Military service
Burial/memorial information
His full name was Joseph Albert Harrisson. He was the son of Josaphat Harrisson and Marie Anne Emma Roy, who married Thomas Thibodeau in her second marriage. He was the brother of Private Georgette Harrisson of the Women’s Royal Naval Service (WREN). She survived the war.
Enlisted in the Royal 22nd Regiment in Quebec City, he proved to be very undisciplined. On November 9, 1941, he sailed for Great Britain and arrived on the 24th. Assigned to Force M, he departed for the Mediterranean on June 15, 1943, as part of Operation Husky. He landed on Pachino Beach around noon on the 10th with the second assault wave. He was killed in action on July 18, 1943, during a German ambush on the Monte delle Forme plateau in Sicily. He was buried there the same day. Around October 16, 1944, his remains were exhumed and reburied in Agira.
Digital gallery of Private Albert Harrisson
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Photo of Albert Harrison
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Reverse side of Photo
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Photo of Albert Harrisson
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Entrance
Agira Canadian War Cemetery - 2013 Photo courtesy of Marg Liessens -
Agira Canadian War Cemetery
- 2013 Photo courtesy of Marg Liessens -
Cross of Sacrifice
Agira Canadian War Cemetery - 2013 -
Grave Marker
Grave marker - Agira Canadian War Cemetery - 2013 -
Entrance
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Agira Canadian War Cemetery
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Agira Canadian War Cemetery
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View of Mt. Enna
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Grave marker
Grave marker from Albert Harrisson's grave at Agira Canadian War Cemetery.
Digital gallery of
Private Albert Harrisson
Digital gallery of
Private Albert Harrisson
Digital gallery of
Private Albert Harrisson
Digital gallery of
Private Albert Harrisson
Digital gallery of
Private Albert Harrisson
Digital gallery of
Private Albert Harrisson
Digital gallery of
Private Albert Harrisson
Digital gallery of
Private Albert Harrisson
Digital gallery of
Private Albert Harrisson
In the Books of Remembrance
Commemorated on:
Page 168 of the Second World War Book of Remembrance.
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AGIRA CANADIAN WAR CEMETERY Italy
Agira Canadian War Cemetery lies in the Commune of Agira, Province of Enna, in the centre of Sicily. From the autostrada A19, Catania-Palermo, take the exit to Catenanuova. Follow signposts to Regalbuto, then pass Regalbuto, going in the direction of Agira. The Cemetery is then signposted about 12 kilometres from Regalbuto.
On 10 July 1943, following the successful conclusion of the north African campaign in mid May, a combined allied force of 160,000 Commonwealth and American troops invaded Sicily as a prelude to the assault on mainland Italy. The Italians, who would shortly make peace with the Allies and re-enter the war on their side, offered little determined resistance but German opposition was vigorous and stubborn. The campaign in Sicily came to an end on 17 August when the two allied forces came together at Messina, but failed to cut off the retreating Axis lines. Agira was taken by the 1st Canadian Division of 28 July and the site for the war cemetery was chosen in September for the burial of all Canadians who had been killed in the Sicily campaign. Agira Canadian War Cemetery contains 491 Commonwealth burials of the Second World War.
For more information, visit Commonwealth War Graves Commission.
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