George Edwin Shiels - World War 2

Shiels, George Edwin

Reg. No: H65385               Rank at Discharge: Gunner

George joined the Canadian Army on June 23, 1941 in Melita, Mb. On his application, his reason for joining was “Figured he might as well get into it and do his share”. For his trade, he entered Truck Driver with a Grade six education.

Service:

We can summarize his service as follows:

Canada:                  Jun 23, 41 to May 2, 42     314 days

UK:                         May 3, 42 to Nov 12, 43     559 days

Mediterranean:        Nov 13, 43 to Feb 22, 45   468 days

Northwest Europe:   Feb 23, 45 to Nov 23, 45   274 days

Travel & Discharge: Nov 23, 45 to Jan 18, 46      56 days

Total Overseas: 1301 days

Total enrollment 1671 days or 4.69 years

Details of Service:

Manitoba:

On Jun 23, 1941, George joined the Canadian Army in Melita, Manitoba as a Private.

He started his basic training in Winnipeg in District Depot (DD) #10 under the 2^nd Armored Field Brigade.

On Nov 25, 1941, he was transferred to Fort Garry Horse and Armoured Corp Wing for the Armoured Corp #22 and was promoted to Trooper.  Trooper has the distinction of being qualified under the Royal Canadian Armoured Corps.

The Armoured Corps uses tanks and armoured vehicles to support the infantry, create breakthroughs, and exploit successes.

Ontario:

On Dec 12, 1941, he was transferred to 102^nd Canadian Army Training Center in Ft William (Borden), Ontario for further training.

On Mar 11, 1942, he was assigned to the Canadian Armoured Corps Training Centre at Camp Borden, Ontario. This included detailed training in all types of Armored Vehicles.

On Apr 27, 1942, he was assigned to the CACRU Overseas (Canadian Armoured Corp Reinforcement Unit).

He spent a total of 314 days training in Canada before leaving for England.

Military Structure:

The Canadian Army in WW2 was set up with Regiments at the bottom reporting to Divisions. They reported to Corps and the Corps reported to the Army command.

George was in several Regiments as detailed below but they all reported to the 5^th Armored Division. The 5^th Armored Division had several other Regiments and they reported to the 1^st Canadian Corps. The 1^st Canadian Army was at the top and were made up of the 1^st & 2^nd Canadian Corps.

The 1^st Canadian Corps left Italy and went to North-Western Europe in late Feb 1945.

In Aug 1942, Canadians were heavily involved in the Dieppe Raid in France. George was not involved in this raid as he had not been in England long enough to be trained for this mission.

In Nov 1943, the 1^st Canadian Corps were sent to fight on mainland Italy.

In Jun 1944, the 2^nd Canadian Corps was involved in the D-Day landing at Juno Beach and the Normandy campaign. George was fighting in Italy at the time.

In Feb 1945, the 1^st Canadian Corp rejoined the balance of the 1^st Canadian Army in Holland.

During the period of Nov 4, 1939 to May 9, 1945, 368,000 men & women of the Canadian Army crossed the North Atlantic in more that 300 ship sailings. The largest ship was the Queen Elizabeth carrying 14,313 men in one crossing in Jul 1943!

United Kingdom:

On May 2, 1942, George left Borden, Ontario heading for Halifax and then sailed to the United Kingdom. We are not yet certain where he landed, however many of the troops in this timeframe landed in Clyde, Scotland, northwest of Glasgow. Then they moved to southern England. He spent most of his time after arrival in Sussex area on the South-Eastern coast of England.

Canadian forces in Britain had grown to about 250,000, organized into First Canadian Army, divided into 1^st and 2^nd Canadian Corps; three infantry divisions, two armoured divisions, and two independent armoured brigades.

On May 12, 1942 he was assigned to #3 CACRU. (Canadian Armoured Corp Reinforcement Unit). He was assigned to #1CACRU & #2CACRU over the next month. These Reinforcement units would be drawn upon to replenish the ranks of the existing units.

On Jun 18, 1942, he was posted to the 12 CATB (Canadian Army Tank Battalion).

During the balance of 1942 and early 1943, he was part of the defense of Great Britian. They were prepared for a German invasion of Great Britain that never came. He also took part in a number of special training courses.

On Nov 5, 1942, he was promoted to Gunner. A Gunner is qualified under the Royal Regiment of Canadian Artillery. This is the classification he remained at for the rest of his service.

On Mar 29, 1943, he was granted a new rate of pay $1.50 per day. (The starting rate was $1.30 per day).

On July 10, 1943, the Americans, British, and Canadians launched Operation HUSKY and landed in southern Sicily. George was not involved in this operation although some of his 1^st Canadian Corps member were involved.

