James DeArze Gill McKie served with the Princess Patricia Canadian Light Infantry and the 2nd Canadian Guards. During World War ll he served with the PPCLI in Italy. McKie retired with the rank of Sgt. Major in 1962, having served in the Canadian Army since 1937. He died in 1987. The collection currently consists of three letters and one photograph.
Title
WWII
These collections contains all materials relating to Canadian from 1939 to 1945. Some individual collections may contain materials beyond this time frame. External links in collection descriptions are to casualty and burial information at the Commonwealth War Graves Commission.
Private Walter Elliot Middleton enrolled with the Royal Canadian Army Service Corps in Winnipeg, Manitoba, on July 16, 1940. Middleton served overseas in the United Kingdom, Europe, and in the Mediterranean before returning to Canada and demobilized on September 4, 1945. The collection consists of a letter written on D-Day, June 6, 1944.
Gerald Vincent Montague was born in London, England, in August 1910. He immigrated to Canada in the 1920s. Montague enlisted in September 1939 and served with The Canadian Scottish, 7th Division, 3rd Battalion, C Company in France, Belgium, Holland, and Germany before returning to Canada in 1946.
Leading Aircraftman Joseph Lorne Moore enlisted with the RCAF in 1943 at the age of nineteen and served overseas with the 436th Squadron stationed in India. The collection consists of more than sixty letters, as well as photographs and other personal items.
Eternal links:
L.A.C. Joseph Lorne Moore, (Serv/Reg# R208467), survived the war; his service record is not open to public access at this time.
[Editor’s note: A name and linking error was made in the Joseph Lorne Moore Collection in December of 2022, misidentifying and linking to the service file of of fellow RCAF member Lorne Joseph Moore. Corrected July 2023.]
Arthur Bryan Morlidge was from Lloydminster, Saskatchewan. He served with the 419 Squadron as a Flying Officer until he was shot down and killed in October, 1942. He is buried in the Netherlands. The collection currently consist of personal correspondence, official correspondence concerning his death, and some photographs.
External links:
Flying Officer Arthur Bryan Morlidge’s service record (Serv/Reg# J9762) can be viewed/downloaded in pdf format through Library and Archives Canada.
Burial information is available at the Commonwealth War Graves Commission.
A memorial page honouring Morlidge can be visited online at the Canadian Virtual War Memorial.
William Ivan Mouat left Salt Spring Island in British Columbia to join the RCAF and was sent overseas in 1941. In July 1943 Mouat was shot down over Belgium and remained a prisoner of war until he was liberated in May 1945. The collection consists of eighteen letters, seven telegrams, three photos and other documents related to his experience as a prisoner of war.
Alfred Fern Nelson was born in Victoria, British Columbia in July, 1922 and served overseas with the Calgary Highlanders. Nelson was wounded in France in the summer of 1944 and then taken prisoner in the fall of 1944. He remained a prisoner of war in Germany until the end of the war. The collection consist of more than thirty letters.
Private Leslie Abram Neufeld was born near Lost River, Saskatchewan, on January 17, 1922. He was among the oldest of ten children in the Mennonite farming family of Henry and Anna Neufeld.
He enlisted in the Army on January 13, 1942, in Saskatoon, Sask., initially serving overseas with No. 10 Field Ambulance, Royal Canadian Army Medical Corps. As planning for D-Day intensified, Neufeld transferred to the 1st Canadian Parachute Battalion in February of 1944 and trained as a paratrooper. Late in the evening of June 5, the plane carrying Neufeld’s “C” Company of the 1st Can. Para. Battalion took off from England, to parachute into Normandy, France, ahead of the main Allied landing forces of D-Day, June 6, 1944.
Neufeld was killed in action June 6, 1944; his body was never recovered. He is commemorated at the Bayeux Memorial in Bayeux, Normandy, France.
Content notes:
The first of the collection’s two letters was written by Neufeld to his family the day before his D-Day deployment. The second letter was to his brother Leonard H. Neufeld from the Saskatchewan government, informing him of the naming of “Neufeld Bay” in the Lac La Ronge district in honor of his brother Leslie.
The three poems, about war, duty and soldiering, were written by Neufeld in 1939, several years prior to his military service while he was still in high school.
