Please lay a poppy on this site.
In memory of:

Private Rolland Gauthier

Military service

Service number: D/46455
Age: 27
Rank: Private
Force: Army
Unit/Regiment: Royal 22e Régiment, R.C.I.C.
Birth: September 11, 1916 Ste-Béatrix, Joliette, Québec
Enlistment: August 26, 1940 Joliette, Joliette, Québec
Death: October 22, 1943 Campobasso Sector, Italy

Burial/memorial information

Grave reference: VIII. F. 16.
Additional information

Baptized Joseph Eugène Georges Laurent Gauthier of Landreville. Son of Excide Gauthier dit Landreville and Herméline Latendresse, of Joliette, Québec.

Enlisted in The Sherbrooke Fusilier Regiment (Fusiliers de Sherbrooke), on December 22, 1941, he was assigned to the 103rd Heavy Battery based in St. John's, Newfoundland, on February 8, 1942, to the 16th Anti-Aircraft Battery, and on the 23rd to the 27th Canadian Armored Regiment. On December 19, 1942, he returned to the Sherbrooke Fusiliers. On February 27, 1943, he embarked for Great Britain, where he arrived on April 5. On June 29, 1943, he set sail again to take part in Operation Husky with Force M. On July 11, he landed on the beaches of Sicily. On August 29, he was transferred to the 4th Battalion of the Royal 22nd Regiment until September 4, when he was incorporated into the Royal Canadian Army Service Corps, 1st Canadian Platoon, 12th Company and loaned to the 4th Battalion of the Royal 22e Régiment. He died of chronic thrombosis on October 22, 1943, at 10:40 p.m. He was buried on the 23rd along the road from Gilbone to Campobasso, Italy.
 

In the Books of Remembrance

Commemorated on:

Page 162 of the Second World War Book of Remembrance.
Request this page Download this page

MORO RIVER CANADIAN WAR CEMETERY Italy

By the winter of 1943, the German armies in Italy were defending a line stretching from the Tyrrhenian Sea north of Naples, to the Adriatic Sea south of Ortona. The Allies prepared to break through this line to capture Rome. For its part, the 1st Canadian Infantry Division was to cross the Moro River and take Ortona. In January 1944 the Canadian Corps selected this site, intending that it would contain the graves of those who died during the Ortona battle and in the fighting in the weeks before and after it. Today, there are 1,615 graves in the cemetery, of which over 50 are unidentified and 1,375 are Canadian.

The Moro River Canadian War Cemetery lies in the locality of San Donato in the Commune of Ortona, Province of Chieti, and is sited on high ground near the sea just east of the main Adriatic coast road (SS16). The cemetery can be reached from Rome on the autostrada A25 (Rome-Pescara) by branching on the autostrada A14 and leaving it at Ortona. The approach road to the cemetery from the main road passes under an arch forming part of the little church of San Donato. The cemetery is permanently open and may be visited anytime.

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.

Did we miss something?

Contribute information to this commemorative page

Do you have photographs, information or a correction relating to this individual’s virtual memorial? Learn more about the CVWM and the information we collect.