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 1911 - 1944 (33 years)
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| Name |
Clarence Miller BYRNE [1, 2] |
| Born |
6 Mar 1911 |
Stellarton, Pictou, Nova Scotia, Canada  [3, 4, 5] |
| Gender |
Male |
| Military Service |
1940 [4] |
- He served in the military and gave his life during World War 11. He appears on his attestation record as, "Clarence Miller BYRNE, residing at Stellarton, Pictou County, Nova Scotia. Born 6 March 1911 in Stellarton, Nova Scotia. Labourer, Presbyterian, married to Lillian Isabel BYRNE. Served in Stellarton Cadets in high school". Signed, Clarence M. BYRNE on 24 June 1940.
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| Died |
11 Jun 1944 |
Normandy, France [5, 6] |
- "Clarence went to England with the North Nova Scotia Highlanders Regiment on June 4, 1944. He landed at Juno Beach on D-Day and was captured by the Germans the next day. Just after 6 p.m. on Sunday, June 11, 1944, the Germans were marching through the town of Saint Georges-des-Groseillers, with a column of Canadian soldiers leading in a forced march, from the area around Caen, intending to march to a German prison at Rennes. Three-four Mustang aircraft appeared and swooped down, the pilots thinking the column was German. The first Mustang fired and a man from the North Nova Scotia Highlanders Regiment, ran out of where he had hidden and waved his jacket at the Mustangs. The Mustangs then took off without further firing. Ten Canadian POW's. were killed instantly. Five more Canadian POWs died from their wounds a day or two after the strafing.
The POW's who were killed instantly, were buried in a civil cemetery in Saint Georges-des-Groseillers. Prior to the burials, the mayor ensured that all identification papers were removed from the pockets of the men and carefully catalogued, noting the exact locations of the graves. Clarence Miller BYRNE was one of the 10 POWs who was instantly killed and he was buried at Saint Georges-des-Groselliers.
After the war ended, the Graves Concentration Units had the terrible task of finding all the bodies that had been buried during the war and, with great attention to details, the bodies of the 10 POWs were exhumed, from the civil cemetery in Saint George-des-Groseillers. Five other bodies were exhumed in other graves in two nearby towns where the men had been taken to infirmaries. After all were identified the bodies were re-interred at the Bretteville-sur-Laize Canadian War Cemetery, Cintheaux, Calvados, France. The re-interments for the bodies exhumed from Saint Georges-des-Groseillers took place in April 1946." Researched by Shirley Stone.
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| Buried |
Apr 1946 |
Bretteville-Sur-Laize Canadian War Cemetery, Bretteville-Sur-Laize, Calvados, France [5, 6] |
Address:
Bretteville-Sur-Laize Canadian War Cemetery
Bretteville-Sur-Laize, Calvados, France |
- In Memory of Private CLARENCE M. BYRNE, F/45109, North Nova Scotia Highlanders, R.C.I.C., who died age 33, on 11 June 1944. Son of William and Matilda BYRNE; husband of Lillian I. BYRNE, of New Glasgow, Nova Scotia. Remembered with honour, BRETTEVILLE-SUR-LAIZE CANADIAN WAR CEMETERY.
He is buried beside Donald RITCHIE one of the 15 who died with him.
In 2011 the town of Saint Georges-des-Groseillers will dedicate a memorial to the 15 POWs who died on June 11, 1944. (S. Stone)
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| Notes |
- Clarence married Lillian Isabella LIVINGSTON on 9 October 1933. (certificate). Lillian was the daughter of George Nicholl LIVINGSTON and Georgina FIELDING, born in 1911 in New Glasgow, Nova Scotia and died in 1975 in Toronto, Ontario. They had four children; all three sons had "Miller" as a second name. After Clarence's death, Lillian married George REEKIE; they had five children. [2, 5]
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| Person ID |
I2765 |
Nosworthy |
| Last Modified |
20 Nov 2012 |
| Father |
James William "William" BYRNE, b. 12 Aug 1861, Newfoundland, Canada , d. 19 Jul 1931, Stellarton, Pictou, Nova Scotia, Canada (Age 69 years) |
| Mother |
Harriet Matilda MACHON, b. 25 Apr 1869, Prince Edward Island, Canada , d. 15 May 1934, Stellarton, Pictou, Nova Scotia, Canada (Age 65 years) |
| Married |
17 Apr 1888 [7] |
| Address |
1901 |
Lot 64, Kings, Prince Edward Island, Canada [8] |
| Address |
1911 [3] |
| Stellarton, Nova Scotia |
| Address |
19 Jul 1931 [9] |
| 648 Albion Rd., Stellarton, Nova Scotia |
- Address at the time of William's death.
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| Photos |
 | Duff Cemetery, Stellarton, Nova Scotia
Both William and Harriet are known to be buried here, along with at least one of their daughters. |
| Family ID |
F404 |
Group Sheet | Family Chart |
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| Headstones |
 | BYRNE
F.45109 PRIVATE
C.M. BRYNE
The North Nova Scotia
Highlanders
11th June 1944 Age 33
Gone, leaving memories
Death cannot take away
They will linger
While on earth we stay
In Memory of
PRIVATE CLARENCE M. BYRNE,
F/45109
North Nova Scotia Highlanders, R.C.I.C.
who died age 33
on 11 June 1944.
Son of William and Matilda Byrne
Husband of Lillian I. Byrne, of New Glasgow, Nova Scotia.
Remembered with honour
BRETTEVILLE-SUR-LAIZE CANADIAN WAR CEMETERY |
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| Sources |
- [S209] Photograph.
- [S109] Civil Marriage Registration.
- [S308] Census of Canada, 1911, (1 June 1911).
- [S121] Attestation Paper, Canadian Over-Seas Expeditionary Force, (original images online at Canadian Archives.).
- [S676] Personal communication.
- [S28] Website: The Commonwealth War Graves Commission (www.cwgc.org).
- [S37] Diary of Lauretta Brooks, nee Machon, (original manuscript).
- [S53] Census of Canada, 1901, (31 March 1901).
- [S77] Civil Death Registration.
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