St. Thomas Soldiers RememberedBy Fergus Breen, BA III |
|
|
During the two world wars, young students attending St. Thomas University laid down their books to join the war in Europe. Many of these young men would eventually lay down their lives defending our country. Millions of men from regions worldwide engaged in battle during the First World War, also known as ‘The Great War.” The fateful year was 1914, the war was on and it was as if a starter’s pistol had been fired in the North Shore area, which at the time was home to St. Thomas College in Chatham (St. Thomas became a University in 1934 and was relocated to Fredericton in 1964). A special meeting of the North Shore Regiment was called for that very day at Chatham by Lt. Col. Howard Irving. The atmosphere of that meeting was extremely tense. The North Shore Regiment had been an outstanding name in the Canadian Militia for a long period, and every man present was proud of his service in the unit. The empire was suddenly in need of them and no man could know what the future held. Those present had but one thought and that was to get into action with the least possible delay. Each man was enthusiastic to the end and it was decided to keep proceedings of the meeting secret. The reason for this was the meeting had been held an hour or so before Britain’s Declaration of War. The North Shore Regiment was one of the first units called to duty in Canada in 1914. Nine young St. Thomas students gave their lives to this ‘Great War,’ and are among those honoured in a monument in the University’s courtyard.
The Second World War saw the most active time in the regiment’s history. St. Thomas students, including thirty-two who never returned from Europe, were a major part of the North Shore Regiment as was their beloved padre Rev. Raymond Hickey. The story of Father Hickey is one of bravery and faith. He was born in Jacquet River, N.B. He attended the local school; went on to St. Thomas College in Chatham; and then Holy Heart Seminary, Halifax, Nova Scotia. After his ordination in 1933, he was assigned to Bathurst, Campbellton, and Chatham, N.B., and for three years prior to the Second World War he was a member of the faculty at St. Thomas University. With Hitler advancing in Europe Father Hickey was asked if he would consider becoming a chaplin for the North Shore regiment. He replied that if the Bishop would allow it, he would join up. The Bishop was not overly fond of sending his young priests off to war but ultimately agreed. During the war, Major Hickey and Jim Morell started a baseball team that was to become the best in the whole Canadian Army. The line-up included Jim Morell, Bill Harvey, Jack Rioux, Hazen Archer, Jim Daley, Mac Barry, Ned Rigley and Rupert Clancy. When officers learned that overseas deployment was imminent, the reality of what was about to happen began to sink in for the men. Major Hickey describes: “It was a July morning, not unlike other July mornings, and would have passed unnoticed if a runner hadn’t handed me a note which said: ‘Report at once to Officers’ Mess.’ I did, and found that every officer in the regiment was ‘reporting at once.’ Colonel Calkin asked the cooks and waiters to leave the mess. We knew something big and secret was coming. Then quietly the colonel said: “Gentlemen, we’re going overseas’. We expected it, yet as often happens with expected things, it shook us. Without a word we sat there. Some gazed silently outside and away off into the distance. We were like figures in a tableau, with only the quiet voice of the Colonel saying: ‘From now on, dead secrecy must be our care. We will go home on leave, then we will sail. When, no one would know. The lives of fifteen thousand men depended on secrecy. That’s all, gentlemen,’ and almost silently we left the mess...” “Our first sight of the destruction of war came as we sailed up the Mersey River to Liverpool England, and the nearer we got to the docks the more plentiful were the bombed out hulls of ships partly submerged, and we saw terrific damage along the water front.” There was much excitement when it became known that the King would inspect the North Shore. On a Brigade Guard of Honour, under command of Capt. C. C. Gammon, consisting of Lts. Reid Logie and Hector LeBlanc, C.S.M.s Daley and McRae, two sergeants and 102 other ranks began smartening drill for the big event. On several occasions during the inspection the King and Queen stopped to talk with the troops. Their Majesties had tea directly after the inspection during which time the massed bands played several selections. The troops looked forward to the inspection with great pride, and it was a never-to-be-forgotten occasion.” Training had been stepped up and specialized. All forces combined to form the huge axe which cut into the ring of German defences. It had been calculated, designed and forged. Now it was being given the proper tempering, a high polish and the final sharpening. And battalions like the North Shore, chosen for the assault, were the cutting edge. At long last the hour had come, the invasion to win the war was afoot and every man of the North Shore was eager to reach the beach at Normandy and get into action. The long wait in the cramped quarters aboard ship, and the nauseating roll of the troop carriers, made everyone anxious to put feet on solid ground and get on with the job. The North Shore would help win the beach and liberate all of Europe from Nazi persecution.
