Frederick was born on the family farm in Baldur, MB, the son of Mr. and Mrs. Charles A. Hamilton. After graduating in 1932 with a Bachelor of Scientific Agriculture degree from the University of Manitoba, he was an Agricultural Representative in the small community of Morris, MB.
Charles Train Gray was born in Edinburgh, Scotland in 1919 and came to Canada, settling with his mother and father in Calgary that same year. He attended Western Canada High School in Calgary and entered the Royal Military College in 1937. He graduated in 1939 and immediately a commission in the Royal Canadian Engineers.
Robin Bothwell Fraser was born in Fitch Bay, Stanstead, Quebec in 1921. He died in Bermuda.
Major Fraser's story during the Ortona Battle is well told by Mark Zuehlke in his book, Ortona: Canada's Epic World War II Battle, extracts of which are reprinted here:
From page 128
William Alexander “Bill” Ewener was born in London in 1905, and in 1908 immigrated with his family to Canada, where they settled in Sarnia Ontario.
In an article published on 5 June 2019, the Globe & Mail describes the experiences of Sapper John Schaupmeyer who landed with Sapper Walter Richard Coveyduck in the 5th Field Company. To add some perspective around Sapper Coveyduck's actions that morning, parts of that article are repeated below.
"Half an hour after they had set foot on French soil on D-Day, Sapper John Schaupmeyer and his fellow combat engineers remained stranded on the beach, pinned down by German machine guns, mortars and artillery.
Sergeant Joseph Bryan was born in Campbellford, Ontario in 1910. He enlisted in 1939 and served in France, Holland and Germany with the Royal Canadian Engineers. Sergeant Bryan was wounded in action before he was discharged in 1945. He died on 24 November 1974.
In March 1945 the Allies were on the road to victory. Field Marshall Montgomery needed First Canadian Army to open a supply route through Arnhem to feed supplies to Twenty-First Army Group during its northward advance to the Elbe.
Arnold Reginald "Arnie" Belanger was born in Elk Lake, Ontario, the eighth child of J.O. and Rose Ann Dawson Belanger. His father was the Station Agent for the T&NO (Temiskaming & Northern Ontario Railway) at the time.
By late July 1943, after fighting steadily for the past three weeks, the Allied forces in Sicily were tired and General Montgomery called a halt for all but the 1st Canadian Division. Their task was to open the way to the strategically located town of Adrano, but before that stood the well-fortified hill town of Agira. With Mount Etna overlooking their advance, they pushed hard and after five days of heavy fighting by the 1st and 2nd Infantry Brigades, Agira fell.