On Jul 15, 1943, he was transferred to #8 FAR (Field Artillery Regiment). This unit would become part of the 5^th Canadian Armored Division. George would drive a Field Artillery Tractor pulling a 25 pounder gun and an ammunition trailer as shown below.

In Sept 1943, the Allied forces including Canadians invaded mainland Italy. Although George was not in this initial landing, his turn would soon arrive.

The records show he was granted leave on Jul 3, 1942, Nov 14, 1942, Mar 11, 1943 & Jun 1, 1943. We know from our family history research that George met his future wife on the Nov 14, 1942 leave and that he returned to Bridgend for each leave after that.

Italy:

On Nov 12, 1943, George left the UK and arrived in Italy on Nov 13, 1943. He was part of the 5^th Canadian Armoured Division that was shipped from the United Kingdom to Italy, landing at Taranto, on the East side of Italy, on the Adriatic Sea. The map below shows the route that the Division followed from Nov 1943 to Feb 1945.

The division moved to the Mediterranean as part of Operation TIMBERWOLF, the relocation of 1^st Canadian Corps to the Mediterranean. The division’s equipment did not move to the Mediterranean, and instead only personnel made the move due to shipping concerns, taking over the equipment of the British 7^th Armoured Division in Italy.

The 5^th Canadian Armoured Division was made up of the 8^th Field Regiment, the 17^th Field Regiment, the 4^th Anti-tank Regiment and the 5^th Light Anti-Aircraft Regiment.

The 1^st Canadian Corps initially arrived on the Italy Mainland on Sept 3, 1943 and the Italian Government announced its surrender on Sept 8. The Germans immediately took control. The newly arrived Canadian units joined the British 8^th Army.

They fought at Foggia and then went on to Ortana, a mediaeval town, with castle and stone buildings, situated on a ledge overlooking the Adriatic Sea. Its steep, rubble-filled streets limited the use of tanks and artillery and thus made this an infantryman’s struggle. During several days of vicious street fighting, the Canadians smashed their way through walls and buildings—”mouseholing” as they called it. This was Christmas 1943. Meanwhile, a subsidiary attack had been launched to the northwest and the Germans, in danger of being cut off, withdrew from Ortona. The city officially fell on December 28

The Canadians attacked the Hitler Line on 23 May with other allied forces. The photo here is one of the 25 pounder guns used by the 8^th Field Regiment. This daunting position consisted of concrete bunkers, tank turrets serving as fixed artillery, a heavy concentration of machine guns and mortars, constructed earthworks, and dense bands of land mines and barbed wire. Despite this, 1^st Canadian Corps successfully breached the Hitler Line and crossed the Melfa River. They then moved northward along a line parallel to the Liri River. They reached Ceprano on May 28 and continued to Frosinone.

On Jun 4, 1944 the Allies entered Rome. The Canadians had been placed in reserve for a rest and to integrate thousands of desperately needed reinforcements. The allies advanced northward, capturing Florence (with the support of 1^st Canadian Corps) and Pisa. The Germans had established yet another powerful defensive line – the Gothic Line – to protect Italy’s industrial north.

On Aug 8, 1944, he was assigned to the RCA A X-3 list. This list is for all ranks evacuated on medical grounds behind Regimental Aid Posts. The records show he was in the hospital from Aug 8 to Aug 20, 1944. We believe this is the period where he had the mumps.

The refreshed Canadians led an Allied assault which began on Aug 25. The Canadian objective was to breach the Gothic Line along the Adriatic coast at Pesaro. It was slow going and losses were heavy as the Germans stoutly defended the six river lines that lay in the Canadians’ path.

Although the Gothic Line had been penetrated, it took until Sept 22 to fully pierce the Germans’ defensive barrier. The Canadians suffered more than 2,500 casualties in the process.

The Rimini Line followed and several water barriers were crossed as the Corps battled north. The 1st Canadian Corps was at the front by Dec around the Lamone and Senio rivers. At the end of the month, the Canadian Corps, as well as the rest of the Eighth Army, took on defence positions for the duration of the winter.

The Canadians captured Ravenna in early December before harsh weather put a stop to offensive operations. The Italian campaign had come to an end for the Canadians as they wee needed in Europe,

More than 92,000 Canadians served in Italy at a cost of 26,000 casualties, including more than 5,400 dead. In Italy, Canadians made the demonstration that they were superior soldiers.

Europe:

On Feb 22, 1945, George left Livorno, Italy, a port city just south of Pisa, and arrived in Marseilles, France on Feb 24, 1945. The movement was known as Operation GOLDFLAKE and the transfer was at the rate of 3700 people, 40 tanks, 650 wheeled vehicles, and 50 carriers each day.

