Name: Richard Hartney Ellis Rank: Lance Sergeant Service Number: F/41563 Service: West Nova Scotia Regiment, Royal Canadian Infantry Corps Date of Birth: February 10, 1920 Place of Birth: Shoal Bay, Halifax County, Nova Scotia Date of Enlistment: September 19, 1939 Place of Enlistment: Bridgewater, Lunenburg County, Nova Scotia Address at Enlistment: Bear River, Digby County, Nova Scotia Age at Enlistment: 19 Occupation: Farmer Marital Status: Single Religion: United Church Next of Kin: Alice Ellis (Mother) Bear River, Digby County, NS Height: 6 feet, 1 inch Complexion: Medium Hair Colour: Grey Eye Colour: Dark Brown Date of Death: August 2, 1943 Age: 23 Cemetery: Agira Canadian War Cemetery, Agira, Enna, Sicily, Italy Grave: B, C, 162. Commemorated on Page 157 of the Second World War Book of Remembrance Displayed in the Memorial Chamber of the Peace Tower in Ottawa on April 2 Richard Hartney Ellis was the son of John Ephraine Ellis (1873-1959) and Alice Maude (Slauenwhite) Ellis (1884-1965), of Bear River, Digby County, Nova Scotia. Richard was born in Shoal Bay on the Eastern Shore of Nova Scotia between Murphy’s Cove and Pleasant Harbour in Halifax County, NS. His mother was born in Terence Bay on the other side of Halifax and Richard lived in Terence Bay until the age of 6, then the family all lived in Digby County in Hillsburgh where his father was a farmer. Hillsburgh was the Digby-County side of what was previously Clements Township, which straddled both sides of the Annapolis-Digby County line. Hillsburgh was the west side of the Bear River. Richard’s siblings were James Ansel Ellis (1911-1994), John Edward Wallace Ellis (1913-1996), William Arthur Ellis (1916–1997), Elizabeth Gertrude (d. 1918). Richard Hartney Ellis, Leander Vincent Ellis (1922-2002), Mable Ruth Marion (Ellis) Marshall (1925-2019), and Harry Roy Ellis (1928-2012). Richard had already served in the Militia (Reserves) with the West Nova Scotia Regiment (WNSR), completing annual training in the summers prior to WWII. Enlisting for active service in September of 1939, he embarked Halifax on December 21, 1939, arriving in Gourock, Scotland on December 31st. From Gourock, the West Nova Scotia Regiment made for Aldershot in the Rushmoor district of Hampshire, England. Richard trained in the United Kingdom throughout 1941 and 1942. He was promoted to Acting Leading Sergeant on November 24, 1942, and made Leading Sergeant on January 28, 1943. He embarked in the UK on June 15, 1943, and disembarked in the Mediterranean Theatre July 10, 1943, for Operation Husky and the invasion of Sicily. On June 15, 1943, Richard and the West NS Regiment embarked on the Polish liner MS Batory at Gourock, Scotland, in the first part of Operation Husky, the invasion of Sicily. The soldiers were issued tropical kit which they thought was a security ploy. On June 28, 1943, the convoy headed for the open sea and the Mediterranean. They landed in Sicily on July 10, 1943. The WNSR became the first allied unit to land and stay on the continent of Europe for the entire duration of the war. Richard Hartney Ellis was killed in action during the Battle of Sicily on August 2, 1943. Moved from his original burial site, he was re-interred at the Agira Canadian War Cemetery in Sicily, Italy.

Source: Canadian Virtual War Memorial findagrave