WorldWar II
FallenSoldiers - RockwoodCenotaph
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LAWRENCENELLISGRAHAM
A58918Craftsman
Born:
14March1920 inEramosaTownship, Ontario
PreviousOccupation:
Farmer
Enlisted:
9 January 1942
Died:
16December 1944 at the age of 24
Buried:
Schoonselhof Cemetery, nearAntwerp, Belgium
LawrenceNellisGrahamwas born inEramosaTownship on 14March
1920 to JohnWingfield andElizaMary Jane (neeNellis) Graham.
Hewas the only surviving son of their ten children (JessieAgnes,
EllenElizabeth, ColenaEdna, Margaret Lillian, Evelyn Irene, plus
four childrenwho died as babies: MarionEliza, Gertrude, Una and
Benjamin). Alongwith his sisters, hewas raised on the family farmon Lot 2, east half of Concession
VI &west half of Con.VII of EramosaTownship. Hismother was incapacitatedwithMyocarditis and
he left school at the age of 15 toworkwith his father on the farm.
On 4December 1941, under theNational ResourcesMobilizationAct (NRMA), hewas conscripted
intohome defence service. At this time, therewas an increasing shortage of farm labour and his
parents’ healthwas deteriorating. It is alleged that the officers of the #10BasicTrainingCourse
advised him that hewouldnot be able to go back home to the farm until thewar was over and they
encouraged him to volunteer for Overseas service, which he didon 9 January 1942. During his
medical, PrivateGrahamwas found to haveasthma and rhinitis but was deemed fit. About eleven
months later, his father suffered a stroke that left one side of his body paralyzed andwith a speech
impediment. Hismother tried towork the farmwith the help of oneof his sisters and neighbours
(whoalso had their own farms to look after). Hewas granted compassionate leave from 15
December 1942 to 3May 1943 to help care for his parents and prepare the farm for spring planting.
Hewas granted an extension toplant the crops but on 16May, hismother died of a cerebral
hemorrhage. On compassionate grounds, he applied for a discharge (or at least further leave). His
applicationwas supportedby the family doctor (who had previously served as aMajor in theMedical
Corps) whowrote “Lawrencewas the only one left towork this prosperous farm but it has nowgone
toweeds. The110acres sustained12milk cows, 9 young cows, 3work horses, 2brood sows, 10
sucklingpigs, 400 hens and cockerels and about 20 geese.” Senior Officers reviewed his situation
but did not want to allow “farmers’ sons dispensation” and turned down his request.
PrivateGraham returned to theArmy and qualified as a driver/mechanic andwas assigned to
theRoyal CanadianElectrical andMechanical Engineers, 4thArmouredTroopsWorkshop as a
Craftsman. He departedCanada on 24April 1944 andafter spending onemonth inEnglandwas
shipped toFrance on 28 July.
CraftsmanLawrenceNellisGrahamwas killed by aV2 rocket on 16December 1944 inBelgium. He
is buried at Schoonselhof Cemetery, nearAntwerp, Belgium. His name is alsomemorialized in the
Books of Remembrance in thePeaceTower of theCanadianParliament Buildings, Ottawa.
FallenSoldiers - RockwoodCenotaph
5
JER YTAYLORGUTH IE
R1 3851/J29230FlyingOfficer
orn:
21 ay 1922 inActon, Ontario
Previous ccupations:
Farming and Leather FactoryWorker
Enlisted:
1September 1942 inGuelph, Ontario
ied:
28/29 July 1944 inHamburg, Germany
uried:
Nordfriedhof, official BritishMilitaryCemetery inKiel,
Germany
JerryTaylor Guthriew s bornon 21May 1922 toThomasPark andMargaret Stewart (neeMackie)
Guthrieof RR#1Acton. Hewas the young st son of their four children (Hector Campbell b.1909,
Barb raMitchell b.1912 andD uglasTobin b.1918). Th ywer raised on the family farm on the
ast Part of Lot 1, ConcessionVII, t Crewson’sCor e s. After graduating fromS.S.#12Esquesing
School in 1935, he attendedActonContinuationSchool until he left in 1937 towork as a farmhand
for his father. He alsoworked for t
Beardmore Leather Company i Ac on. He enjoyed hunting
and a interested i bec ming a gunsmith.
InGuelphon 1September 1942, Jerry enlisted into theRoyal CanadianAir Force. He initially
was posted toLondona thenHamilton for basi training beforebeing sent to theUniversity of
Toronto for pr -aircr w educa ion and xams. Upon gradu tio , hewas sent to the #9Bombing
andGunn rySchool inM nt Joli, Quebecwhere he graduated second out of 109 fellowstudents.
On 26 June1943, Jerrywas promoted t the rank f L adingAircraftsman. On 3August 1943,
re eived a laceration to his right legwhile trying to “jump t fence” to sneak out to the opera house
for an evenng. This did not appear t get him intomuch trouble ecau e thre ays later, h was
pr moted toSergeant, at th same tim being recognized for his skill by eceiving hisAir Gunn r
Badge. Hewas promot d toPil t Officer less than thr eweeks before shipping out toEngland from
Halifax on 26August 1943. After arriv l inEngland five days later, P/OGuthriewas assigned to #82
Operational TrainingUnit - RAFOssington inNottingham hire, wh re they reported “Guthriewas
anexceptio ally good gunner”. OnNewYear’ Eve, hewas posted t #61Operational Training
Unit - RAFHeston, just west of Londo . During this time, hewas prom ted toFlyingOfficer on6
Febru ry 1944 and amonth later, F/OGuthriewas posted to an operational unit, RCAF 408 “Goose”
Squadronbased inYorkshir .
The night of 28/29 July 1944, n his 21st operational trip, F/OGuth ie’s squadron as part of n
attack o heGerm n port city of Hamburg. During this trip, hisHalifaxVII bomber was shot down
and all seven crewwere killed. Theywere initially buried in amass gravemarkedwith a singlewhite
cross, ina field n ar th N rt SeaCoast, outside of the town of Meldorf. The cros wasmarked
inFrench “Ici reposent sept viateursCanadians(sic) bombes(sic) dans la nuit, le 28 au le(sic) 29
juillet 1944” – “Here lie seve irme Canadian bombs(sic) at night, 28 to 29 July 1944”. Shortly
after theWa , their bodieswere exhumedand reburied in theNordfriedhof, official BritishMilitary
Cemetery inKiel, Germany. F/O JerryTaylor GuthrieandF/OC.F. McDougall were reburied in the
same gr ve nd share a common arker. J rryT ylor Guthrie’s nam is alsomemorializ d in the
Books of Remembrance in theP aceTower of theCanadianParli
nt Buildings, Ott wa. His
MilitaryMedals including: 1939-45Star,Air CrewEuropeStar withFra ce an GermanyClasp,
CanadianVolunteer ServiceMedal,WarMedal (1939-1945), theOperationalWings, Memorial Bar
andMemorial Crosswere sent to hismother at RR #1Acton.
