Kennedy, Gunner Wilbur Douglas

Service highlights

  • Service number: A606169
  • Rank: Gunner
  • Born: 14 February 1920 in West Nissouri Township
  • Enlisted, home defence: 12 March 1942 under the National Resources Mobilization Act
  • Branch: Royal Canadian Artillery
  • Basic training: 12 March to 12 May 1942 at 12 Canadian Army Basic Training Centre
  • Specialized training: Coastal and anti aircraft training at Coastal and Anti Aircraft Training Centre
  • Qualified: Trained gunner, 1 June 1942
  • Posted: 53 Coastal Battery, serving with 1st Coastal Regiment in Halifax
  • Civilian life: Worked at Hutton Mill for about two years and was known as a strong baseball player for the Wellburn team
  • Died: 14 August 1943, after surgery at Royal Victoria Hospital
  • Burial: Vining Cemetery
  • Commemorated: St. Marys Cenotaph bronze plaque, and listed as D. W. Kennedy on the World War II plaque at St. Marys Town Hall
  • Medals: War Medal 1939 to 45

A Life and Service Remembered

Wilbur Douglas Kennedy was born in West Nissouri Township on 14 February 1920. He finished elementary school, loved sports, and built a reputation as an outstanding baseball player in Wellburn. When the war reached into daily life, he was already a working man, having spent about two years at Hutton Mill.

He was called up on 12 March 1942 for home defence and assigned to the Royal Canadian Artillery. These men were often referred to as “Zombies,” after the living dead in a Hollywood horror movie. The term was a derogatory term at the time for those who did not serve overseas. But home defence was still important work, such as guarding civilian internees, German prisoners of war, protecting our airports and ports, and watching for submarines. It was quieter work but still very important.

Training carried Wilbur from basic instruction in Ontario to coastal and anti aircraft preparation in Nova Scotia. By early June 1942 he had qualified as a trained gunner and was posted to 53 Coastal Battery. The work was vital and routine at the same time, long hours guarding the harbour approaches at Halifax, with little to break the monotony.

That same love of sport that had marked his earlier life followed him into service. In the fall of 1942, he broke his leg while playing baseball in Halifax. After he returned to duty, he became ill with measles, which led to serious mastoid complications. What followed was not a single setback, but a long stretch of pain and repeated operations. A brain abscess developed, and he was sent to Royal Victoria Hospital in Montreal for surgery.

At first, the operation seemed to go well. His father and his fiancée expected he would be able to come home and recover. Instead, he became seriously ill on 13 August 1943. Surgeons operated again the next day, but the operation was unsuccessful, and Gunner Kennedy died later on 14 August 1943.

He was survived by his parents, Wilbur Kennedy and Edna (Brown) Kennedy, of St. Marys, and by his siblings Allan James Kennedy, John Harold Kennedy, Jean Isabelle Kennedy, and Shirley Marie Kennedy.

His grave is maintained as a war grave by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission and his name is memorialized on the World War II plaque at St. Marys Town Hall. His headstone carries a simple message from his parents: “In loving memory, rest in peace.”

Major battles and operations

  • Home defence service (1942 to 1943): Coastal artillery duties guarding the Halifax harbour approaches with 53 Coastal Battery, 1st Coastal Regiment
  • Service related illness and medical care (1942 to 1943): Injury and illness followed by multiple operations, culminating in hospital treatment in Montreal
  • Loss in wartime service (14 August 1943): Died in Canada while serving, after surgery

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