Sapper Lewis Leslie Reid
Survivor of WW2
Date of Death:
Service Biography
Lewis Leslie Reid was born at Athelstan in Huntingdon County, Quebec, on September 17, 1912. He enlisted in the Canadian Active Service Force at Montreal on July 26, 1940, as Sapper D-17125 with the Royal Canadian Engineers. Reid went overseas in 1940 and served in the United Kingdom before moving to France in July 1944 with the 34th Field Company, R.C.E. He served through the Northwest Europe campaign in France, Belgium, Holland and Germany. A serious training accident in November 1941 fractured a lumbar vertebra and kept him in hospital and convalescence until January 1942, after which he returned to duty. Reid qualified in pioneer and bricklaying trades and was employed as a bricklayer with the Engineers. He married Amelia Ricketts in England on August 9, 1945; she later came to Canada under the war-bride repatriation program. Reid returned to Canada in March 1946 and was honourably discharged at Montreal South on April 25, 1946. His awards included the 1939-45 Star, France and Germany Star, Defence Medal, Canadian Volunteer Service Medal with Clasp, and War Medal 1939-45. He later re-enrolled in the Canadian Army Reserve in 1955 and served with the 3rd Field Engineer Regiment until 1958.
General Information
Conflict:
WW2
Regimental No.:
D-17125
Cause of Death (in war):
Survived
Branch:
Army
Regiment:
Royal Canadian Engineers
Battalion:
3rd Battalion
Company:
Date of Birth :
Place of Birth:
Athelstan, Quebec
Date of Enlistment:
Age at Enlistment:
27 years 10 months
Date of Discharge:
Age at Discharge:
33 years 7 months
Date of Death:
Age at Death:
60 years 3 months
Country Born:
Canada
Trade or Calling:
Truck Driver and Carpenter
Next of Kin:
Mrs. Alice Reid, mother, Athelstan, Quebec
Address at Enlistment:
Athelstan, Quebec
Religion:
Church of England
Place of Enlistment:
Montreal South, Quebec
Was a Prisoner of War:
No
Height:
5 ft 3.0 in / 160 cm
Weight:
126 lbs / 57 kg
Chest:
35.5 in / 90 cm
Expansion:
2.5 in / 6 cm
Marital Status:
Married
Prior Military Experience:
No
Saw Service in:
Europe
Place of Discharge:
Montreal South, Quebec
Discharge Type:
Regular/End of Service
Discharge Notes:
Battle Died/Wounded:
Length of Service:
2099 days in service
Buried at:
Ranks
| Conflict |
Rank |
Regiment |
Branch |
Unit |
Company |
Date From |
Date To |
| WW2 |
Sapper |
Royal Canadian Engineers |
Army |
3rd Battalion |
|
|
|
| Taken on strength from No. 2 Canadian Repatriation Depot on 7 September 1945; struck off strength to Canadian Reinforcement Unit, W Branch, on 14 September 1945. |
| WW2 |
Sapper |
Royal Canadian Engineers |
Army |
Canadian Repatriation Depot |
|
|
|
| WW2 |
Sapper |
Royal Canadian Engineers |
Army |
Canadian Reinforcement Unit, W Branch |
|
|
|
| WW2 |
Sapper |
Royal Canadian Engineers |
Army |
No. 2 Canadian Repatriation Depot |
|
|
|
| WW2 |
Sapper |
Royal Canadian Engineers |
Army |
34th Field Company |
|
|
|
| WW2 |
Sapper |
Royal Canadian Engineers |
Army |
1st Battalion |
|
|
|
| Includes hospital and leave periods while borne on battalion strength. |
| WW2 |
Sapper |
Royal Canadian Engineers |
Army |
Engineer Holding Unit |
|
|
|
| WW2 |
Sapper |
Royal Canadian Engineers |
Army |
2nd Canadian Pioneer Battalion |
|
|
|
| Transferred to the battalion at Camp Borden; proceeded overseas with the unit. |
| WW2 |
Sapper |
Royal Canadian Engineers |
Army |
No. 4 District Depot |
|
|
|
| Enlisted at Montreal. |
Awards
| Conflict |
Award |
Action |
Date of Award |
Date of Citation |
Source |
| WW2 |
1939-45 Star |
|
|
|
|
| WW2 |
France and Germany Star |
|
|
|
|
| WW2 |
Defence Medal |
|
|
|
|
| WW2 |
Canadian Volunteer Service Medal and Clasp |
|
|
|
|
| WW2 |
War Medal 1939-45 |
|
|
|
|
Service Chronology
1912-09-17 — Born at Athelstan, Quebec — Athelstan, Quebec.
1940-07-26 — Enlisted and joined No. 4 District Depot, Canadian Army (Active), as Sapper — No. 4 District Depot / Montreal South, Quebec.
1940-08-05 — Transferred to 2nd Canadian Pioneer Battalion at Camp Borden — 2nd Canadian Pioneer Battalion / Camp Borden, Ontario.
1940-08-06 — Taken on strength of 2nd Canadian Pioneer Battalion — 2nd Canadian Pioneer Battalion / Camp Borden, Ontario.
