian Artillery Reinforcement Unit (CARU).
As combat in Western Europe ceased on May 8, 1945, reinforcement units ceased operation at the end of June. Entries in Ben’s service file make no reference to a return to 19th CAFR. However, a “Hospital Discharge Notification” in his file states that he was involved in an accident in Ghent, Belgium, on July 11, 1945, “while riding as a passenger in a jeep after duty.”
Ben suffered a fractured skull and broke his left clavicle in the incident. Once again invalided to the UK, he was admitted to No. 2 Canadian General Hospital, Bramshott, where a note describes his condition at the time of his arrival: “Patient in stuporous condition[,] vomiting violently, slight bleeding from nose. Can be aroused from stupor but irritable and incoherent.” He remained in this condition for several days before showing signs of gradual improvement.
On July 23, Ben’s name was removed from the “seriously ill” list. Medical staff commented that, while he “eats and sleeps well, reads papers [and] talks clearly,” he was still “discontented.” A “Medical Repatriation Certificate” dated August 7 recommended return to Canada. One month later, Ben departed the UK.
Upon arriving in Halifax in mid-September, Ben was admitted to Debert Military Hospital, where he underwent a series of tests and examinations. By October 1, his condition had improved sufficiently for officials to grant him a one-month disembarkation leave.
Following his return to Debert on November 1, Ben’s health quickly deteriorated. He passed away in hospital at 0745 hours November 7, 1945, the cause of death identified as “acute yellow atrophy of liver,” a condition later attributed to his military service. Two days later, Ben’s remans were transported to Canso, where he was laid to rest in Fourth Hill Cemetery.
Ben’s mother Melinda passed away in Canso on February 10, 1964, and was also laid to rest in Fourth Hill Cemetery. Ben’s father Howard died in Eastern Memorial Hospital, Canso, on March 22, 1967, and was interred beside his wife.
Pictures of Gunner Benjamin Havelock Cole courtesy of Gerald Cole, Canso, NS. Original images enhanced by Ruth Young, Antigonish, NS.