External links:
Pte. Neufeld’s service record (Serv/Reg# L74243) can be viewed/downloaded in pdf format through Library and Archives Canada.
Burial information is available at the Commonwealth War Graves Commission.
A memorial page honouring Neufeld can be visited online at the Canadian Virtual War Memorial.
[Editor’s note: Collection reviewed/updated January 2023. One additional letter, three poems, and one telegram added. Transcriptions reviewed and errors corrected. Collection Description expanded (date of death of June 6, 1944, is the date designated by both the Commonwealth War Graves Commission and by Library and Archives Canada).]
Thomas Gerrard (Gerry) O'Dwyer was born in Vancouver, British Columbia in March 1923. O'Dwyer served overseas as a gunner with the Royal Canadian Artillery until his death on July 30, 1944. The collection currently consist of one letter and one photograph.
External links:
Gunner Thomas Gerrard O'Dwyer’s service record (Serv/Reg# K69964) can be viewed/downloaded in pdf format through Library and Archives Canada.
Burial information is available at the Commonwealth War Graves Commission.
A memorial page honouring O'Dwyer can be visited online at the Canadian Virtual War Memorial.
Bertram "Bert" Parker enlisted in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan in August, 1941. He was 23 years of age. During the war Parker served overseas with the 420 "Snowy Owl" Squadron, R.C.A.F. The collection currently consist of more than one hundred photographs from his time with the R.C.A.F.
This collection currently consists of one letter written in 1943 to Tom Paterson from his father while Tom was serving in Italy.
Edwin "Eddie" Frederick Patzer was born in Yorkton, Saskatchewan in August, 1920. He was a star defenceman with the Yorkton Terriers during the 1940-41 and 1941-42 seasons. Patzer enlisted with the RCAF and was flying with the 432 Squadon when he was shot down and killed over Germany, February 21, 1945. The collection currently consists of personal and official correspondence, photographs, as well as miscellaneous items as clippings and cards.
External links:
Flying Officer Edwin Frederick Patzer’s service record (Serv/Reg# J87362) can be viewed/downloaded in pdf format through Library and Archives Canada.
Burial information is available at the Commonwealth War Graves Commission.
A memorial page honouring Patzer can be visited online at the Canadian Virtual War Memorial.
Donald Elwood Pinder was born in Guelph, Ontario, in 1924. During WWII he served in the Merchant Marine, as well as in the Canadian Navy. Pinder served on the Nipigon in convoys in the North Atlantic, and for a short time on the Haida. The collection currently consists of numerous photographs and documentation from his time in the navy.
Flight Lieutenant Lawrence Valentine Pollard was a British citizen who enlisted during World War II in the Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve. He served in the Royal Air Force’s No. 214 Squadron prior to being posted to a Canadian unit, the Royal Canadian Air Force’s No. 429 Squadron, on September 3, 1943. He was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross on May 23, 1944.
Content notes:
One August 1940 photo of Wellington L4215, No. 214 Sqdn., R.A.F., with crew signatures. Most others are R.C.A.F./R.A.F. crew, most likely of No. 429 Squadron, 1943-44.
External links:
F/L Lawrence Pollard (Serv/Reg#s 118899, 440523) survived the war; his British service record is not publicly available at this time.
His Distinguished Flying Cross award was published in The London Gazette on May 23, 1944 (#36525 p. 2349).
Kenneth Wheatley Priske was born in 1923 and joined the RCAF. He was part of 10 Squadron RCAF when he was shot down and killed May 2, 1944. The collection currently consists of two newspaper clippings, a telegram, and a photograph.
External links:
Pilot Officer Kenneth Wheatley Priske’s service record (Serv/Reg# J88911) can be viewed/downloaded in pdf format through Library and Archives Canada.
Burial information is available at the Commonwealth War Graves Commission.
A memorial page honouring Priske can be visited online at the Canadian Virtual War Memorial.
Flight Officer Dennis John Quinlan was born in Edmonton, Alberta on April 4, 1920 and later moved to Calgary. Quinlan joined the R.C.A.F. in September of 1940 and participated in 25 operations before he was killed on August 17, 1942, at the age of 22.
