Tag Archives: Bény-sur-Mer Canadian War Cemetery

The Life of Private Marcel Gauthier (Part 2)

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By Ariane Gauthier

I first learned about Marcel Gauthier a few years ago when I was visiting the Bény-sur-Mer Canadian War Cemetery, in France. Although we share the same surname, Marcel is not my ancestor. Still, I have always remembered this young man—the only Gauthier buried in this large cemetery. With the release of the 1931 Census, I finally had the opportunity to learn more about him. As a result, I would like to share with you how the many resources of Library and Archives Canada (LAC) can be used to piece together a person’s life, such as an ancestor or a soldier.

The second part of this blog will explore Marcel Gauthier’s life, from his military enlistment to his death.

A black and white picture of a young man in his military uniform.

Photograph of Private Marcel Gauthier, age 21, published in an Ottawa newspaper to announce his death overseas (Canadian Virtual War Memorial).

Private Marcel Gauthier (Joseph Jean Marcel Gauthier)

  • C/102428
  • Le Régiment de la Chaudière, R.C.I.C.
  • Date of birth: November 18, 1922
  • Date of death: July 15, 1944
  • Age at time of death: 21 years old

His military record is available in LAC’s database Second World War Service Files—War Dead, 1939 to 1947.

On January 29, 1943, shortly after enlisting, Marcel left Ottawa to begin training in Cornwall, unaware that he would never see his hometown again.

Despite the convictions that led him to join the army, Marcel is not a model soldier. In Cornwall, he left his station, the camp hospital, without official permission. His seven-day absence resulted in disciplinary action being taken against him in the form of monetary penalties—in this case, the loss of three days’ pay—for being AWOL (absent without official leave). The rest of his training is without further incident. On April 1, 1943, Marcel is transferred to the Valcartier base where he joins the Voltigeurs de Québec infantry unit. On July 11, 1943, Marcel embarked on a ship bound for England, where he would train alongside 14,000 other Canadian soldiers in preparation for the Normandy landings. On September 3, 1943, he was transferred to the Régiment de la Chaudière, with which he would storm Juno Beach on the fateful day of June 6, 1944.

Training for the Normandy landings is very well documented, thanks in particular to war diaries. Produced by each regiment of the Canadian Army, these documents make it possible to follow their actions and activities. For example, the war diary of the Régiment de la Chaudière tells us that shortly after Marcel’s assignment on September 4, 1943, the order was given to move to Camp Shira, in Scotland, to carry out exercises in preparation for the landings. In the same month, the war diary describes the training and progress of the Régiment de la Chaudière’s four different companies, A, B, C and D, in reaching their targets, as well as incidents along the way.

The regiment’s war diary also includes regimental orders, which are precise enough to trace Marcel’s route at the time of the landings and during the Battle of Normandy, since they include his company and its movements. According to the regimental orders of September 1943, Marcel was assigned to D Company. On D-Day, Marcel was to remain on the landing craft until A and B companies had reached their objectives in the Nan White sector, before disembarking on the beach as reinforcements. To this end, the diary provides the training syllabus and describes the exercises carried out in preparation for the landing.

On June 6, 1944, Marcel embarked with D Company on the ship Clan Lamont, which was preparing to cross the English Channel. The last breakfast was served at 4:30 a.m. and then, by 6:20 a.m., everyone was aboard the ship that set off in turbulent seas toward Bernières-sur-Mer. Many were ill due to anxiety and seasickness. At 8:30 a.m., the Régiment de la Chaudière disembarked to join the fight in which the Queen’s Own Rifles Regiment was already engaged. But a storm the night before, which disrupted the tidal currents, combined with fierce resistance from the Germans, delayed the arrival and progress of the Queen’s Own Rifles. While they should have already taken Bernières-sur-Mer before the Régiment de la Chaudière arrived, they were trapped on the beach under enemy fire, unable to advance.

Close-up of a map of Juno Beach divided into sectors.

Detail from a map of the Juno Beach area (e011297133). The Régiment de la Chaudière landed in the Nan White sector at Bernières-sur-Mer.

Ultimately, the German defence gave way under pressure, allowing the Canadian Army to enter Bernières-sur-Mer and to secure the surrounding area. By day’s end, the companies of the Régiment de la Chaudière regrouped at Colomby-sur-Thaon, thus helping establish a bridgehead for the Allies in France. It was an important victory, but only the beginning of the Battle of Normandy, which would last for more than two months and claim many more lives.

