193 The Royal Canadian Legion MANITOBA & NORTHWESTERN ONTARIO COMMAND www.mbnwo.ca Then came D-Day, June 6, 1944. “We boarded troop carriers for France. The 1st Canadian Regiment was in about half a mile and a beach had already been established. We followed them. Caen had been taken. Our regiment took Falaise, a very tough battle, the Battle of Falaise Gap, 90,000 Germans trapped. Falaise Gap is nine miles long and not very wide. Heavy losses on both sides. The Queen’s Own Cameron Highlanders, South Sask Regiment and Regiment de Montreal, about 2,400 men, took part and in all, we lost about 20% of our men, killed or wounded.” After Falaise, the 3 Regiments kept advancing. Germans set lots of booby traps. Bruce’s outfit never went through a door, always a window. One night, when Bruce was out in the forward position as scout and sniper, waiting for daylight, he felt a hand on his back. It was a German soldier. The stranger said “Comrade”. He was a Czech who had been forced into the German army but didn’t want to fight, so he had given himself up. What a scare that was. Bruce was promoted to Sergeant. “One day a companion and I captured 103 German prisoners. They were ready to give up.” Near Rouen, France, things got rough. They encountered Storm Troopers and SS Brigades and very stiff opposition. Bruce’s outfit lost many men. Taken from a Special Cable dispatch by Free Press War Correspondent J.A.M. Cook: “With the Canadians near Boulogne, September 7, 1944”, (which refers to the aforementioned forest battle near Rouen): “There were between 600-800 Germans at every approach to that forest, along the road. They were on one side of the slope, and we were on the other; they fired everything they had, with sometimes a battle going on at 50 yards range, so close we couldn’t use mortars. They were lobbing over rifle grenades from that range – bakelite affairs that had a terrific blast and were noisy enough to scare the daylights out of everybody. By the third day, we encountered no more paratroopers, but had brought in a handful of them as prisoners. We kept fighting through the fourth night until finally the woods were cleared enough for other troops to get past, said Capt. Marshall. Two corporals, Bruce Rashford and Andy Rylaarsdan, both of Winnipeg, and both now sergeants, went out one night and got into Orival. They captured ten prisoners, locked them up in a civilian jail and stayed alone in that town all night – two Canadians forming a whole spearhead of advance. In the morning, they turned up with their prisoners when their comrades were getting anxious. Practically every officer in the Camerons was in that long engagement, and all agreed that not one man let the outfit down.” Bruce was shot by a German sniper on August 29, 1944, after this battle. The bullet travelled through his left hip, through his stomach, and exited the right side of his body, which he said, “slowed me down a bit.” He was taken to a hospital tent near Rouen. Betty was notified by telegram in September, but his mother received a telegram that he had been killed. As it turns out, his brother Ken was in the next tent, also wounded. Both would be there for three months before being shipped back to England. He was in hospital until Christmas, then transferred to Colchester convalescent hospital, north of London, until May 1945. Bruce was then returned to Canada to continue healing at Deer Lodge, Winnipeg. By then, he would walk a bit. Betty had arrived a month ahead of Bruce, April 14, 1945. Bruce was in and out of Deer Lodge, in poor shape, for about a year. He was discharged as Sergeant in June 1945 with only 20% disability. Bruce and Betty bought a farm in Keyes, Manitoba, where his parents and brother lived, from 1945 to 1953, but Bruce couldn’t handle the hard farm work, so they moved to Brandon. Bruce found employment with the Highways Department and in the spring of 1967, they moved to Minnedosa. He retired in 1978. Bruce and Betty had two daughters and a son and enjoyed travelling to many locations in their retirement. They enjoyed gardening and yard work in their home in Minnedosa Lake, winning many awards. Bruce was a life member of The Royal Canadian Legion and President of the Gen. Hugh Dyer Branch 138 in 1991-1992. He wrote a book on his war experience. He received the Canadian Volunteer Service Medal and Clasp, Defence Medal, France and Germany Star, 1939-1945 Star, and War Medal 1939-1945. RADFORD, William Bruce (continued)
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