HART, Wilbert Carl
on website, not on list, not on stone, removed from Wingham to none
NAME HART Wilbert Carl
RANK Private 1st Canadian Army - II Canadian Corps - 2nd Canadian Infantry Division - 5th Infantry Brigade REGIMENT Black Watch of Canada (the Royal Highland Regiment) - 1st Battalion
“no one provokes me without impunity”
Royal Canadian Infantry Corp Born November 7, 1907 - Wingham - Township of Turnberry - County of Huron Residence Wingham - Ontario Died December 24, 1944 37 years 1 month Cemetery Groesbeek Canadian War Cemetery - Groesbeek - Gelderland - Netherlands
II C 11
Wife Mrs. Sarah Hart of Wingham / Guelph / Kitchener Sons Masters Wilburt Jr., David and William live with their mother in Guelph Mother Mrs. Edith Mary Hart - Wingham Brothers Mr. Alvin and Melvin Hart - Wingham - Ontario Sister Mrs. Mildred Prentice - Guelph - Ontario
Wilbert was born on November 7, 1907 in Wingham and growing up would have attended St. Paul's Trinity Anglican Church. He would have attended public school and high school in Wingham. He was employed as a farmer and then prior to his enlistment he worked at Western Foundry Company Limited in Wingham. He left school at the age of 13 after four years of public school. He had three children.
Canada
He enlisted into the Canadian Army on April 29, 1941 in Guelph with the rank of Gunner. At the time he was 5' 6" tall and weighed 120 pounds. He had a dark complexion with hazel eyes and brown grey hair. He was Taken on Service with the 4th Light Anti-Aircraft Regiment and then posted to the 100th Light Anti-Aircraft Battery. He then received his embarkation Leave in July before being posted to Sussex - New Brunswick with the 4th Light Anti-Aircraft Regiment. As of August 22 he was on detachment. He received his furlough in the last half of October.
Overseas
Gunner Hart was Struck off Service of the Canadian Army in Canada and then sailed from Canada for overseas. While at sea the next day he was Taken on Service with the Canadian Army overseas. He disembarked in Liverpool on November 23 and ceases to be on detachment. In the first week of January he received his Landing Leave. On December 26 he fell from a coal truck and was unconscious for 5-10 minutes. He went to the Medical Reception Station and then between December 28-February 2, 1942 he was a patient in No. 5 General Hospital. At the beginning of 1942 he was in hospital and on January 18 he was assigned to No. 3 Canadian Army Reinforcement Unit. Between February 14-21 he was a patient in No. 1 Neurological Hospital - Basingstoke - Hampshire. On May 28 he is assigned to No. 3 Light Anti-Aircraft Regiment. He has leave in October. The training continues for the next two months of 1942, throughout all of 1943. On January 1, 1943 he took rifle training, Bren gun training and anti-tank gun training. Then on September 8 he took Sten gun training.
In the Field Gunner Hart's training continues up to late spring of 1944 and on July 4 he embarks from the United Kingdom and lands on French soil on July 7. Two months later on September 12 he is posted to X4 list for unposted reinforcements in theatre of war. The following day he transfers to the Canadian Infantry Corps with the rank of Private and on September 23 he is Taken on Service with the Black Watch of Canada. On October 1 his file states he was wounded but provides no details of wounds. On this day he is admitted to No. 30 British General Hospital and he remains there for a week. The weather on October 1 was cloudy with occasional rain showers. The Battalion was located at Brecht. They began their advance with artillery and tank fire. The armour passed through the Calgary Highlanders at 8 am. They had been told that they would have no issues. The German resistance was determined in Brecht but the mortar and artillery fire coming down on him and the infantry found all the enemy mortars had been destroyed and by noon the Black Watch was in well sited positions. The artillery fire and mortar fire was heavy all day and there were snips on the outskirts. Some of the enemy was located in south-west of town and "C" Company was sent to deal with this threat and "A,B & D" Companies began to clear the enemy from the houses. What they found was the Germans had pulled out quickly leaving behind stacks of ammunition. For the rest of October 1 and during the night of October 1/2 the enemy shelling and mortaring was irregular. By October 23 he was back with his unit in the field. At the beginning of the 2nd week of December they again found themselves on the front lines in slit trenches, dugouts and sandbag huts bordering the River Maas. And for just over two weeks they carried out patrols and raiding parties.
On December 24th, the weather was clear, sunny and frosty. Just as the moon set "C" Company advanced about 6 am and their covering fire was well co-ordinated. "A" Company's Vickers gun sprayed the area and received a few mortar rounds in return. All platoons reached their forming up positions and it was at this point when an enemy mortar exploded close to Private Hart and killing him immediately and wounded four others. The enemy did not have a clue as to where the attack against them was coming from as he was directing his fire onto Middelaarhuis and "D" Company Headquarters which indicated he was confused about the amount of mortar fire the town was receiving from the 5th Brigade before "H" hour. The platoons advanced to their objectives, searched the buildings and returned to Company positions. The objective had been to being back prisoners but they were unsuccessful. The enemy mortar positions were engaged by the artillery with air bursts and the firing was accurate. During the evening of December 24 the enemy could be heard playing Christmas songs and all the while were lobbing rifle grenades at the Battalion. After the Germans played "Silent Night" there was a chorus of Bren gun fire onto the enemy. All of the Battalion was on alert as the Germans were suspected of trying for an airborne landing. For 17 days in December the Battalion was in the right Brigade sector which bordered the River Maas and the Battalion was in very intimate contact with the enemy. During the month the morale was high despite the foul weather and very poor living conditions, underground, in rainy weather and mud. The Brigade casualties for December included 100 Officers and 1,700 casualties of all ranks. Private Hart was originally buried in a temporary military cemetery at Jonkers Bosch near Nijmegen. His family received a letter from Nijmegen in late April or early May of 1947 from a Miss Jet. Janssen and
who used to take care of Private Hart’s grave. She mentions that Wilbert gave his life for the Dutch people
and that he would never be out of their prayers and that they considered him to be a hero. She went on to
say that she would like to correspond with the Hart family.
The Memorial Cross was sent to his wife Sarah and his mother Edith in in March 1945. Wilbert was awarded the 1939-45 Star, the France-Germany Star, the Defence and War Medals along with the Canadian Volunteer Service Medal with clasp and his wife Sarah and his mother Edith during the month of October 1949.
Wilbert is honoured and remembered on the Wingham Cenotaph and on the Guelph Cenotaph and on the Memorial Plaque of St Paul's Trinity Anglican Church. He is also honoured and remembered in the Books of Remembrance which are found in the Centre Block of our Canadian Parliament. He is also honoured and remembered on the Canadian Virtual War Memorial.
