Remembering World War II

Name: Peter John Whelan Rank: Sergeant Service Number: F/59666 Service: A Company, North Nova Scotia Highlanders Date of Birth: June 13, 1917 Place of Birth: Tignish, Prince County, Prince Edward Island Date of Enlistment: September 30, 1939 Place of Enlistment: North Sydney, Cape Breton, NS Age at Enlistment: 22 Address at Enlistment: Kildare, Prince Co., PEI Height: 5 feet, 9 ½ inches Complexion: Medium Hair Color: Dark brown Eye Color: Blue Occupation: Farm labourer and fisherman Marital Status: Married Religion: Roman Catholic Next of Kin: Aeneas Whelan (Father) at enlistment Frances Jean Whelan (Wife), August 7, 1940 Date of Death: September 17, 1944 Age: 27 Cemetery: Calais Canadian War Cemetery (Leubringhen), Pas-de-Calais, France Grave: Section 2, Row D, Grave 5 Commemorated on Page 475 of the Second World War Book of Remembrance Displayed in the Memorial Chamber of the Peace Tower in Ottawa on October 11 Peter John Whelan was the son of James Aeneas Whelan (1874-1955) and Johanna (Hogan) Whelan (1876-1924). His four siblings were Isabelle Levisa (Whelan) Clandfield (1905-1992), Mary Caroline Whelan (1909-1991), Alphonsus Kenneth Whelan (1906-1991), and Frances Edna (Whelan) Savoy (1915- 2007). Peter also had seven half-siblings from his father’s second marriage to Georgina V. (Gillis) Whelan (1898–1963). They were Joseph Basil Whelan (1927-2000), James Aeneas Whelan (1930-1941), Paulinus (Paul) Lawrence Whelan (1934-1941), Walter Raphael Whelan (1936-1941), Gilles V Whelan, Agnes J Whelan, and Hilda M Whelan. After initially enlisting with the 1st Battalion, PEI Highlanders (Militia) in Charlottetown on September 4, 1939, Peter subsequently enlisted in North Sydney, Cape Breton, Nova Scotia, with the North Nova Scotia Regiment (North Novies) on September 30, 1939. His enlistment records note that he enjoyed boxing, hunting, and fishing, and that after the war, he wanted to work in welding or motor repair work. Peter was admitted to the Dartmouth RCAF hospital February 28, 1940, where he remained until March 5th. He married Frances Jean Cahill from Alberton, PEI, on August 7, 1940, in Halifax, NS. They had three children Miller Henry Whelan (b. circa 1935), Mary E. Whelan (b. circa 1939), and Frances Edna Whelan (1941-2002). From January 8 to February 11, 1941, Peter was at Camp Hill Hospital in Halifax with diphtheria and scarlet fever. Peter was in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, from mid-1940 until mid-1941, when he transferred to Valcartier, Quebec, in June and July 1941. At the end of July, he was transferred to Newfoundland. While stationed in Newfoundland, Peter experienced another bout of illness and hospitalization, again due to influenza, from January 19 to February 6, 1942, at Botwood Military Hospital. He embarked a ship on June 4, 1944, 2 days before D-Day in preparation for the landings in Normandy on June 6, 1944. The regiment landed on Juno beach on D-Day, assigned to 9th Canadian Infantry Brigade, 3rd Canadian Infantry Division, of the 1st Canadian Army. It was reported that “as soon as he got into action [on June 6], he broke down but kept up with Company”. On June 9th, his unit’s medical officer and field ambulance unit clarify further that he was suffering from battle exhaustion. On June 10th, he was transferred to the 23rd Field Ambulance for further rest. Three days June 13th he was discharged to the 10th Canadian Base Reinforcement Group (CBRG). Operation Wellhit, or the Battle of Boulogne (September 17-22, 1944), was an operation by the 3rd Canadian Division’s regiments to take the fortified port of Boulogne in Northern France. Clearing the Channel Ports was of vital importance to the Allied war effort. With the Normandy Campaign largely over by the end of August of 1944, the North Novies found themselves tasked with clearing the Channel Ports. The Canadian army advanced from Normandy to the Scheldt River and its estuary in Belgium. En route, they were to capture the Channel ports needed to supply the Allied armies, clear the Germans from the Channel littoral, and capture or destroy the launch sites for the V-1 flying bombs. Peter took part in the fighting in Boulogne near the strategic fortification of Mont Lambert, understood to be the key defensive position in capturing city. It was captured by nightfall at the end of the first day. In the Book, “The Battle for the Channel Ports” by Daniel Taylor (Page 222-223), the details of Peter’s movements are explained: “A Company had suffered many casualties and had gained its objective on the 17th so was not involved during the next day. L/Cpl KL Miller was with Sgt Whelan as A Company went up to attack. They rode almost over the crest of the first hill, then began crawling inside a hedge and used it for cover until they came to a gap and some large craters. There was barbed wire around a number of buildings, and a far one seemed to have been used as a garage. Direct bomb hits had crashed the first two buildings to wreckage. The next was a pillbox but heavy motor fire descended and forced everyone to take shelter in the craters. Sgt. Whalen was killed and before the barrage let up, three others had lost their lives.” Originally interred in a field southwest of the church in Laawbech, Pas-de-Calais, Peter was reinterred in his final resting place in at the Calais Canadian War Cemetery (Leubringhen). Leubringhen is a village halfway between Calais and Boulogne. He is also commemorated on two family grave markers at the Sacred Heart Roman Catholic Cemetery in Alberton, PEI. In 2004, Peter's gravesite received a visit from his niece, Pauline Buote, and her family. This occasion marked a significant moment, the first family pilgrimage to his resting place since his passing 60 years earlier in 1944. Although the family undoubtedly used the surname Whelan, as do most of the records for Peter John, one exception was his military service record in which the name Walen was used. His Commonwealth War Graves Commission headstone in France is therefore inscribed with the surname Whalen. The Commonwealth War Graves Commission will correct grave markers and have them re-struck if requested. At the same time, they endeavour to commemorate casualties according to their wishes and uphold historic documentation which can indicate their preferences upon enlistment. Noteworthy is the fact that another member of the family also contributed to military service. Peter’s niece (Alphonsus’s daughter), Shirley Ann (Whelan) Kerner (1940-2016), served in the US Navy during the Vietnam War. She served as an Aviation Maintenance Administration women.

Peter John Whelan

Sources: CanadianSoldiers.com - Boulogne Canadian Virtual War Memorial Commonwealth War Graves Commission findagrave

Peter John Whalen is commemorated on family grave markers in the Sacred Heart Roman Catholic Cemetery Alberton, Prince County, Prince Edward Island, Canada.