John Henry Joseph Chamberlain was born in Beebe, Vermont. His family moved to Saskatchewan in 1919 and later to Dawson Creek, BC. He had completed two years of high school when he started working as a chainman on a survey crew in Pouce Coupe, BC. He was still an American citizen when he enlisted on 24 July 1940 in Dawson Creek. He was assigned to the Royal Canadian Engineers and posted to the 10th Field Squadron as a Sapper. After training in Lethbridge, Alberta, the squadron moved to Camp Petawawa, Ontario in September.
The 10th Field Squadron arrived in the United Kingdom in December of that year and continued training and working in England for the next nearly two years as part of the 5th Canadian Armoured Division. John landed with his squadron at Naples in November 1943 as a Group 3 Pioneer. The Squadron advanced across the treacherous terrain of Italy building and repairing bridges and roads, clearing mines and bobby traps and training hard whenever they were out of action.
By early September 1944, the 10th Field Squadron was fully engaged in the Gothic Line battle advancing, conducting route reconnaissance and clearing obstacles. While preparing for the assault on Coriano Ridge on the morning of 11 September, John with other members of 1 Troop were having their breakfast in shifts near a kitchen truck. A stray shell hit the kitchen tent causing 28 casualties – six killed outright, three seriously wounded who later died of wounds, and 11 seriously injured. John was among the seriously wounded and died later that day. He was 26 years old.
Sapper John Chamberlain is commemorated at the Gradara War Cemetery, north of Pesaro on the Adriatic coast of Italy. The inscription on his headstone reads, “When you go home, tell them of us and say, for your tomorrow, we gave our today.”
John’s brother, George Robert Freeman Chamberlain was killed in action a month earlier in France. Mount Chamberlain, west of Tumbler Ridge, BC was named to honour both brothers.