Language selection

Government of Canada / Gouvernement du Canada

Search veterans.gc.ca

Canadian Virtual War Memorial

John Archibald MacNaughton

In memory of:

Major John Archibald MacNaughton

June 6, 1944

Military Service

Age:

47

Force:

Army

Unit:

North Shore (New Brunswick) Regiment, R.C.I.C.

Citation(s):

MacNAUGHTON, John Archibald, Major, ED - Mention in Despatches - Infantry (North Shore [New Brunswick] Regiment) - awarded as per Canada Gazette and CARO/5324, both dated 3 February 1945, Efficiency Decoration.

Honours and Awards:

Canadian Efficiency Decoration

Additional Information

Born:

October 7, 1896
Black River Bridge, New Brunswick

Enlistment:

June 7, 1940
Chatham, New Brunswick

Son of John Archibald and Maria MacNaughton, of Black River Bridge, New Brunswick. Husband of Grace Helen MacNaughton, of Black River Bridge.

Mrs. Grace MacNaughton was a member of the Remembrance Association, Silver Cross Women of Canada, Wheat City Chapter, Brandon, Manitoba.

Heritage Minutes, D-Day. On June 6, 1944, Canadian Forces landed on Juno Beach.

Commemorated on Page 375 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:

I. G. 8.

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

Send us your images

  • Grave Marker– Beny-sur-Mer Canadian War Cemetery - April 2017 … photo courtesy of Marg Liessens

    Details

    Grave Marker
    Grave Marker – Beny-sur-Mer Canadian War Cemetery - April 2017 … photo courtesy of Marg Liessens
  • Cemetery– Stone of Remembrance - Beny-sur-Mer Canadian War Cemetery - April 2017 … photo courtesy of Marg Liessens

    Details

    Cemetery
    Cemetery – Stone of Remembrance - Beny-sur-Mer Canadian War Cemetery - April 2017 … photo courtesy of Marg Liessens
  • Cemetery– Entrance - Beny-sur-Mer Canadian War Cemetery - April 2017 … photo courtesy of Marg Liessens

    Details

    Cemetery
    Cemetery – Entrance - Beny-sur-Mer Canadian War Cemetery - April 2017 … photo courtesy of Marg Liessens
  • Cemetery– Beny-sur-Mer Canadian War Cemetery - April 2017 … photo courtesy of Marg Liessens

    Details

    Cemetery
    Cemetery – Beny-sur-Mer Canadian War Cemetery - April 2017 … photo courtesy of Marg Liessens
  • Photo of John Archibald MacNaughton– Major John Archibald MacNaughton, killed on D-Day while bravely and dutifully commanding troops onto the bloody beaches of Normandy, France. Image gathered from the collection of the late Richard Walsh, former history department head at James M. Hill Memorial High School, Miramichi, NB.

    Details

    Photo of John Archibald MacNaughton
    Photo of John Archibald MacNaughton – Major John Archibald MacNaughton, killed on D-Day while bravely and dutifully commanding troops onto the bloody beaches of Normandy, France. Image gathered from the collection of the late Richard Walsh, former history department head at James M. Hill Memorial High School, Miramichi, NB.
  • Photo of Regiment Group– North Shore (NB) Regiment, taken likely in England, January 1944. J.A. MacNaughton, Maj., is seated, legs crossed, in the second row from the front, listed as Commanding Officer of the company. Five months after this photograph was taken, Monsignor R. M. Hickey, Chaplain of the North Shore Reg't, would, as he later wrote, "bury Archie near a blossoming hedge, where the shore gently dipped to kiss the noisy waves on the beaches of Normandy."

    Details

    Photo of Regiment Group
    Photo of Regiment Group – North Shore (NB) Regiment, taken likely in England, January 1944. J.A. MacNaughton, Maj., is seated, legs crossed, in the second row from the front, listed as Commanding Officer of the company. Five months after this photograph was taken, Monsignor R. M. Hickey, Chaplain of the North Shore Reg't, would, as he later wrote, "bury Archie near a blossoming hedge, where the shore gently dipped to kiss the noisy waves on the beaches of Normandy."
  • Attestation Papers– J.A. MacNaughton's attestation papers from World War I, page 1, gathered from the National Archives of Canada, online. [Available at data2.archives.ca] Yes, Archie MacNaughton bravely served his country in both World Wars, and was tragically mowed down while leading men twenty years his junior onto the beaches of Normandy in 1944.

