WW2 Liberation Stories

Celebration and commemoration

Every year on 31 August, the residents of the town of Neufchâtel-en-Bray, France celebrate the anniversary of the liberation of their town in 1944 and commemorate the deaths of three Canadian soldiers from the 7^th Canadian Reconnaissance Regiment who died in the process. This page, which was created in 2024, eighty years after the event, documents the respective stories of the soldiers and the town residents. It includes the following documents or sub-directories:

• Overview of the role of the 7th Canadian Reconnaissance Regiment (17th Duke of York’s Royal Canadian Hussars) in the liberation of Neufchâtel-en-Bray, France on 31 August 1944, and profiles of the three members of the unit that lost their lives in the process from the point of view of the Regiment.

• Slide presentation of the 7th Canadian Reconnaissance Regiment (17th Duke of York’s Royal Canadian Hussars) and its role in the Liberation prepared by Bernard Auriel, Président du comité du Souvenir Français de Neufchâtel-en-Bray, 2024.

  • See the following page for details of the 2024 French Souvenir Exhibition

• Extracts of newspaper articles and pictures from ceremonies aimed at celebrating the anniversary of the 1944 liberation of Neufchâtel-en-Bray, France and commemorating the lives of the Canadian Hussars who lost their lives in the process: Events of 1945/6. Reprinted with permission of the newspaper: Le Réveil, édition PAYS DE BRAY.

• Extracts of newspaper articles and pictures from ceremonies aimed at celebrating the anniversary of the 1944 liberation of Neufchâtel-en-Bray, France and commemorating the lives of the Canadian Hussars who lost their lives in the process: Events of 1987/8. Reprinted with permission of the newspaper: Le Réveil, édition PAYS DE BRAY.

• After action report from Mr. A. Bataille to the leader of the F.F.I. (French Resistance) – 1944. Courtesy of the Mathon Museum in Neufchâtel-en-Bray

• The Resistance in the Region of Neufchâtel-en-Bray (Montage: Bernard Auriel)

• Commemoration ceremonies on the 80th anniversary of the liberation 2024-08-31 (montage Bernard Auriel)

• Exposition prepared by Souvenir Français on the 80th anniversary of the liberation 2024-08-31 (montage Bernard Auriel)

• Visit to the grave of Trooper Douglas Ellis at the Bretteville-sur-Laize Canadian Military Cemetery France (Bernard Auriel, 2024)

• Photo album showing pictures taken in 1944 by different local photographers.

• Photo albums of various visits of Royal Canadian Hussars Association members to Neufchâtel-en-Bray to attend the ceremonies – 1988 Karl Kramell.

• Photo albums of various visits of Royal Canadian Hussars Association members to Neufchâtel-en-Bray to attend the ceremonies – 2018 Gordon Weekes.

We thank all those who contributed to this page in memory of the liberation and those who died in the process. We thank those who made the ultimate sacrifice. We will remember them; may they rest in peace.