Swan, Private George

Service highlights

  • Service number A104428
  • Born 8 August 1924 in St. Marys
  • Enlisted 9 September 1942 in London
  • Rank: Private
  • Infantryman with The West Nova Scotia Regiment, 1st Canadian Division in Italy
  • Killed in action 12 December 1943 during fighting in the Ortona area
  • Buried at Moro River Canadian War Cemetery
  • Remembered on the World War II plaque at St. Marys Town Hall

A Life and Service Remembered

George Swan was born in St. Marys on 8 August 1924. The book notes that he worked as a lathe operator for Maxwell’s and likely lived with his parents on Carling Street near the St. Marys Junction. It is an ordinary picture of a young man at home, working a steady job, close to family and the daily rhythms of town life.

In September 1942, he enlisted for overseas service with the Canadian Active Service Force. His training took him through 13 Canadian Army Basic Training Centre and then A29 Canadian Infantry Training Centre at Camp Ipperwash for advanced infantry training. By late March 1943 he was sailing for England, leaving behind home, work, and the familiar comfort of his family’s address.

After arriving overseas, he was briefly posted to 1 Canadian Infantry Reinforcement Unit before being sent to the Mediterranean in August 1943 as a reinforcement for the West Novas, then fighting in Italy. He passed through a reinforcement camp in Algiers, in Algeria, and was posted to his regiment that same day.

By December 1943, his division had pushed north to the bitter fighting around Ortona. That moment which has become part of Canadian memory of that campaign, the attempt to cross a feature known as the Gully and seize the road near Casa Berardi, a stone farm complex. The West Novas attacked on the night of December 11. The effort failed, blamed on inadequate artillery support, loss of communications, and stubborn resistance from the 200th Grenadier Regiment. The next day brought driving rain and repeated counterattacks. In one push forward, men left their slit trenches and were met by intense machine gun fire from across the gully, adding to an already long casualty list. Sometime during that fighting on 12 December 1943, George was killed. He was 19.

He was buried in Italy, far from the town where he was born and the street where his family waited for news. He was survived by his parents, Thomas and Elizabeth Swan, and by a large family of siblings: brothers James, Alex, Samuel, and Tom, and sisters Ellen, Jean, and Elizabeth. His name also remains here at home on the St. Marys Town Hall plaque, one line that carries a whole family’s loss.

Major battles and operations

  • 9 September 1942, enlisted in London, Ontario
  • 18 September to 18 November 1942, basic training at 13 Canadian Army Basic Training Centre, Listowel
  • Advanced infantry training at A29 Canadian Infantry Training Centre, Camp Ipperwash
  • 19 February 1943, graduated advanced infantry training
  • 28 March 1943, sailed for England
  • Posted to 1 Canadian Infantry Reinforcement Unit
  • 15 August 1943, sent to the Mediterranean as reinforcement, via Algiers
  • Served in Italy with the West Nova Scotia Regiment, 1st Canadian Division
  • 11 to 12 December 1943, Ortona sector operations, including the Gully and Casa Berardi area
  • 12 December 1943, killed in action

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