The Reverend Walter Leslie Brown (13 August 1910 – 6 June 1944) was a Canadian

military chaplain A military chaplain ministers to military personnel and, in most cases, their families and civilians working for the military. In some cases they will also work with local civilians within a military area of operations. Although the term ''cha ...

who was attached to the

Sherbrooke Fusilier Regiment , colors = , march = "Regimental March of the Sherbrooke Hussars" , notable_commanders = , anniversaries = , battles = First World WarSecon ...

, 2nd Canadian Armoured Brigade during

Operation Overlord Operation Overlord was the codename for the Battle of Normandy, the Allies of World War II, Allied operation that launched the successful invasion of German-occupied Western Front (World War II), Western Europe during World War II. The operat ...

. He was murdered by

Waffen-SS The (, "Armed SS") was the combat branch of the Nazi Party's ''Schutzstaffel'' (SS) organisation. Its formations included men from Nazi Germany, along with Waffen-SS foreign volunteers and conscripts, volunteers and conscripts from both occup ...

soldiers after he had surrendered. At the time of his capture he had been wearing the uniform of a Canadian army chaplain.

History

Walter Brown was born in

Peterborough, Ontario Peterborough ( ) is a city on the Otonabee River in Ontario, Canada, about 125 kilometres (78 miles) northeast of Toronto. According to the 2021 Census, the population of the City of Peterborough was 83,651. The population of the Peterborough ...

on 13 August 1910, to English-born parents George Carmichael Brown and Florence May Brown (née Peters), although the family later settled in

Orillia Orillia is a city in Ontario, Canada. It is in Simcoe County between Lake Couchiching and Lake Simcoe. Although it is geographically located within Simcoe County, the city is a single-tier municipality. It is part of the Huronia region of ...

, Ontario. He had two brothers. An alumnus of

Huron University College Huron University College is a university college affiliated with the University of Western Ontario in London, Ontario, Canada. Huron was incorporated on 5 May 1863 and the founding institution of the University of Western Ontario. It was est ...

, he was already an ordained and practising minister of the

Anglican Church in Canada The Anglican Church of Canada (ACC or ACoC) is the province of the Anglican Communion in Canada. The official French-language name is ''l'Église anglicane du Canada''. In 2017, the Anglican Church counted 359,030 members on parish rolls in 2,2 ...

, before he volunteered for service in the Canadian Army as part of the Canadian Chaplain Service on 1 April 1941 in

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...

, Ontario. He was eventually attached to an armoured regiment (the 27th Armoured Regiment (The Sherbrooke Fusilier Regiment)) slated to land early on

D-Day The Normandy landings were the landing operations and associated airborne operations on Tuesday, 6 June 1944 of the Allied invasion of Normandy in Operation Overlord during World War II. Codenamed Operation Neptune and often referred to as D ...

and he was therefore one of the first Canadian Military Chaplains to land in Normandy on

Juno Beach Juno or Juno Beach was one of five beaches of the Allied invasion of German-occupied France in the Normandy landings on 6 June 1944 during the Second World War. The beach spanned from Courseulles, a village just east of the British beach Gold ...

on 6 June 1944. Walter Brown was murdered (by bayonetting), after surrendering to members of the 12th SS Panzer Division Hitlerjugend on 6 June. He was the only allied military chaplain to suffer this fate, although several were killed and wounded in action in

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. The Hitlerjugend Waffen SS were notoriously brutal and murdered several Canadian Prisoners of War in the early stages of the Normandy Campaign. His body was eventually recovered on 11 July 1944 and he was buried along with other Canadian servicemen in the

Bény-sur-Mer Canadian War Cemetery The Bény-sur-Mer Canadian War Cemetery (french: Cimetière militaire canadien de Bény-sur-Mer) is a cemetery containing predominantly Canadian soldiers killed during the early stages of the Battle of Normandy in the Second World War. It is locat ...

in Normandy, France. Walter Brown was awarded the following medals posthumously: the Canadian Volunteer Service Medal, the

War Medal A war medal is a military decoration awarded in time of war, as opposed to a service medal. It may refer to, for example: *War Medal (Norway) *Campaign medal *Global War on Terrorism Service Medal *British War Medal, British Empire medal for servi ...

, the Defence Medal and the

France and Germany Star The France and Germany Star is a military campaign medal, instituted by the United Kingdom in May 1945 for award to British Commonwealth forces who served in France, Belgium, Luxembourg, the Netherlands or Germany and adjacent sea areas between ...

. The medals were passed to his parents.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Brown, Walter Leslie World War II chaplains Canadian military personnel from Ontario Canadian military chaplains Canadian Anglican priests 1910 births 1944 deaths People from Peterborough, Ontario Canadian Army officers Canadian Army personnel of World War II Canadian military personnel killed in World War II Burials at Bény-sur-Mer Canadian War Cemetery Deaths by bayonet Sherbrooke Hussars Sherbrooke Hussars officers

History

See also

References