The South Saskatchewan Regiment
The South Saskatchewan Regiment had its origins 3 July 1905. It was designated the 95th Regiment, and was authorized in the districts of Assiniboia and Saskatchewan. More than 30 years later, on 15 December 1936, the amalgamation of two existing regiments, the Weyburn Regiment and the Saskatchewan Border Regiment, brought about the establishment of the South Saskatchewan Regiment as we know it today. After fighting in the First World War, the Regiment was mobilized once again as the South Saskatchewan Regiment, C.A.S.F., on 1 September 1939. The troops from Saskatchewan left for the United Kingdom on 16 December 1939.
On 19 August 1942, the South Saskatchewan Regiment took part in an operation that has not been forgotten, the Dieppe Raid. Brave soldiers from the Regiment pushed over the beach at Dieppe in the dim light of the early morning and entered the small village of Pourville, believing that surprise had been achieved. To their dismay, however, the Germans had detected the raid and the South Saskatchewan Regiment was met with heavy gun fire by the enemy. By the end of the Dieppe Raid the South Saskatchewan Regiment had suffered 84 casualties.
Lieutenant-Colonel of the South Saskatchewan Regiment, Charles Cecil Ingersoll Merritt, was awarded the Victoria Cross for gallantry and inspiring leadership during the Dieppe Raid. From Dieppe, the troops moved into Normandy on 8 July 1944 as a unit of the 6th Infantry Brigade, 2nd Canadian Infantry Division. They were stationed there until the end of the war and were disbanded on 15 December 1945.
To commemorate the Regiment's hard work and bravery in the Dieppe Raid, a monument was erected at Pourville, just west of Dieppe, where the Regiment landed on that ill-fated day.
South Saskatchewan Regiment Casualties
Estevan list
L13363 Private Richard Harker Chapman was killed in action 3 March 1945 at Hochwald during operations to clear the west bank of the Rhine.
L13370 Private James (Jim) Arbuckle Clarke was killed in action at Dieppe 19 Aug 42.
L12162 Lance Corporal Charles William Cowan of Shand was killed in action 8 Aug. 44 in Operation Totalize during the push to Falaise.
L104059 Private John Dukart was killed in action 28 Aug. 1944 at Forêt de la Londe during the pursuit to the Seine.
L13340 Private George Lawrence Hollingdale was killed in action 16 Aug. 1944 at Vilers-Canivet in Operation Tractable during the push to Falaise.
L13131 Lance Corporal William (Billy) James Knight was killed in action at Dieppe 19 Aug 42.
Major (George) Reginald Matthews was killed in action 20 July 1944 and is buried at Bretteville-sur-Laize Canadian war cemetery, Calvados, France. Matthews was the acting commanding officer of the regiment when he was killed.
L13364 Corporal Percy Ernest McIlvenna was killed in action 7 Aug. 1944 during the push to Falaise.
L12091 Lance Corporal (William) James Muirhead was killed in action 20 July 1944. Muirhead survived the Dieppe Raid but not the battle for the Falaise Gap.
L12371 Sergeant David William Murray was killed in action 27 July 1944 at Ifs during the push to Falaise. Murray missed the Dieppe Raid because of an accident, but landed with his regiment in Normandy after D-Day. He was killed by mortar fire during the breakout from Caen.
L12681 Private Charles (Fred) Frederick Pinkney was killed in action at Dieppe 19 Aug 42.
L13333 Private David Everett Pow died 22 Aug 1942 of wounds incurred during the Dieppe raid.
L12031 Lance Sergeant Donald Everett Purvis was killed in action 20 July1944 at Verrières Ridge.
L13332 Lance Sergeant George Salmond Jr. was killed in action at Dieppe 19 Aug 42.
L13741 Private Joseph Sava was killed in action 20 July1944 at Verrières Ridge.
L12122 Private Norman William Thomson was killed in action at Dieppe 19 Aug 42.
L12695 Private Robert Adams Wallace was killed in action at Dieppe 19 Aug 42.