 It was then a five-day drive to the Belgian/Holland frontier, up the Rhone Valley, a distance of 1,085 km (674 mi). That would make their arrival about Mar 1, 1945. By the end of April, over 60,000 troops and support personnel had been moved from Italy to north-western Europe. There was no fighting in France as the Germans were already defeated there. The transfer of all the Canadian Divisions from Italy to Holland was done under secrecy so the Germans were not able to prepare for the extra troops. Great efforts were made in Italy to make it appear that the Canadians were still there.

The entire 1^st Canadian Corp would be re-united under the 1^st Canadian Army. Their first assignment was to secure a bridgehead across the Nederrijn river and capture the city of Arnhem, Holland. Their next assignment was to open up the supply route to the north through Arnhem, and then to operate to clear Northeast Holland, the coastal belt eastwards to the Elbe, and Northeast Holland.

On the afternoon of Apr 14, 1945, they were north to the Ijsselmeer, Holland. On Apr 15, Operation “Cleanser” began about 6:30 a.m. when the 5^th Armoured Division lunged forward to take the high ground north of Arnhem. Then they went on to Otterloo. The next objective was Barneveld.

During Operation “Cleanser” the 5th Armoured Division captured 34 German officers and 1755 other ranks. The division was glad to acknowledge the valuable cooperation of the Dutch Resistance, whose members “on more than one occasion, risked their lives by going into enemy-occupied territory with our patrols”. Its task in the western Netherlands finished, the 5th Division handed its sector over to the 1st Division on Apr 19 and prepared to assume new responsibilities in the north-east.

The history in this area shows that the Dutch people were starving, and many Canadian Army rations were shared with the Dutch residents as the troops moved through the area. As an example, on Apr 17 when the town of Apeldoorn was liberated, a special detachment moved in and began distributing 40 tons of food (80,000 rations) to the inhabitants.

Offensive operations on the 1^st Canadian Corps front had virtually ceased by Apr 19. Since arriving in Holland, the Corps had taken 8860 prisoners.119 It was now to sit out the final fortnight of the war in front of the Grebbe Line. The first meeting between the Germans and the Allies was held on Apr 28 and a temporary cease fire was agreed to in order to allow for humanitarian aid.

May 8, 1945 was Victory in Europe (VE Day) and the last shots were fired on May 11, 1945.

On May 21, 1945, the Canadian Army had a victory parade at The Hague. On May 25, the German prisoners of war were marched back to Germany. Travelling by foot, in groups of about 10,000, the Germans tramped homeward at a rate of about 15 miles per day. Our 5^th Canadian Armoured Division supervised the march crossing the causeway at the northern end of the Ijsselmeer and as far as the Dutch-German border.

Shortly thereafter, each Canadian serviceman was given a choice, join the Occupational Force and stay in Europe, join the Pacific Force and go to Asia as that war was still ongoing or select Discharge. The Discharge principal started with First In – First out so George would have been moved up in the line as he had been in since 1941. His unit was still required in North-east Netherlands so he was delayed.

In Aug 1945, “Permission was granted to marry Miss M.E. Jones after Sept 29, 1945.”

On Sept 17, 1945, he was posted to the 2 Canadian Repat Depot in the UK which meant he had left Holland and was enroute to go back to Canada.

On Sept 29, 1945, he was granted 20 days leave in lieu of disembarkation leave in Canada. He had to be back at his unit on Oct 19. During this time, on Oct 6, 1945, he was married “with permission” to Miss M.E. (Betty) Jones of Bridgend.

On Nov 23, 1945, George left the UK to head for Canada. Betty had many papers to complete and never left England until Jun 11, 1946. On Jan 18, 1946, George was discharged in Winnipeg, Manitoba.

Discharge Papers:

The following includes the details on his discharge papers as completed by the Army staff.

Plan: To go into full time farming under VLA

Appraisal:  A young well-spoken lad of average intelligence. Spent all his life on a farm. Is quite anxious to go in for full time farming on his own. Has been married approximately one month to an English girl. Wife has had experience at farm work and is quite satisfied to live on a farm.

Unresolved Items: Should be counselled on this subject on return from leave.

Re-Enlistment Education: Grade VI in 1937 at rural school at Bernice, Manitoba.

Occupational History: 1937-1941 Farm labourer on various Manitoba mixed, horse powered farms.

Training & Service History:

RCASC 5 months training, transferred to CAC for 8 months training. 2 months driving, transferred to RCA 38 months driving.

Service in UK, Italy, France, Belgium and Holland.

Total service 54 ¾ months with 41 1/3 months overseas.

