Service Highlights

• Service number: A/64166
• Rank: Craftsman
• Force: Army
• Unit: Royal Canadian Electrical and Mechanical Engineers
• Died: July 30, 1944 (age 27)
• Burial: Brookwood Military Cemetery, Grave 52.J.2
• Commemorated: Bronze plaque on the Cenotaph in St. Marys
• Books of Remembrance: Second World War Book of Remembrance, Page 401

A Life & Service Remembered

James Alexander Munro was born in Parkhill on August 26, 1916. As a boy he moved west with his family to Saskatoon, returning to Ontario as a teenager. He left school at 15 and worked in St. Marys as a sheet metal worker.

He served as a militiaman with the Perth Regiment (2nd Reserve Battalion) from August 1940 to July 11, 1941, then enlisted for overseas service on July 12, 1941. He was assigned to the Royal Canadian Ordnance Corps as a skilled tradesman and was first posted in London, Ontario.

He sailed for England on February 28, 1942, arriving March 10, 1942. There he was posted to No. 1 Canadian Base Workshop at Bordon, Hampshire, working in the radiator shop supporting the repair and maintenance work that kept vehicles and equipment operating overseas.

On February 1, 1944, when the Royal Canadian Electrical and Mechanical Engineers was formed to consolidate skilled maintenance trades, Munro transferred and his rank changed from private to craftsman.

On July 27, 1944, while on duty in the radiator shop, a pressurized gasoline line failed and erupted, spraying him with burning fuel. He was caught in the flames and despite the men in the shop putting out the flames and administering immediate first aid and evacuation to 22 Canadian General Hospital at Bramshott, he had suffered third degree burns over 75% of his body. His condition was treated however three days later he succumbed to his injuries on July 30, 1944.

Munro was buried at Brookwood Military Cemetery, at home his name remains with his wife Margaret Helena Munro on her grave stone as well He is commemorated on a bronze plaque on the Cenotaph in St. Marys.

Major Battles & Operations

Munro’s wartime service was not in a frontline battalion, but it was essential. Base workshops and hospitals in Britain kept the Canadian Army’s transport and equipment running, and treated the wounded who came back from the fighting. His story is a reminder that war work also carried real risk far from the front.

Learn More

Veterans Affairs Canada (Canadian Virtual War Memorial)
https://www.veterans.gc.ca/en/remembrance/memorials/canadian-virtual-war-memorial/718859

Books of Remembrance (Second World War, Page 401)
https://www.veterans.gc.ca/en/remembrance/memorials/books-remembrance/second-world-war/401
Books of Remembrance: Second World War Book of Remembrance, Page 401
Richard Holt, The Fallen, A64166 Craftsman J.A. Munro, pg 124