McGUIRE, Gordon Berry
was on Lucknow, not on stone, moved to none
NAME McGUIRE Gordon Berry
RANK Gunner 31372 1st Canadian Army - II Canadian Corps - 3rd Canadian Infantry Division
REGIMENT 4th Light Anti-Aircraft Regiment
“everywhere”
Royal Canadian Artillery Born September 4, 1918 - Lot 6 - Concession 2 - Township of Huron - County of Bruce Residence Lucknow - Ontario Died July 11, 1944 25 years 10 months
Cemetery Beny-Sur-Mer Canadian War Cemetery - Reviers - Calvados - France
XII F 3
Parents Mr. William and Maud Rosser McGuire - Lucknow Brother Mr. John McGuire - Lucknow - Ontario Sisters Miss Mary & Dorothy McGuire - Vancouver - British Columbia
Gordon was born on September 4, 1918. The family probably would have attended Lucknow United Church. His public schooling was 1924-1933 and he would have attended High School in Lucknow from 1933-37. After this he worked for his father on the homestead from 1937-41. He was a member of the Militia with the 99th Field Battery - Royal Canadian Artillery from July 1940-May 1941.
Canada
It was May 3, 1941 when Gordon went to Guelph and enlisted into the Canadian Army and received the rank of Gunner. At the time he was 5' 10" tall and weighed 145 pounds. He had a clear complexion with brown eyes and black hair. At enlistment he was Taken on Strength wit the 4th Light Anti-Aircraft Regiment and attached to the 100th Battery. On June 9 he is attached to the Regimental Headquarters. On June 25 he is back with the 100th Battery. From June 24-July 7 he is attending a generator course and received a "B" Grade. On July 19 he forfeits a day of page for being AWOL. On Nov 7 while posted at Sussex - New Brunswick he is AWOL and is confined to barracks for 7 days and loses 3 days pay. On August 22 Gunner McGuire is on detachment.
Overseas
Gunner McGuire is Struck off Service to the Canadian Army in Canada and the same day embarks from Canada for duty overseas. While at sea the next day he is Taken on Strength with the Canadian Army overseas. On November 23 he disembarks in Liverpool - England. On November 23 he ceases to be on detachment. He is admitted on January 10, 1942 to the Medical Receiving Station and leaves two days later. Then he is admitted into No. 5 General Hospital on February 1 and is attached to No. 3 Canadian Artillery Reserve Unit. He is discharged on February 13. On March 20 he is Taken on Service with the 4th Light Anti-Aircraft Regiment. On April 4 he is admitted to No. 4 Casualty Clearing Station and on April 10 he arrives at No. 3 Medical Centre and remains there for three weeks. Then on May 21 he receives a Section 40 which is "acting to the prejudice of good order and military discipline". From August 12-13 he is a patient at No. 22 Field Ambulance. On April 14-22, 1943 he was a patient at No. 1 Canadian Medical Centre. On September 4 he is AWOL and loses a day of pay and is confined to barracks for 7 days. On November 13 he is admitted to Preston Military Hospital - Ayesford - Kent and is discharged on December 4 and shortly after re-joins his unit.
In the Field
The training continued up until the spring of 1944 and then on July 11 the 4th Light Anti-Aircraft Regiment embarked from England and on the following day landed on the shores of Normandy. The 4th Light AA Regiment was equipped with 12-40mm self propelled Bofors, 12-40mm towed Bofors and
12-20mm Polstens. The self propelled guns were mounted on trucks and deployed in most cases with armoured divisions in troops of 6. The towed guns fired 120 rounds per minute, and these shells were high explosive, weighed about 2 pounds and could reach altitudes up to 23,000 feet. These guns had a crew of 6 men. The gun and its carriage weighed in excess of 4,000 pounds and was mounted on a 4 wheeled carriage and was capable
of being moved at high speeds. The Polsten was placed on armoured vehicles or on the rear deck of a truck.
The quad guns could fire 450 rounds per minute to a height of about 6,700 feet and this gun weighed close to 7,000 pounds.
July 11th was a cloudy, dull and windy day. During the afternoon a group of 12 enemy aircraft flew over the position of the 4th Light AA Regiment at about 200 feet and the guns from three AA Regiments blasted 7 of them from the skies, and damaged the remaining 5 were hit and damaged and forced to take evasive action.
No. 32 Battery expended 834 rounds during this time. No. 100 Battery expended 632 rounds during this time.
Many thousands of rounds were expended during this period.
His mother Maud received the Memorial Cross in October 1944. Then the family received the medals that were awarded to Gordon in November of 1949 and these were the 1939-45 Star, the France-Germany Star, the Defence and War Medals plus the Canadian Volunteer Service Medal and clasp.
Gordon is honoured and remembered in all probability on the Lucknow United Church Memorial Plaque and is named on the Lucknow Cenotaph. His name would also have appeared on the Memorial Plaque of the Lucknow High School. He is honoured and remembered in the Books of Remembrance which sit in the Centre Block of Canada's Parliament and on the Canadian Virtual War Memorial. He is mentioned on page 183 of the Royal Canadian Artillery Association website.