Advances continued throughout the month of June. The Régiment de la Chaudière gradually approached the city of Caen to seize control of it. However, there was still one vital objective to conquer: Carpiquet. This village with its airfield had been fortified by the Germans, who relied heavily on it to resist the Allies. Taking Carpiquet and its airfield would be tantamount to dismantling the strategic point of the German air force closest to the Allies. It would also open the doors to the conquest of Caen.

The offensive on Carpiquet began on July 4 at 5:00 a.m. B and D companies were part of the first Allied assault group, advancing under cover of an enormous barrage provided by 428 guns and the 16-inch cannons of Royal Navy battleships HMS Rodney and HMS Roberts. However, the enemy’s defence was fierce. The Germans were better positioned and organized; they had even had time to fortify their positions with concrete walls at least six feet thick. That morning, they rained down a veritable deluge of artillery shells and mortar rounds. The first day’s action left many members of the Régiment de la Chaudière dead or wounded.

Canadian soldiers attend a briefing at Carpiquet airfield.

Briefing of Canadian infantrymen outside a hangar at the airfield, Carpiquet, France, July 12, 1944 (a162525). Taken after this vital point was seized, this photo reveals the ravages of this bloody battle.

On July 8, 1944, Marcel Gauthier was hit by shell fragments. The explosion left him with a serious head wound and his regiment quickly brought him to the nearest Canadian Army Medical Corps station. He was taken to the 22nd Canadian Field Ambulance, then sent to Casualty Evacuation Station No. 34, and was finally admitted to the 81st British General Hospital where, despite the personnel’s best efforts, he succumbed to his injuries on July 15, 1944. He was posthumously awarded the France and Germany Star for his service.

Soldiers load a wounded soldier on a stretcher into a military ambulance.

A soldier of the Régiment de la Chaudière who was wounded on July 8, 1944, during the battle for Carpiquet receives care from the 14th Field Ambulance of the Canadian Army Medical Corps (a162740). This is not Marcel Gauthier, but one of his fellow soldiers.

Marcel Gauthier is buried in lot IX.A.11 at the Bény-sur-Mer Canadian War Cemetery. His gravestone bears the inscription submitted by his father, Henri: “Our dear Marcel, so far away from us, we will always think of you resting in peace,” where his name liveth for evermore.

Additional resources

Ariane Gauthier is a Reference Archivist with the Access and Services Branch of Library and Archives Canada.

A selection of records about D-Day and the Normandy Campaign, June 6 to August 30, 1944

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By Alex Comber

With part 1 of this post, we marked the 75th anniversary of D-Day and commemorated Canada’s participation in the June 6, 1944, invasion of northwestern Europe, and the Normandy Campaign, which ended on August 30, 1944. In part 2, we explore some of the unique collections that Library and Archives Canada (LAC) holds about these events, and highlight some records that are the most accessible to our clients online. Through outreach activities, targeted and large-scale digitization, DigiLab and our new and Co-Lab initiatives, LAC is striving to make records more easily available.

A black-and-white image taken from moving film, showing soldiers exiting a landing craft.

A frame of Canadian Army Newsreel No. 33, which includes a sequence of film from the Canadian D-Day landings on June 6, 1944

LAC staff receive many reference requests about our collections of photos. Canadian Film and Photo Unit (CFPU) personnel went ashore 75 years ago, on D-Day, filming and photographing as they landed. During the Normandy Campaign, they continued to produce a visual record that showed more front-line operations than official photographers had been able to capture in previous conflicts. Film clips were incorporated into “Canadian Army Newsreels” for the audiences back home, with some clips, such as the D-Day sequence above, being used internationally.

Photographers attached to the army and navy used both black-and-white and colour cameras, and the ZK Army and CT Navy series group the magnificent colour images together.

A colour photograph showing an armoured vehicle with a large main gun.

A British Centaur close-support howitzer tank assisting Canadians during the Normandy Campaign (e010750628)

Some of the most iconic imagery of the Canadian military effort in Normandy was incorporated into the Army Numerical series; by the end of hostilities, this had grown to include more than 60,000 photographs. The print albums that were originally produced during the Second World War to handle reproduction requests can help in navigating this overwhelming amount of material. Researchers at our Ottawa location refer to these volumes as the “Red Albums,” because of their red covers. These albums allow visitors to flip through a day-by-day visual record of Canadian army activities from the Second World War. LAC has recently digitized print albums 74, 75, 76 and 77, which show events in France from June 6 until mid-August 1944.

