Private Raymond John Gagnon
By Mary Ann Grant
The son of Aimee and Emile Gagnon came to Rathburn, Ontario (Monck Road) from Alberta as a boy. The family operated a small strawberry farm on the 12th Concession of Mara Township. A happy-go-lucky lad, Gagnon enjoyed joking with his siblings and attending community dances.
He made an agreement with his older brother that Robert would stay home to help on the farm while Ray enlisted in the army. He belonged to Guardian Angels Parish and attended Orillia Collegiate Institute for two years, after which he went to work for the Tudhope Anderson Company.
Gagnon enlisted June 15, 1944. The recruiting officer described him as having “above-average learning ability and is mentally alert…his manner is quiet and subdued.”
He went overseas on October 21, 1944, joining his unit, the 10th Infantry Brigade, 4th Armoured Division, in Europe on November 18, 1944.
Gagnon fought battles in Belgium, Holland and Germany. He participated in an attack through a heavily fortified gap in Hochwald forest in Germany. At three in the morning, the battalion advanced uphill into the Hochwald Gap behind and artillery barrage. By the first light of day, the leading companies had fought down the eastern slope to a road where they tried to hold their position, despite efforts by the newly-arrived 24th Parachute regiment to dislodge them. Gagnon’s B Company took the brunt of the attacks and by nightfall had been reduced to 15 men. Gagnon lost his life in the action.
Private Raymond John Gagnon
Service Number: B/24458
Force: Army
Unit: Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders of Canada (Princess Louise’s)
Enlisted June 15, 1944
Shipped overseas October 21, 1944
Died February 28, 1945
Age at death: 23
Cause of death: Killed in action, Germany
Cemetery: GROESBEEK CANADIAN WAR CEMETERY – Netherlands
Grave Reference: XIV.D.11
We Shall Remember Them
Further reading:
Orillia’s Fallen: World War II: The Boys Who Didn’t Make it Mome by Jim Watt
Chronicling soldiers from Orillia and surrounding area who lost their lives. This book is available in the OMAH Shop.
Click on the book cover below to purchase the book.
Proudly She Marched by Anne Kallin
This book documents the service of 21,624 young women who served as part of the during World War II. Wartime newspaper accounts, photographs, and excerpts from the official War Diaries give a detailed experiences of their line of duty and the challenges they faced. These young women forever changed Canadian History being the first of their kind to served their country in military uniform.
Click on the book cover below to purchase the book.
With thanks to:
Jim Watt for generously allowing me to share his research and excerpts from his book
Veteran Affairs Canada veterans.gc.ca
Anne Kallin for her work documenting the role of the women in World War II
A Murder Plot and the Canadian Knights of the Ku Klux Klan
Currently on display at the OPP Museum, these items were seized by OPP members during investigations. The grey Canadian Knights of the Ku Klux Klan (KKK) t-shirt was seized as part of the 1982 investigation into forged passports that turned into a killer for hire....
CHIEF YELLOWHEAD’S JUSTICE IN 1832
Indians and Canoe at Coldwater River, 1844, Titus Hibbert Ware (Toronto Public Library)By Fred Blair, OMAH History Committee member and Family Historian This is a story of an accidental killing in 1832, an unsatisfactory trial verdict, and how Chief William Yellowhead...
THE TAITS OF ORILLIA
Andrew Tait, 1896. Photo from the Orillia Museum of Art & History Archives By William Leslie, Guest Contributor This is the story of the Tait family. William Tait, his wife, Mary and family left Scotland in 1848 for Canada, travelling from Liverpool to New York...
THE DAVENPORT BROTHERS
By Fred Blair, OMAH History Committee member and Family Historian About 1810, 20-year-old Benjamin Davenport, his younger brother William, and William’s wife Sarah arrived in Upper Canada (Ontario) as former Black slaves. William was born in Virginia about 1792 and...
THE ORILLIA WINTER CARNIVAL – A HISTORY
By P. (Trish) Crowe-Grande, Chair: OMAH History CommitteeWinter weather can bring short, bone-chilling days and long, dark nights with the sun setting much too early. For many of us, it can be challenging to find engaging activities that don’t involve bingeing an...
THE CANADA-AUSTRALIA SERIES
By David TownIt was another proud first for Orillia, and an astounding accomplishment – but as John Miller stepped off the train at the Orillia platform the only people there to greet him were his family. He had single-handedly negotiated, organized, and managed the...
2022 Year-end Message from the OMAH History Committee
by Trish Crowe-Grande, Chair, OMAH History Committee While this past year saw COVID-19 restrictions ease, the OMAH History Committee listened to its audience and continued to offer its popular History Speaker Series as well as the Annual Carmichael Art History...
MASSEY FAMILY HOME CHILDREN OF CANADA
Albert (Bert) Scaife Massey – OMAH CollectionBy Fred Blair, OMAH History CommitteeIn 1868, Anne Elizabeth Massey was born in Chelsea, London, England. She was the daughter of George and Elizabeth Massey. By 1891, the family had moved to Fulham, London and “Annie”,...
Elmes Yelverton Steele and the Napoleonic Wars
By Fred Blair OMAH History CommitteeIn 1798, Elmes Yelverton Steele joined the Royal Navy in England as an officer cadet. In 1799, the British acquired intelligence that Napoleon had commissioned four Spanish vessels to transport over twelve million pounds sterling...
THE HISTORY OF OMAH’S CLOCKTOWER
By Mary Ann Grant – OMAH History CommitteeWhat’s going on?? If you have been by OMAH recently you will have noticed the scaffolding installed on the building and the work underway. The Sir Sam Steele Memorial Building, specifically the clock tower, is getting some...