L12119 Corporal Harry Winn died 25 July 1944 during the push to Falaise. Winn was wounded at Lavillenures and died two days later.
L12033 Private John Thomas Winn (b.1918) of Estevan was KIA killed in action at Dieppe 19 Aug 42. He is a cousin of Harry Winn.
South Saskatchewan Regiment Casualties
Weyburn list
L12530 Private William Bahnuick was killed in action 19 Aug 1942 at Dieppe.
L12164 Private Robert George Burns was killed in action 19 Aug 1942 at Dieppe.
L12405 Sergeant Cyril Barnes Clark was killed in action 19 Aug 1942 at Dieppe.
L12289 Private Jules Alphonse Gagnon was killed in action 19 Aug 1942 at Dieppe.
L12086 Lance Corporal Walter Celest Heinzman was killed in action 19 Aug 1942 at Dieppe.
L12844 Private Clifford Gerrald Ismond died 12 March 1942 of mumps, measles and septicaemia. Ismond's life was not a particularly happy one. His father was killed in an accident when he was quite young; his mother spent most of the rest of her life in the mental hospital at Weyburn. His military file is full of notes regarding forfeiture of pay for lost kit and other misdemeanours. Ismond was court martialed at Camp Vernon for desertion and transferred in custody to Dundurn, where he died in the camp hospital.
L13173 Private Frank Jewell was killed in action 19 Aug 1942 at Dieppe.
Lieutenant Leonard George Kempton was killed in action 19 Aug 1942 at Dieppe.
Lieutenant Edwin Robert (Ted) Kercher Jr. died 5 Aug 1944 during the push to Falaise. Kercher, who was mentioned in despatches for heroism at Dieppe when he was a corporal, was wounded at Verrières and died the next day.
L12113 Private Joseph Le Blanc was killed in action 19 Aug 1942 at Dieppe.
M38343 Private George Joseph Lightfoot Jr. (b.1920) of Del Bonita, Alberta, was killed in action 20 Dec. 1944.
L12267 Warrant Officer 2 James Michael McAvoy was killed in action 19 Aug 1942 at Dieppe.
L12636 Private William James Morrison was killed in action 19 Aug 1942 at Dieppe.
L12001 Warrant Officer 2 Charles Robertson died 26 Jan. 1942 and is buried at Hillcrest cemetery, Weyburn.
L12051 Private Clifford Ronald Rogers died 25 Nov. 1942. Rogers was on strength to Corps headquarters when his motorcycle was in collision with a truck near Paddock House, East Sussex, resulting in fatal head injuries.
L12285 Private Hamilton Russell Stewart Jr. was killed in action 19 Aug 1942 at Dieppe.
L12528 Private Walter David Taylor was killed in action 19 Aug 1942 at Dieppe.
Major Robert (Bob) Sladden Wells was killed in action 20 July 1944 at Verrières Ridge. Wells was wounded in the eye at Dieppe.
South Saskatchewan Regiment Casualties
Southeast Towns and Villages - Dieppe list
L12025 Private Joseph Heinz from Bienfait was killed in action on 19 Aug 1942 at Dieppe. It seems likely that he was lost at sea during the retreat from Dieppe and was buried by Belgian farmers.
L12689 Lance Corporal George Charles Redwood of Bienfait died 28 Aug 1942. Redwood was wounded in the Dieppe raid and died in a POW camp hospital nine days later.
L12606 Private Trueman Ellis Norton of Alida was killed in action on 19 Aug 1942 at Dieppe.
L12993 Private Melville Douglas Beatty of Carlyle was killed in action on 19 Aug 1942 at Dieppe.
L12903 Private Walter Earl (Squeak) Beatty of Carlyle was killed in action on 19 Aug 1942 at Dieppe. Brother of Melville Beatty. Ironically, the boys enlisted at Weyburn within a week of each other and both died during the Dieppe Raid. While many families across the land lost two (or more) sons, there cannot be many who lost two on the same day.
L12488 Private Ralph Margetts of Manor was killed in action on 19 Aug 1942 at Dieppe.
L12278 Private James Duncan Campbell of Arcola was killed in action on 19 Aug 1942 at Dieppe.
