A/Cpl Melville Frank McKelvie, 1st Fd Coy

A/Cpl Melville Frank McKelvie
Article from the Toronto Star, August 1941
Cassino Memorial – Cassino Memorial - located within the Cassino War Cemetery
Background 

Melville Frank McKelvie was born and grew up in Toronto, Ontario, the son of Jillian McKelvie. Before enlisting, Melville worked as a Punch Press Operator and Die Setter while apprenticing for a Machinist. He enlisted in the Royal Canadian Engineers on 1 June 1940 at the No. 2 District Tepot in Toronto and was immediately transferred to the 1st Canadian Pioneer Battalion which was being formed at Canadian National Exhibition grounds under the command of Lieutenant-Colonel James Melville, a future RCE Colonel Commandant. With absolutely no military training at all, and likely not fully kitted out, the young soldier left Halifax, Nova Scotia on 9 June 1940, destination unknown. They arrived in Liverpool, England on 20 June and settled in Aldershot, a large British Army establishment that would see tens of thousands of Canadian soldiers throughout the war.

In September of 1940, he was transferred to 1 General Holding Unit. 1 GHU had sailed on the same day from Halifax and established itself in Quebec Barracks at Bordon, Hants. Its task was organized to hold the first reinforcements reaching England and had an engineer company for the RCE.  However, as more and more Canadians arrived in the United Kingdom in various states of training and readiness, the GRU buckled under the strain. The situation started to improve in the late fall of 1940 with the formation of 1 Canadian Engineer Reinforcement Unit (1 CERU) at Warburg Barracks in Aldershot.

Likely because of his pre-war employment experience as an apprentice, he was sent back to the Pioneer Battalion in December to join a detachment assigned to the construction of a rear headquarters for Canadian Military HQ in the event of an invasion of Britain. The letters QZ were used to denote the site in Hereford where he would remain until September 1942 when the project ended and he was sent to 1 CERU. During this time, Melville met Miss Nellie Rosetta Margaret Davies. He requested permission to marry in early April of 1942 and was granted permission to do so. On 11 July 1942, he took a one-day leave without pay and they were married. He then went Absent Without Leave for which he forfeited eight day’s pay and no further punishment. The couple had a son together the following February and at the end of the war, Nellie had been living in Toronto with her in-laws and Melville’s two younger sisters since December 1943.

Melville was posted to the 1st Field Company on 19 September 1942. From that point on, most his training focused on preparation for an assault landing somewhere in Europe, much of it was based at the Combined Arms Training Centre in Scotland. Sappers practiced assault landings, beach clearance, mountain warfare, enemy mines and a myriad of other subjects needed to support a rapid advance. In June, the 1st Division’s Engineer HQ and units were taking part in what would be their final amphibious exercises when they learned they would soon go into action. Field Companies worked closely with their affiliated brigades, with the 1st Field Company supporting the 1st Canadian Infantry Brigade.

While the Division Engineer HQ worked out the loading tables for men, equipment, supplies, and reinforcements that would be needed to support an assault, soldiers began exchanging their woolen battledress for tropical clothing and trained to waterproof their vehicles. Every soldier was on edge with tensions rising and rumours spreading about where and when they would see action. Would it be Greece? Crete? Sicily? As training wrapped up, they changed into their tropical clothing and loaded on ships. Oscar would have been among the soldiers given a 48-hour leave in groups of 50 at a time starting on 5 June.

The final embarkation took place on 11 and 12 June when the two assault brigades of the 1st Canadian Division took part in an assault landing Exercise STYMIE II in Scotland as a final practice of what they would face in the upcoming assault. Once the landing was complete by LSTs (Landing Ship, Tank), the remainder of the exercise was cancelled due to poor weather conditions and damaged landing craft. All personnel were re-embarked on the ships and the convoy remained near the Ayrshire coast waiting for decent weather to re-attempt the exercise. Troops made frequent trips back to shore by use of LSTs. Once ashore, they conducted physical training and route marches to maintain readiness. When weather permitted, troops were allowed to end their training days with a swim or sunbathing.

The total strength of Canadian units that would embark on Operation HUSKY was over 26,000 officers and men with tanks, guns, and enough supplies to sustain three weeks of fighting. The main invasion force would sail in two convoys with the combat units divided between the "Fast Assault Convoy" carrying the landing force and the "Slow Assault Convoy" carrying the follow-on troops. The Slow Assault Convoy sailed first in two groups on 19 and 24 June 1943 carrying troops, equipment and supplies not needed for the initial assault. Taking different sea routes for reasons and security and safety, the two slow convoys would meet near Algiers and late and meet the Fast Assault Convoy off Malta on D minus 1. The ‘Fast Assault Convoy’ sailed down the River Clyde on 28 June 1943 and started its long journey to the Mediterranean. Melville travelled in the Fast Assault Convoy and landed in the assault wave along with the 3rd Field Company, as planned on 10 July at Pachino.

Melville’s unit landed in the assault wave along with the 3rd Field Company, as planned on 10 July at Pachino. Luckily, the beaches weren’t very well defended and were easily captured by Allied forces. The greatest challenge of the landing came from conducting earthworks to allow the mass of vehicles to exit the beaches. The Company cleared multiple small minefields in the surrounding area. An excerpt from the war diary on the night of July 10th, 1943, “The unit was treated to one of the most amazing demonstrations of Ack Ack fire as evening drew on and attempts were made to bomb vessels on the beach.” This went on for another day and the company took on tasks aimed at repairing of the nearby airfield. By 12 July, all three Field Companies were advancing into the hills with their affiliated brigades. It was the 1st Canadian Infantry Brigade that first met with German troops at Grammichele on 15 July. Although the battle was fierce, the Sappers were fortunate in not taking any casualties. They in fact spent "a hectic evening slugging dirt into a huge road crater".

The rest of the advance was slow due to German obstacles, mines and booby traps. The 2nd Brigade took the lead on 15 July, and the 3rd Brigade took the lead from them on 17 July Meanwhile, Melville and his fellow sappers would likely have been following behind the leading troops improving the way ahead. The 1st Brigade moved on Assoro, while the 3rd Brigade moved on Leonforte. These objectives were taken and the next objectives, Agira, Regalbuto, and Catenanuova, were assigned. Resistance from reinforced German troops became increasingly stiffer as they found the noose tightening.

The 1st Field Company supported the 1st Brigade who had been assigned the task of taking Agira. To the west was the town of Nissoria with high ridges overlooking the route to Agira. The fighting around Nissoria on 24 and 25 July was intense.  The town fell easily enough, though the battle for the commanding hills was a difficult one. The Field Company was busy clearing routes slightly behind the action and while they had little to do with the operation, Acting/Corporal McKelvie was somehow lost. He was initially presumed missing in action but later presumed dead. As his body was never recovered, he is memorialized at the Cassino Memorial in Cassino.

Melville received the 1939-45 Star, the Italy Star, the Defence Medal, the Canadian Volunteer Service Medal with Clasp, and the War Medal 1939-45. His wife, nicknamed Babs, received the Memorial Cross.

* From research completed by Lt Connor Thomas, 2 CER and the CMEA.

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