Military service
Burial/memorial information
Baptized Joseph Jean Baptiste Lavoie. Son of François Xavier Lavoie and Claudia Tremblay, of Rivière-du-Loup, Québec.
Enlisted in Company A of the Royal 22nd Regiment, he sailed for Great Britain on May 11, 1940, and arrived in Liverpool, England, on the 21st. He was very undisciplined and was frequently placed in detention for unauthorized absences. On June 16, 1943, he set sail again with Force M to take part in Operation Husky, the Allied landing in Sicily. He landed on the beaches of Pachino on July 10. On August 1, he was hospitalized for neuropsychiatric disorders following the explosion of a shell near him. On September 3, 1943, he set foot on the Italian mainland at Reggio di Calabria. He was court-martialed on several occasions. On July 25, 1945, he returned to England, and on March 10, 1946, he was repatriated to Canada. He was demobilized on April 24 of that year in Quebec City. He died on September 7, 1947, at the military hospital in Ste-Anne-de-Bellevue, Quebec, of bilateral ulcerative pulmonary tuberculosis with cavities, a death related to his military service.
War Badge on May 14, 1943, and a second one on April 24, 1946
In the Books of Remembrance
Commemorated on:
Page 597 of the Second World War Book of Remembrance.
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MONTREAL (NOTRE DAME DES NEIGES) CEMETERY Quebec, Canada
Montreal (Notre Dame des Nieges) Cemetery adjoins the Mount Royal Cemetery, in Montreal, Québec, and a War Cross is erected on the dividing line. Access by car via Highway 15 (Decarie) south, and take the exit for Queen Mary Road. Follow signs for Cote des Neiges Road south. The entrance to the cemetery is on the left hand side of this road.
During both wars, Montreal was the headquarters of No. 4 Military District. The city had seven military hospitals with more than 900 beds during the First and Second World Wars. The Royal Air Force Ferry Command had its headquarters at Dorval Airport and there was a Royal Air Force Station at St.Hubert. Some graves cannot be individually marked and are commemorated on a bronze plaque fixed to the Cross of Sacrifice.
For more information, visit Commonwealth War Graves Commission.
The Poppy Design is a trademark of The Royal Canadian Legion (Dominion Command) and is used with permission. Click here to learn more about the poppy.
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