Gunner Romuald Dallaire
Accident in WW2
Date of Death:
Service Biography
Romuald Dallaire was born at St-Ludger, Quebec, on 21 January 1921. A French-speaking labourer living in Valleyfield, he was married to Rachel Giguère and had no children. He entered National Resources Mobilization Act service at Montreal on 25 November 1943 as D-650731. After initial training at Montreal and St-Jérôme, he was posted to the Canadian Artillery Training Centre at Petawawa, where he trained as a Gunner and qualified as a Driver i/c. He later served with No. 1 Proving Ground Detachment, R.C.E.M.E., at Ottawa. On 1 October 1944 he was seriously injured while driving on a military vehicle driver test course. Dallaire died of his injuries at Rideau Military Hospital, Ottawa, on 2 October 1944, aged 23. He was buried at St-Samuel, Quebec. His service file records the War Medal 1939-45.
General Information
Conflict:
WW2
Regimental No.:
D-650731
Cause of Death (in war):
Accident
Branch:
Army
Regiment:
Royal Canadian Electrical and Mechanical Engineers
Battalion:
No. 1 Proving Ground Detachment
Company:
Date of Birth :
Place of Birth:
St-Ludger, Quebec
Date of Enlistment:
Age at Enlistment:
22 years 10 months
Date of Discharge:
Age at Discharge:
23 years 8 months
Date of Death:
Age at Death:
23 years 8 months
Country Born:
Canada
Trade or Calling:
Labourer
Next of Kin:
Rachel Dallaire (wife), St-Samuel, Quebec
Address at Enlistment:
141 Victoria Street, Valleyfield, Quebec
Religion:
Roman Catholic
Place of Enlistment:
Montreal, Quebec
Was a Prisoner of War:
No
Height:
5 ft 6.0 in / 168 cm
Weight:
136 lbs / 62 kg
Chest:
35.0 in / 89 cm
Expansion:
2.0 in / 5 cm
Marital Status:
Married
Prior Military Experience:
No
Saw Service in:
Canada
Place of Discharge:
Discharge Type:
Died in Service
Discharge Notes:
Died in service on 2 October 1944 from injuries sustained in a military-duty vehicle accident.
Battle Died/Wounded:
Length of Service:
312 days in service
Buried at:
St. Samuel Cemetery, Quebec
Links
Ranks
| Conflict |
Rank |
Regiment |
Branch |
Unit |
Company |
Date From |
Date To |
| WW2 |
Gunner |
Royal Canadian Electrical and Mechanical Engineers |
Army |
No. 1 Proving Ground Detachment |
|
|
|
| Final records use Gunner / Gnr (Dvr); Driver i/c is treated as qualification/appointment, not substantive rank. |
| WW2 |
Gunner |
Royal Canadian Artillery |
Army |
A-2 Canadian Artillery Training Centre |
|
|
|
| WW2 |
Private |
|
Army |
No. 4 District Depot / S-18 St-Jérôme |
|
|
|
Awards
| Conflict |
Award |
Action |
Date of Award |
Date of Citation |
Source |
| WW2 |
War Medal 1939-45 |
|
|
|
|
Service Chronology
1921-01-21 — Born
1941-10-01 — Married Rachel Giguère
1943-11-25 — Enrolled under NRMA as D-650731; Private
1943-11-30 — Administrative TOS entry for No. 4 District Depot
1943-12-09 — Struck off strength to S-18
1943-12-10 — Taken on strength from No. 4 District Depot
1944-01-19 — Next-of-kin address changed from 20 Arthur Street, Valleyfield, to St-Samuel, Frontenac County
1944-03-11 — Struck off strength to A-2 Canadian Artillery Training Centre
1944-03-12 — Taken on strength A-2 Canadian Artillery Training Centre; Gunner
1944-03-31 — Personnel assessment recommended training as Driver i/c; possible Driver-Mechanic
1944-04-30 — Awarded seven days C.B. and forfeited two days' pay for an offence recorded on the service sheet
1944-04-22 — Authorized pay at $1.40 per diem
1944-06-01 — Recorded as Driver i/c Class III
1944-06-10 — Successfully completed advanced R.C.A. field training; qualified Driver i/c; suitable for home-defence operational duties
1944-06-19 to 1944-07-02 — Furlough recorded
1944 — Posted to No. 1 Proving Ground Detachment, R.C.E.M.E.
1944-10-01 — Seriously injured while driving on a vehicle driver-test course in the performance of military duty
1944-10-01 — Admitted unconscious with fractured right femur, multiple face/scalp lacerations and severe intracranial injury
1944-10-02 — Died from accident injuries
1944-10-03 — Court of Inquiry held concerning the accident
1944-10-06 — Buried in grave 3
Notes
Dallaire attended school from age six to eighteen, completing seven years of public school and one year of high school; the Personnel Selection Record also says he completed the equivalent of high-school entrance followed by a three-year commercial course. He spoke and read French and no English was recorded in the March 1944 assessment. His pre-service work included logging, farm labour, four months operating a restaurant, five months as a potman in an aluminum plant, and four months as a machine operator in a munitions plant. At enlistment he was working in Valleyfield as a labourer and hoped eventually to become a mechanic. He enjoyed baseball, softball and hockey. His medical examination recorded brown eyes and hair, height 5 feet 6 inches, weight 136 pounds, a scar on the chin, 20/20 vision, full chest 35 inches with 2 inches expansion, and blood pressure 146/92. The history form notes a prior kidney/bladder complaint but otherwise largely negative history; the psychiatric examination recorded no psychiatric disease.
Additional Service Notes
Romuald Dallaire entered National Resources Mobilization Act service at Montreal on 25 November 1943 as D-650731. He was taken on strength of No. 4 District Depot and then posted to St-Jérôme. On 11 March 1944 he was struck off strength for A-2 Canadian Artillery Training Centre, Petawawa, and was taken on strength there as a Gunner on 12 March. Personnel selection records allocated him to the Royal Canadian Artillery Automotive Group. By 10 June 1944 he had successfully completed advanced R.C.A. field training and qualified as Driver i/c, a driver qualification/appointment rather than a separate substantive rank. Later records identify his unit as No. 1 Proving Ground Detachment, R.C.E.M.E., Ottawa, while late service and casualty records continue to identify his substantive rank as Gunner; one casualty form describes him as Driver and another as Gnr (Dvr). On 1 October 1944, while driving on a vehicle driver-test course in the performance of military duty, he was seriously injured in an accident at the Orleans Testing Grounds. He was admitted unconscious with a fractured right femur, multiple facial and scalp lacerations and severe intracranial injury, and died at Rideau Military Hospital, Ottawa, on 2 October 1944. His file records the War Medal 1939-45.
Additional Next of Kin Notes
Dallaire married Rachel Giguère at St-Samuel, Quebec, on 1 October 1941. They had no children. His 29 November 1943 service will left his entire estate to his wife, then living at 141 Victoria Street, Valleyfield, Quebec. By January 1944 her next-of-kin address had changed to St-Samuel, Frontenac County, Quebec; the postwar estate form gives her age as 21. Both of Dallaire's parents were deceased. The estate statement names his father as Romuald Dallaire. It lists half-brothers Ernest Dallaire (about 48) and Louis Dallaire (about 60), both at Richelieu, and a sister, Alice Dallaire Giguère, age 30, at St-Samuel. The mother's handwritten first name appears to be Léonie but is not sufficiently clear for final structured use.
Version: 4 Last modified: 2026-09-19 19:13:28
by: marc
