Richardson, Private William Jack

Service highlights

  • Service number: A11792
  • Born 17 February 1921 in St. Marys
  • Enlisted 20 June 1940 with the 1st Battalion, The Perth Regiment at Stratford
  • Went overseas with the battalion in October 1941
  • Landed in Italy with the battalion in November 1943
  • Wounded 1 September 1944 during fighting on the Gothic Line, returned to the reinforcement stream by 1 October 1944
  • Killed in action 20 December 1944 during the Lamone River operations
  • Buried at Villanova Canadian War Cemetery
  • Commemorated on the World War II plaque at St. Marys Town Hall

A Life and Service Remembered

William Jack Richardson was born in St. Marys in 1921 and came of age during the Great Depression. He attended St. Marys Collegiate Institute, but like many young men of that time he left school early, likely because work was needed at home. He did whatever jobs he could find. By 1940 he had worked as a labourer and spent about six months at a coach and body blacksmith shop in Brantford.

When war came he followed in his grandfathers footsteps, Charles Richardson, had served and died on the Somme in 1916 in World War 1 before William had even been born. William enlisted with the Perth Regiment in June 1940. By October 1941 he was overseas with his battalion, and two years later he landed in Italy to begin the long, difficult campaign that would define so much of the Canadian Army’s war.

In September 1944, during the fighting after the Perths had broken through the Gothic Line, William was wounded in the left forearm by an enemy shellfire. He was evacuated to 4 Field Ambulance and then to 1 Canadian General Hospital. and then by air on 6 September to 15 Canadian General Hospital. His recovery was quick, and by 1 October 1944 he was back in the reinforcement stream as a private. He went back to the front as a private once more, one of many soldiers who returned without fanfare and carried on.

In December 1944, the Perth Regiment and the rest of the 5th Canadian Armoured Division were committed to crossings of the Lamone River. The first crossings were seized when the Perths and other infantry battalions crossed by assault boats on the night of 9 to 10 December. Smaller waterways also had to be crossed, including the Fosse Munio, described as a 30 foot wide drainage ditch.

A second silent night crossing attempt followed. B Company crossed successfully during the night of 19 to 20 December. Once the landing point was secure, the other companies crossed and took up defensive positions. A Company was dispatched to Casa della Congregazione, a stone farm complex about one kilometre away. The companies at the crossing point were heavily shelled, while A Company fought off several determined German counterattacks.

The Perth Regiment lost 65 men in this battle, including Private Richardson, who was killed on 20 December 1944. He was 23. William was survived by his parents, Jack and Minnie Richardson of St. Marys, a brother Robert, and two sisters, Irene and Evelyn. He is buried in Italy, far from St. Marys, but his name remains here, on the world war 2 plaque placed a few yards away from the cenotaph which bears his grandfather, Charles Richardson, name.

Major battles and operations

  • Enlisted 20 June 1940 with 1st Battalion, The Perth Regiment at Stratford.
  • Completed initial and advanced infantry training with the Perths at Stratford.
  • Went overseas in October 1941.
  • Landed in Italy in November 1943 and fought with the battalion from 17 January 1944 onward.
  • Gothic Line fighting , September 1944
  • Lamone River operations

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