After graduating from Glebe Collegiate, Palmer would enlist in the Canadian Army as a Private in Ottawa. Once he completed basic training, and his unit was to be sent to Britain, he was still 18 which was too young to be sent overseas. Due to his excellent grades, he was selected for officer’s training. Here, he received his nickname “Fritz” in relation to his blonde hair, after which he would be commissioned to the 21st Armed Regiment. 

In spring 1943, at age 19, Lionel was sent to England where he would continue his training and await D-Day. On the 16th of June, 1944, Lionel would land in Normandy with the Governor General's Footguards, a part of the Royal Canadian Armored Corps. He would go on to fight in the liberation of coastal France and Belgium. Lionel was mentioned in dispatches and was also scheduled to receive the Military Cross.  Of the most notable battles he took part in, and his last, was the Battle of the Scheldt, in the Netherlands. During this battle he would show bravery and courage in leading a platoon of canadian tanks, with the 4th Canadian Armored Division in order to clear the north bank of the Scheldt Estuary of heavy german forces.

However, during his time as a tank commander, specifically during the battle of the Scheldt, he would be shot in the head by a German sniper located in a tree. On October 25th, 1944, Lionel Palmer would pass away from his injuries, at the age of 22. He was buried in Bergen-Op-Zoom Canadian War Cemetery, in the Netherlands.

Quand Mr Palmer a été diplômé de la Glebe Collegiate Institute il s'est inscrit pour pouvoir joindre l'armée canadienne. Il voudrait être un private, donc il a fait l' entrainement pour qu'il puis aller outre-mer. Quand il a fini son entrainement, il a été excité pour aller outre-mer mais il etait dit qu'il ne peut pas à cause de son âge. Après qu'il était dit sa, il était évidemment déçu. Mais es- tu te souviens quand on a dit que Mr palmer était diplôme à la top 10% de sa classe? Bein il était dit qu' il était choisi pour faire du entrainement du officiers. Après qu'il eut fini son entrainement, il était commandé au 21e régiment armé.

Mr Palmer est tué dans l’action le 25 octobre 1944. à sa mort, il était commandant de char. Il est mort lors de la bataille de Scheldt où il a été touché à la tête par un tireur d'élite allemand qui se cachait dans un arbre. Le 25 octobre 1944, Lionel Palmer décède des suites de ses blessures alors qu'il n'a que 22 ans. Il est inhumé au cimetière de guerre canadien de Bergen-Op-Zoom, aux Pays-Bas.

Works Cited

Lionel Mariner Palmer - The Canadian Virtual War Memorial - Veterans Affairs Canada, https://www.veterans.gc.ca/eng/remembrance/memorials/canadian-virtual-war-memorial/detail/2642158?Lionel%20Mariner%20(Fritz)%20Palmer . Accessed 1 November 2023.

“Second World War Service Files – War Dead, 1939 to 1947.” Collection Search, http://central.bac-lac.gc.ca/.redirect?app=kia&id=42432&lang=eng. Accessed 26 October 2023.

'If we do preserve it, we honour them, and when we in our turn pass on, we will know that behind us lives a generation of free men and of free women to be the keepers of this great heritage of ours - Canada.'

- Ian A. McPhee, former student at GCI, 1937.