The following is a Honour Roll, of the soldiers from Rama and Mara Townships who gave their life in World War II, for your freedom.
DYING FOR FREEDOM
ISN’T THE WORST THAT COULD HAPPEN,
… BEING FORGOTTEN IS.
…
FALLEN HEROES OF WORLD WAR II
AGNEW, Ross Maddaugh: Flight Sergeant Navigator (Bomber), 34, service number R/100760, was a member of the Royal Canadian Air Force, 106th Sqdn. Died on February 11, 1943. He is buried in the Sage War Cemetery, Sage, Germany. He was the son of Thomas Clark Agnew and Sarah Elizabeth Maddaugh, of Washago. On June 4, 1947, a tablet was unveiled at the Rama Township Council Hall, Black River, to Honour Flt. Sgt. Agnew.
(about SAGE WAR CEMETERY, Sage was on the line of the Allied advance across northern Germany in 1945 but most of those buried at Sage War Cemetery were airmen lost in bombing raids over northern Euope whose graves were brought in from cemeteries in the Frisian Islands and other parts of north-west Germany. Sage War Cemetery contains 948 Commonwealth burials of the Second World War, 158 of them unidentified. There are also 23 war graves of other nationalities, most of them Polish.)
ANDERSON, Alice Lovina: Leading Aircraftwoman, Alice Lovina Anderson, service number w/309838, a member of the Royal Canadian Airforce, died on June 14, 1946, at the age of 22. She is buried in a family plot, in the Rama Reserve Cemetery. Alice is a daughter of Christopher and Jane Anderson of Rama.
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BLACK, Richard Godfrey: Private Black was a member of the Veterans Guard of Canada, he died on May 27, 1942, at the age of 50. In the 1st. World War, Pte. Black served, with the157th Battalion, where he was wounded and gassed. Richard was a son of Thomas Brett Black & Mary Anne Marshall. He is buried in the Atherley Union Cemetery, near the Black family stone, that honours his brother Thomas, who was killed in action in 1917. He was survived by his sister Mrs. Frank Anderson, of Atherley.
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COOPER, Edgar Harvey : Pilot Officer Cooper (Air Gunner) service number J/92339, was a member of the Royal Canadian Air Force, 9th (R.A.F.) Squadron. He died January 1, 1945 at the age of 21, when his aircraft crashed on take off, from his base in England. He is buried in the Harrogate (Stonefall) Cemetery, Yorkshire, United Kingdom, Sec. H., Row D., Grave 14. Edgar was a son of Oliver Cooper and Bertha Hazel Gray, of Cooper’s Falls. On June 4, 1947, a tablet was unveiled at the Rama Township Council Hall, Black River, to Honour P. O. Cooper.
(about HARROGATE STONEFALL CEMETERY–Many airfields were established in Yorkshire during the Second World War, among them R.A.F. station at Harrogate, Linton-on-Ouse, Tockwith, Rufforth and Marston Moor. No. 6 (R.C.A.F.) Bomber Group, had their headquarters at Allerton Park near Knaresborough and all the stations controlled by this group were in the area north of Harrogate, the largest base having its headquarters at Linton-on-Ouse. Nearly all of the 988 Second World War burials in Harrogate (Stonefall) Cemetery are of airmen, two-thirds of them Canadian. (1 of the burials is an unidentified R.A.F. airman), Many of these men died in the military wing of Harrogate General Hospital. During the early months of the war, a piece of land was set aside for service war burials in Sections 20E and 21E and in July 1943, the Air Forces Section was opened at the north-eastern corner of the cemetery for burials from airfields in Yorkshire and the north-eastern counties. A few of the war graves from this period are scattered elsewhere in the cemetery. There are also 23 servicemen of the First World War buried or commemorated at Harrogate Stonefall. This total includes six casualties alternativley commemorated by special memorial because their graves in churchyards elsewhere* could no longer be maintained. * Low Moor (Wesley Place) Methodist Churchyard; Edlington (St Peter) New Churchyard ; Denholme Wesleyan Reform Chapelyard.)
