armstrong, walter douglas warrant officer class ii company ... · regina rifles, with walter, now...
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Armstrong, Walter Douglas
Warrant Officer Class II
Company Sergeant Major
Royal Canadian Infantry Corps
Regina Rifle Regiment
L/27753
Walter Douglas Armstrong was born on Tuesday,9 December,1919 in
Elbow, Saskatchewan, Canada. He was the fourth child in a family of
eleven children, eight girls and three boys: Jack, Bob, Phyllis, Walter,
Irene, Lois, Marjorie, Jane, Grace, Dorothy and Laura. Their father,
George Alexander (1894-1977) was born in Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan
and their mother, Ellen Lucinda Hirschy (1895-1978) in Berne, Adams
County, Indiana, USA. The family lived in Elbow, which owes I t’s name to
the elbow- shaped curve in the South Saskatchewan river. They attended
the United Church of Canada.
In 1934 the family packed up its possessions, collected the animals
together and with the help of a horse and cart, moved to Davidson, some
thirty miles away. George was a wheat dealer and also kept cattle. The
oldest son, Jack was always surprised that his father had no fear of the
coyotes they heard, when they went to bring in the cows for milking.
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Walter went first to school in Elbow and was active in the Boy Scouts;
he then followed four years of High School in Davidson until he was 17.
He worked for three years in a butcher’ s shop in Davidson. On 24
June,1940, then twenty years old, he joined the army in Regina, the
Saskatchewan capital city and was placed with the Regina Rifle Regiment.
Walter’ s brothers, Jack and Bob also registered and joined the Canadian
Air Force; Jack became a gunner and both brothers survived the war.
In his service records, Walter was described as 1m 83cms tall,
weighing 67.5kg, with brown eyes and dark brown hair. (There was a
small scar on the left of his forehead). He was sportive and enjoyed
playing hockey and running.
The history of the Regina Rifles began in the mid-19th century; social
unrest and rebellious Indian tribes forced the government to establish
civilian guards and militias. Regina founded its own home guard, the
Regina Blazers, and this was the basis. Its members were recruited from
the surrounding region and known as Farmer Johns in this predominantly
farming area.
Source-Regina Rifle Regiment Walter, 11th from the right.
Walter was first stationed in Dunbar Military camp and then sent to
Camp Debert in Nova Scotia. On 17 April,1941, he was promoted to Lance
Corporal. Leaving Canada 24 August, he arrived in England on 1
September. The home base for the Regina Rifles was near Southampton
at Hiltingbury Camp. Here he took part in training which included anti-
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invasion exercises in connection with a possible German invasion of Great
Britain.
Later there were sea landing manoeuvres In preparation for the D-day
invasion of France. General Eisenhouwer visited the Regiment in 1944
and told them ‘The big day is coming’. Walter, in the A-Company, was
promoted to the rank of Sergeant.
In the early morning of 6 June, D-day, the A and B companies of the
Regina Rifles, with Walter, now promoted to Sergeant, were approaching
the French coast of Normandy in the Dutch ship, Mecklenburg. Finally they
heard that they were heading for Juno beach near Courseulles-sur-Mer in
the Nan Green sector. At 8.05am they were the first to set foot on land
and were immediately involved in fierce fighting without the support from
the tanks, which were forty minutes behind schedule. Heavy losses are
being suffered and fighting is taking place every inch.
Walter crept over the beach with a light machine gun under enemy fire;
he came across a German machine gun post and with the help of two
other soldiers, was able to put it out of action. At the same time they were
being attacked from another direction. It was partly due to his efforts that
the rest of the Company was able to move forward into buildings on the
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right side of the Regiment. Later it was discovered that Walter had been
wounded with a bullet through one leg that went on to graze the other.
When the company commander inquired about his wounds, Walter
showed him only the grazed leg. Under fire, he moved towards his
Company and localized another enemy machine gun; putting this also out
of action, he made an outflanking movement and reached his comrades.
For the rest of the morning he lead his men forward until at 14.00hrs, his
commander ordered him to go to the ambulance post back on the beach,
for treatment. He was awarded the Military Medal for his courageous
actions on the Normandy beach. He had to stay some weeks in hospital
and finally returned to his Company on 26 August.
Walter Douglas Armstrong –Bron familie Boggs/Wehnes.
The fighting continued in the direction of Caen and the Regiment again
suffered a heavy loss of life. Moving along the French and Belgian coast,
on 6 October, the Regina Rifles joined in Operation Switchback and the
Battle of the Schelde; this aimed to free the river , so that the port of
Antwerp could be reached. After the Allied victory on 6 November,
Walter with his Company was transported to the Nijmegen area and they
spent Christmas, 1944 in the Netherlands. In December Walter was
promoted to the rank of Sergeant Major.
At midnight on 31 December, on the Dutch-German border, both the
German and Canadian soldiers began to shoot with light rail ammunition
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and produced a spectacular show for the New Year. On 8 February, 1945
there was a major attack on Germany; the Allies began their Rhineland
offensive under the name Operation Veritable. It began with what has
been called the biggest artillery campaign ever; with more than a
thousand guns, the German Reichswald defenses were successfully
attacked from the Groesbeek area by Canadian and British forces, led by
Field Marshall General Montgomery. The aim of Operation Veritable was
to free the land between the rivers Roer and Rhine from the north, while
American forces in another operation attacked from the south, a kind of
pincer movement.
The wintry weather in February, 1945 caused serious problems for the
offensive; the ground was no longer hard and there was constant rain.
The Germans also opened the sluices of the Roer river dams, causing
serious flooding across the low lying land.
On 16 February, a cold and misty day, the Regina Rifles were ordered
to attack Moyland wood, near Kalkar. They came under heavy enemy fire
and there were many casualties. One of them was Sergeant Major Walter
Douglas Armstrong who lost his life at the age of 25. A great loss for the
Company. Walter was much loved by his men.
He was buried in Bedburg Hau, in Germany, in the temporary Canadian
Military Cemetery. On 19 September, 1945, Walter was reburied in the
Canadian War Cemetery, Groesbeek, in the Netherlands. Plot X.D.9.
'The Lord is my Shepherd; I shall not want.'
Life story: Gijs Krist, Research Team Faces To Graves.
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Sources:
Commonwealth War Graves Juno Beach-Wikipedia
Canadian Commission Book of Remembrance Canadiansoldiers.com Forthvh.nl
Traces of War.nl Regina Rifles Regiment-Wikipedia
Honourthem.ca Katherine Boggs Charles Wehnes
Photo – family Boggs/ Wehnes.
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Information Military Medal.
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In Saskatchewan, a lake has been named in honour of Walter. Lake
Armstrong lies 120 miles northeast of La Rouge.
Photo – family Boggs/ Wehnes
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