Fairview Boy Gives His Life for His Country!
By Devonna Edwards, Columnist
Ralph Douglas Faulkner grew up in Fairview at 45 Main Avenue (formerly Duke of Kent Street). He was born in February 1922, the fourth of seven children to parents John and Evelyn (Evy) Gertrude Faulkner. While leading a very active life in sports, playing hockey, golf and softball, he also loved to sing and play guitar. Hank Snow, who became a famous singer, was his inspiration and since Hank’s future wife Minnie (Aalders) lived just down the road from him on Main Ave. he got to see him frequently. Ralph had a special talent, which was sketching cartoons of his activities in everyday life, and this suited him perfectly as he loved to make people laugh. He also enjoyed camping, hunting and fishing at Susie’s Lake and at the end of the day he always drew cartoon sketches of his activity during his day there in a Registry Logbook, which was kept at the community cabin near Susie’s Lake.
During World War II, he volunteered to join the army to fight for his country. Ralph joined the 22nd Armoured Regiment and left for France on July 21, 1944. He switched to the Canadian Armoured Division Reinforcement and rejoined as Guardsman Gunner Operator C with the Canadian Armoured Regiment, Canadian Grenadier Guards. He was described as 5 ft. 2.5 inches tall and weighed almost 121 pounds with a light complexion, hazel eyes and brown hair. He had a brother who was in the navy at that time. His niece Marilyn Kendall said that he always put his cartoon sketches of events that happened in each letter that he sent back home to family and friends. He always signed off his letters with, “Until I hear from you.” When he sent letters to his sister Winnie (Faulkner) Garagan, (Marilyn’s Mother) He would always sign off with, “Your kid brother, Ralph.”
He was also quite a prankster, which is evident when he wrote a letter home dated Sept. 1, 1945, while at Camp Borden, Ontario. He wrote that his friend couldn’t get up when the bugle sounded, because he and his other friend had tied his feet, and he tripped and fell while trying to get out of bed.
He wrote that he was looking forward to Christmas Eve and that he was dating many, but there was no one special.
While overseas he wrote back home that the Dutch people were good to him and fed him very well. He was grateful for this, and it gave his family comfort to know that they were caring for their boy.
The Dutch people were very kind to Canadians because the Canadian Forces spear-headed the liberation of the Netherlands during World War 11. Also, during the war, Canada gave refuge to some members of the Dutch Royal Family. Queen Wilhelmina, the Queen of the Netherlands sent her heir, Her Royal Highness Princess Juliana (heir to the throne) and her three daughters to Canada. They arrived in Halifax, Nova Scotia on June 11, 1940 and later settled in Ottawa where Princess Juliana and husband Prince Bernhard’s daughter, Princess Margriet was born in Ottawa Civic Hospital. The Royal Family gifted Canada with a multitude of tulip bulbs in recognition of this. Although the Dutch people were starving in World War 11 they always shared whatever they had with Canadian soldiers. The Nazis had cut off food supplies to the western part of the Netherlands in retaliation for the exiled Dutch Government supporting the Allies. Some twenty thousand people died and 4.5 million were affected by the direct and indirect consequences of the famine, which took place from November 1944 through May 1945. In addition to an exceptionally harsh winter, bad crops and four years of brutal war, the population was forced to live on rations of 400-800 calories per day. People had to eat grass and tulip bulbs to survive.
Ralph was killed during active duty in Germany on the first day of the Rhineland Campaign on February 26, 1945, just 10 weeks before the end of the war. He died three days before his birthday, only 23 years old, one of thousands of men and women who paid the ultimate sacrifice and never came home.
The Rhineland Campaign
In February 1945, the Allies launched the great offensive, which was designed to drive the enemy back over the Rhine and bring about final defeat. The Campaign ended with the Allies crossing the Rhine River and breaking the back of the last major German defensive line.
Storm Troopers
The Germans had a nickname for the Canadian Soldiers calling them, “Sturmtruppen”. At first the Germans simply called them “Tommies”, but that changed after the “Battle of the Somme” when German troops, astonished by the Bravery and the speed of the Canadians, started calling them “Sturmtruppen” (Storm Troopers). The Canadian Forces were feared and respected by the Germans.
Description of the day Ralph died
On February 26, 1945, in the Hochwald in Germany it was foggy and cool, and the troops advanced under heavy fighting and poor conditions. There were many losses of both men and tanks. At farm Michelshof, near Keppeln, they were again under heavy fire and lost two tanks. The men of both tanks survived, except Guardsman Ralph Faulkner who was killed in action. Ralph was temporarily buried in Keppeln, Germany and then reburied on February 28, 1946, at Groesbeek Canadian War Cemetery in Holland. A burial site his family never did get to visit and pay their final respects.
Inscription on his tombstone:
Ralph Douglas Faulkner
Rank: Guardsman
Unit: Canadian Grenadier Guards, H.O. Sqdn.,
22nd Armd. Regt. R.C.A.C Service
A TRIBUTE OF LOVE
AND REMEMBRANCE
TO A SON
WHO WAS ONE OF THE BEST
Groesbeek Canadian War Cemetery in The Netherlands It is the Commonwealth War Graves Commission Cemetery containing the largest number of Canadian war dead in the Netherlands. There are 2, 338 graves there. Most of those buried in Groesbeck Cemetery were Canadians, many of whom died in the Battle of the Rhineland. Others buried there died earlier or later in the southern part of the Netherlands and in the Rhineland. The cemetery contains 2,610 Commonwealth burials of the Second World War, and nine war graves of other nationalities. The Memorial Cross was sent to his mother, Evelyn (Evy) Gertrude Faulkner in Fairview after the war.