The North Shore Regiment was one of four Canadian assault battalions to land in France on D-Day. Father Hickey crawled along the bloodied beach attending to those who were in the last few moments of their lives. Some of the boys that lay dying on the beach that day were students from St. Thomas. The regiment saw action in many of the famous battles of the campaign. 380 men of the regiment were killed in action and 850 wounded. Only four men were captured by the Germans in the whole campaign, which is considered something of a record among front-line infantry regiments. “Let the beer flow like the waters of the Miramichi,” bellowed Lord Beaverbrook as he played host to 300 officers and men of the First Battalion North Shore Regiment following the Allied victory. Lord Beaverbrook, who grew up in New Brunswick and took his title from a stream he knew as a boy, served part of his early newspaper career with the Newcastle Advocate. He later came to England and acquired the famous Express newspapers. As honorary colonel-in-chief of the North Shore Regiment, he lauded the men for their record in action, adding that it was his privilege to have them as his guests. A parade had been suggested by the commanding officer, before sailing for Canada on December 21 but Lord Beaverbrook replied: “Don’t have a parade. I’ll give them a dinner.” Among the guests were Viscount Bennett, who once taught school in New Brunswick, Major-General D.C. Spry, C.R.U. Commander, and Group Captain Max Aitken, Lord Beaverbrook’s fighter-ace son. A huge ceremonial flag of the Nazi Youth movement which was captured after a tough scrap against paratroops in Zutphen, was presented to Lord Beaverbrook by Lt.-Col. Gordon, who said the flag was especially valuable to ´B´ and ´D´ Companies. (It is interesting to note that this flag is now in the New Brunswick Museum, Saint John, having been donated by Lord Beaverbrook). Msgr. Hickey won the Military Cross on D-Day at St. Aubin, France and was invested by the late King George VI at Buckingham Palace on July 5, 1945. In 1956, he was made a Domestic Prelate with the title Monsignor. In 1976, his alma mater conferred upon him the degree of Doctor of Laws, Honoris Causa. Msgr. Hickey travelled from Chatham on September 10, 1987, in the company of other veterans from the North Shore Regiment as part of the Normandy Battlefield Pilgrimage, to attend the September 13 dedication at Carpiquet of a monument honouring members of the regiment who lost their lives in the Second World War. Msgr. Hickey passed away while attending the memorial. He had gone on to do much after the war, but reserved his last hours for a place where he had lived his finest days. This is the dedication address delivered by Msgr. (Major) R.M. Hickey, on September 13, 1987, at Carpiquet, France, a few hours before his death. Father Hickey spoke in both French and English.
“We are erecting this monument, not through a spirit of empty pride, not in a spirit of vengeance or bravado—it is erected by us the living to show our reverence, our gratitude, and love to the soldiers and the civilians who gave their lives so that Carpiquet could rise from its ashes and become the beautiful city that it is today. “Many of the soldiers and civilians who are with us here today went through that awful scourge. Naturally, I single out the North Shore Regiment. I was their Chaplain: I´ll never forget the bravery, the heroism of those men. I’ll never forget either the bravery of the people of Carpiquet, the cooperation, the help, and the kindness similar to what we always received throughout Normandy. But so many soldiers and civilians did not live through that awful day. They now slumber on in their graves at Beny Sur Mer, or elsewhere. “We have erected this monument today so that you, who at that time were too young to remember, and that generation yet unborn will read the appropriate and beautiful epitaph on the monument, ‘Dedicated to the memory of the officers and men of The North Shore New Brunswick Regiment, 3rd Canadian Division, and the People of Normandy, who gave their lives during World War II, 1939-1945.’ “They will read; they will inquire; and they will
be told of the awful tragedy that took place here at Carpiquet so many
long years ago. This monument will stand as an undying proof of the
friendship that existed between us during those awful war days; it will
even increase the friendship that is ours today; it will increase and
strengthen the bond between France and Canada.”
|
Kate
Fletcher, BA III, laid a wreath at the Memorial Service held November
8 at St. Thomas. The war memorial seen here is located in the courtyard
between James Dunn and Vanier Hall. Her great-uncle, Edward Rigley,
is inlcuded in the list of Alumni who gave the ultimate sacrifice during
the First and Second World War.
Rev.
Raymond Hickey, former instructor at St. Thomas College in Chatham N.B.
(pictured
The
officers of the North Shore regiment pictured in Sussex, England in
1942. The famous regiment included many St. Thomas students, including
some of the 42 who gave their lives during both wars. Department of
National Defence Archives