A page of black-and-white photographs showing photos of landing craft, destroyed enemy beach defences, and villages and landing beaches.

A page from Army Numerical print album Volume 74 of 110, showing the immediate aftermath of the landings (e011217614)

LAC also holds an extensive collection of textual records related to the events of June–August 1944. One of the most important collections is the War Diaries of Canadian army units that participated in the campaign. Units overseas were required to keep a daily record, or “War Diary,” of their activities, for historical purposes. These usually summarized important events, training, preparations and operations. In the Second World War, unit war diaries also often included the names of soldiers who were killed or seriously injured. Officers added additional information, reports, campaign maps, unit newsletters and other important sources in appendices. Selected diaries are being digitized and made accessible through our online catalogue. One remarkable diary, loaded in two separate PDF scans under MIKAN 928089, is for the 1st Canadian Parachute Battalion, the first Canadian soldiers in action on D-Day, as part of “Operation Tonga,” the British 6th Airborne Division landings.

A colour digitized image of a typescript account of D-Day operations.

Daily entry for June 6, 1944, from the War Diary of the 1st Canadian Parachute Battalion, detailing unit objectives for Operation Overlord (D-Day) (e011268052)

War diaries of command and headquarters units are also important sources because they provide a wider perspective on the successes or failures of military operations. These war diaries included documents sourced from the units under their command. Examples that are currently digitized include the Headquarters of the 3rd Canadian Infantry Division, from June and July 1944.

: A colour digitized image of a typescript account of D-Day operations.

War Diary daily entries for early June 1944, including the first section of a lengthy passage about operations on June 6, 1944 (e999919600)

LAC is also the repository for all Second World War personnel files of the Canadian Active Service Force (Overseas Canadian Army), Royal Canadian Navy and Royal Canadian Air Force. The service files of approximately 44,000 men and women who died while serving in these forces from 1939 to 1947 are open to the public. These records include the more than 5,000 files of those who died in operations during the Normandy Campaign. As the result of a partnership with Ancestry.ca, a portion of every open service file was digitized. This selection of documents was then loaded on Ancestry.ca, fully accessible to Canadians who register for a free account. To set up a free account and access these files on Ancestry.ca, see this information and instruction page on our website.

These records have great genealogical and historical value. As the following documents show, they continue to be relevant, and they can powerfully connect us to the men and women who served in the Second World War, and their families.

Medical document that shows a schematic view of upper and lower teeth, with annotations indicating missing teeth and dental work.

Private Ralph T. Ferns of Toronto went missing on August 14, 1944, during a friendly-fire incident. His unit, the Royal Regiment of Canada, was bombed by Allied aircraft as soldiers were moving up to take part in Operation Tractable, south of Caen. Sixty years later, near Haut Mesnil, France, skeletal remains were discovered. The Department of National Defence’s Casualty Identification Program staff were able to positively identify Private Ferns. The medical documents in his service file, including this dental history sheet, were important sources of information. Ferns was buried with full military honours at Bretteville-sur-Laize Canadian War Cemetery in 2008, with his family in attendance

An official document written in French, dated July 1948, that responds to a family request to communicate with those caring for the grave of Private Alexis Albert, North Shore (New Brunswick) Regiment.

Private Alexis Albert, serving with the North Shore (New Brunswick) Regiment, was killed in action in France on June 11, 1944. Four years later, his father, Bruno Albert, living in Caraquet, New Brunswick, requested the address of the family that was tending his son’s grave at Bény-sur-Mer Canadian War Cemetery in France, to thank them. The Director of War Service Records, Department of Veterans Affairs, provided this response, which helped to connect the grieving family in Canada with French citizens carefully maintaining the burial plot in Normandy.

These are only a few examples of LAC records related to the Canadian military effort in France from June 6 until the end of August 1944. Our Collection Search tool can locate many other invaluable sources to help our clients explore the planning and logistical efforts to sustain Canadian military operations in France, delve deeper into the events themselves, and discover personal stories of hardships, accomplishments, suffering and loss.

A black-and-white photograph showing many rows of Imperial War Graves Commission headstones, and a large Cross of Sacrifice.

Bény-sur-Mer Canadian War Cemetery, which includes the graves of 2,000 Canadian soldiers who died during the early phases of the Normandy Campaign (e011176110)

Alex Comber is a Military Archivist in the Government Archives Division at Library and Archives Canada.