1940-08-22 — Struck off strength Canadian Army Overseas Force for overseas movement — 2nd Canadian Pioneer Battalion / Canada.
1940-08-23 — Taken on strength Canadian Army Overseas Force; War Service Grants certificate records overseas service beginning this date — 2nd Canadian Pioneer Battalion / overseas.
1940-09-28 — Granted landing leave — 2nd Canadian Pioneer Battalion / United Kingdom.
1940-11-26 — Struck off strength of 2nd Canadian Pioneer Battalion to Engineer Holding Unit — Engineer Holding Unit / United Kingdom.
1940-12-07 — Admitted with influenza to Canadian Medical Centre, Bordon — Canadian Medical Centre / Bordon, England.
1940-12-10 — Discharged after three days' treatment for influenza and returned to unit — Canadian Medical Centre / Bordon, England.
1940-12-22 — Taken on strength of 1st Battalion, Royal Canadian Engineers — 1st Battalion, Royal Canadian Engineers / United Kingdom.
1941-02-07 — Granted leave to 14 February 1941 — 1st Battalion, Royal Canadian Engineers / United Kingdom.
1941-04-01 — Granted trades pay as Pioneer — 1st Battalion, Royal Canadian Engineers / United Kingdom.
1941-08-06 — Granted leave — 1st Battalion, Royal Canadian Engineers / United Kingdom.
1941-08-31 — Qualified Pioneer, Group C, Class C — Royal Canadian Engineers / United Kingdom.
1941-09-16 — Attached to 16th Field Company, Royal Canadian Engineers — 16th Field Company, Royal Canadian Engineers / United Kingdom.
1941-10-01 — Ceased attachment to 16th Field Company, Royal Canadian Engineers — 1st Battalion, Royal Canadian Engineers / United Kingdom.
1941-11-08 — Admitted to 5th Canadian General Hospital with fracture of the left first lumbar transverse process — 5th Canadian General Hospital / Taplow, England.
1941-11-19 — Struck off strength to Canadian Army hospital while hospitalized — Canadian Army hospital / United Kingdom.
1942-01-06 — Discharged from 5th Canadian General Hospital, Taplow, and admitted to No. 1 Convalescent Depot for further recovery from fractured left first lumbar transverse process — 5th Canadian General Hospital, Taplow / No. 1 Convalescent Depot, United Kingdom.
1942-01-30 — Discharged from No. 1 Convalescent Depot after convalescence for the lumbar fracture — No. 1 Convalescent Depot, United Kingdom.
1942-02-09 — Granted leave from 9 to 23 February 1942 — Engineer Reinforcement Unit / United Kingdom.
1942-03-19 — Struck off strength on posting back to 1st Battalion, Royal Canadian Engineers — 1st Battalion, Royal Canadian Engineers / United Kingdom.
1942-03-20 — Taken on strength from convalescent/reinforcement unit — 1st Battalion, Royal Canadian Engineers / United Kingdom.
1942-09-30 — Granted trades pay as Bricklayer B — 1st Battalion, Royal Canadian Engineers / United Kingdom.
1942-12-16 — Granted privileged leave to 30 December 1942 — 1st Battalion, Royal Canadian Engineers / United Kingdom.
1943-01-08 — Failed trade test as Mason — 1st Battalion, Royal Canadian Engineers / United Kingdom.
1943-01-08 — Granted Bricklayer trade classification C — 1st Battalion, Royal Canadian Engineers / United Kingdom.
1944-03-31 — Struck off strength to 34th Field Company, Royal Canadian Engineers, trade Bricklayer B — 34th Field Company, Royal Canadian Engineers / United Kingdom.
1944-04-17 — Attached to No. 1 Canadian Engineer Reinforcement Unit and qualified Bricklayer B — No. 1 Canadian Engineer Reinforcement Unit / United Kingdom.
1944-07-30 — Embarked from the United Kingdom and disembarked in France with 34th Field Company, Royal Canadian Engineers — 34th Field Company, Royal Canadian Engineers / France.
1944-08 — Medical Board history records onset of herpes genitalis in England — England.
1945-03-22 — Proceeded on 9 days' privilege leave to the United Kingdom — 34th Field Company, Royal Canadian Engineers / United Kingdom.
1945-04-08 — Returned from privilege leave in the United Kingdom — 34th Field Company, Royal Canadian Engineers / Northwest Europe.
1945-06-09 — Applied for permission to marry Amelia Ricketts (née Hogg), L.A.C.W., RAF — Royal Canadian Engineers / Continental Europe.
1945-07-01 — Permission granted for marriage to take place on or after 15 July 1945 — First Canadian Army / Continental Europe.
1945-07-05 — Granted permission to marry L.A.C.W. Amelia Ricketts on or after 15 July 1945 — 34th Field Company, Royal Canadian Engineers / Northwest Europe.
1945-08-09 — Married Amelia Ricketts (née Hogg), L.A.C.W., R.A.F., with permission at Salford, Lancashire, England — 34th Field Company, Royal Canadian Engineers / Salford, Lancashire, England.
