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Canadian Virtual War Memorial

Gerald Douglas Rayner

In memory of:

Lieutenant Gerald Douglas Rayner

July 18, 1944

Military Service

Age:

28

Force:

Army

Unit:

Queen's Own Rifles of Canada, R.C.I.C.

Additional Information

Son of Ryde Guild Rayner and Freda Mary Rayner. Nephew of A. J. and Rita Hasslacher, of Kensington, London, England.

Commemorated on Page 424 of the Second World War Book of Remembrance. Request a copy of this page. Download high resolution copy of this page.

Burial Information

Cemetery:

BENY-SUR-MER CANADIAN WAR CEMETERY
Calvados, France

Grave Reference:

XV. A. 15.

Location:

Beny-sur-Mer Canadian War Cemetery is about 1 kilometre east of the village of Reviers, on the Creully-Tailleville-Ouistreham road (D.35). Reviers is a village and commune in the Department of the Calvados. It is located 15 kilometres north-west of Caen and 18 kilometres east of Bayeux and 3.5 kilometres south of Courseulles, a village on the sea coast. The village of Beny-sur-Mer is some 2 kilometres south-east of the cemetery. The bus service between Caen and Arromanches (via Reviers and Ver-sur-Mer) passes the cemetery.

It was on the coast just to the north that the 3rd Canadian Division landed on 6th June 1944; on that day, 335 officers and men of that division were killed in action or died of wounds. In this cemetery are the graves of Canadians who gave their lives in the landings in Normandy and in the earlier stages of the subsequent campaign. Canadians who died during the final stages of the fighting in Normandy are buried in Bretteville-sur-Laize Canadian War Cemetery.

There are a total of 2,048 burials in Beny-sur-Mer Canadian War Cemetery. There is also one special memorial erected to a soldier of the Canadian Infantry Corps who is known to have been buried in this cemetery, but the exact site of whose grave could not be located.

Information courtesy of the Commonwealth War Graves Commission.

Digital Collection

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  • Other– Submitted for the project Operation Picture Me

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    Other
    Other – Submitted for the project Operation Picture Me
  • Other– Submitted for the project Operation Picture Me

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    Other
    Other – Submitted for the project Operation Picture Me
  • Other– Submitted for the project Operation Picture Me

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    Other
    Other – Submitted for the project Operation Picture Me
  • Attestation paper– Submitted for the project Operation Picture Me

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    Attestation paper
    Attestation paper – Submitted for the project Operation Picture Me
  • Newspaper clipping– From the Toronto Star October 1943. Submitted for the project Operation Picture Me

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    Newspaper clipping
    Newspaper clipping – From the Toronto Star October 1943. Submitted for the project Operation Picture Me
  • Newspaper clipping– From the Toronto Star October 1943. Submitted for the project Operation Picture Me

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    Newspaper clipping
    Newspaper clipping – From the Toronto Star October 1943. Submitted for the project Operation Picture Me
  • Photo of Gerald Douglas Rayner– Lt Gerry Rayner joined the QOR of C as a rifleman at the beginning of the War. After serving with the Regiment in England, he returned to Canada for his officer qualifying course. Rayner was reposted to the Regiment and came in after D-Day as a replacement officer. He was KIA as a platoon leader in A Coy at Giberville (east of Caen).

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    Photo of Gerald Douglas Rayner
    Photo of Gerald Douglas Rayner – Lt Gerry Rayner joined the QOR of C as a rifleman at the beginning of the War. After serving with the Regiment in England, he returned to Canada for his officer qualifying course. Rayner was reposted to the Regiment and came in after D-Day as a replacement officer. He was KIA as a platoon leader in A Coy at Giberville (east of Caen).
  • Gravemarker of Gerald Douglas Rayner– This photo of Lt Rayner's grave at Beny-sur-mer Cemetery was taken by myself during Op Normandie Return in June 1994.

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    Gravemarker of Gerald Douglas Rayner
    Gravemarker of Gerald Douglas Rayner – This photo of Lt Rayner's grave at Beny-sur-mer Cemetery was taken by myself during Op Normandie Return in June 1994.
  • Grave Marker– The new grave marker as it appeared in 2010 at the Beny-sur-Mer Canadian War Cemetery, located outside Reviers, about 4 kilometres from Juno Beach in Normandy, France. May he rest in peace. (K. Falconer & J. Stephens)

    Details

    Grave Marker
    Grave Marker – The new grave marker as it appeared in 2010 at the Beny-sur-Mer Canadian War Cemetery, located outside Reviers, about 4 kilometres from Juno Beach in Normandy, France. May he rest in peace. (K. Falconer & J. Stephens)
  • Beny-Sur-Mer Canadian War Cemetery– The Beny-sur-Mer Canadian War Cemetery, located at Reviers, about 4 kilometres from Juno Beach in Normandy, France. (J. Stephens)

    Details

    Beny-Sur-Mer Canadian War Cemetery
    Beny-Sur-Mer Canadian War Cemetery – The Beny-sur-Mer Canadian War Cemetery, located at Reviers, about 4 kilometres from Juno Beach in Normandy, France. (J. Stephens)
  • Group Photo– Photo credit of the Memory Project www.thememoryproject.com 4 Corporals of the Queens’ Own Rifles. L-R: Earl Stoll, killed in action (DOW), Sept ’44; Gerry Rayner, killed in action, July ’44; Lieut. Freddie Harris, killed in action D-Day, June 6, 1944; Sgt. Barney Danson, wounded in action Aug. ’44.

    Details

    Group Photo
    Group Photo – Photo credit of the Memory Project www.thememoryproject.com 4 Corporals of the Queens’ Own Rifles. L-R: Earl Stoll, killed in action (DOW), Sept ’44; Gerry Rayner, killed in action, July ’44; Lieut. Freddie Harris, killed in action D-Day, June 6, 1944; Sgt. Barney Danson, wounded in action Aug. ’44.

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