Louis Francois Hily

This post looks at Louis John Hiley's parents and where they came from.

His father Louis François Hily was born in St Pierre et Miquelon, tiny islands off the coast of Newfoundland, in 1892. Though part of North America, they remain territorial possessions of France. The inhabitants speak French and adhere to French customs and traditions.

Louis François married Mary McKinnon in February 1917. He was a Boilermaker by trade and by this time was living in Halifax on Cape Breton Island, part of Nova Scotia. Later that year he signed up to fight in the First World War. Louis's surname was Hily but his 3 children all adopted the surname spelling Hiley. Mary was from Nova Scotia.

Louis and Mary's grave in Holy Cross Cemetery
Sydney, Cape Breton

A page from the stamp collection of David Hiley

Next month - look out for

The Hilys of  Brittany in France

Louis John Hiley

Louis John Hiley was born on 14th June 1917 in Sydney on Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia, Canada. He signed up  in October 1939 and joined the 1st Battalion Cape Breton Highlanders. His attestation papers show him as a labourer and single. His parents were Louis François and Mary.

Signals Platoon of Headquarters Company

Cape Breton Highlanders

Sydney, Nova Scotia, c1940

Louis is on the far right of the 3rd and 4th rows

Source: website 'Cape Breton Military History Collections'

Canada's participation in the Italian Campaign was one of the most important efforts the Canadian Army made during the Second World War. More than 93,000 Canadians served in Italy between the summer of 1943 and the winter of 1945 and more than 26,000 of them would become casualties.

In May 1944 The Cape Breton Highlanders were involved in the Battle of the Liri Valley near Cassino in Italy, between Rome and Naples. Heavy fighting took place to breach the enemy's formidable Hitler Line. On 23rd May, under the cover of heavy mortar and machine gun fire, the Canadians broke through the German defences. Louis was killed in action on that day and was buried in the Cassino War Cemetery.

Canadian forces advancing to the Hitler Line
Liri Valley, Italy
May 1944
Source: website 'Cape Breton Military History Collections'

                     L-R Louis Hiley, Fred Cederberg and Tom Summerall.
                             Submitted for the project, Operation Picture Me
Photo is a copy of the version available on the Veterans Affairs Canada website.

About 800 Canadians were killed in the Battle of the Liri Valley, while about 2500 more were wounded. The Italian Campaign played an important role in helping the Allies eventually end the Second World War. The fighting there tied down German soldiers in Italy and kept them from being used to reinforce enemy troops on the Eastern Front or along the coast of Northwest Europe where they could have helped resist the eventual Allied landings on D-Day.

Louis's grave at Cassino

Next post: Louis's parents - Louis François and Mary

Hileys/Highleys killed in WW2

The Commonwealth War Graves Commission website lists 29 Hileys and 11 Highleys who were killed in the First World War. So far in this Blog there have been posts about 17 of these soldiers.

On their Welcome page the Commission says:

WE HONOUR AND CARE FOR THE MEN AND WOMEN

 OF THE COMMONWEALTH FORCES WHO DIED IN

 THE FIRST AND SECOND WORLD WARS, ENSURING

 THEY WILL NEVER BE FORGOTTEN.

The site gives details about each soldier who died:

Name

Date of death and age at death

Rank and service number

Regiment and unit

Country of burial

Cemetery and grave reference

Additional family information

There are details of the cemetery where the soldier is buried or the monument where the soldier is commemorated. Sometimes there is a map of the cemetery so that the grave can be located.

There are also details of the personal and military inscriptions on the headstones and grave registration details.

Grave of James Joseph Highley from Halifax Berles New Military Cemetery

Longuenesse (St Omer) Souvenir Cemetery Fred Hiley from Rugeley is buried here

In the Second World War 7 Hileys and 3 Highleys were killed. This year the Blog will feature some of these soldiers as well as those from WW1.

The first in this series will be Louis John Hiley, from Sydney in Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia. Louis fought with the Cape Breton Highlanders and was killed in Italy in 1944.

Look out for the next post!