133 The Royal Canadian Legion MANITOBA & NORTHWESTERN ONTARIO COMMAND www.mbnwo.ca MARYCH, Fred WWII Fred enlisted in 1941 to “A” Co. RWR and went overseas in the fall of that year. He landed on D-Day with the Royal Winnipeg Rifles with “A” Co. He was taken prisoner on June 8, 1944 and reported missing in August 1944. From information taken from the June 1989 issue of the RWR Association Book, “The Devil Blast”: RFN Fred Marych was listed as one of a group of eighteen unarmed Canadian Prisoners of War who was murdered under the direction of Kurt Meyer while he was a prisoner at Le Chateau D’Andieu in the Normandy Beach-Head on June 7 to 8, 1944. General Kurt Meyer was charged under the War Crime Act. He was imprisoned in New Brunswick and returned to Germany, was released and died several years ago. MASON, David WWII David was born in 1913 and lived in the Bagot, Manitoba area, joining the Army in December 1942 in Winnipeg. He served with the Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry, training at the Canadian Infantry Training Centre in Shilo, Manitoba. In February 1943, he was with B Company and then served with the Royal Winnipeg Rifles in May 1943. David sailed from Halifax for England in June 1943. He was part of the D-Day invasion on June 6, 1944 and became a Lance Corporal on June 15, 1944. He was a sniper for part of the war serving in England, France and Holland. David died of his wounds on February 21, 1945 and is buried at the Groesbeek Canadian War Cemetery in Holland. MATTHEWS, Claude Elliott WWI Claude was born in Durham, Ontario in 1894 and farmed in Bagot, Manitoba. He served one year with the 18th Mounted Rifles before joining the Army in January 1916 in Portage la Prairie, Manitoba. Claude trained at Camp Hughes Manitoba by June 1916. He sailed from Canada for England on the SS Olympic in December 1916. Claude had the mumps in Aldershot, England in February 1917. He served in England and Belgium and was a Private with 27th Battalion (Manitoba Regiment) when he was sent to France in June 1917. Claude was killed in action in the Battle of Passchendaele near Rouen, France on November 6, 1917. He was awarded the British War Medal and Victory Medal. Claude’s name is mentioned at the Menin Gate Memorial Panels 24-30 near Ypres, Belgium.
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