WALLACE, Gordon Wilmott
NAME WALLACE Gordon Wilmot
RANK Sergeant 31065
REGIMENT 2nd Survey Regiment
“everywhere”
Royal Canadian Artillery
1st Canadian Army - II Canadian Corps Born March 6, 1912 - Palmerston - Township of Minto- County of Wellington - Ontario Residence Listowel - Ontario Died August 8, 1944 33 years 5 months Cemetery Bretteville-Sur-Laize Canadian War Cemetery - Cintheaus - Calvados - France
II C 9 Wife Mrs. Alveretta Wallace- Palmerston - Ontario
Parents Mr.John and Altry Wallace - Fordwich - Ontario.
Gordon was born on March 6, 1912 at Palmerston and was a carpenter by trade working in Listowel before enlisting into the Canadian Army on September 8, 1939 in Listowel. He was a member of Palmerston United Church. He was Taken on Strength with the 100th Battery Royal Canadian Artillery with the Rank of Gunner. Between Feb 2-March 1, 1940 he was attached to the 12th Battery while attending a Signal Course in London. His next posting was in Kingston between March 1-May 28 while he attended a Signals Training Course. On May 28th Gunner Wallace was posted at Camp Petawawa with the Canadian Artillery Training Centre. From this point in 1940 until the end of July 1941 there is a gap in his file as to his movements and postings. on August 1 while at Camp Tracadia - New Brunswick his is given the Rank of Lance Bombardier while with the 97th Battery. On August 28th-September 9 he is admitted to Hotel Dieu de Saint Joseph in Tracadia and had his appendix removed. He then is posted to Camp Sussex - New Brunswick and while there received embarkation leave from September 10-17. A month later he obtains furlough from October 15-29. Lance Bombardier Wallace then travels to Halifax and on November 12 is Struck off Service of the Canadian Army in Canada and embarks from Canada for overseas. The next day while at sea he is Taken on Strength with the Canadian Army overseas.
Overseas
Lance Bombardier Wallace disembarks in the United Kingdom on November 22, 1941. On December 11 he is promoted to Bombardier and receives landing leave from December 11-17. While training continued in the United Kingdom he received leave from February 27-March 5, 1942, June 9-16 and from September 28-October 4. On September 16 he is appointed to the rank of Sergeant. On November 6 he is admitted to No. 6 Casualty Clearing Station and then to No. 5 Canadian General Hospital in Taplow - Buckinghamshire on November 19-December 31,1942. Sergeant Wallace qualifies as a Signaller "C" on January 13, 1943 and then receives Leave from January 18-25. He is Taken on Service with the 7th medium field regiment of the Royal Canadian Artillery on February 11.In early December on the 7th he is Taken on Service with the No. 2 Survey Regiment. A month after D Day on July 6 Sergeant Wallace and the No.2 Survey Regiment embark from the United Kingdom and walk onto Juno Beach on July 9.
In the Field
The 2nd Survey Regiment was part of the Canadian Active Service Force which was formed in the UK in
September of 1943. Each Corp had a survey regiment and a survey battery was assigned to each forward position. The survey regiments were organized so that they could operate independently. During 1944/45 each artillery battery had 1 troop of flash spotters, 1 troop of sound rangers, and 1 troop of survey troops.
On this day, August 8, 1944, the second phase of “Operation Totalize” began and the 2nd Survey Regiment had the responsibility of coordinating all survey tasks on the Canadian Corps front. In addition to its normal task of
surveying new gun areas to which the regiments would move forward during the operation, carrying out its
sound ranging and flash-spotting duties, it performed the necessary survey for the troop leaders tanks of the
2nd Canadian and 33rd Armoured Brigades. This involved setting points on a preconceived bearing and siting
directional serials in such a way that a radio beam could be set on this bearing, thereby enabling the tanks to
be guided forward at night. At 1:00 pm of August 8th, 678 US heavy bombers were to attack 4 targets assigned to them. One lead bomber of a formation of 12 was hit by very accurate German flak and dropped its bombs early. The policy of the US bombers was that if they were hit to immediately drop their bombs and this would give them a chance of returning to its base if the aircraft was still able to fly. The bombs from the lead bomber fell well
behind the combat line and in that area there were many Allied troops waiting to move to the front. As a
result of that bomber dropping its bombs, 65 Canadians lost their lives and 250 were wounded. Of this total
the 2nd Survey Regiment had 13 men killed and 20 wounded. It was this incident where Sergeant Wallace lost his life.
The 2nd Survey Regiment was a sound ranging regiment. Close in German guns were monitored by
microphones spaced out across the front and then hooked up to a jiggling four point recorder. More distant
enemy guns were monitored by 6 microphones placed in overturned pots in camouflaged holes in the
ground. These were placed 1,700 yards or a mile apart across the front and hooked up to a recording device of
running film-negative registering impulses from each microphone - from the “gun-firing wave,” the
“incoming wave,” and the shell bursting wave with each showing up on the film as a “Blip” to their trained
eyes.
During November of 1944 both his wife Alveretta and his mother Alty issued the Memorial Cross. In the fall of 1949, Sergeant Wallace was issued the 1939-45 Star, the France-Germany Star, the Defence Medal and the War Medal along with the Canadian Volunteer Service Medal and clasp.
Gordon is honoured and remembered on the Canadian Virtual War Memorial,on page 471 of the Books of Remembrance from World War II in the Centre Block of Parliament Hill, on the Fordwich and Listowel - Ontario cenataphs and he should be but is not named on the Palmerston - Ontario Cenotaph. Hewould also be honoured and remembered on the Memorial Plaque of the Palmerston United Church.