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COULTER, Everett Malcolm : Warrant Officer Class II, was a member of the Royal Canadian Air Force, 78th Squadron. He died 20 February, 1944, he has no known grave, his name appears with that of 20,000 airmen who have no known grave. They died for freedom in raid and sortie over the British Isles and the lands and seas of Northern and Western Europe. WO Coulter was a son of Rev. Joseph and Mrs. Bessie (McNaughton) Coulter. His name appears on the Mara Township Cenotaph, by the Brechin Legion.
(about- RUNNYMEDE MEMORIAL, SURREY, UNITED KINGDOM-The Air Forces Memorial at Runnymede commemorates by name over 20,000 airmen who were lost in the Second World War during operations from bases in the United Kingdom and North and Western Europe, and who have no known graves. They served in Bomber, Fighter, Coastal, Transport, Flying Training and Maintenance Commands, and came from all parts of the Commonwealth. Some were from countries in continental Europe which had been overrun but whose airmen continued to fight in the ranks of the Royal Air Force. The memorial was designed by Sir Edward Maufe with sculpture by Vernon Hill. The engraved glass and painted ceilings were designed by John Hutton and the poem engraved on the gallery window was written by Paul H Scott.)
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DACK, John Albert : Private Dack, was a member of the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders of Canada, (Princess Louise’s ) service number B/162301. He was born 20 May 1919, in Brechin. A son of Mr. John James Dack & Margaret Jane Snodden. Pte. Dack was killed in action, 21 April , 1945, and is buried in the Holten Canadian War Cemetery, Netherlands, grave VII. C. 16.
(about HOLTEN CANADIAN WAR Cemetery–The Netherlands fell to the Germans in May 1940 and was not re-entered by Allied forces until September 1944. The great majority of those buried in Holten Canadian War Cemetery died during the last stages of the war in Holland, during the advance of the Canadian 2nd Corps into northern Germany, and across the Ems in April and the first days of May 1945. After the end of hostilities their remains were brought together into this cemetery. Holten Canadian War Cemetery contains 1,393 Commonwealth burials of the Second World War.)
DOHERTY, Ambrose Patrick: Rifleman Doherty, was a member of the Queen’s Own Rifles of Canada, R.C.I.C.– service number B/83617. Born in Mara Twp., 18 Feb. 1920, a son of William Doherty and Roseanna Fountain. He was part of the 3rd Canadian Division’s invasion of Normany (D-DAY), and died 11 June 1944. He is buried in the BENY-SUR-MER Canadian War Cemetry, Calvados, France, grave III B. 2.
(about BENY-SUR-MER CANADIAN WAR Cemetery–The Allied offensive in north-western Europe began with the Normandy landings of 6 June 1944. Many of those buried in Beny-sur-Mer Canadian War Cemetery were men of the 3rd Canadian Division who died either on 6 June or during the early days of the advance towards Caen, when the Division engaged a German battle group formed from the 716th Division and the 21st Panzer Division. The cemetery contains 2,048 Second World War burials, the majority Canadian, and 19 of them unidentified.)
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FERGUSON, Gordon Joseph : Flight Sergeant Ferguson, was a member of the Royal Canadian Air Force, service number R/112953, R.A.F 207TH Squadron. He died January 14, 1944, at the age of 24, and is buried in the Hanover War Cemetery, Hanover, Germany. Born in Mara Township, 11 July 1920, a son of John Joseph Ferguson & Mary Phoebe Scott.
(about the HANOVER WAR CEMETERY- -Many of the graves in Hanover War Cemetery were brought in from prisoner of war camp cemeteries, small German cemeteries and from isolated positions in the surrounding country. The cemetery contains 2,407 Commonwealth burials of the Second World War, 62 of them unidentified. There are also 39 non-war burials and 10 war graves of other nationalities, most of them Polish. Hanover War Cemetery adjoins Hanover Military Cemetery, a substantial post war cemetery of more than 3,000 burials. )
GAGNON, Raymond John : Private Gagnon, was a member of the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders of Canada, (Princess Louise’s ) service number B/ 24458. At the time he enlisted, he was living in Rathburn, a farm labourer, son of Emile Gagnon. He died 28 February, 1945, in the Battle of Rhineland, and is buried in the Groesbeek Canadian War Cemetery, (Nertherlands) with 2338 other Canadians .grave XIV. D. 11. His name appears on the Mara Township Cenotaph , by the Brechin Legion.