L12904 Private Richard Collins Jr. of Arcola was killed in action on 19 Aug 1942 at Dieppe.
L13633 Private (Richard) Ivan Kerr of Kisbey was killed in action on 19 Aug 1942 at Dieppe.
L12670 Private Earl John William Poole of Stoughton was killed in action on 19 Aug 1942 at Dieppe.
L12802 Private Gordon Archer Danforth (b.1915) of Griffin was killed in action on 19 Aug 1942 at Dieppe.
L12899 Private Lynn Berdette (Mick) Evernden of Griffin was killed in action on 19 Aug 1942 at Dieppe.
L12492 Private Anthony Emil Joseph Gallant of Dumas was killed in action on 19 Aug 1942 at Dieppe.
L12980 Sergeant Fred Arthur Tromburg of Kennedy was killed in action on 19 Aug 1942 at Dieppe.
L13436 Private Cecil Robert Last of Creelman was killed in action on 19 Aug 1942 at Dieppe.
L12758 Private George Frank Brennand of Moosomin died 1 Sept. 1942 from wounds received at Dieppe.
L13198 Private (Robert) Lloyd Carswell of Moosomin was killed in action on 19 Aug 1942 at Dieppe.
L13299 Lance Corporal Harvey Alfred Coulter of Wapella was killed in action on 19 Aug 1942 at Dieppe.
L13354 Private (John) Henry Lucien Bachelu of Kendal was killed in action on 19 Aug 1942 at Dieppe.
L12741 Private Alden Joseph Rochon of Montmartre was killed in action on 19 Aug 1942 at Dieppe.
L22135 Lance Corporal Kenneth John Bartlam of Grenfell was killed in action on 19 Aug 1942 at Dieppe.
L12557 Private William Jasin of Grenfell was killed in action on 19 Aug 1942 at Dieppe.
L12806 Private Raymond Ernest Pickford of Broadview was killed in action on 19 Aug 1942 at Dieppe.
L13296 Private William George Stainger of Indian Head was killed in action on 19 Aug 1942 at Dieppe.
L13108 Private Herbert Daniel Richmond of Ogema was killed in action on 19 Aug 1942 at Dieppe.
South Saskatchewan Regiment Colours Re-dedication
15 August 2020 @ 1300 hrs Estevan Legion
(photo to the left) Copyright belongs to the Crown ; Credit: Canada. Department of National Defence / Library and Archives Canada / ecopy
https://www.bac-lac.gc.ca/eng/CollectionSearch/Pages/record.aspx?app=FonAndCol&IdNumber=4232646
15 August 2020
Re-dedication
On March 24th 1970, the colours were retired and put up in the Estevan Comprehensive School foyer. Lt. Col Bannatyne stated “They are not a symbol of war but a symbol of all of us for a better world, and ultimate cost paid by so many for that peace.”
“This 15th of August 2020, we recognize the South Saskatchewan Regiment and pay tribute to the Colours that have come back to the Legion for display and to further education of our youth.”
South Sask Regiment Gallery
The Regina Rifle Regiment - "The Farmer John's"
The regiment mobilized 'The Regina Rifle Regiment, CASF' for active service on 24 May 1940. It was re-designated the '1st Battalion, The Regina Rifle Regiment, CASF' on 7 November 1940. It embarked for Britain on 24 August 1941. On D-Day, 6 June 1944, it landed in Normandy, France as part of the 7th Infantry Brigade, 3rd Canadian Infantry Division, and it continued to fight in North-West Europe until the end of the war. The overseas battalion was disbanded on 15 January 1946. (from the CAF History page)
10 June 1944
L100534 Rifleman
Anthony (Tony) William Blondeau
L100534 Rifleman (Regina Rifles) Anthony (Tony) William Blondeau (b.1915) of Estevan was killed in action (KIA) 10 June 1944 near Caen and is buried at Beny-sur-Mer Canadian war cemetery in France. Anthony was the son of Samuel and Sara Jane (Gardipie) Blondeau and was a construction labourer when he enlisted at Regina in 1942. His brother James also served in the Army.
