Charles Valentine Richards was born on 12 September 1915 in Sarnia, ON. He was the son of William and Maude Richards and had two brothers, Harry and George as well as a sister Edith. His mother had died in 1930 when he was 15 years old.
As a youth, Charles was very active in the work of St. John’s Anglican Church on Devine Street in Sarnia where he was secretary of his Sunday School for some years and an active member of the Dramatic Club. Charles was also an active member of the Sarnia Drama League. In February 1937, during his final year at Sarnia Collegiate, Charles joined the 11th Field Company, Royal Canadian Engineers, a Non-Permanent Active Militia unit. He graduated from Sarnia Collegiate with a Senior Matriculation and went to work with Imperial Oil as a laboratory assistant.
Charles enlisted for WW II with the 11th Field Company on 4 September 1939 - even before Canada declared war on Germany. He was single and was given the rank of Acting Sergeant because of his prior Militia service. After training with his unit in the London area, during concentration at Camp Petawawa, ON and at A6 Canadian Engineer Training Centre in Chilliwack BC, Charles embarked for the United Kingdom at Halifax on 22 August 1942. In England, the 11th Field Company continued to undergo unit training while constructing defence-works and obstacles against the possibility of the United Kingdom being invaded. Individuals were also sent on courses and Charles returned to Canada in December to be an instructor at A6 Canadian Engineer Training Centre in Chilliwack for six months. During this period, he was confirmed in the rank of Sergeant. Charles then returned to 11th Field Company in England in August 1943 to a unit that continued to intensify its training towards the planned Invasion of the Continent.
The 11th Field Company was part of the follow-on forces after the D-Day Invasion and Charles was with the elements of his company that embarked for France on 26 June 1944. By early July, the unit had assembled in France and had started obstacle clearing and bridge construction in the Caen area. After Caen, the company supported the Allied advance in France and then through Belgium, Holland, and eventually into Germany. Among its operations, the company participated in the Battles of Falaise, The Scheldt, The Rhineland, and The Rhine. The company was engaged in the Battle of the Rhineland between 8 February and 11 March 1945 - especially Operation VERITABLE. By 25 February, the company had arrived in Germany as the Allied forces continued to push back the enemy.
On 16 March, the 11th Field Company began to check a stretch of ground near Cleve for mines in order to make it safe for occupancy by The Queen's Own Cameron Highlanders of Canada. By the next evening, the mine-clearing parties had found a number of German Riegelmine 43 anti-tank mines that they safely lifted and stored in two dumps. The next day, at 1300 hrs Lieutenant O. H. Taylor, Sergeant C. V. Richards and seven sappers set out to destroy the mine dumps. A half-hour later, something went terribly wrong. There was a terrific explosion and all were killed. No evidence was ever found to indicate why the tragedy had occurred.
Charles Valentine Richards was Killed in Action at age 29. He was given a temporary burial at the Canadian Temporary Cemetery in Bedburg, Germany. He was later moved for permanent burial in what is now the Groesbeek Canadian War Cemetery in The Netherlands.
Researched with assistance from the City of Sarnia’s “The War Remembrance Project”.
