Ralph Charles Spencer was born in the small Irish coal mining community of Londonderry, Nova Scotia. He enlisted in the in Halifax on 1 June 1940 and was assigned to the Royal Canadian Engineers.
On 6 June 1944, Ralph Spencer landed on the shores of Normandy with the assault wave of the Regina Rifles. He was wounded as he left the landing craft in the left leg and knee by machine gun fire. Despite his wounds and under heavy fire, Ralph managed to drag six wounded men out of the water and into safety. For this act of bravery, he was awarded the Military Medal. He received the medal at Buckingham Palace on 17 October 1944.
Reminiscing about his day, he remarked:
"My job was to place any explosive GW charge on any gun position giving us trouble. I felt a bullet strike in my left leg and I stumbled for a second almost waist deep in the water. This moment of hesitation saved my life. Another burst of MG fire took the foreshock off my rifle and passed through the front of my battledress blouse, at the same time letting the air out of my lifebelt. My ammo pouch was chewed up, destroying some chocolate bars and cigarettes. The hand grenades remained intact. Thankfully my explosives were not hit!"
During a leave in England, Ralph met Myrtle White, while ice skating during his leave. They married 11 November 1946 and had two children, a daughter, Sheila and a son, Robert. Ralph continued his career as a soldier and instructor in the Royal Canadian Engineers. He instructed recruits on exploding devices, mine warfare, firearms and fast bridges. Due to his injuries from the Second World War, Sergeant-Major Spencer took early retirement on 4 September 1971 and settled in Chilliwack, BC. He continued his hobbies of collecting Military Medals, war memorabilia, and drawing cartoons.
Sergeant Ralph Charles Spencer died on May 4th, 1991.
Reprinted from https://www.junobeach.org/canada-in-wwii/articles/ralph-charles-spencer/
On, 6 June 1944 at 0740 hours at Courseulles, Sapper Spencer landed on Nan Green Beach with "A" Company, Regina Rifles. As soon as he left the landing craft, he was wounded in the left knee and leg by light machine gun fire from the beach defences. Notwithstanding his considerable wounds, and with complete disregard for his own safety, he moved about the beach dragging the wounded farther up the beach ahead of the rising tide. By this action, which took place under heavy fire, Sapper Spencer, though out of the fighting himself, undoubtedly saved at least six wounded men from death by drowning.