B63753 Rifleman Edward Westerby was born on 30 June 1913, in Toronto, Ontario, the son of Thomas Frederick Westerby and Emma Jane Booth. He had three sisters and four brothers including Jack who was a gunner with the Royal Canadian Artillery during the war.

He attended Palmerston Public School and St Alban’s Sunday School and sang in St Alban’s choir. He left school at age 16 after three years at technical school and had been employed as a master cleaner at “Clean-it-eria.”

Westerby had previous militia service with the Army Service Corps when he enlisted in The Queen’s Own Rifles on 13 June 1940 when the QOR was mobilized for overseas service. He served with the Regiment in Newfoundland with “W” Force, New Brunswick and in England.

Rifleman Westerby was with Baker Company, one of the hardest hit QOR sub-units, when he landed on Juno Beach on D-Day, 6 June 1944 and was killed in action, aged 30. He is buried in Beny-sur-Mer Canadian War Cemetery, grave reference I. A. 5.