B66090 Rifleman Douglas Philip Reed was born on 21 February 1918 in Toronto, Ontario, the son of Private Philip George Reed and Flora Edna Smith. He attended Dewson St Public School and two and a half years at Central Tech, and was a member of West United Church.

Reed had three sisters and two brothers – Gordon who also served in The Queen’s Own Rifles, and Ross who served in the Ordnance Corps. Their father served in WWII with the Toronto Scottish Regiment.

After joining the militia battalion of the QOR in July 1940, he enlisted with the active service battalion on 4 November 1940 in Toronto. Although the detailed records are missing from his service record, it is likely he served with “W” Force in Newfoundland and trained at Camp Borden and Sussex, New Brunswick before accompanying the regiment to the United Kingdom in July 1941.

Rifleman Reed landed on Juno Beach on D-Day, 6 June 1944 and was killed in action at age 26, as was his younger brother Gordon. He is buried in Beny-sur-Mer Canadian War Cemetery, grave reference I. C. 12  just two rows from his brother.