Sergeant Enlistment # A-34889
Strathroy Cemetery Plot A.19.4 / lat. 42º56.820′ / long. -81º38.153′
Albert Edgar Arthur was born on July 17, 1914, in Strathroy, Ontario to Edgar Arthur and Amy Sawyer Arthur. He had an older sister Eva and two younger brothers, Athlyn and Ernest. He had light brown hair and was affectionately known by his friends as ‘Ab’.
The family lived on Milliner Street. Albert’s father was an army veteran of the Great War, and was heavily involved in municipal politics. He served as Deputy Reeve of Strathroy from 1940 to 1943, and in 1944, he was elected Reeve, serving in that office for a year. Albert attended Maitland Street School and Strathroy Collegiate Institute. After school, he worked at the Strathroy Furniture Company and later at the Middlesex Furniture plant.
Albert was always interested in the militia, He was a member of the Middlesex Light Infantry, whose headquarters were at the Strathroy Armoury.
In 1940, he signed up for active service in the Canadian Army. He went to the Basic Training Camp in Woodstock as an instructor, where he was in charge of Platoon 19 from ‘D’ Company of the Middlesex and Huron Regiment. He was later transferred and served as a sergeant with the Essex Scottish Regiment. His service number was A-34889.
Albert went overseas in February of 1941. Both of his brothers were also in the services. Albert was killed in action on August 19, 1942, during the fatal raid on Dieppe. He was 28 years old when he died. He was survived by his wife Norma and their baby son. Albert is buried in the Dieppe Canadian War Cemetery in Hautot-Sur-Mer, France.