*Information and photo provided by the Saskatchewan Virtual War Memorial website (link below)
Headstone photo provided by the CANADIAN VIRTUAL WAR MEMORIAL website.
The Regina Rifle Regiment Casualties
Weyburn list
L60821 Rifleman Kurt Heinz Gatzke was killed in action 18 Feb. 1945 at Moyland Wood during operations to clear the west bank of the Rhine.
L13217 Rifleman James Joseph Leask was killed in action on D-Day 6 June 1944.
L105852 Lance Corporal George Edward Slaney was killed in action 25 Sept. 1944 during the assault on Calais. Slaney was wounded and attempting to return to his platoon when he was hit by a sniper.
Regina Rifle Gallery
The Royal Canadian Airforce
Estevan and Weyburn were the sites of British Air Commonwealth Training Facilities.
Estevan had #38 Service Flying Training School (SFTS)
Weyburn had #41 Service Flying Training School (SFTS)
Graduates of the Elementary Flying Training Schools (EFTS) "learn-to-fly" program went on a Service Flying Training School (SFTS) for 16 weeks. For the first 8 weeks the trainee was part of an intermediate training squadron; for the next 6 weeks an advanced training squadron and for the final 2 weeks training was conducted at a Bombing & Gunnery School. The Service schools were military establishments run by the RCAF or the RAF.
There were two different types of Service Flying Training Schools. Trainees in the fighter pilot stream went to an SFTS like No. 14 Aylmer, where they trained in the North American Harvard or North American Yale. Trainees in the bomber, coastal or transport pilot stream went to an SFTS like No. 5 Brantford where they learned multi-engine technique in an Airspeed Oxford, Avro Anson or Cessna Crane.
No. 38 Service Flying Training School (Estevan):
Opened on 1 April 1942 near the city of Estevan by the Royal Air Force as part of the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan. Relief landing fields were constructed near Shand, Outram and Chandler. The school closed 14 January 1944 due to the reduced need for pilots overseas.
Plans were made to convert the aerodrome into a RCAF Air Navigation School, but this never came to be. Instead No. 201 Holding Unit was established at the aerodrome, later changed to No. 204 Equipment Holding Unit. No. 204 EHU closed on 30 November 1944.
The final chapter in the military history of the airport came with the founding of No. 4 Surplus Equipment Holding Unit on 1 April 1945, for the purpose of disposing of surplus RCAF war equipment. The unit closed on 1 December 1945 and the aerodrome was turned over to the City of Estevan for use as a municipal airport. The Estevan Flying Club was also formed at the airport.
In 1989, the former No. 38 SFTS aerodrome closed and the property was sold to the Saskatchewan Power Corporation for a coal mine. A new airport was built north of Estevan. Nothing remains of the aerodrome today.
As for the relief fields, the faint outline of the airfield at the former RCAF Detachmnt Outram is all that remains.
The following perished while serving at No. 38 SFTS: CP Anken, JW Bancroft, JR Boiston, W Cant, B Cox, F Lawton, E Lucas, NK Riley, PR Sayers, J Stewart, WD Thomas and S Walker.
Photos of the Air Training Facility South of Estevan
Royal Air Force service personnel killed while training in Estevan.
12 British airmen lost their lives while at #38 SFTS.
F/O Joseph Wallace Bancroft 124681
Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve
Age 22
Aircraft accident – 29 Jul 43 Bancroft with 3 others in an Anson II were conducting a test flight after major inspection and maintenance were preformed. The aircraft crashed 9 miles west of the airport at 1615 hours. Also killed were Lucas, Cox and Riley.
P/O John Rochesester Boiston 129507
Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve
Age 22
Aircraft accident – 29 Jul 42
AC1 Wilfred Cant 1094923
Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve
Age 19
Aircraft accident – 29 Jul 42
LAC. James Stewart 1550825
Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve
Age 21
Aircraft accident – 29 Jul 42 - James died of injuries he received in a training accident.
