Second World War Cenotaph Updates

Leading Aircraftman Frederick George Barber
Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve
Born 1911
Died December 9, 1941 at 30 years old
Buried at Woodlawn Cemetery, Guelph
Leading Aircraftman Barber was in the first class to graduate from No. 4 Wireless School in November 1941. He was killed in a flying accident three miles west of Fisherville, Ontario, when two Ferry Battle Bombers collided in mid-air. The wing of one of the aircraft was shorn off and the plane plummeted to earth, killing two airmen and the flying instructor. The other plane returned safely to base.

Sergeant Harry Jacob Bockner
Royal Canadian Artillery
Born November 27, 1910
Killed in Action April 11, 1945 at 34 years old
Buried at Holten Canadian War Cemetery, Netherlands
Sergeant Bockner, son of Anna Bockner and the late M. Bockner, trained on the west coast of Canada before going overseas in 1943. He served in Africa and Italy until his Division was transferred to the western front. He was killed during his first battle on the western front.

Craftsman John Woodrow Crawford
Royal Canadian Electrical and Mechanical Engineers
Born November 3, 1918
Died September 17, 1945 at 26 years old
Buried at Woodlawn Cemetery, Guelph
An inspector at Leland Electric Company, Craftsman Crawford previously worked as a machine operator at Zephyr Looms in Guelph. He died of “lesion central nervous system” at Westminster Hospital in London, Ontario.

Private Wilfred Nicholas Dover
11th Field Ambulance, Royal Canadian Army Medical Corps
Born March 23, 1914
Killed in Action August 19, 1942 at 28 years old
Buried at Brookwood Military Cemetery, Surrey, United Kingdom
Private Dover was killed at Dieppe. He was survived by his wife Jean Evelyn Dover.

Leading Aircraftwoman Sarah Josephine Breese Foran
Royal Canadian Air Force (Women’s Division)
Born September 27, 1920
Died June 30, 1943 at 22 years old
Buried at Guelph Marymount Cemetery
Leading Aircraftwoman Foran was stationed at the No. 7 Bombing and Gunnery School. She died after an “operation for a pelvic tumor complicated by paralytic ileus” at Paulson, Manitoba.

Private Samuel Glazier
71st Battalion, Canadian Infantry & No 1 Company, Veterans Guard of Canada
Born November 28, 1891
Died December 27, 1947 at 56 years old
Buried at Woodlawn Cemetery, Guelph
After serving during the First and Second World Wars, Private Glazier died at Westminster Hospital in London, Ontario of uremia, pyonephrosis, ascending pyelonephritis, and bronchopneumonia. A memo from the Canadian Pension Commission declared that his death was related to military service.

Private John David Hasson
Highland Light Infantry of Canada, R.C.I.C.
Born August 11, 1923, Guelph
Killed in Action June 10, 1944 at 20 years old
Buried at Beny-Sur-Mer Canadian War Cemetery, Calvados, France
The casualty card for Private Hasson states that he died in France and his remains are buried “in the orchard of the Lemarnier farm.” He was survived by his parents, James and Marie Hasson.

Gunner Reginald Wilbert Malott
63rd Field Battery, Royal Canadian Artillery
Born April 6, 1910
Died January 23, 1942 at 32 years old
Buried at Woodlawn Cemetery, Guelph
Gunner Malott worked for Canadian National Railway as a porter in Guelph prior to enlisting. Identified on his autopsy report as a “person of colour,” he died of acute military tuberculosis in Toronto.

Flight Sergeant Reginald Thomas White Marsh
142 (R.A.F.) Squadron, Royal Canadian Air Force
Born April 9, 1923, Guelph
Died August 10, 1944 at 21 years old
Buried at Bucharest War Cemetery, Romania
Flight Sergeant Marsh was born in Guelph, enlisted in Hamilton and had been serving in Italy since June 1944. It is believed he was killed during air operations.

Pilot Officer Albert John Morgan
434 Squadron, Royal Canadian Air Force
Born February 13, 1911
Killed in Action June 13, 1944 at 33 years old
Buried at Dunkirk Town Cemetery, Nord, France
Pilot Officer Morgan, a graduate of Ontario Agriculture College, was stationed in Yorkshire, England. He participated in the Battle of Normandy. On June 12, 1944, he and his crew took off destined for Arras, and never returned. He was presumed to be dead on April 28, 1945.

Flight Lieutenant Richard Blake Palmer
357 Squadron, Royal Canadian Air Force
Born November 20, 1919
Died March 15, 1944 at 24 years old
Buried at the scene of the crash, Burma. Memorialized at Singapore Memorial, Singapore
Flight Lieutenant Palmer was a student at the Ontario Agricultural College at the time of his enlistment in June 1941. He married Mary Elizabeth Clarke shortly after his enlistment, on November 29, 1941. He was killed during air operations while on a secret mission in Burma when the plane he was piloting crashed into the side of a mountain. In memory of their only son, Edmund and Florrance Palmer established The Richard Blake Palmer Horticultural Trust to support the improvement of ornamental plants.

Gunner Edward James Patterson
19th Field Regiment, Royal Canadian Artillery
Born February 25, 1923
Killed in Action November 7, 1944 at 21 years old
Buried at Bergen-Op-Zoom Canadian War Cemetery, Netherlands
Gunner Patterson was employed by Jack Stuart Cleaners and Pressers as a presser in Guelph. The son of Harold and Sarah Patterson of Cork Street, he attended Central School and GCVI, and had previous military experience with 2/43rd Field Battery, R.C.A.F.

Sergeant Clarence Nixon Peters
Royal Canadian Artillery
Born August 3, 1914
Died 1944 at 30 years old
Buried at Antwerpen Schoonselhof Communal Cemetery, Belgium
Sergeant Peers lived in Guelph, was married and worked as a bookkeeper prior to the war. It is believed he died as a result of an amputation to his right femur.

Gunner Vincenso Ruggerio, aka Jimmy Rogers
19th Field Regiment, Royal Canadian Artillery
Born June 24, 1920, Guelph
Killed in Action July 8, 1944 at 24 years old
Buried at Beny-Sur-Mer Canadian War Cemetery, Calvados, France
Prior to the war, Gunner Ruggerio worked as a shipper at Leland Electric Company Limited in Guelph. He had previous military experience with the International Brigade Spain from 1937 to 1939. He was survived by his parents Vincenso and Lucy Ruggerio. He was recognized previously on the Roll of Honour as Jimmy Rogers.

Flying Officer Everlyn Leonard Ware
Royal Canadian Air Force
Born 1912
Killed in Action September 7, 1943
Buried at Chester Blacon Cemetery, Cheshire, United Kingdom
Flying Officer Ware was the son of Martin Alfred and Gertrude Augusta Ware, and husband of Clara Elizabeth Ware.

Private Charles Humphrey Wilson
10th Canadian Infantry Brigade, Lincoln and Welland Regiment
Born June 13, 1922
Killed in Action March 8, 1945 at 22 years old
Buried at Groesbeek Canadian War Cemetery
Private Wilson, the only child of Wilkins and Susan Wilson of Eden Mills, attended high school in Guelph and played hockey for the Guelph Juveniles. After leaving school at age 17, he worked for Cooke and Denison Tool and Die Works in Guelph until he enlisted at London, Ontario in September 1943. He was killed in action while taking part in fierce fighting in the German town of Veen.