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.
.jpg) |
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.
.jpg) |
| 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.
.jpg) |
| Louis's grave at Cassino |
No comments:
Post a Comment