    Details

    Attestation Papers
    Attestation Papers – J.A. MacNaughton's attestation papers from World War I, page 1, gathered from the National Archives of Canada, online. [Available at data2.archives.ca] Yes, Archie MacNaughton bravely served his country in both World Wars, and was tragically mowed down while leading men twenty years his junior onto the beaches of Normandy in 1944.
  • Back of the Attestation Paper– J.A. MacNaughton's attestation papers from World War I, page 2. Available from , the online database of the National Archives. Yes, Archie MacNaughton bravely served his country in both World Wars, and was tragically mowed down while leading men twenty years his junior onto the beaches of Normandy in 1944.

    Details

    Back of the Attestation Paper
    Back of the Attestation Paper – J.A. MacNaughton's attestation papers from World War I, page 2. Available from , the online database of the National Archives. Yes, Archie MacNaughton bravely served his country in both World Wars, and was tragically mowed down while leading men twenty years his junior onto the beaches of Normandy in 1944.
  • Gravemarker

    Details

    Gravemarker
    Gravemarker
  • Memorial– The memorial is dedicated in memory of Canadians who lost their lives while storming Juno Beach on June 6, 1944. They were members of the North Shore Regiment, Fort Garry Horse, Royal Canadian Engineers and the Royal Canadian Artilery. This memorial is located in St-Aubin-ser-mer, France.

    Details

    Memorial
    Memorial – The memorial is dedicated in memory of Canadians who lost their lives while storming Juno Beach on June 6, 1944. They were members of the North Shore Regiment, Fort Garry Horse, Royal Canadian Engineers and the Royal Canadian Artilery. This memorial is located in St-Aubin-ser-mer, France.
  • 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)
  • Biography– In 2011, the grade 11 Modern History students at Belleisle Regional High School continued to write biographies for soldiers from the local area who died during the First and Second World Wars.

    Details

    Biography
    Biography – In 2011, the grade 11 Modern History students at Belleisle Regional High School continued to write biographies for soldiers from the local area who died during the First and Second World Wars.
  • Biography– In 2011, the grade 11 Modern History students at Belleisle Regional High School continued to write biographies for soldiers from the local area who died during the First and Second World Wars.

    Details

    Biography
    Biography – In 2011, the grade 11 Modern History students at Belleisle Regional High School continued to write biographies for soldiers from the local area who died during the First and Second World Wars.
  • Biography– In 2011, the grade 11 Modern History students at Belleisle Regional High School continued to write biographies for soldiers from the local area who died during the First and Second World Wars.

    Details

    Biography
    Biography – In 2011, the grade 11 Modern History students at Belleisle Regional High School continued to write biographies for soldiers from the local area who died during the First and Second World Wars.
  • Biography– In 2011, the grade 11 Modern History students at Belleisle Regional High School continued to write biographies for soldiers from the local area who died during the First and Second World Wars.

    Details

    Biography
    Biography – In 2011, the grade 11 Modern History students at Belleisle Regional High School continued to write biographies for soldiers from the local area who died during the First and Second World Wars.
  • Biography– In 2011, the grade 11 Modern History students at Belleisle Regional High School continued to write biographies for soldiers from the local area who died during the First and Second World Wars.

    Details

    Biography
    Biography – In 2011, the grade 11 Modern History students at Belleisle Regional High School continued to write biographies for soldiers from the local area who died during the First and Second World Wars.
  • Biography– In 2011, the grade 11 Modern History students at Belleisle Regional High School continued to write biographies for soldiers from the local area who died during the First and Second World Wars.

    Details

    Biography
    Biography – In 2011, the grade 11 Modern History students at Belleisle Regional High School continued to write biographies for soldiers from the local area who died during the First and Second World Wars.

Learn more about the Canadian Virtual War Memorial

To learn more please visit our help page. If you have questions or comments regarding the information contained in this registry, email or call us. For inquiries regarding the names and information found in the RCMP Honour Roll, please email the RCMP.

Date modified: