www.nb.legion.ca 159 NEWBRUNSWICKCOMMANDThe Royal Canadian Legion LégionRoyale CanadienneDIRECTIONNOUVEAU-BRUNSWICK ROBERTSON, Leonard Bowman WWII/Deuxième Guerre mondiale June 28, 1944 “gallantry was of the most outstanding order” A Miramichi veteran, from Chatham, was awarded the Military Cross for his actions on June 28, 1944. Lieutenant Leonard Bowman Robertson, CDN/192, 2nd Battalion East Yorkshire Regiment, British Army. I met Len in the late 80s in Oromocto during one of the NB Highland Games. He invited me to come to Newcastle to meet with a group from the Highland Society of New Brunswick in Miramichi to discuss the possibilities and logistics of setting up what would become the Miramichi Scottish Festival. At the meeting I noticed the buttons on Len’s blazer appeared to be military and had the Star of India insignia, so I figured they might be British.When I asked him about the buttons, he explained that he had been a CANLOAN officer with the 2nd Battalion East Yorkshire Regiment of the British Army during WWII. A few months later I visited Len at his home in Chatham to learn more of his story. In the early spring of 1944, he was a fully qualified infantry lieutenant with the Pictou Highlanders – a home war establishment unit. Len was trying hard to get into the fight overseas, so when he learned of the CANLOAN program (Canadian officers on loan to the British Army) he immediately volunteered. Len was part of the assault wave at Sword Beach on D-Day and he told me that from his landing craft he was able to watch the North Shore Regiment going ashore on Juno Beach. Then he told me of the action which lead to him being awarded the Military Cross. Len explained how, on June 28, 1944, during the fierce fighting in Normandy, he watched how an enemy force of tanks and infantry had rolled up the other two platoons of his company. In each case the heavily armoured Germans demanded the surrender of the depleted platoons. Len said he watched as many of those who had laid down their weapons and surrendered were shot by the enemy. After seeing that, he said he had no intention of surrendering his platoon if challenged. Len said that he had his platoon dug in at a local garbage dump, which he claimed, had good dead ground for fire and movement, provided great camouflage, and had numerous items to harden their defences with. They held their ground. Len moved to Chatham shortly after the war. He died on April 19, 2009, at the age of 90 and is buried in Chatham. MC citation: “During the attack on CHATEAU DE LA DONDE, on June 28, 1944, Lt Roberson was in command of a Pl of ‘C’ Coy. During the advance his Pl was heavily fired upon by two machine guns at 100-yard range. The whole time the Pl was under intense enemy shelling and mortar fire, this officer, with complete disregard for his own personal safety, moved about in the open in full view of the enemy, giving clear and explicit orders for the attack on them. He then personally led his Pl into the attack with such dash and gallantry the enemy posts were taken, two enemy being killed and ten taken prisoner. Later, when fired upon by a tank at 50-yard range this officer set such an example to his depleted Pl that the ground was held. The tank continued to approach the area, firing armour piercing HE shells and machine gun fire at Lt Robertson’s position. The tank commander opened his turret and called upon Lt Robertson to surrender with his Pl. Lt Robertson replied to this with Bren Gun fire, and continued to order his Pl to fight to the last man. The enemy tank withdrew. As this officer had just seen the majority of the Coy on his immediate right over-run by the same enemy methods, his gallantry was of the most outstanding order. By the end of the action his Pl was reduced to fourteen men only.” In November, while in the Netherlands, Field Marshall Bernard Montgomery pinned the MC ribbon on Len’s uniform. He was formally awarded his MC at an awards ceremony in Buckingham Palace by King George VI in early 1945. As told to Gary Silliker by Lt Robertson continued/a continué
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