Adams, Private Raymond Guy

Service highlights

  • Service number A551581
  • Born 25 March 1923 in Mansfield, raised in Indianapolis
  • Moved to St. Marys in 1937, graduate of St. Marys Collegiate Institute
  • Enlisted 29 May 1941 Joined D Company, 2nd (Reserve) Battalion, The Perth Regiment, a
  • Called out for annual training 15 June 1941 at Thames Valley Camp
  • Killed 28 June 1941 during training period in a hit and run on old Highway 7 near Prospect Hill
  • Buried in Section M of St. Marys Cemetery, grave maintained as a war grave by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission
  • Commemorated on the World War II plaque at St. Marys Town Hall

A Life and Service Remembered

Raymond Guy Adams was born in Mansfield, Ohio on March 25 1923 and was raised in Indianapolis. In 1937, he came to St. Marys to live with his grandparents, Percy and Annie Dickey. He attended St. Marys Collegiate Institute and, by all accounts, had plans and a life ahead of him. At the time of his death, he was planning to volunteer to go overseas with the Canadian Active Service Force, a step that speaks to a young man looking beyond his own comfort and toward what he believed was needed.

He joined D Company of the 2nd (Reserve) Battalion of the Perth Regiment at the Stratford armory on 29 May 1941. In that period, the battalion paraded part time for home defense duties, with companies spread across Perth County and D Company based in St. Marys. His classification was Infantry (Cook), probably the trade he was working towards, however it was unlikely he actually worked as a full cook yet, because he had not completed basic training.

On 15 June 1941, D Company and the rest of the 2nd Battalion were called out for two weeks of annual training at Thames Valley camp near London. On 27 June, Ray had a permanent pass that allowed him to be away from camp after his routine duties until midnight. He hitchhiked back to St. Marys to visit his grandparents on Queen Street East. That evening, around 8 p.m., he left their home and went to E.B. Somerville’s farm near Prospect Hill on the 8th Concession of Blanshard Township to visit his girlfriend. It was a very typical evening for an 18 year old.

Near midnight, he started back, trying to hitchhike to the training camp. Sometime around 3 a.m. on 28 June 1941, he was struck and killed by a car about two kilometres north of Prospect Hill on the old Highway 7. The driver did not stop, and the police never identified who it was. It is a heartbreaking end, not only because he was so young, but because it came in the middle of ordinary life, family visits, and future plans.

Ray was buried in the family plot at the St. Marys Cemetery and is commemorated on his grandparents’ gravestone alongside his mother, Jean Adams, who had already passed away. Because he died while called out for annual training, his grave is considered a war grave and is inspected and maintained by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission. His father and his mother, Jean Adams (nee Dickey), a native of St. Marys, both predeceased him. He was survived by his grandparents, his stepfather John Adams, and his sister Joanne Adams of Indianapolis. His name is also commemorated on the World War II plaque on the south wall of St. Marys Town Hall.

Major battles and operations

  • Not deployed overseas, but intended to volunteer for overseas active service
  • Home defence service with the 2nd (Reserve) Battalion, Perth Regiment, with D Company based in St. Marys
  • Annual training call out at Thames Valley camp near London, June 1941

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