Leslie Joseph Roherty was born in Belledune River (later known as the Village of Belledune) in Gloucester CountyNB. He was the son of Robert and Melvina and had a brother Robert and five sisters (Dorothy, Gladys, Irene, Hazel and Muriel). His brother Robert served overseas with the North Shore Regiment. His sister Gladys was also a veteran of the Royal Canadian Air Force. Both returned safely to civilian post-war life.
The family lived on a farm and ran a grocery store within the home while the Leslie was growing up. His mother was an excellent seamstress and often made clothes for local people. Leslie had to leave school at age 13 after Grade VIII to go to work to earn the income for his family. He worked on the family farm in the daytime and as a mechanic in the evening hours.
on leave in 1941 or '42
Leslie enlisted in the Canadian Army on 16 September 1941 in Jacquet River NB close to Belledune. He was single at the time and needed his parents’ consent to do so as he was only 17 years old. His mother requested that he be stationed in Canada until he reached the age of 19.
Leslie was initially assigned to the Royal Canadian Artillery and started his basic training in Fredericton NB on 2 October 1941. He was sent on a basic Driver and Mechanic (D&M) course at Fredericton High School and, upon successful completion, went to the Advanced Driver and Mechanics School in Woodstock, ON for his Phase III D&M training. On completion of this training, he was transferred to the Royal Canadian Engineers on 7 April 1942 and was sent to A5 Canadian Engineer Training Centre at Camp Petawawa ON for his basic combat engineering training. Two months into this training, he was assigned to the 21st Field Company and joined the unit in Terrace, British Columbia on 12 October as an Acting/Lance Corporal.
Promoted to Acting/Corporal on 15 March 1943, Leslie was transferred to 23rd Field Company RCE who were in Sussex, NB in their final stages of training before being sent overseas. He joined his new unit in Sussex at the end of the month. Four months later, the 23rd Field Company embarked at Halifax NS for England on 19 July 1943. After arriving in England, the unit continued training for the planned invasion of the Continent.
loaded with paratroopers
After D-Day, Leslie disembarked with his unit on the shores of Juno Beach, France on 11 July 1944. His company soon moved into the outskirts of Caen where, under fire, they cleared a roadway through the city of Caen that was vital to the Allied advance. The route became known as Andy’s Alley after Lieutenant A. B. Anderson of Headquarters R.C.E., 1st Canadian Army Troops). After clearing this route, they built “Reynold’s Bridge” across the Orne River, named for one their officers, Captain G. G. Reynolds, was had been killed two days before.
The 23rd Field Company next conducted a successful assault crossing of the Seine River near Pont De L’Arche with the 4th Armoured Division. After this operation, they built a Bailey bridge across the Seine River in less than 24 hours. The company then supported the Allied advance into Belgium and Holland. 23rd Field Company played the major role in "Operation BERLIN"- the evacuation of the encircled British 1st Airborne Division across the Neder Rijn.
Leslie was killed during the operation. It is believed his stormboat was hit by an enemy mortar round. A letter from Major Tucker, his Officer Commanding, describes the action surrounding Leslie’s death. Leslie was officially listed as “Missing in Action” (MIA). His body was never located and the official listing of the death was updated to “Presumed Drowned” on 19 July 1945.
Leslie Joseph Roherty was 20 years old when he died. He is remembered in the Groesbeek Canadian War Cemetery where his name is inscribed on the memorial wall.
For his service to Canada, Sapper Roherty was awarded the Canadian Volunteer Service Medal and Clasp, the France and Germany Star, the Defence Medal, the 1939-1945 Star, and the 1939-1945 War Medal.
Prepared by LCol Ken Holmes (Ret’d) with input from the Roherty family recollections that are included in the Netherlands “Faces to Graves” project and with input from a 24 September 2018 presentation by students of Canisius Secondary School in Tubbergen, the Netherlands at the Engineer Monument at Driel in The Netherlands.