World War Two collections | Canadian Letters

Title

WWII

These collections contains all materials relating to Canadian from 1939 to 1945. Some individual collections may contain materials beyond this time frame. External links in collection descriptions are to casualty and burial information at the Commonwealth War Graves Commission.

Richards, Edward Gordon Coke

Flight Sergeant Edward "Ted" Gordon Coke Richards was born on October 10, 1916 and served as a gunner with the 49th Squadron. He was killed on a raid over Germany, March 15, 1945, leaving behind a wife and infant daughter in Canada. The collection consists of five letters, two photographs, and seventeen poems he wrote while stationed overseas.

External links:
Flight Sergeant Edward Gordon Coke Richards’ service record (Serv/Reg# R252612) can be viewed/downloaded in pdf format through Library and Archives Canada.
Burial information is available at the Commonwealth War Graves Commission.
A memorial page honouring Richards can be visited online at the Canadian Virtual War Memorial.

Rimer, Val Max Harold

Trooper Val Max Harold Rimer was born in Toronto, Ontario, on February 8, 1923. His family later moved to Winnipeg, Manitoba.

He served in World War II with the 2nd Armoured Regiment, Lord Strathcona's Horse (Royal Canadians). Shipped overseas in 1943 aboard the RMS Queen Elizabeth, Rimer fought in the Italian Campaign, where he took part in the Battle for the Melfa River, and then in Belgium and Holland. Following the end of the war Rimer returned to Canada in 1946, travelling once again aboard the RMS Queen Elizabeth.

In 2005 Rimer received the Minister of Veterans Affairs Commendation award in recognition of his work “in numerous community initiatives devoted to the care and support of Veterans.”

Content notes:
The collection’s only letter was written by Rimer to his mother in December of 1943.
Please note: there is some uncertainty regarding Rimer’s full name. In the collection’s letter his name was written with his service number and rank as “Rimer, M.H.” and the letter signed as “Max.” Following the war it appears that the name he went by publicly was “Val Rimer,” which, for example, is the name in which his Minister of Veterans Affairs Commendation was issued. The collection name incorporates both war-time and post-war name formats.

External links:
Tpr. Val Rimer’s service record (Serv/Reg# H102549) is not currently open to public access through Library and Archives Canada.
Rimer’s receipt of the Government of Canada’s Minister of Veterans Affairs Commendation.

[Editor’s note: Collection updated July/2023. One new postcard added, letter transcription reviewed and jpg files added, duplicate letter posting error corrected, and Collection Description updated. The collection name was originally posted as “Rimer, Val”.]

Roche, Thomas Joseph

Thomas Joseph Roche was born in Toronto, Ontario in April, 1918 and enlisted with the RCAF where he served as WO II. He served overseas with the 106 Sqdn. Roch'e aircraft and crew were lost on a raid against Hamburg, Germany on July 28, 1943. The collection currently consists of one letter, and two photographs.

External links:
Warrant Officer Thomas Joseph Roche’s service record (Serv/Reg# R115295) can be viewed/downloaded in pdf format through Library and Archives Canada.
Burial information is available at the Commonwealth War Graves Commission.
A memorial page honouring Roche can be visited online at the Canadian Virtual War Memorial.

Ross, Colin Sewell

Colin Sewell Ross was born in November, 1921 and lived in Toronto, where he studied at the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Toronto from 1940-1941. In 1941 he joined the army. Ross served with the 4th Canadian Armoured Division and the 29th Canadian Armoured Recce Regt., fighting in France, Belgium, and Holland, and finished the war with the rank of Lt.-Col. Following the war he returned to the University of Toronto and graduated in medicine in 1950. Ross died in April, 2001. The collection consists of photographs and some personal items from his time in the army. See also the James Wells Ross collection in WWI (his father) and the Gladys Hope Sewell Ross collection in WWI (his mother).