Summary:

Shiels is a slightly built but wiry looking young man of 23 years who intends to return to his former work as farm labourer and later settle under V.L.A. full time farming. Born and raised on a farm, he continued working on various farms until the age of 19 when he enlisted in the army. Over three years of his service was spent as a driver. He is married to a Welsh farm girl who is not yet in Canada. Shiels is frank and has a cheerful disposition.

The difficulties facing Shiels have been pointed out and he seems prepared to wait for a year or two before settling down to full time farming. He will live and work with his brother for the next season. Besides his wife, he has his father dependant on him. He is not interested in any other employment. With a years further experience, providing his wife is in agreement with the plan, he should be able to manage a small farm on his own. As an alternative, he could seek employment as a truck driver.

Campaign Medals:

George received a number of medals for his service as follows:

War Medal 1939-1945

• The medal was awarded to all full-time personnel of the Armed Forces and Merchant Marines for serving for 28 days between 03 September 1939 and 02 September 1945.
• A circular, silver medal, 1.42 inches in diameter. The British issue medals were made of cupro-nickel. A plain, straight non-swiveling suspender with a single-toed claw. The award was established on 16 August 1945.
• The ribbon is 1.25 inches wide and consists of seven coloured stripes: red, dark blue, white, narrow red, white, dark blue, and red.
• The obverse shows the crowned coinage effigy of King George VI, facing left, and the legend GEORGIVS VI D : BR : OMN : REX ET INDIAE IMP :
• The reverse shows a lion standing on the body of a double-headed dragon. The dragon’s heads are those of an eagle and a dragon to signify the principal occidental and oriental enemies. At the top, right of centre are the dates 1939/1945 in two lines.

Canadian Volunteer Service Medal

• The CVSM is granted to persons of any rank in the Naval, Military or Air Forces of Canada who voluntarily served on Active Service and honourably completed eighteen months total voluntary service from 3 September 1939 to 1 March 1947.
• A circular, silver medal, 1.42 inches in diameter. The medal is linked to a straight suspender by a small ring passing through a small fixed ring at the top of the medal.
• On the obverse of the medal, seven marching figures are depicted, representing men and women of the Army, Air Force, Navy and Nursing service; and around the rim, the inscription 1939 CANADA 1945 VOLUNTARY SERVICE VOLONTAIRE.
• The reverse shows the coat of arms of Canada.
• The ribbon is 1.25 inches wide with a royal blue centre flanked by two equal stripes of scarlet and dark green. The ribbon was issued during the war; the medal after the war.

Defence Medal

• Although the medal was usually awarded to Canadians for six months service in Britain between 03 September 1939 and 08 May 1945, the exact terms were: Service in the forces in non-operational areas subjected to air attack or closely threatened, providing such service lasted for three or more years. Service overseas or outside the country of residence, providing that such service lasted for one year, except in territories threatened by the enemy or subject to bomb attacks, in which case it was six months prior to 02 September 1945.
• A circular, silver medal (80% pure), 1.42 inches in diameter. The British issue medals were made of cupro-nickel. Mounting includes a plain, straight, non-swiveling suspender with a single-toed claw.
• The obverse shows the bareheaded coinage effigy of King George VI, facing left, and the legend: GEORGIVS VI D: BR: OMN: REX F: D: IND: IMP:
• On the reverse, the Royal Crown rests on the stump of an oak tree, flanked by a lion and a lioness. At the top left is the date 1939, and at the top right, the date 1945. In exergue, though not ruled off, is the wording: THE DEFENCE/MEDAL.
• The light green ribbon is 1.25 inches wide with a central stripe of orange and a narrow black stripe in the middle of each green stripe. The orange represents the enemy attacks on the green land of England while the black represents the black-outs.

France and Germany Star

• The star was awarded for one day or more of service in France, Belgium, Holland or Germany between 06 June 1944 (D-Day) and 08 May 1945.
• The six–pointed star is yellow copper zinc alloy. The obverse has a central design of the Royal and Imperial cypher, surmounted by a crown. The cypher is surrounded by a circlet containing the words ‘The France and Germany Star’.
• Stars issued to Australian personnel have recipient names engraved on the plain reverse.
• The ribbon consists of equal stripes of blue, white, red, white, and blue. The colours represent the Union flag and those of France and the Netherlands but not of Belgium.

Italy Star

• The star was awarded for one day operational service in Sicily or Italy between 11 June 1943 and 08 May 1945.
• The six–pointed star is yellow copper zinc alloy. The obverse has a central design of the Royal and Imperial cypher, surmounted by a crown. The cypher is surrounded by a circlet containing the words ‘The Italy Star’.
• The ribbon consists of equal stripes of red, white, green, white, and red. The colours represent the colours of the Italian flag.