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Armstrong, Walter Douglas

Warrant Officer Class II

Company Sergeant Major

Royal Canadian Infantry Corps

Regina Rifle Regiment

L/27753

Walter Douglas Armstrong was born on Tuesday,9 December,1919 in

Elbow, Saskatchewan, Canada. He was the fourth child in a family of

eleven children, eight girls and three boys: Jack, Bob, Phyllis, Walter,

Irene, Lois, Marjorie, Jane, Grace, Dorothy and Laura. Their father,

George Alexander (1894-1977) was born in Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan

and their mother, Ellen Lucinda Hirschy (1895-1978) in Berne, Adams

County, Indiana, USA. The family lived in Elbow, which owes I t’s name to

the elbow- shaped curve in the South Saskatchewan river. They attended

the United Church of Canada.

In 1934 the family packed up its possessions, collected the animals

together and with the help of a horse and cart, moved to Davidson, some

thirty miles away. George was a wheat dealer and also kept cattle. The

oldest son, Jack was always surprised that his father had no fear of the

coyotes they heard, when they went to bring in the cows for milking.

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Walter went first to school in Elbow and was active in the Boy Scouts;

he then followed four years of High School in Davidson until he was 17.

He worked for three years in a butcher’ s shop in Davidson. On 24

June,1940, then twenty years old, he joined the army in Regina, the

Saskatchewan capital city and was placed with the Regina Rifle Regiment.

Walter’ s brothers, Jack and Bob also registered and joined the Canadian

Air Force; Jack became a gunner and both brothers survived the war.

In his service records, Walter was described as 1m 83cms tall,

weighing 67.5kg, with brown eyes and dark brown hair. (There was a

small scar on the left of his forehead). He was sportive and enjoyed

playing hockey and running.

The history of the Regina Rifles began in the mid-19th century; social

unrest and rebellious Indian tribes forced the government to establish

civilian guards and militias. Regina founded its own home guard, the

Regina Blazers, and this was the basis. Its members were recruited from

the surrounding region and known as Farmer Johns in this predominantly

farming area.

Source-Regina Rifle Regiment Walter, 11th from the right.

Walter was first stationed in Dunbar Military camp and then sent to

Camp Debert in Nova Scotia. On 17 April,1941, he was promoted to Lance

Corporal. Leaving Canada 24 August, he arrived in England on 1

September. The home base for the Regina Rifles was near Southampton

at Hiltingbury Camp. Here he took part in training which included anti-

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invasion exercises in connection with a possible German invasion of Great

Britain.

Later there were sea landing manoeuvres In preparation for the D-day

invasion of France. General Eisenhouwer visited the Regiment in 1944

and told them ‘The big day is coming’. Walter, in the A-Company, was

promoted to the rank of Sergeant.

In the early morning of 6 June, D-day, the A and B companies of the

Regina Rifles, with Walter, now promoted to Sergeant, were approaching

the French coast of Normandy in the Dutch ship, Mecklenburg. Finally they

heard that they were heading for Juno beach near Courseulles-sur-Mer in

the Nan Green sector. At 8.05am they were the first to set foot on land

and were immediately involved in fierce fighting without the support from

the tanks, which were forty minutes behind schedule. Heavy losses are

being suffered and fighting is taking place every inch.

Walter crept over the beach with a light machine gun under enemy fire;

he came across a German machine gun post and with the help of two

other soldiers, was able to put it out of action. At the same time they were

being attacked from another direction. It was partly due to his efforts that

the rest of the Company was able to move forward into buildings on the

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right side of the Regiment. Later it was discovered that Walter had been

wounded with a bullet through one leg that went on to graze the other.

When the company commander inquired about his wounds, Walter

showed him only the grazed leg. Under fire, he moved towards his

Company and localized another enemy machine gun; putting this also out

of action, he made an outflanking movement and reached his comrades.

For the rest of the morning he lead his men forward until at 14.00hrs, his

commander ordered him to go to the ambulance post back on the beach,

for treatment. He was awarded the Military Medal for his courageous

actions on the Normandy beach. He had to stay some weeks in hospital

and finally returned to his Company on 26 August.

Walter Douglas Armstrong –Bron familie Boggs/Wehnes.

The fighting continued in the direction of Caen and the Regiment again

suffered a heavy loss of life. Moving along the French and Belgian coast,

on 6 October, the Regina Rifles joined in Operation Switchback and the

Battle of the Schelde; this aimed to free the river , so that the port of

Antwerp could be reached. After the Allied victory on 6 November,

Walter with his Company was transported to the Nijmegen area and they

spent Christmas, 1944 in the Netherlands. In December Walter was

promoted to the rank of Sergeant Major.

At midnight on 31 December, on the Dutch-German border, both the

German and Canadian soldiers began to shoot with light rail ammunition

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and produced a spectacular show for the New Year. On 8 February, 1945

there was a major attack on Germany; the Allies began their Rhineland

offensive under the name Operation Veritable. It began with what has

been called the biggest artillery campaign ever; with more than a

thousand guns, the German Reichswald defenses were successfully

attacked from the Groesbeek area by Canadian and British forces, led by

Field Marshall General Montgomery. The aim of Operation Veritable was

to free the land between the rivers Roer and Rhine from the north, while

American forces in another operation attacked from the south, a kind of

pincer movement.

The wintry weather in February, 1945 caused serious problems for the

offensive; the ground was no longer hard and there was constant rain.

The Germans also opened the sluices of the Roer river dams, causing

serious flooding across the low lying land.

On 16 February, a cold and misty day, the Regina Rifles were ordered

to attack Moyland wood, near Kalkar. They came under heavy enemy fire

and there were many casualties. One of them was Sergeant Major Walter

Douglas Armstrong who lost his life at the age of 25. A great loss for the

Company. Walter was much loved by his men.

He was buried in Bedburg Hau, in Germany, in the temporary Canadian

Military Cemetery. On 19 September, 1945, Walter was reburied in the

Canadian War Cemetery, Groesbeek, in the Netherlands. Plot X.D.9.

'The Lord is my Shepherd; I shall not want.'

Life story: Gijs Krist, Research Team Faces To Graves.

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Sources:

Commonwealth War Graves Juno Beach-Wikipedia

Canadian Commission Book of Remembrance Canadiansoldiers.com Forthvh.nl

Traces of War.nl Regina Rifles Regiment-Wikipedia

Honourthem.ca Katherine Boggs Charles Wehnes

Photo – family Boggs/ Wehnes.

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Information Military Medal.

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In Saskatchewan, a lake has been named in honour of Walter. Lake

Armstrong lies 120 miles northeast of La Rouge.

Photo – family Boggs/ Wehnes

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