On September 10, 1939 Canada declared war on Germany. The war ended on September 2, 1945 when Japan formally surrendered. During WWII, 1.1 million Canadians served in the Army, Navy and Air Force. Canada also had a Canadian Merchant Navy, provided training for pilots from allied countries, and also served in the armed forces of allied countries. Of the 1.1 million who served, 45,000 lost their lives and 54,000 were wounded. In addition the the huge personal cost of killed and wounded, there was the financial cost between 1939 and 1950 (according to one source) of $21,786,077,519.13. That is $21.786 Billion.
There are 17 veterans’ names on the Strathroy Cenotaph for WWII. At the time of their deaths or end of service, they were enlisted in 14 different military groups, referred to as battalions, regiments squadrons, units or in one veteran’s case a ship.
Below, in alphabetical order, is some background information about each of those 17 veterans, and their military group. Click on each link to take you to a separate page for each:
Adair, Kenneth Alexander
Adair, Robert James
Arthur, Albert Edgar
Barker, Charles William
Campbell, Allan William
Ferguson, William Kennedy
Gerry, Russell Frederick
Hall, richard Maxwell
Holliday, Edmund John
Leitch, Donald McLellan
Lovell, John (Jack) Franklin
McDonald, John Thompson
Payne, Arden Leroy
Pike, Lawrence Ellwin
Sevales, Leroy Stillson
Thomson, Donald Andrew