Paul Henri Genereux was born and raised in Montreal, Quebec, the son of Edouard and Elmira Patry Genereux. He had three sisters and two brothers.
Paul enlisted in the Royal Canadian Engineers on 22 February 1940 in Montreal. The following day, he boarded a train for the Engineer Training Centre in Halifax, Nova Scotia. In May 1940, the Engineer Training Centre was moved to Camp Petawawa in Ontario where many other units had been concentrating over the past few months.
Paul left Halifax on 24 July 1940 and disembarked at Greenock, Scotland on 1 August and was in the RCE Holding unit established at Borden in southern England. After six weeks during which he took some leave to explore the local area, Paul joined the was taken on strength of the 12th Field Company until January 1941 when he left for training at the Canadian Engineer Reinforcement Unit. He was posted to the 4th Field Company on 23 May 1941. He had been employed as a sheet metal worker before enlisting and after eight month’s service, was being paid as a Tinsmith, Group ‘B’. Shortly afterwards, Paul married Lilian Charlotte Ethel Souter of Coventry, England in July 1942. She had a daughter at the time.
Over the next two years, Paul’s company focused on preparing to invade Europe. They did not know where or when, but they knew they would be among the first and would be landing by sea. The training was rigorous and covered combined operations, mountain warfare, bridging, mine and booby trap clearance, small arms, route repair and construction, field craft and small arms practice. There was even some rudimentary German language training.
In June 1943, the Company was in Scotland and had just completed three weeks of mountain warfare when they took part in an amphibious landing exercise on the west coast of Scotland. They were issued tropical clothing and trained to waterproof their own vehicles. By this time, the whole division was on edge with tensions rising and rumours spreading about where and when they would see action. Would it be Greece? Crete? Sicily? No sooner was the exercise completed than they were issued tropical clothing and loaded onto ships for a week-long amphibious landing exercise and carried out an assault landing from landing craft. On 30 June, all troops were embarked wearing tropical clothing when they were told the 1st Canadian Division was now part of Montgomery’s 8th Army and were headed to Sicily.
Ten days later, on 10 July 1943 and after a concentrated naval and air attack along the landing beaches, the 1st Canadian Division landed at Pachino along the southeast coast. The 1st and 3 rd Field Companies landed in the assault with the 1st and 2nd Canadian Infantry Brigades. The 4th Field Company followed up with the 3rd Brigade later that afternoon.
Paul was part of No. 1 Platoon when he landed. The next day on 11 July 1943, his was one of two sections supporting the West Nova Scotia Regiment and the Royal 22eme Regiment involved in the attack and capture of the high ground north of Burgio, just west of Pachino. Coming under artillery fire, Sapper J.K. Cameron was wounded and evacuated by No. 9 Field Ambulance. Paul was killed in action. He was buried near Burgio and his grave was marked with a cross and a helmet. He was later reburied in the Agira Canadian War Cemetery. Paul was 36 years old when he was killed.