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Canadian Virtual War Memorial

Wilfred Obediah

In memory of:

Private Wilfred Obediah

July 8, 1944

Military Service

Service Number:

A/108701

Age:

19

Force:

Army

Unit:

North Nova Scotia Highlanders, R.C.I.C.

Additional Information

Born:

February 1, 1925
Six Nations Reservation, Ontario

Enlistment:

November 2, 1943
London, Ontario

Son of Ernest and Ada Obediah, of Otterville, Ontario.

Commemorated on Page 406 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:

XI. D. 2.

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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  • Photo of WILFRED OBEDIAH– Submitted for the project, Operation Picture Me

    Details

    Photo of WILFRED OBEDIAH
    Photo of WILFRED OBEDIAH – Submitted for the project, Operation Picture Me
  • Biography– Album of Honour for Brant County World War II 1939-1945 Published in 1946 by The Brantford Kinsmen Club and submitted with their permission by Operation Picture Me

    Details

    Biography
    Biography – Album of Honour for Brant County World War II 1939-1945 Published in 1946 by The Brantford Kinsmen Club and submitted with their permission by Operation Picture Me
  • Album Cover– Album of Honour for Brant County World War 11 1939 - 1945 Published in 1946 by The Brantford Kinsmen Club and submitted with their permission by Operation Picture Me

    Details

    Album Cover
    Album Cover – Album of Honour for Brant County World War 11 1939 - 1945 Published in 1946 by The Brantford Kinsmen Club and submitted with their permission by Operation Picture Me
  • Grave– Here is a picture taken of Wilfred Obediah's grave at Beny sur Mer. In July of 2006 my son and his friend stopped at his grave. Since he was killed a few days after his 18th birthday these two (then) 17 year olds had an instant connection and dose of reality as well. I came home a wrote a piece for a column in a local paper. Wifred Obediah really had no connection to any of us. He did after that day. My column was titled "The reason we can". I switched from my regular sports column and wrote about our historic trip. Here is the part dedicated to Obediah. "The Commonwealth War Graves are unique. The birds chirp gleefully as though to brighten the spirits in these sombre places. Each grave is a mini garden and rows upon rows of uniformity make you drop your jaw in disbelief. At Beny sur Mer where over 2,000 Canadians lay from WWII, I found the grave of Private Wilfred Obediah. I wondered what dreams he had. A girlfriend who would become his wife? Children to help out on the farm or in his business when he returned? Maybe he dreamed of one day being Prime Minister, or just maybe he wanted to play for Montreal or Toronto. As I glanced over the rows of white headstones I saw my 17 year old standing over the grave of yet another teenager. Instantly the thought turned to Obediah's parents - who must have had the same dreams I had the day Jarrett was born. What would his mother and I do if he went away to fight a war? How would we face each day? What if he never came home and was burried in a place so far away? Excerpt from a column written in the Cornwall Seaway News on July 24th, 2006

    Details

    Grave
    Grave – Here is a picture taken of Wilfred Obediah's grave at Beny sur Mer. In July of 2006 my son and his friend stopped at his grave. Since he was killed a few days after his 18th birthday these two (then) 17 year olds had an instant connection and dose of reality as well. I came home a wrote a piece for a column in a local paper. Wifred Obediah really had no connection to any of us. He did after that day. My column was titled "The reason we can". I switched from my regular sports column and wrote about our historic trip. Here is the part dedicated to Obediah. "The Commonwealth War Graves are unique. The birds chirp gleefully as though to brighten the spirits in these sombre places. Each grave is a mini garden and rows upon rows of uniformity make you drop your jaw in disbelief. At Beny sur Mer where over 2,000 Canadians lay from WWII, I found the grave of Private Wilfred Obediah. I wondered what dreams he had. A girlfriend who would become his wife? Children to help out on the farm or in his business when he returned? Maybe he dreamed of one day being Prime Minister, or just maybe he wanted to play for Montreal or Toronto. As I glanced over the rows of white headstones I saw my 17 year old standing over the grave of yet another teenager. Instantly the thought turned to Obediah's parents - who must have had the same dreams I had the day Jarrett was born. What would his mother and I do if he went away to fight a war? How would we face each day? What if he never came home and was burried in a place so far away? Excerpt from a column written in the Cornwall Seaway News on July 24th, 2006
  • Grave Marker– The grave marker (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 grave marker (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)

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