(about the GROESBEEK CANADIAN WAR Cemetery–Allied forces entered the Netherlands on 12 September 1944. Airborne operations later that month established a bridgehead at Nijmegen and in the following months, coastal areas and ports were cleared and secured, but it was not until the German initiated offensive in the Ardennes had been repulsed that the drive into Germany could begin. Most of those buried in GROESBEEK CANADIAN WAR CEMETERY were Canadians, many of whom died in the Battle of the Rhineland, when the 2nd and 3rd Canadian Infantry Divisions and the 4th Canadian Armoured Division took part in the drive southwards from Nijmegen to clear the territory between the Maas and the Rhine in February and March 1945. Others buried here died earlier or later in the southern part of the Netherlands and in the Rhineland. The cemetery contains 2,610 Commonwealth burials of the Second World War, and nine war graves of other nationalities. Within the cemetery stands the GROESBEEK MEMORIAL, which commemorates by name more than 1,000 members of the Commonwealth land forces who died during the campaign in north-west Europe between the time of crossing the Seine at the end of August 1944 and the end of the war in Europe, and whose graves are not know. )
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KING, Harvey: Private King, a member of the Royal Canadian Infantry Corps, died on May 18, 1943. A son of Walter and Nancy King of Longford Mills, he is buried in the Rama Reserve Cemetery.
LOVEDAY, William John : Corporal Loveday, was a member of the Saskatoon Light Infantry (M.G.), R.C.I.C . A husband of Luella Grace Loveday, of Sudbury, Ontario. He died 5 December, 1944, and buried in the Ravenna War Cemetery, Italy, grave II. G. 6. His name appears on the Mara Township Cenotaph, by the Brechin Legion.
(about the RAVENNA WAR CEMETERY- On 3 September 1943 the Allies invaded the Italian mainland, the invasion coinciding with an armistice made with the Italians who then re-entered the war on the Allied side. Following the fall of Rome to the Allies in June 1944, the German retreat became ordered and successive stands were made on a series of defensive lines. In the northern Appenine mountains the last of these, the Gothic Line, was breached by the Allies during the Autumn campaign and the front inched forward as far as Ravenna in the Adratic sector, but with divisions transferred to support the new offensive in France, and the Germans dug in to a number of key defensive positions, the advance stalled as winter set in. Ravenna was taken by the Canadian Corps at the beginning of December 1944, and the burials in the cemetery there reflect the fighting for the Senio line and the period of relative quiet during the first three months of 1945. Many of the men buried there were Canadians; one of the last tasks of the Canadian Corps before being moved to north-west Europe was the clearing of the area between Ravenna and the Comacchio lagoon. Others are Indians from the 10th Indian Division, and New Zealanders. The site for the cemetery was selected by the Army in 1945 for burials from the surrounding battlefields. Ravenna War Cemetery contains 955 Commonwealth burials of the Second World War, 63 of them unidentified. There are also 33 First World War burials, 30 of them brought in from Gradisca Communal Cemetery in 1973, the others from communal cemeteries at Arzigano, Fano and Monterosso al Mare. Among those buried in the cemetery are 33 men of the Jewish Infantry Brigade Group which was formed in September 1944, chiefly by volunteers from Palestine; the burials at Ravenna form the largest concentration of casualties from the Brigade. There is 1 Merchant Seaman whose death is not attributable to war service and 1 French burial.)
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McCARTHY, Dennis Gerrard : was a member of the Stormont, Dundas and Glengarry Highlanders, R.C.I.C., service number B/127653. He died 18 June 1944, age 26, and is buried in the Bretteville-sur -Laize Canadian War Cemetery, Calvados, France, grave XIV. F. 5. A son of John McCarthy and Katherine Laura Harrigan, of Brechin. His name appears on the Mara Township Cenotaph, by the Brechin Legion.