LAC Stanley Walker 945248
Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve
Age 23
Drowned 9 Jul 43 - Stanley was on a 48 hour leave with friends in Oxbow, SK. They went swimming in the evening in the Souris River where he began to have trouble and went under the water. He was located several hours later.
LAC Frank Lawton 1206221
Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve
Age 32
Died of Peritonitis – 19 Jul 43
Graves are located at the Estevan Municipal Cemetery
12 British airmen lost their lives while at #38 SFTS.
LAC Charles Percy Anken 939146
Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve
Age 24
Died while having operation – 28 Jul 43
LAC Norman Kingsley Riley 1031595
Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve
Age 33
Aircraft accident – 29 Jul 43 Riley with 3 others in an Anson II were conducting a test flight after major inspection and maintenance were preformed. The aircraft crashed 9 miles west of the airport at 1615 hours. Also killed were Lucas, Bancroft and Cox.
LAC Benjamin Cox 1426137
Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve
Age 22
Aircraft accident – 29 Jul 43 Cox with 3 others in an Anson II were conducting a test flight after major inspection and maintenance were preformed. The aircraft crashed 9 miles west of the airport at 1615 hours. Also killed were Lucas, Bancroft and Riley.
F/Sgt. Eric Lucas 564274
Royal Air Force
Age 29
Aircraft accident – 29 Jul 43 Lucas with 3 others in an Anson II were conducting a test flight after major inspection and maintenance were preformed. The aircraft crashed 9 miles west of the airport at 1615 hours. Also killed were Cox, Bancroft and Riley.
LAC Philip Raymond Sayers 1384788
Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve
Age 32
Aircraft accident – 29 Jul 43
AC1 William Daniel Thomas 1416529
Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve
Age 22
died from meningitis – 12 Dec 43
No. 41 Service Flying Training School & No. 8 Service Flying Training School (Weyburn):
No. 41 SFTS opened on 5 January 1942 by the Royal Air Force near Weyburn as part of the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan, with a relief landing field near Halbrite. The school closed on 22 January 1944.
No. 8 SFTS (RCAF) stood up in its place, but the school had a brief existence in Weyburn as it re-located to Moncton on 30 June 1944 and the station was abandoned. In two years of operation in Weyburn, the two schools graduated 1,055 pilots.
The aerodrome sat abandoned until the early 1950s when a medical facility for mentally handicapped children took over the former station’s buildings, remaining until 1957. Western Christian College then occupied the former aerodrome from 1957 until 1989.
The former station is now the Weyburn Airport. Two runways remain in operation, while runway 18/36 is abandoned.
All that remains of the former RCAF Detachment Halbrite is the faint outline of the runways.
The following perished while serving at No. 41 SFTS: T Benham, E Bibby, BT Bowden, AF Brown, J Burke, WEL Evans, EP Fairgrieve, GA Gardner, P Greenhalgh, AS Hall, WA Hughes, RW Maxwell, DJ Sharpe, AE Taylor, AWG Watson, H Whittaker and H Williams.
Photos of the Air Training Facility Northeast of Weyburn
Royal Air Force service personnel killed while training in Weyburn.
17 British airmen lost their lives while at #41 SFTS.
Sgt ERIC PULFORD FAIRGRIEVE 1138057
Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve
Died on 21 May 1942
Leading Aircraftman WILLIAM EDWARD LANCEY EVANS 1397551
Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve
Died on 22 June 1943
Age 25
Broke up and crashed near Yellow Grass northwest of Weyburn when overstressed in a dive during a solo aerobatics practice flight while flying Harvard II AJ916.
Sgt. GEORGE ARTHUR GARDNER 1217386
Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve
Died on 21 May 1942
Age 19
Flying Officer PETER GREENHALGH 101079
Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve
Died on 20 November 1942
Age 30
Died of injuries sustained when struck by the propellor of Harvard IIb FE325, which was taxying to a hangar.
Leading Aircraftman JOHN BURKE 1338969
Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve
Died on 29 September 1942
Age 22
Flew into the ground 5 miles northeast of Weyburn during a solo night training flight, the artificial horizon was found to be caged he was flying Harvard IIb FE439.
