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Lindsay, Gordon William

Corporal

North Shore (New Brunswick)

Regiment

Royal Canadian Infantry Corps

G51438

Elbridge Lloyd Lindsay (b. January 23, 1919) and Gordon William Lindsay

(b. March 10, 1924) were brothers born in Old Ridge, near St. Stephen,

Charlotte County, New Brunswick. Their parents, Arthur (Lloyd) Lindsay

and Mina Pearl (Reynolds) were farmers. The boys were two of six

children and both served with the North Shore (NB) Regiment in WW2.

Other siblings were Vincent, Hazen, Pearl, and Elizabeth. Vincent served in

the Navy. The family was of Prussian, Irish and Scottish descent, and

attended the United Church.

The Lindsay Family on

their porch in Old

Ridge, about 1939, the

year that war was

declared.

Front Row, L-R Hazen,

Mina, Vincent, Pearl,

Elbridge Back Row, L-R

Gordon, Lloyd,

Elizabeth

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The boys worked on the family farm and records show that Gordon also

worked as a truck driver for the Department of Agriculture in Fredericton.

Elbridge enlisted with the Canadian Army on November 10, 1942, and

Gordon on January 7, 1943.

Both completed basic training at Camp No.70 at Fredericton. The brothers

were both frugal. They assigned a portion of their pay to their mother and

purchased Victory Bonds. Records also indicate that they were transferred

overseas to the United Kingdom in 1943 and placed with the North Shore

(NB) Regiment. The regiment spent much of the following year in

intensive physical training and rehearsing beach landings throughout

England and Scotland.

Gordon Vincent Elbridge

On D-Day (June 6, 1944) Gordon and Elbridge landed with the NS(NB)R in

Normandy near the village of Saint Aubin-sur-Mer. Gordon with B

Company under the command of Major Bob Forbes and Elbridge with

Support Company under the command of Capt Clint Gammon. A and B

Companies were the first units to come ashore. At about 8 a.m. their

landing craft doors opened and the men poured out under heavy fire from

artillery, mortars, and machine guns. They scrambled over barriers,

mines, and booby-traps and ran for the security of the seawall.

For B Company, there were few casualties during the dash across the

beach. Most made it to the wall but they now stalled and soon D Company

was coming in behind them. Using explosives and wire cutters, B

Company cut a path into the village. They now pushed into the streets

with orders to eliminate a large strong point that included two 75 mm

guns, 50 mm guns, as well as mortars and machine guns. All were firing

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on the beach and the landing craft. The gun positions and some of the

ouses were connected by a network of tunnels and the Germans could

easily relocate men to strengthen a position under attack. For this reason,

some positions were captured and then lost again. Snipers were also

deadly and using the tunnels or trenches, they kept moving to different

positions. Tanks destroyed the two 75 mm guns but progress against the

other guns was slow. To eliminate the final gun a building was demolished

to create a clear field of fire. Anti-Tank guns then finished the job and the

strongpoint was silent. The War Diary records that by 11:15 a.m., Hitler’s

Atlantic Wall had been broken, all Company objectives had been achieved,

and the NS (NB) Regt was in control of Saint Aubin. The regiment now

advanced three kilometers south and by the end of the day, they had

captured the village of Tailleville. The cost to the North Shore (NB)

Regiment on D-Day was 34 dead and 90 wounded.

Records state that a few days later Gordon was evacuated on medical

grounds and was sent to the UK to recover. During this time his brother

Elbridge fought with the NS(NB)R in the deadly battle of Carpiquet,

Historian Will Bird's book records seventy killed in action, and 204

wounded during the six days from July 4 to July 9. During the fighting on

July 4, Pte Elbridge Lindsay received shrapnel wounds to his left shoulder

and arm. He was also evacuated to England, and following treatment was

sent back to Canada on a hospital ship.

On August 25, Gordon returned to the regiment. In September the

Canadians were assigned the task of clearing all German forces from the

French ports along the English Channel. Gordon was promoted to Lance

Corporal on September 18, 1944. In October the Canadians fought in the

brutal month-long battle of the Scheldt and removed all German forces

from the fifty-mile estuary of the Scheldt River. Their success allowed the

Allied forces to open the huge and much-needed inland port of Antwerp in

November.

Winter was spent near Nijmegen in the Netherlands, adding

reinforcements and supplies as they prepared for the invasion of

Germany. On January 21, 1945, Gordon was promoted to the rank of

Corporal. He was still serving with B Company and with platoon

commander Lt Blake Oulton.

The Canadian assault on Germany, known as “Operation Veritable” was

launched on February 8, 1945. The First Canadian Army was to advance

southeast from Nijmegen, cross the border into Germany, and capture the

Rhineland, (Western Germany south of the Rhine River).

As part of the 3rd Division, the NS(NB)R was to seize and hold the Dutch

towns of Zandpol and Kekerdom. The War Diary states that in

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preparation, the Allies bombed the German lines on February 7 to reduce

their strength.

On February 8, at daybreak, the Allied artillery opened fire, the earth

trembled, and the big push was on. The Germans immediately blew holes

in the dikes that protected the Rhine floodplain, and water was soon rising

at about a foot per hour. The flooding continued throughout the day, and

several troop carriers and Jeeps had to be abandoned. The familiar

Buffalos and DUKWs (both amphibious vehicles) now became the primary

mode of transportation.

Photo Imperial War Museum

Because of the flooding, the attack was delayed. Finally, late in the

afternoon, the North Shore advanced, led by A and B Company in

Buffalos. A Company was commanded by Major Fred Moar, and B

Company was commanded by Capt C.F. Richardson. C and D Companies

followed behind. The attack was assisted by Spitfires and Typhoons with

rockets and machine guns firing on the North Shore objectives. The land

was flat, with few buildings or trees, but it was now almost dark, and they

were less visible.

As they reached the dike on the west side of Zandpol, there was no place

to hide, and the only option was to exit the Buffalos and attack in water

that was now knee-deep. At 7:05 p.m., B Company reported having run

into booby traps, and five men were killed. By 7:30 p.m., both companies

were over the dike and on the dryer Zandpol side. A Company captured

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sixty prisoners and B Company nine. At 8:55 p.m., B Company reported

that they had captured Zandpol.

The Germans counterattacked, but the North Shore men held their

ground. Father Hickey wrote that the NS(NB)R cost for Zandpol was ten

dead and twelve wounded. Kekerdom was captured on February 9. Cpl

Gordon William Lindsay was killed in action on February 8, 1945. He was

twenty years of age. Cpl Gordon William Lindsay was buried in the

Groesbeek Canadian War Cemetery in the Netherlands. Plot I. F. 7.

The war ended in May 1945 and back home, Elbridge married Doris Irene

Corning on December 18, 1948. During this time Elbridge continued to

need treatment for his wounds and also suffered from Post Traumatic

Stress Disorder. He received a pension as a result of his injuries, and

being frugal used that money to purchase land and a home for his family.

He worked for a number of years with the Department of Transport and

retired in 1985. In 1987 Elbridge returned to Europe and Carpiquet where

he had been wounded and attended the unveiling of a memorial to the

North Shore (NB) Regiment. Elbridge Lloyd Lindsay died on April 11, 1993

and was laid to rest in the Old Ridge Cemetery near his home.

For their service to Canada, both Gordon and Elbridge were awarded the

following medals: the 1939-45 Star, France & Germany Star, War Medal

1939-45, Defense Medal, and Canadian Volunteer Service Medal & Clasp.

Biography by Bruce Morton, brucehmorton@gmail.com

Biography made available for Faces To Graves, with courtesy of Bruce

Morton

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