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1921 Birth: Edward Fidler 26 Nov 1921, Knutsford, Cheshire, England. UK GRO Birth Registration Index: Fidler, Edward. 1921: Oct-Nov-Dec quarter in Bucklow (Cheshire) Vol 8a Page 341 MMN: (blank) [usually means illegitimate].

1937 Emigrated: aged 15, with The Church of England Waifs & Strays Society, departed Liverpool, England on 30 Jul 1937 aboard the RMS Andania. Arrived Montreal, Canada in early Aug 1937 and was transferred to The Gibbs' Home, Sherbrooke, Ontario, Canda BHC Registry ID # 60800 Edward Fidler

Placement/Indenture: farm labourer with Robert McVittee/y, farmer, North Hatley, P.Quebec, Canada

1940 Enlisted: at Sherbrooke, Quebec on 19 Aug 1940 aged 19 [sic,]18. 5' 6½", 144lbs, fair complexion, brown eyes, light brown hair, vision good, hearing good, good physical development, flat feet - no pain or tenderness, wide inguinal rings. 2 cavities - teeth, No previous military experience. Next of Kin: Tom Keeley. Relationship: Guardian, Gibbs Home, Sherbrooke, Quebec. Allocated pay from Sep 1943: C$25 per month to Mr McVittee.  1944: Mary Patricia Fidler, wife, 43 Allens Road, Southsea, Portsmouth, Hampshire, England. Employment preference/ambition: Motor Mechanic BAC-LAC Military Records: Edward Fidler

Rank/Unit: Trooper, 27th Armoured Tank Regt. Sherbrooke Fusiliers, R.C.A.C. Service No: D-46268. 

1940 - 1942 Canada: Numerous periods of AWL. Punished by forfeiting pay and being put in detention. 

Hospitalised: 17 Nov 1941 Vincents angina (unilateral tonsilitis) - Lester's Field Hospital.

1942 Qualified: as a Tank driver/mechanic : 27 May 1942 

1942 Hospitalised: 08 Jul 1942 Ingrowing toenail - Debert Military Hospital.

07 Aug 1942 categorised 'C' for pay purposes

To UK: 28 Oct 1942. Losing equipment and necessaires by neglect to the total $28.50. Cost of apprehension for AWL -forfeited pay and put under stoppages of pay.

Increase in pay: from May 1943 $1.40 per day, to $1.70 per day in Aug 1943

1944 Marriage: 01 Apr 1944 gived 'leave to marry' (permission). Married 08 Apr 1944 Bride: Mary Patricia Waller, of 43 Allens Road, Southsea, Portsmouth, Hampshire, England to Edward Fidler Reg. 1944 quarter 2 New Forest (Hampshire) Vol 2b Page 825

Embarked for France: 05 Jun 1944. Driver/Mechanic Tank Regiment

1944 'D' Day Landing: 'Juno' Beach, Normandy, France - 06 Jun 1944 (married 8 weeks)

1944 Death: Trooper Edward Fidler, KIA, aged 22, 12 Aug 1944

Burial: Bretteville-Sur-Laize Canadian War Cemetery, Cintheaux, Departement du Calvados, Basse-Normandie, France Plot IX. C. 11 Personal Inscription: GREATER LOVE HATH NO MAN THAN THIS, THAT A MAN LAY DOWN HIS LIFE FOR HIS FRIENDS   CWGC Grave: Edward-Fidler  Findagrave # 56156167 Edward Fidler

The cemetery is 16 kilometres south of Caen. Buried here are those who died during the later stages of the battle of Normandy, the capture of Caen and the thrust southwards (led initially by the 4th Canadian and 1st Polish Armoured Divisions), to close the Falaise Gap, and thus seal off the German divisions fighting desperately to escape being surrounded - trapped west of the Seine. Almost every unit of Canadian 2nd Corps is represented in the Cemetery. There are about 3,000 allied forces casualties of the Second World War commemorated in this site. The wooden cross was erected initially, the stone gravestone after end of the war.

Widow: Mary Patricia Waller Fidler (b. 1920 - d. 2018) (remarried Oct 1948 to Eric Hudson Bullock), lived in Toronto for 20 years, 2 daughters. Buried in York, Yorkshire, England

Credit: photo - grave & wooden cross. Photo from FindaGrave, Operation Picture Me. 

Research & Write-up: Helen Richmond, HCCRG Volunteer