FRAISER, Arthur James

NAME                  FRAISER           Arthur James
RANK                  Private                                                                                                                                                                          1st Canadian Army - II Canadian Corps - 3rd Canadian Infantry Division - 9th Infantry Brigade REGIMENT         Highland Light Infantry of Canada
                            “defence not defiance”
                            Royal Canadian Infantry Corp                                                                                                  Born                     April 27, 1923 - Seaforth - Townships of McKillop / Tuckersmith - County of Huron        Residence           Seaforth - Ontario                                                                                                                      Died                     July 8, 1944          21 years  2 months      
Cemetery            Beny-Sur-Mer Canadian War Cemetery - Reviers - Calvados - France
                            XIII E 2.
Parents               Mr. Robert and Jeanette Fraiser of Seaforth                                                                                  Brothers              John Fraiser serving overseas with the Royal Canadian Air Force.                                                                            William and Douglas - Seaforth - Ontario                                                                              Sisters                 Mrs. Dorothy Devitt - London - England                                                                                                                      Mrs. Helen Radford - Londesboro - Ontario                                                                                                                Mrs. Ruth Rintoul - Seaforth - Ontario                                                                                                                        Miss Edna, Jean, Audrey, Cecile, Barbara and Mary at home in Seaforth

Arthur was born in Seaforth on April 27, 1923. The family would have attended St. Thomas Anglican Church. He completed Grade VIII and left school at the age of 14. Prior to his enlistment he was employed at Smith's Billiards in Seaforth. He had been a volunteer in the Reserves with the Middlesex-Huron Regiment with the rank of Private from November 1939 until October of 1941.
Arthur went and enlisted into the Canadian Army in London on October 1, 1941. He was 18 years of age.

Canada

When Arthur enlisted he was 5' 7" in height and weighed 131 pounds, He had a dark complexion with hazel eyes and blonde hair. At this time he received the rank of Private and then attached to the The Elgin Regiment presently training in Sussex - New Brunswick.                                                                                                          On February 6, 1942 he was Struck off Service to the Elgin Regiment and Taken on Service with the 25th Canadian Armoured Regiment with the rank of Trooper. On March 31 he is assigned to the Employment Platoon at the HQ of the 4th Canadian Armoured Division at Debert - Nova Scotia where his training would continue. While training in Canada he was AWOL once and loses a day of pay.

Overseas

On August 21 he is Struck off Service to the Canadian Army in Canada and embarks from Halifax for overseas. The following day at sea he is Taken on Service with the Canadian Army overseas and on September 1 he disembarks in the United Kingdom.                                                                                                                        On November 19, 1943 while still with the Employment Platoon of the 4th Canadian Armoured Division he is posted to No. 1 Canadian Non Effective Transit Depot and on November 24 he is posted to No. 3 Canadian Infantry Reinforcement Unit and the next day goes to "H" Wing. On December 21 he transfers from the Canadian Armoured Corps to the Canadian Infantry Corps General List with the rank of Private.                                          On January 6, 1944 Private Fraiser is Taken on Service with the Highland Light Infantry of Canada.                While training in the United Kingdom he was AWOL once and is confined to barracks for three days and loses a day of pay. In addition, he commits and offence and receives 7 days of field punishment and loses 7 days of pay.

In the Field

On June 4 the Highland Light Infantry of Canada embark from the United Kingdom and on D Day - June 6 they come ashore onto Juneau Beach and the sand of Normandy.                                                                                  In the Battle of Normandy, the Canadians found themselves hampered by the German fortifications in the
towns of Tilly-la-Campagne and Tilly-sur-Seulles.
Operation “Charnwood” was about to begin. The HLI had their breakfast about 04:30 hours. The Battle for
Caen began with a barrage from 656 guns and it was so intense the sun was obscured. The objective was the
capture Chateau de St. Louet, Authie along with the high ground south of Buron. In addition, the Canadians
would attack parts of the Carpiquet Airfield. German defences included minefields, dug in tanks, anti-aircraft defences and 88s along with elite troops. The Germans were very aware of the route the HLI would have to follow and they had prepared themselves. Buron was considered to be a keypoint of the German defences along with the Abbaye d’Ardenne. The German SS were entrenched behind minefields and anti-tank ditches.
The objective of the HLI was to take Galmanchie and clear out Buron. “B” Company was to the east,                “D" Company was to the west, “C’ Company was to assist and then be the reserve while “A” Company would
follow the forward companies, pass through and begin the advance toward Authie. With the bagpipes blowing the infantry advanced with tank support.
“B & D” Companies began their advance until stopped by an anti-tank ditch 12 feet wide and 15 feet deep
and all the while they took casualties from heavy enemy mortar and machine gun fire. Fighting was heavy
and close and they cleared out the German positions while under fire. Buron was strongly held by enemy machine guns that the HLI could not penetrate through. “D” Company made it to the town first, smashed their way in and cleared out the Germans. They had suffered heavy losses and were to 50% strength. “B” company had broken through and cleared out enemy positions and were able to do so after having to advance right up to the German guns. All companies had achieved their objectives even with German counter attacks and continuous German shelling.
The situation with the heavy casualties was the wounded could not be evacuated to safety because of the
heavy shelling, too many wounded, not enough stretcher bearers and not enough transport. 
“B” company then found themselves being attacked by 8 German Tiger tanks and they were able to fight
them off and destroyed 6.In the evening they attacked toward Gruncy and Buron but came under intense heavy artillery / mortar / machine gun fire but they were successful in clearing out the opposition. Again the casualties were heavy and they found they had to fight their way across built up areas but now they had armour support.
As darkness fell on the evening of July 8th, there was not one building in Buron left standing, casualties were 50% + and 62 men had been killed and 200+ men wounded. One of the fiercest battles was over and
the HLI was in shambles, and stretched very dangerously thin to prevent a enemy attack if one came.
During the day Buron and Grunchy had been attacked, Authie and the Abbaye d’ Ardennes had been
recaptured and they had come to learn that the men of the 12th SS Panzer Grenadiers were fanatical with
flesh being torn by land mines, shredded by shrapnel, pierced by bullets or charred in destroyed tanks. It was during this bloody and fierce day of battle when Private Fraiser was wounded and eventually was taken to No. 23 Canadian Field Ambulance where he could not survive his wounds.

Private Fraiser was involved in the Normany landings in the fight of Operation Charnwood at Buron and in the fight for Caen

During the month of October 1944 Mrs. Fraiser received the Memorial Cross. In January 1950 his mother Jeanette received the medals awarded to Arthur which included the 1939-45 Star, the France-Germany Star, the Defence and War Medals along with the Canadian Volunteer Service Medal with clasp.

Arthur is honoured and remembered on the Memorial Plaque of St. Thomas Anglican Church and has his name etched on the stone of the Seaforth Cenotaph. He is also remembered in the Books of Remembrance which are located in the Centre Block of the Canadian Parliament and on the Canadian Virtual War Memorial.