External links:
Flying Officer Dennis John Quinlan’s service record (Serv/Reg# J6130) can be viewed/downloaded in pdf format through Library and Archives Canada.
Burial information is available at the Commonwealth War Graves Commission.
A memorial page honouring Quinlan can be visited online at the Canadian Virtual War Memorial.
Michael John Quinlan was born in July, 1915, the son of Mr. and Mrs. J.H. Quinlan of Prince Albert, Saskatchewan. Quinlan served with the RCAF as a Pilot Officer until his death in March, 1944. The collection currently consists of thirteen letters and three photographs.
External links:
Pilot Officer John Michael Quinlan’s service record (Serv/Reg# J85433) can be viewed/downloaded in pdf format through Library and Archives Canada.
Burial information is available at the Commonwealth War Graves Commission.
A memorial page honouring Quinlan can be visited online at the Canadian Virtual War Memorial.
Private Dennis Quinn was born March 17, 1923, in Crow Lake, Ontario, to parents Alexander Quinn and Ethel Quinn (later remarried as Ethel Cooper).
Quinn enlisted with the Canadian Infantry Corps on October 28, 1942, in Toronto, Ontario. On March 13, 1943, one month prior to shipping overseas to England, he was married to Doryne Shirley Jenkins.
Following several months spent training in England, Quinn fought in the Italy Campaign with the 48th Highlanders of Canada. He was wounded in action on October 4, 1943, and died that same day. He was 18 years old. Quinn was buried in Italy, initially in Foggia Civilian Cemetery, and later reburied in Bari War Cemetery.
Content notes:
Single letter collection, written by Quinn to his sister Mary during the time he was stationed in the Central Mediterranean Forces area. Quinn wrote his wife’s name as “Doryne” but it also appears in some records as “Doreen.”
External links:
Private Quinn’s service record (Serv/Reg# B134908) can be viewed/downloaded in pdf format through Library and Archives Canada.
Burial information is available at the Commonwealth War Graves Commission.
A memorial page honouring Quinn can be visited online at the Canadian Virtual War Memorial.
Flight Sergeant Edward "Ted" Gordon Coke Richards was born on October 10, 1916 and served as a gunner with the 49th Squadron. He was killed on a raid over Germany, March 15, 1945, leaving behind a wife and infant daughter in Canada. The collection consists of five letters, two photographs, and seventeen poems he wrote while stationed overseas.
External links:
Flight Sergeant Edward Gordon Coke Richards’ service record (Serv/Reg# R252612) can be viewed/downloaded in pdf format through Library and Archives Canada.
Burial information is available at the Commonwealth War Graves Commission.
A memorial page honouring Richards can be visited online at the Canadian Virtual War Memorial.
Trooper Val Max Harold Rimer was born in Toronto, Ontario, on February 8, 1923. His family later moved to Winnipeg, Manitoba.
He served in World War II with the 2nd Armoured Regiment, Lord Strathcona's Horse (Royal Canadians). Shipped overseas in 1943 aboard the RMS Queen Elizabeth, Rimer fought in the Italian Campaign, where he took part in the Battle for the Melfa River, and then in Belgium and Holland. Following the end of the war Rimer returned to Canada in 1946, travelling once again aboard the RMS Queen Elizabeth.
In 2005 Rimer received the Minister of Veterans Affairs Commendation award in recognition of his work “in numerous community initiatives devoted to the care and support of Veterans.”
Content notes:
The collection’s only letter was written by Rimer to his mother in December of 1943.
Please note: there is some uncertainty regarding Rimer’s full name. In the collection’s letter his name was written with his service number and rank as “Rimer, M.H.” and the letter signed as “Max.” Following the war it appears that the name he went by publicly was “Val Rimer,” which, for example, is the name in which his Minister of Veterans Affairs Commendation was issued. The collection name incorporates both war-time and post-war name formats.
External links:
Tpr. Val Rimer’s service record (Serv/Reg# H102549) is not currently open to public access through Library and Archives Canada.
Rimer’s receipt of the Government of Canada’s Minister of Veterans Affairs Commendation.
[Editor’s note: Collection updated July/2023. One new postcard added, letter transcription reviewed and jpg files added, duplicate letter posting error corrected, and Collection Description updated. The collection name was originally posted as “Rimer, Val”.]
