131 The Royal Canadian Legion MANITOBA & NORTHWESTERN ONTARIO COMMAND www.mbnwo.ca bombed the Polish Armoured Division almost out of existence; and made a real mess of them. Bombs were dropping at the orders of the Squadron leader before the target had been reached. The infantry had to hustle back to escape being bombed. Their night crew was sleeping naked; it was so hot. They were scurrying down the road in their birthday suits. All the trucks were dug in to above the tires and below the gas tanks. Those in the Survey Regiment had quite a sophisticated method of detecting the exact position of enemy fire power. When this was ascertained, the artillery went to work and did their job. The Germans wondered how they were able to knock them out. They never found out until after the war was over. They used their powerful 88 Howitzers extensively; the explosions could be heard after the shells hit. From the Falaise Gap, they advanced into Carpiquet in Belgium, on the Albert Canal, and caught up to the Germans, who were retreating. They were on one side of the canal and Ollie’s unit was on the other. His unit was given the job of knocking out the big German gun guarding the Scheldt Estuary. They called in the 9-2’s – big heavy artillery of half-tracks. This had no effect, so the Infantry was called in. They got right up to the big German gun and effectively took it out with grenades. After this, the Unit advanced through Nijmegen, Holland. Their headquarters was in a soap factory across the bridge. They were stationed at Groesbeek during the winter of 1944-45, until the Allied push to Cleve in Germany. They could read a newspaper in the dead of night when Cleve was under attack – so many guns were firing at the same time. It was just like daylight. The Ruhr Valley was demolished. On May 17, 1945, Ollie was promoted to Lance Sergeant and confirmed Sergeant on October 7. Ollie crossed the Rhine River at Melrick, a long way across. A bulldozer had to come in and bulldoze a road through the town – the rubble and mess was that bad. The Rhine had to be crossed on pontoons erected by the engineers. They just about sunk the pontoon. They had to stay spread out. Melrick was completely leveled. Meanwhile, the German army was in retreat. Ollie’s brother, Harold, was killed just before the cease fire was declared on May 5, 1945, at a place called Batel, on the North Sea. He was hit by Howitzer 88 fire. He was with the Lake Superior Regiment. After the Armistice was signed on May 8, 1945, Ollie was transferred to the 70th Battery, 8th Light Ack Ack and sent to Borculo, Holland, en route home, on through Amersfoort, Holland, then back down to Calais, France, and across the English Channel to Aldershot, south of London. At the Thames, they were loaded onto the Queen Elizabeth, and left Southampton on January 9, 1946, with 12,000 troops on board. The trip across the Atlantic was supposed to take three days, but it took nine days to get to New York, on January 16, 1946. The Queen Elizabeth had to hit the huge waves at right angles. From New York, the Unit boarded a train to Toronto, then on to Winnipeg to #10 Depot. There, Ollie was discharged on February 27, 1946. Ollie then worked for Manitoba Hydro as a Linesman. In 1956, he married Margaret Draper from Elgin, and they farmed south of Rapid City. In 1993, they moved to Brandon. Ollie enjoyed playing guitar with his brother, George, and enjoyed singing in the Merry Hearts Choir in Minnedosa. He also attended the A.O.T.S. and Oddfellows meetings in Minnedosa. He was a member of The Royal Canadian Legion Rapid City Branch. Ollie passed away in 2010. Mentioned in Dispatches: “By the King’s Order, the name of Lance-Sergeant Duncan Oliver McLean, Royal Canadian Artillery, was published in the London Gazette on April 4, 1946, as mentioned in a Dispatch for distinguished service. I am charged to record His Majesty’s high appreciation. J. J. Lawson Secretary of State for War” He also received the Canadian Volunteer Service Medal and Clasp, Defence of Britain Medal, France and Germany Star, 1939-1945 Star and War Medal 1939-1945. McLEAN, Duncan Oliver “Ollie” (continued)
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