1945-08-27 — Struck off strength to No. 3 Battalion, Royal Canadian Engineers (Bricklayer B) — No. 2 Canadian Repatriation Depot / United Kingdom.
1945-09-07 — Taken on strength of No. 3 Battalion, Royal Canadian Engineers from No. 2 Canadian Repatriation Depot — 3rd Battalion, Royal Canadian Engineers / United Kingdom.
1945-09-14 — Struck off strength to Canadian Reinforcement Unit, W Branch — Canadian Reinforcement Unit, W Branch / United Kingdom.
1945-12-07 — Reported sick with influenza — No. 1 R.C.E. Field Engineer unit / Continental Europe.
1946-02-13 — Struck off strength to Canadian Repatriation Depot, trade Bricklayer B — Canadian Repatriation Depot / United Kingdom.
1946-02-19 — Proceeded on 8 days' privilege leave — Canadian Repatriation Depot / United Kingdom.
1946-03-01 — Proceeded on 7 days' privilege leave — Canadian Repatriation Depot / United Kingdom.
1946-03-11 — Returned to Canada following overseas service; overseas-service certificate ends overseas service on 10 March 1946 and Medical Board records Canada from 11 March 1946 — Canada.
1946-04-25 — Discharged on demobilization at No. 4 District Depot — Montreal South, Quebec — No. 4 District Depot / Montreal South, Quebec.
1946-08-26 — Army message advised that Amelia Reid was expected to arrive at Halifax aboard LETITIA on 1 September 1946; Reid was to meet her and their destination was his sister's home at Glenelm, Quebec — Halifax, Nova Scotia / Glenelm, Quebec.
Notes
At enlistment Reid reported Grade 8 education and was working in a grocery-store business, with two years' experience in that occupation. His occupational-history form also records eight years of mixed-farming experience. In April 1946 he stated that he intended to work as a bricklayer after discharge. Occupational History Form dated 19 April 1943 records that Reid left school at age 13 after reaching Grade 4; was working at enlistment in a grocery store at Athelstan, Quebec, with specific occupation carpenter and two years' experience; reported mixed-farming experience totalling ten years; and stated Bricklayer as his preferred postwar occupation. A later occupational/interview form (pp.167-168) gives a fuller work history: rough carpenter for a contractor at Glenelm, Quebec (1927-1929); bricklayer's assistant working for his father (about 1929-1937); and clerk in W. Wilson's grocery store at Athelstan (about 1936-1940). It records mixed farming experience, driving experience, and post-discharge preference for bricklaying.
Medical: influenza admission in Dec 1940. On 7 Nov 1941 Reid fell from a roof and fractured the left transverse process of L1; he was hospitalized at No. 5 Canadian General Hospital, Taplow, then convalesced until 30 Jan 1942 and returned to duty. The 1946 medical board noted intermittent low-back discomfort, morning vomiting/retching dating from overseas service, and herpes genitalis; he was nevertheless considered fit for demobilization. Discipline: conduct sheet records two field offences in Apr/May 1944 involving disobedience/failure to obey orders, punished by 3 and 10 days confined to barracks, with forfeiture of pay on the latter.
Additional Service Notes
Enlisted at Montreal on 26 July 1940 as Sapper D-17125, Royal Canadian Engineers. His service record shows a sequence through No. 4 District Depot, 2nd Canadian Pioneer Battalion, Engineer Holding Unit, 1st Battalion R.C.E., temporary attachment to 16th Field Company R.C.E., and later 34th Field Company R.C.E.; late-service records also show 3rd Battalion R.C.E. and repatriation movements. He embarked overseas in August 1940, served in the United Kingdom, landed in France in July 1944, and served in continental Europe. He was hospitalized in 1941-42 for a fractured left first lumbar transverse process and returned to duty. He was discharged on 25 April 1946 on demobilization.
Additional Next of Kin Notes
Initial next of kin: Mrs. Alice Reid, mother, Athelstan, Quebec. Father George Reid, bricklayer, Athelstan, Quebec, was alive in 1940. Reid married Amelia Ricketts (née Hogg), L.A.C.W. 2081503, Royal Air Force, at Salford, Lancashire, England, on 9 August 1945, with military permission. Amelia was a widow, born 17 November 1914 at 2 Radford St, Salford; her nearest relative was Mrs. Amelia Walker, 4 Radford St, Salford 6, Manchester. Immigration correspondence records Reid's sister Mrs. Wm. McIntyre at Glenelm, Quebec, who offered accommodation for Amelia. Amelia's 24 April 1946 passage application gives her address as 34 South Lonsdale St., Gorse Hill, Stretford, Manchester, Lancashire, occupation corset fitter, and intended destination in Canada initially c/o Wilson's Paper Mill, St. Jerome, Quebec, later amended to Glenelm. Later Army correspondence dated 26 August 1946 records Amelia's expected arrival at Halifax aboard LETITIA on 1 September 1946, to be met by Reid, with destination Glenelm, Quebec.
Version: 4 Last modified: 2026-09-30 02:05:04
by: marc
