81 Years Ago Today on June 6, 1944, Canadian Forces Stormed Juno Beach in Normandy known as D-Day!

Brockville Rifles Contributed Over 150 Soldiers, Playing a Significant Role in D-Day

Brockville – It was eighty-one years ago today, June 6th, 1944, that Canadian forces stormed Juno Beach in Normandy, known as D-Day, beginning the liberation of Western Europe and eventually leading to the end of the Second World War in Europe.

In the D-Day landings, 14,000 Canadians participated as part of the nearly 150,000 Allied troops who landed or parachuted into the invasion area along the Normandy coast.

Canadian troops from the 3rd Canadian Infantry Division and the 2nd Canadian Armoured Brigade landed on Juno Beach. The Royal Canadian Navy contributed 110 ships with 10,000 sailors, and 15 fighter and fighter-bomber squadrons from the Royal Canadian Air Force helped control the skies. The 1st Canadian Parachute Battalion landed just east of the beaches, playing a vital role in the assault.

Total Allied casualties on D-Day reached more than 10,000, including 1,096 Canadian casualties, of which 381 were killed in action (340 soldiers, 19 paratroopers, 22 airmen). Thousands of Germans were also killed and captured, and French civilians also died as bullets and bombs rained around their seaside villages. Although Canadian soldiers pushed farther inland than any others, none of the Allied forces succeeded in reaching their D-Day objectives. But the Normandy beachhead was secured, allowing successive waves of troops, tanks, artillery and other supplies to come ashore.

Brockville played a significant role in D-Day, with the Brockville Rifles contributing over 150 soldiers to the Stormont, Dundas, and Glengarry Highlanders. These soldiers were part of the 3rd Canadian Infantry Division and landed at Juno Beach, engaging in intense combat, fighting their way through France, Belgium, the Netherlands, and into Germany.

They faced heavy German opposition, including the 12th SS Panzer Division Hitler Jugend (Hitler Youth) in areas like Les Buissons and Vieux-Cairon, known as “Hell’s Corner. The Brockville Rifles also played a role in securing the beachhead at Beny-sur-Mer.

Several soldiers from Brockville were recognized for their bravery and sacrifices, including Lieutenant Doug Cooper, Corporal Ed Burns, and Rifleman Bert Box.

One of the local soldiers was twenty-one-year-old Private Herbert Edward (Bert) Box, who enlisted at the Brockville Armouries in 1940.

As Company Signaller, Pte. Box landed on Juno Beach with the SD&G Highlanders on D-Day and would be the city’s first loss in that campaign. He would succumb to the injuries suffered while his company came under mortar fire while on patrol.

The company took cover, but Pte. Box received a mortal wound when a large piece of a tree splinter from the mortar attack went through him.