HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 2009-11-05, Page 11THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 5, 2009. PAGE 11. Fannie Somers of Brussels doesn’treally remember her brother Arthur. The middle child of Roderick and
Daisy McLean of RR2, Blyth was
about six years old when her eldest
sibling left home to
work on a farm. A few
years later he enlisted in
the army and was
shipped overseas in
October of 1942.
The family never got
to see him again.
Born March 16, 1922,
Arthur was educated at
SS#9 Morris before he
began farming.
According to
Goderich resident Jim
Rutledge’s book The
Men of Huron, McLean
enlisted May 26, 1941 in
the Canadian Army in
London. His basic
training was in Kitchener.
The fall of the following year
Trooper McLean left Canada for
England. He arrived Nov. 5, 1942.
Rutledge’s account tells of a letter
McLean wrote his mother the
following February.
It was, he said, his 149th since
coming to England.
Somers said she remembers that
letter. “My mother kept them.”
According to Rutledge, on D-Day,
McLean was the driver of a Sherman
tank, most of which were under-
equipped to deal with the German
armour.
Rutledge explains that on Aug. 12,
the German army had begun toretreat to Falais Gap. The Canadiansthat same day were ordered to mounta reconnaissance mission in force onthe German defenders in France.The weather was sweltering as the
infantry reached a crossroads near
the village of Barbery, which
appeared to be
deserted, with the
armour following.
It was then that
tragedy came to a
Huron family as the
soldiers suddenly
came under machine
gun fire from the
Germans Tiger and
Panther tanks.
“Several of the
vulnerable Shermans
were knocked out by
enemy fire,” Rutledge
wrote.
Among those lost
was Trooper McLean
who sustained fatal
wounds to his lower extremities.
“Mom got a telegram,” said
Somers. “It’s a cruel way to be told.”
The family also received letters
from the prime minister and from a
padre in France.
Besides his family, McLean left
behind a fiancée.
McLean is buried in Bretteville-
Sur-Laize, the Canadian War
Cemetery in France. Somers was
given a picture of his marker by
Brussels-area residents Maurice and
Mary Douma who toured there
several months ago.
“They told me the cemetery is
beautiful, ” said Somers.
Woman remembers a brother who never came home
A life remembered
Fannie Somers was just a young girl when her oldest sibling Arthur McLean was killed in
action during the Second World War. The photos of the cemetery where he is buried and his
gravesite were given to her by some local residents who visited there some months ago. (Bonnie
Gropp photo)
The contributions and sacrifices of
Canadian veterans are something
that a Brussels woman has made a
promise to recognize and honour.
Since 2000, Teresa Albers had
visited her ancestral homeland of
Holland three times, once with her
sister Laura then in 2002 with her
husband Shane Burkholder. Each
time she has made it a point to take
some time and visit the resting place
of Canadian soldiers.
Arriving in Holland for a family
reunion Sept. 2, Albers, with her
nine-month-old son Jackson,
wasplanning a two-week visit with
her father’s relatives. “My dad was
born and raised in Groesbeek, then
decided to immigrate to Canada in
the early 1970s where he met my
mom. But I have my aunts, uncles,
cousins and godparents who still live
there.”
This visit was also precipitated by
the fact that Albers felt it was time
for her grandmother to meet the
newest member of Albers family.
As it was on the other visits, too,
Albers allowed herself some time for
a special homage. “Every time I go
to Holland I visit the Groesbeek
Canadian War Cemetery and
Memorial.
Albers said the largest number of
Canadian casualties are buried here,
2,338 from the Second World War.
There are also 268 from the United
Kingdom, as well as some from
Belgium, Austria, Poland, New
Zealand, Holland, the Soviet Union
and Yugoslavia.
Albers said the cemetery is
unusual because the dead were
brought there from Germany, “one
of the few cases where bodies were
moved across international border
frontiers.”
The Memorial also has 1,103
names of soldiers from the
British Commonwealth, including
108 Canadians, who have no
known grave.
“Most of the Canadians buried
here died in the heavy fighting in
the battle of the Rhineland in
February and March, 1945,” said
Albers.
Albers said the cemetery is quite
beautiful. “There is not a weed
growing. It’s so peaceful and quiet
you could only hear cows mooing in
the distance.”
Albers, her son and a cousin spent
an afternoon walking the grounds
and looking into the history.
“They have several books of
names of the people buried there. I
went through two and came upon the
names of two soldiers from our
community, Trooper Lyle Alexander
Evans of Brussels and Trooper
Robert J. Elliott of Blyth.
Evans, the son of Charles and
Annabell, died when he was 22,
according to the Dutch log book.
However, Albers said, the family
headstone in Brussels says he was
24.
Elliott was the son of Mrs. Mary
Elliott. “There’s no mention of a
father,” said Albers. The log book
says he was 24.
“It is sad that they were all so
young,” she said, adding that her
heart was heavy as she walked
through the cemetery and saw how
“amazingly young” some of the
fallen were.
Albers said history has always
been an interest for her and she
intends to continue to honour the
fallen Canadians and seek out more
local ones on subsequent trips. “The
next time I go to Holland I would
like to go to other Canadian War
Cemeteries and find out more of
how these men fought, and lived.
And when I go back I would love to
bring my other two boys, (Ethan and
Owen) and show them the
cemetery.”
TROOPER ARTHUR
MCLEAN
1922-1943
By Bonnie GroppThe Citizen
Brussels woman visits graves of fallen Canadians
To remember
Teresa Albers and her son Jackson visited a Canadian war cemetery during a recent visit to
Holland. Albers was struck by how young many of the fallen soldiers were. Also in her
research she discovered the graves of two local casualities, Trooper Lyle Alexander Evans of
Brussels and Trooper Robert J. Elliott of Blyth. (Courtesy photos)
By Bonnie Gropp
The Citizen