Pilot Officer ALEXANDER SHEARER HALL 126796
Royal Air Force
Died on 30 July 1942
Age 20
Stalled and crashed 1 mile northwest of Weyburn soon after taking off for a night flying air test, flying in Harvard IIb FE305 with Leading Aircraftman B. T. Bowden.
Flying Officer EDRIC BIBBY 124497
Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve
Died on 13 September 1943
Age 22
Pilot Officer WILLIAM AUSTIN HUGHES 152836
Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve
Died on 20 December 1943
Age 20
Leading Aircraftman THOMAS BENHAM 1404272
Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve
Died on 03 August 1942
Leading Aircraftman ROBERT WILLIAM MAXWELL 1344892
Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve
Died on 3 March 1942
Age 20
Leading Aircraftman BERNARD THOMAS BOWDEN 1227194
Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve
Age 33
Died on 30 July 1942
Stalled and crashed 1 mile northwest of Weyburn soon after taking off for a night flying air test, while flying in Harvard IIb FE305 with Pilot Officer ALEXANDER SHEARER HALL.
Aircraftman 2nd Class DENNIS JOHN SHARPE 1219319
Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve
Died on 7 June 1942
Age 19
died while bird hunting and was struck by a ricochet from a companion's rifle.
Sergeant ANDREW FINLAYSON BROWN 1559073
Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve
Age 20
Died on 13 September 1943
Leading Aircraftman ALFRED EDWARD TAYLOR 1621800
Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve
Died on 23 June 1943
Age 19
Corporal ALBERT WILLIAM GIVEN WATSON 966219
Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve
Age 31
Died on 23 March 1943
Flight Lieutenant HARWOOD WILLIAMS 66525
Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve
Died on 25 October 1942
Age 34
Pilot Officer HARRY WHITTAKER 136013
Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve
Age 21
Died on 25 October 1942
Leading Aircraftman Everett Archibald Dobson R151221
Royal Canadian Air Force
Died 5 August 1943
Age 20
Canadian Air Force and Indian Air Force service personnel killed while training in Weyburn.
4 Canadian airmen and 1 Indian Air Force airman lost their lives while at #41 SFTS.
Leading Aircraftman William Russell Gillespie R196278
Royal Canadian Air Force
Died on 23 March 1944
Age 21
LAC W.R. Gillespie was killed when his Harvard aircraft AJ927 collided with Harvard 2896 flown by Sgt Hinton. The pilots were engaged in advanced formation flying when they collided in mid-air and crashed five miles west of Trossachs, Saskatchewan. Both pilots were killed. William was the son of Joseph L. Gillespie and Johanna C. Gillespie, of North Kildonan.
Sergeant Richard Douglas Hinton R216180
Royal Canadian Air Force
Died on 23 March 1944
Age 20
Sgt Hinton was killed when his Harvard aircraft 2896 collided with Harvard AJ927. The pilots were engaged in advanced formation flying when they collided in mid-air and crashed five miles west of Trossachs, Saskatchewan. LAC W.R. Gillespie was killed in AJ927.
Leading Aircraftman Norman Sanderson Woodley R205772
Royal Canadian Air Force
Died on 11 May 1944
Age 22
LAC Woodley was engaged in night-flying circuits and landings when Harvard aircraft FE 806 went out of control. He was killed when the aircraft spiralled into the ground just after take-off two miles from the aerodrome at Weyburn.
Leading Aircraftman Bandi Sriramulu Venugopal 18022 - (IAF)
Royal Indian Air Force
Died on 2 January 1944
Age 20
Killed in a flying accident near Hume, SK
Royal Canadian Air Force
Cap Badge worn by air force personnel in the Canadian Air Force during the Second World War.
Royal Indian Air Force
Cap Badge worn by air force personnel in the Indian Air Force during the Second World War.
© Copyright. All rights reserved.
We need your consent to load the translations
We use a third-party service to translate the website content that may collect data about your activity. Please review the details in the privacy policy and accept the service to view the translations.