George Reynolds

 George - ’Spike' by nickname, attended Glebe Collegiate where he distinguished himself by his academic and athletic (rugby, basketball, and track) performances, his name having appeared in numerous newspaper reports of collegiate football games, as well as on scholastic awards. He was a big presence at Glebe, and graduated in 1941. 

From Guelph university, he volunteered for service in the Canadian Army and was trained in Petawawa for artillery.  George graduated from Guelph with a BSc in 1940 - so he must have left Glebe ca 1936 (ish).

Sent to England in the autumn of 1943 - likely on the Queen Elizabeth Liner, as part of the ongoing buildup of men and material, for a long time he remained deeply frustrated at his not being immediately posted to a serving unit, held - as were many other officers, in Holding Units (No. 2 CARU), awaiting a call for replacements. The army was short of men, not officers, and in order to fight many officers transferred to the English Army as part of the CANLOAN arrangement with Great Britain. While there he met others with whom he had trained in Canada, including an ex-Glebite - George Bushman, who was in the RAF. Other serving names from Glebe whom he met in England were George Pushman, Bob Christie and Don Evans. Training by British artillery offers continued - there was always training.

In London, February 1944, George attended an infamous football game between Canadian and American soldiers - and the Canadians won! George described: “… the large crowd with so many familiar faces. You would almost think that you were at a game in Varsity Stadium or Lansdowne Park." 

 Eventually, in April 1944, George was shipped out to Italy. The war there had been going on since 1943 and there was a continual, ongoing need for new men. Then, support for the Canadian Corps in Italy was already being neglected in favour of the D-Day buildup, but despite that George remained held in another ‘holding unit’ until  eventually, in mid September 1944, becoming attached to the 60th Battery, 17th Canadian Field Artillery (CFA) Regiment which supported the 5th Division with 25 pounder field guns In the Spring of 1945 both 1st and 5th Canadian Divisions, Divisions which had earned praise for their battle acumen as part of the English 8th Army by Montgomery, were brought to Europe to join with the II Canadian Corps and become part of the 1st Canadian Army - an historic first for Canada.

The war in Northwestern Europe differed greatly from that in Italy - far more material, far more rain, and far more manoeuvre. The 17th CFA participated in one of the last ‘big’ Battles of the war on March 16th at Otterloo in the Netherlands where, George said, they fought a confused melee in the dark with anything that came to hand - boots,, knives, shovels, …  and teeth. George earned a “Mention in Despatches’ for his cool leadership in that most precarious night. Despite all that, George never spoke of battlefield experiences in his letters home. After the war George served with External Affairs, representing Canada in Foreign Affairs overseas, and served as Honorary Colonel an Ottawa Regiment.

Primary Source Documents provided by the family. 

'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.