Sapper Ovide Joseph LeBlanc was born in Domremy, Saskatchewan, the son of Pierre and Rosa LeBlanc, the oldest in a family of two boys and three girls. The family operated a farm and when help was needed, Ovide left school after Grade 6 and worked with his father. Later, the family left the farm Ovide worked for a while as a labourer in a sawmill in Matteford, Saskatchewan. He was bilingual, but was nly able to read English.
Ovide was living in Prince Albert, Saskatchewan when he enlisted in the 22nd Field Company, Royal Canadian Engineers in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan on 12 May 1942. Within two weeks, he was at Camp Dundurn undergoing basic training. In August, the 22nd Field Company was moved to the 6th Canadian Division based in Nanaimo, British Columbia to be employed on home defence roles. Ovide remained in the Prairies though and was transferred to the 20th Field Company, at that time stationed in Winnipeg, Manitoba. In November 1942, he married Mary Leblanc.
In February 1943, he earned the qualification of Pioneer Group ‘C’ and received trades pay as such. In the summer of that same year, he deployed overseas arriving in the United Kingdom 17 July. He spent five months with the 23rd Field Company until May 1944 when he was transferred to the Engineer Reinforcement Centre as a replacement. On 4 June he was taken on strength of the 2nd Field Company in the 2nd Canadian Infantry Division.
The 2nd Field Company had spent the better part of the previous two years perfecting their bridging skills and practicing mine lifting and route clearance. When they arrived in Normandy on 6 July 1944, they immediately started clearing the routes through Caen, bridging the Orne River and participating in the key battles to close the Falaise Gap. They worked on the approaches to the Seine and participated in operations to cross the river. An advanced reconnaissance party from the unit were among the first Canadian soldiers to re-enter Dieppe when it fell to the 2nd Division on 1 September 1944.
By 10 September, the company was in Ostend, Belgium putting the routes in and out of the port back into operation. By the end of September, they had worked their way as far as Antwerp and were preparing for operations to clear the Beveland Approaches.
On 25 October, the 2nd Field Company had been busy clearing mines, repairing road damage and getting ready for bridging tasks coming the next day. Just after lunch, the company moved forward to a new location. They were shelled and a number of medical personnel were killed or wounded.Two sappers were also wounded, Spr LeBlanc being the more serious of the two. Lieutenant Shepherd took him to the 11th Field Ambulance that night and he died of wounds a few days later on 28 October. He is buried in Schoonselhof Cemetery in Antwerp. He left his wife, Mary in Winnipeg, Manitoba. His brother Conrad, also served overseas.
Return to Part 5: Tributes to the Fallen Sappers of the Scheldt