(about the BRETTEVILLE-SUR-LAIZE CANADIAN Cemetery–The Allied offensive in north-western Europe began with the Normandy landings of 6 June 1944 (D-Day). For the most part, those buried at Bretteville-sur-Laize Canadian War Cemetery died during the later stages of the battle of Normandy, the capture of Caen and the thrust southwards – led initially by the 4th Canadian and 1st Polish Armoured Divisions – to close the Falaise Gap. Almost every unit of Canadian 2nd Corps is represented in the cemetery. The cemetery contains 2,958 Second World War burials, the majority Canadian, and 87 of them unidentified. )
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MCLAUGHLIN, Edmund Francis : Sapper McLaughlin, was a member of the R.C.F. service number B/129606. He returned from overseas in poor health, and succumbed to his illness two years later at a Military Hospital in Toronto, 2 September 1947, at the age of 25. He was a son of Hugh McLaughlin and Ethel Philomena McCorkell, of Mara, his brother Patrick was killed in action, and his brother Joseph also served overseas. Sapper McCorkell is buried in St. Columbkille’s Cemetery, in Uptergrove. His name appears on the Mara Township Cenotaph, by the Brechin Legion
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MCLAUGHLIN, Patrick Ignatius : Warrant Officer Class II, was a member of the Royal Canadian Air Force, 407th Squadron, service number R/93495. He was shot down over the Bay of Biscay, while scouting submarines, 30 June 1943. His body was never recovered, and his name is on the Runnymede Memorial, along with the names of twenty thousand airmen who have no known grave. Patrick was the son of Hugh McLaughlin and Ethel Philomena McCorkell, of Mara. His name appears on the Mara Township Cenotaph, by the Brechin Legion.
(about RUNNYMEDE MEMORIAL, SURREY, UNITED KINGDOM-The Air Forces Memorial at Runnymede commemorates by name over 20,000 airmen who were lost in the Second World War during operations from bases in the United Kingdom and North and Western Europe, and who have no known graves. They served in Bomber, Fighter, Coastal, Transport, Flying Training and Maintenance Commands, and came from all parts of the Commonwealth. Some were from countries in continental Europe which had been overrun but whose airmen continued to fight in the ranks of the Royal Air Force. The memorial was designed by Sir Edward Maufe with sculpture by Vernon Hill. The engraved glass and painted ceilings were designed by John Hutton and the poem engraved on the gallery window was written by Paul H Scott.)
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MUGAN, James Edward Aloysious: Sergeant Mugan, service number R/ 179993, a Service Policeman, of the Royal Canadian Air Force. Born in Mara, Oct. 15, 1915, a son of James Mugan and Catherine McGrath. When he enlisted in 1942, he was working at the Royal York Hotel, and married to Elsie Louise Lennard, living in Toronto. He was killed accidently, May 3, 1945, as a result of a motor cycle accident, and buried in the Hamburg Cemetery, Germany. The Commonwealth section of the Hamburg cemetery contains 1,466 Second World War burials, mostly of servicemen who died with the occupying forces, or airmen lost in bombing raids over Germany.
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NEWMAN, John William : Flying Officer John William Newam, a son of Harper F. Newman and Laura Mabel Westcott, of Gamebridge. He died 28 March 1945, while on a training mission. His body was never recovered. His name appears on the Ottawa Memorial, in Ottawa. It also appears on the Mara Township Cenotaph, by the Brechin Legion.
(about The Ottawa Memorial stands on the north-eastern point of Green Island in the City of Ottawa. Overlooking the northern branch of the Twin Falls of the Rideau River, it commands a panoramic view of the Ottawa River and the Gatineau Hills beyond. The Memorial commemorates those of the Air Forces of the British Commonwealth who lost their lives while serving in units operating from bases in Canada, the British West Indies and the United Sates of America, or while training in Canada and the U.S.A., and who have no known graves.)
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ST. GERMAINE, Charles William Myers: Private St. Germaine, was a member of the South Saskatchewan Regiment, R.C.I.C. , service number B/43624. He killed in action, 16 September, 1944, and is buried in Adegem Canadian War Cemetery, Belgium, grave V.F. 6. A son of John & Lillian St. Germaine, of Rama.
