Welby Patterson

Early Life

Welby Patterson was the eighth child of Thomas Patterson and Sarah Thomas. By all accounts, he was a well-educated and active child. He worked on his family’s mixed farm, played several sports and enjoyed outdoor pursuits.

Patterson was also musical; he sang in the Ohsweken Baptist Church choir and played the harmonica. He completed grade 10 and part of grade 11 at the Mohawk Institute, spoke English and Tuscarora fluently and read English fluently.

Patterson left school when he was 18 and worked on his father’s farm from 1940 to 1941, where he received a weekly allowance. He then became an ironworker at Republic Steel in Buffalo, New York, earning $90 a week.

Military Training

After living in Buffalo, Welby Patterson moved back to Ohswekan, Ontario. On 29 January 1943, he enrolled in the Canadian army in Hamilton, Ontario. He was sent to No. 23 Basic Training Centre in Newmarket, Ontario in February and then to nearby Camp Borden in April. At the end of April, he went AWOL (Absent Without Leave) and remained absent for almost four days. His punishment was a forfeiture of eight days’ pay.

In early July, Patterson qualified as a motorcycle driver. He was posted to No. 4 Canadian Reinforcement Unit on 23 August and sailed for Britain two days later. In Britain, he spent several months undergoing further training.

Britain

On 1 October 1943, the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders of Canada (Princess Louise’s), an infantry battalion from Hamilton, Ontario, took Welby Patterson on strength at Riddlesworth Camp, Norfolk. The Argylls were part of 10th Infantry Brigade, 4th Armoured Division and had only arrived in Britain in August, having spent almost two years on garrison duty in Jamaica.

Patterson joined C Company and soon was on demanding training exercises at the brigade level, which a comrade described as “plenty tough.” Later that month, the battalion moved on to divisional level exercises in terrible weather. Throughout the training, the emphasis was on conditioning in preparation for upcoming battles.

On 10 October, Patterson was charged for a serious offence. Immediately after a field training exercise, he lost the bolt for his rifle. Patterson spent seven days in detention.

On 1 November, the Argylls moved to new quarters near Uckfield, Sussex, and undertook more training at an increased tempo. Patterson was charged for two minor infractions. In late November, he used insubordinate language to a non-commissioned officer and in mid-May 1944 went AWOL for 23 hours. His punishment for the first offence was the loss of 14 days’ pay, while for the second it was one day’s field punishment and the loss of eight days’ pay.

France

On 21 July 1944, about six weeks after D-Day, Welby Patterson and the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders landed in France and participated in their first battle in early August. The Argylls went on to fight through several tough battles in Normandy. By the end, C Company was so decimated that the commanding officer amalgamated it with B Company, which even then resulted in an understrength company.

Between 29 July and 7 September, the Argylls lost 333 soldiers killed, wounded or captured, plus an unknown number of sick and injured. Patterson was one of the few originals left, and his performance came to the attention of his superiors. On 5 September, he was made an acting corporal.

Military Medal

On 8 September, C and D Companies conducted an assault water crossing of the Ghent Canal at Moerbrugge, Belgium, to establish a bridgehead for follow-on troops. Even with indirect fire support from tanks and mortars, the crossing was difficult, and many men were lost. The companies dug in and waited for a German response the next day.

Throughout 9 September, C and D Companies took heavy casualties from German counterattacks, but they held on. Even though elements of the Lincoln and Welland Regiment crossed the canal to support the Argyll companies, their situation was desperate.

Ammunition was running low, casualties grew, contact with other companies was cut off and communication with battalion headquarters was lost. Throughout the day, the Germans attacked, sometimes in battalion strength, but C Company hung on against a superior enemy.

On the night of 9 September, the Germans attacked again in great strength. On his own initiative and carrying his Bren gun, Patterson “worked his way through intense mortar and machine-gun fire to a position behind a tree stump, where for three hours he fired with such coolness and devastating accuracy that the enemy was unable to counterattack the main position.”

Patterson’s “courage, initiative and complete disregard for personal safety … was undoubtedly responsible for the defeat of repeated enemy thrusts at his unit’s position.” Patterson was awarded the Military Medal for his courage.

On 13 September, Patterson’s company commander made him an acting lance sergeant. More fighting followed, and on 28 September, Patterson was wounded in the right shoulder. He was evacuated through the medical chain and was treated. He instructed in Britain for a time and did not return to the Argylls until 7 April 1945.

Germany

Back at the unit, Welby Patterson volunteered to drive the company’s Jeep ambulance and follow the unit to evacuate casualties. The Argylls’ next objective was the town of Friesoythe, across a small creek. The commanding officer ordered the erection of a small plank bridge over the creek so the Jeep ambulances could cross to retrieve casualties.

On 14 April, Patterson was helping to build the bridge when a sniper’s bullet killed him. A short burial service followed. He was later reinterred in Holten Canadian War Cemetery in the Netherlands. Patterson’s family selected the inscription for his grave marker:

FAR FROM HOME HE DIED

THAT WE MIGHT ENJOY LIFE

NOR SHALL WE FORGET HIM