World War II | The Queen's Own Rifles of Canada Regimental Museum and Archive

Above: Claire Mitchell holds a photo of Canadian soldiers who participated in the tests in the Nevada desert. At the centre of the photo is her husband, Peter Mitchell, who died in 2008 of cancer.

From the Summer/Fall 2008 issue of the Powder Horn.

By Lieutenant Colonel Grahame Baskerville CD

The QOR has now had an Airborne tasking for almost 25 years and is the only Militia unit able to retain this tasking. Many Regular Force QOR members qualified as parachutists and served with distinction with the Airborne Regiment. Also within the Regular Force the QOR had members who had served in WW II with the 1st Cdn Parachute Battalion as well as British Airborne Forces. As a matter of Regimental historical detail, it would be interesting to determine who was the first person wearing a QOR hat badge to qualify as a parachutist. Was it someone during WW II or was it later?

One of the earliest Regular Army paratroopers was MWO (Ret) Pete Mitchell. He enlisted (at age 17) in 1944 with the 2nd (Reserve) Bn QOR in Toronto. He joined the Regular Army in 1951 and went to Germany with the 1st Cdn Rifle Bn (QOR Coy) in 27 Bde. Sgt Mitchell, along with Sgt Fred Swan (also QOR) returned to Canada in 1952 and went to Rivers, Manitoba where they qualified as parachutists on Basic Para Course 164. They remained at Rivers as Para Instructors. Sgt Swan later re-badged to PPCLI to continue his parachuting and Pete Mitchell returned to 1 BN QOR in 1954 where he served in Calgary and Germany. He later rebadged to PPCLI and retired in 1980. Hearsay evidence indicates that these two were the first to return to Canada for parachutist training. As Mitchell is ahead of Swan alphabetically, it is highly possible that Pete Mitchell may be the first QOR person to qualify as a parachutist. Are there others?

[MUSEUM NOTE: In the summer of 1926, Colonel James (Jim) G. K. Strathy, OBE, OStJ, CD, ED (then a Lieutenant with The Queen’s Own Rifles) was training as a pilot at CFB Borden and was required to complete a parachute jump which he did – with much success obviously! Whether that means he was a “qualified parachutist” could be debatable however it seems extremely likely he was the first QOR to actually make a parachute jump.]

NOTE: In 1957 the 1st Bn QOR was selected to provide a platoon for nuclear weapons training at the United States Atomic Energy Commission Test site at Yucca Flats, Nevada. MWO Mitchell was selected to be the Platoon Sgt for this task which involved 40 members of the 1st Bn QOR working with US Army units and being subjected to six atomic blasts over a two-month period with no protective clothing or shelter other than slit trenches. They were assured repeatedly that they had not been exposed to harmful levels of radiation and they accepted these assurances in good faith.

Like many of the others, Pete Mitchell developed cancer in later life and died in early summer, after much physical distress. The Canadian Atomic Veterans Association continues to pursue the Canadian government for compensation – so far without fair results.

[MUSEUM NOTE: in September 2008, the Canadian Government announced an ex-gratia payment of $24,000 per person for those that had had nuclear exposure. The Canadian War Museum now includes the story of the Canadian atomic veterans.]

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Shortly many of us will be standing in front of cenotaphs, wrapped up from the biting cold wind, wearing poppies, laying wreaths and silently remembering during the silence between Last Post and Reveille.

As a Regiment, the Queen’s Own Rifles have much to remember:

In its baptism of fire during the Battle of Ridgeway in June, 1866 the QOR saw its first casualties – 7 killed in action and 2 later dying of wounds – some of whom had left their final University of Toronto exams the day before. Nineteen more were wounded including Rifleman White whose arm was eventually amputated.
In 1885 the Regiment sent a contingent 274 soldiers to Canada’s Northwest to put down a perceived rebellion by local Métis and First Nations. While all the QOR returned alive, five suffered wounds.
In the South African War Canada contributed troops for overseas service for the first time through a Service Battalion to which the Queen’s Own contributed – three would not return. Two died of enteric fever (typhoid) and one was killed in action.
During the First World War, The Queen’s Own through recruitment sent 210 officers and 7,352 men overseas and of these 47 regimental officers and 1,207 other ranks were killed in action, died of wounds, or died from natural causes – almost 1 in 6. To this day, Major General Malcolm Mercer remains the highest ranking Canadian Officer to be killed in combat. And of course this doesn’t include those who did return but with missing limbs, lungs damaged from gas, blinded, or suffering shell-shock.
The Second World War also saw significant casualties: 28 officers killed; 365 other ranks killed while serving with the 1st Battalion, QOR; 3 died in England; 1 in Canada; 1 in Holland; 61 Queen’s Own men died whilst serving with other units. Fifty officers and 823 other ranks were officially reported as wounded – many more than once.
WWII was hardly over before the QOR found themselves in Korea where six gave the ultimate sacrifice.
Since then numerous soldiers have died in accidents and of natural causes while serving in the Regular Force and Reserve battalions.

Thousands of QOR soldiers have given their lives since 1866 and this November 11th we will once again honour and remember them.

However each Remembrance Day I also remember those closer to home. An ancestor who fought in the War of 1812, a grandfather and several great uncles who fought in the First World War – some came home and one didn’t. And perhaps most poignantly, my paternal grandfather who during the Second World War, left a wife and 4 young children to serve in the 5th Canadian Field Ambulance. He lies buried in a hilltop Commonwealth War Graves Commission Cemetery with all his fellow Canadians who were killed in Sicily. Mt Etna smokes in the distance and one realizes how far from home it was.

As we lead up to this November 11th when we will honour all those who have served and sacrificed, I invite you to tell us in the comment section below, who do you remember?