67 Years

Today marks the 67^th anniversary of the passing of Merrill Perez Lloyd. He is my third cousin and the closest relative to have died in WWII. Like most Canadians who gave that ultimate sacrifice in the world wars, he is buried near where he perished, in the Groesbeek Canadian War Cemetery, in Nijmegen, Netherlands. It is a short, 2 hour, 240 km drive from where I now live in Belgium.

Most of those buried in GROESBEEK CANADIAN WAR CEMETERY were Canadians, many of whom died in the Battle of the Rhineland, when the 2nd and 3rd Canadian Infantry Divisions and the 4th Canadian Armoured Division took part in the drive southwards from Nijmegen to clear the territory between the Maas and the Rhine in February and March 1945. Others buried here died earlier or later in the southern part of the Netherlands and in the Rhineland.

Wanting to know a little bit about this distant relative, I researched his name through the Commonwealth War Graves Commission. (http://www.cwgc.org). This is what I found.

Rifleman MERRILL PEREZ LLOYD, who died on February 26, 1945
Service Number: F/7471 Age: 24
Force: Army
Unit: Queen's Own Rifles of Canada, R.C.I.C.

Additional Information: Son of Perez Merrill Lloyd and Eva Verba Lloyd, of South Waterville, King's County, Nova Scotia; husband of Lenora Blanche Lloyd, of South Waterville; father to Garnet and Grant.

            Commemorated on Page 535 of the Second World War Book of Remembrance.

His name is four from the bottom on the left

Further research took me to the history of the Queen’s Own Rifles of Canada, written by W.T. Barnard. Originally a militia regiment, I believe my cousin may have enlisted through Camp Aldershot, which was a large training depot during the war. Records indicate he was K/A (killed in action) and based upon that and the date he died, I was able to pinpoint the exact battle in which he was killed.

Briefly, Allied forces entered the Netherlands on 12 September 1944. Airborne operations later that month established a bridgehead at Nijmegen and in the following months, coastal areas and ports were cleared and secured, but it was not until the German initiated offensive in the Ardennes had been repulsed that the drive into Germany could begin.

Operation Blockbuster, as it was named, called upon the Queen’s Own Rifles of Canada (QORC) to push back the enemy troops that were well-entrenched at the Schlieffen Line. At 4 a.m. on the morning of 26 February 1945, the barrage began. It was very difficult going and the casualty rate was very high. Ultimately, the battalion would be successful with all objectives met by 3 o’clock that afternoon.

A quote from the history of the Queen’s Own Rifles of Canada

            “Thus, in the face of the most violent opposition, the battalion had performed its allotted task. There is no doubt that, in the long history of the regiment, studded as it is with memorable engagements, 26 February 1945 will rank as the date of one of its finest achievements. The fighting was Homeric and to emerge victorious the battalion had to rise to great heights. That it did so is a tribute to the leadership shown by everyone from Corporal to Commanding Officer and to the magnificent elan of the riflemen. “