Major Stewart Hastings Bull commanded ‘A’ company of the Essex Scottish Regiment at Caen until he was wounded and lost an eye. (THE CANADIAN LETTERS AND IMAGES PROJECT)

Wounded at Caen: A survivor describes combat in Normandy

STORY BY STEPHEN J. THORNE

It was early July 1944 and Stewart Hastings Bull had just followed the D-Day landings into France when he was promoted and handed ‘A’ company of The Essex Scottish Regiment to lead through the liberation of Nazi-occupied Europe.

The regiment had been gutted at Dieppe. Major Bull’s first taste of war came almost two years later during the battle for Caen. A runner summoned him the night he arrived at their encampment in an orchard just outside the city, 15 kilometres from the D-Day beaches. His second-in-command wanted to see him.

READ MORE

More from Front Lines

• Vivid: A Canadian pilot describes his bird’s-eye view of D-Day
• War Museum exhibits more than two centuries of women’s war art
• The eyes have it: A pool pictorial

CORB children en route to their new home 1940. (NATIONAL ARCHIVES UK)

A warm reception: Canada’s children of the Blitz

STORY BY ALEX BOWERS

It was around 11 a.m. on Aug. 4, 1940, when Margaret Beal bid farewell to all she had ever known. Departing on a train from Scarborough, U.K., the 14-year-old watched as her parents, standing on the platform, faded into the steam.

Exactly 26 years before, the British teenager’s home country had been mobilizing upon the outbreak of the First World War. Now, she, too, was on the move, although her journey was destined to be markedly different.

READ MORE

More from Military Milestones

• Hog hysteria: The U.S.-British confrontation over Canadian livestock
• Love behind enemy lines: An Anglo-Canadian couple’s D-day exploits
• Canada and the Boer War

Member Benefit Partner

Canadian homeowners aged 55+ can access up to 55% of their home’s value without having to sell. As a proud partner of the Royal Canadian Legion, HomeEquity Bank offers Legion members $500 cash back* upon funding their CHIP Reverse Mortgage. Learn more at https://bit.ly/3ln5vfo

Learn more