CommonSenseFreedom

THEY STOOD ON GUARD NOVEMBER 2, 1944 — SERGEANT CLIFFORD ALLEN LORD 🇨🇦 Before he flew into the dangerous skies over wartime Germany, Clifford Lord spent his days working at a Toronto movie theatre. He was just 19 years old when he lost his life. Born in Toronto on November 27, 1924, Clifford grew up on Rosemount Avenue, attended Regal Road School and Western Technical School, and worked as head usher at the Bloor Theatre from 1940 until 1943. That year, he left his civilian job to join the Royal Canadian Air Force. After training in Canada, Clifford earned his air gunner’s wings and went overseas to Britain. He became a rear gunner aboard an Avro Lancaster bomber with No. 153 Squadron RAF. Seated in a turret at the back of the aircraft, a rear gunner was responsible for watching the skies behind the bomber, detecting approaching enemy fighters and helping defend the crew. On the evening of November 2, 1944, No. 153 Squadron dispatched 18 aircraft on a bombing operation against Düsseldorf, Germany. Clifford was aboard Lancaster PB639 (P4-I), piloted by Flying Officer R. J. McCormack. It was a dangerous night. The bomber force encountered heavy anti-aircraft fire and enemy fighter activity. Clifford’s Lancaster was shot down over Germany, crashing in the Krefeld area. All seven men aboard were killed. The squadron’s history records that this was McCormack’s first solo operation as aircraft captain. Back in Toronto, Clifford’s parents, Herbert James and May Agnes Lord, received word that their son was missing following air operations over Düsseldorf. His sister Shirley was at home, while his brother Douglas was serving overseas with the Canadian Armoured Corps in Italy. The war had placed two sons of the same Toronto family in harm’s way, thousands of kilometres from home. Clifford’s remains were eventually laid to rest at Reichswald Forest War Cemetery in Germany, where he is buried in grave 2.D.7. He had once been a young Toronto theatre usher, surrounded by the everyday excitement of the movies. At 19, he was serving his country in the skies over Germany, entrusted with the defence of his fellow airmen. He never lived to see his twentieth birthday. Eighty-two years later, we remember Sergeant Clifford Allen Lord, his six crewmates, and the family who waited for him at home. Lest we forget. 🇨🇦 #TheyStoodOnGuard #LestWeForget #WWII

THEY STOOD ON GUARD Private Leslie Nelson Robbins (1898–1917) 21st Battalion, Canadian Infantry November 3, 1917 — Passchendaele, Belgium He was only 18 years old. His life ended on the battlefields of Belgium. Born in North Hastings, Ontario, Leslie Nelson Robbins enlisted in the Canadian Expeditionary Force at Bancroft on January 9, 1917. Less than ten months later, he was serving with the 21st Battalion amid the devastation of Passchendaele, where Canadian soldiers endured relentless artillery bombardments, shattered landscapes, and some of the most brutal conditions of the First World War. On November 3, 1917, Private Robbins was killed during an artillery barrage in the Ypres area. He was just 18 years old, only weeks away from his nineteenth birthday. Back home in Ontario, his mother, Maggie Robbins, was left to mourn the loss of her son. Unlike so many Canadians who disappeared into the mud of Passchendaele, Leslie was given an identified grave. Today, he rests in Tyne Cot Cemetery, Belgium, among thousands of soldiers who lost their lives in the fighting. Today, 109 years later, we remember a young Canadian whose life had barely begun. Private Leslie Nelson Robbins. We remember. #TheyStoodOnGuard #LestWeForget #WWI

THEY STOOD ON GUARD NOVEMBER 2, 1944 — RIFLEMAN ALLAN BRUCE SINGER 🇨🇦 Sometimes, a single photograph tells us more about the cost of war than a thousand words. In this photograph, Rifleman Allan Bruce Singer stands in uniform with his two young daughters, Berngula and Barbara. Allan’s family home was in Windsor, Nova Scotia. During the Second World War, he served with the Regina Rifle Regiment, part of Canada’s 3rd Infantry Division. By the autumn of 1944, his regiment was fighting in the Battle of the Scheldt, one of the Canadian Army’s most difficult campaigns in Northwest Europe. Although Allied forces had liberated Antwerp, its vital port remained unusable while German forces controlled the approaches through the Scheldt estuary. The Regina Rifles were among the Canadian infantry units that assaulted the Leopold Canal on October 6, 1944, as part of Operation Switchback. It was a brutal campaign fought across canals, flooded farmland and narrow roads, against determined German resistance. The fighting would continue for weeks. On November 2, 1944, as Canadian forces neared the completion of their operations to clear the German-held Breskens Pocket, Allan Bruce Singer was killed in action in Belgium. He died just one day before the southern shore of the Scheldt was secured. Back home in Nova Scotia, he left behind his wife, Edna, and their two little girls. In January 1946, Edna received official correspondence concerning the reburial of her husband’s remains at Adegem Canadian War Cemetery in Belgium. Years later, in May 1953, one of Allan’s daughters, now married, wrote to Canadian authorities seeking information concerning her father’s estate. Nearly nine years had passed since his death, yet its consequences were still part of his family’s life. Today, Rifleman Allan Bruce Singer rests at Adegem Canadian War Cemetery, grave X.H.1. He was a Canadian soldier, a husband, and a father of two little girls. In this photograph, we see the man they knew and loved — a father holding his children close, before war took him from their lives. Eighty-two years later, we remember Rifleman Allan Bruce Singer, his sacrifice, and the family he left behind. Lest we forget. 🇨🇦 #TheyStoodOnGuard #LestWeForget #WWII

THEY STOOD ON GUARD Private Herman Delbert Firby (1896–1917) 21st Battalion, Canadian Infantry November 3, 1917 — Passchendaele, Belgium Just 21 years old. Killed in the early morning fighting at Passchendaele. Born in Corinth, Ontario, on March 31, 1896, Herman Delbert Firby enlisted in the Canadian Expeditionary Force at Windsor on November 1, 1915. Two years later, almost to the day, he was serving with the 21st Battalion near Passchendaele, where Canadian soldiers faced relentless artillery fire, devastated terrain, and determined German resistance. In the early hours of November 3, 1917, German artillery opened fire on the battalion’s positions. At approximately 5:10 a.m., German assault troops attacked its right company, forcing a temporary withdrawal of some 50 yards. The battalion quickly reorganized and counterattacked, restoring its line. A second German assault at 5:40 a.m. was repelled by Lewis gun and rifle fire. Private Firby was killed by enemy shellfire that morning. He was just 21 years old. The battalion’s war diary recorded 43 dead and 91 wounded over 48 hours of fighting. Firby was among those who would never return home. He has no known grave. His name is inscribed on the Menin Gate Memorial in Ypres, Belgium, alongside thousands of soldiers whose final resting places remain unknown. Today, 109 years later, we remember a young Canadian whose life ended far from home. Private Herman Delbert Firby. We remember. #TheyStoodOnGuard #LestWeForget #WWI