(about the ADEGEM CANADIAN WAR Cemetery–In the last week of September 1944, the Allies held the city of Antwerp, Belgium, but the Germans held both shores of the Scheldt estuary, so that the port of Antwerp could not be used. The task of clearing the southern shore of the estuary was allotted to the 3rd Canadian Division, aided by the 4th Canadian Armoured Division and the 52nd Division. Their operations lasted from October until the beginning of November 1944; by 3 November the Germans had been cleared from the north-west corner of Belgium and the south shore of the Scheldt was free. There had been fierce fighting for two weeks for the crossing of the Leopold Canal. The majority of the men buried at Adegem died during the operations for the clearance of the south bank of the Scheldt, but many Canadians who lost their lives elsewhere in Belgium were also brought here for burial. A number of isolated graves from various communal cemeteries and churchyards in Belgium have also been brought into this cemetery since the end of the war. The cemetery now contains 1,119 Commonwealth burials of the Second World War and one unidentified burial of the First World War. There are also 33 Polish and two French burials.)
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SPEIRAN, Billy : Private Speiran was a member of the Royal Regiment of Canada, R.C.I.C., service number B/136971. He died 30 July 1944, at the age of 20, and is buried in the Bretteville-sur-Laize Canadian War Cemetery, Calvados, France, grave XIII. F. 11 . Billy was a son of John Wesley Speiran and Mabel Ainsworth of Udney. His name appears on the Mara Township Cenotaph, by the Brechin Legion.
(about the BRETTEVILLE-SUR-LAIZE CANADIAN CEMETRY–The Allied offensive in north-western Europe began with the Normandy landings of 6 June 1944. For the most part, those buried at Bretteville-sur-Laize Canadian War Cemetery died during the later stages of the battle of Normandy, the capture of Caen and the thrust southwards – led initially by the 4th Canadian and 1st Polish Armoured Divisions – to close the Falaise Gap. Almost every unit of Canadian 2nd Corps is represented in the cemetery. The cemetery contains 2,958 Second World War burials, the majority Canadian (2782), and 87 of them unidentified. )
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STEELE, John Thomas : Sergeant Steele, was a member of the Linclon and Welland Regiment, R.C.I.C., Service number B/41182. He died 12 December, 1942 at the age of 21. He was a son of John Thomas ans Annie (Hobson) Steele. Sergeant Steele was one of ninty-nine individuals who perished in a fire at the Knights of Columbus Hostel, in St. John’s, Newfoundland. He is buried in the St. John’s (Mount Carmel) R.C. Cemetery, St. John’s, Newfoundland, Canada. His name appears on the Mara Township Cenotaph, by the Brechin Legion.
(about the St. John’s MOUNT CARMEL, Cemetery- St. John’s is protected by a land-locked harbour which was used as a naval base during the Second World War. The city was also the headquarters of the Newfoundland Area of the Atlantic Command and a strong defence post. Most of the Second World War graves in St. John’s (Mount Carmel) Cemetery are of victims of a fire which broke out in the Knights of Columbus Hostel in St. John’s on 12 December 1942. Other victims of the fire were buried in Mount Pleasant Cemetery and a few in the Anglican Cemetery in St. John’s. The cemetery contains 11 Commonwealth burials of the First World War, 32 burials and commemorations from the Second and one Dutch war grave. )
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STINSON, Sandford Frederick: Trooper Stinson, was a member of the Sherbrooke Fusiliers Regiment, R.C.A.C . , division 27th Armd. Regt. , service number B/49365. He was married and living in Rama, when he enlisted. Sandford was killed in action, 8 July, 1944, and is buried in the Beny- Sur-Mer Canadian War Cemetery, Calvados, France.
(about BENY-SUR-MER CANADAIN WAR Cemetery- The Allied offensive in north-western Europe began with the Normandy landings of 6 June 1944(D-DAY). Many of those buried in Beny-sur-Mer Canadian War Cemetery were men of the 3rd Canadian Division who died either on 6 June or during the early days of the advance towards Caen, when the Division engaged a German battle group formed from the 716th Division and the 21st Panzer Division. The cemetery contains 2,048 Second World War burials, the majority Canadian, and 19 of them unidentified.)
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