A few weeks ago an email came into the Townsman from a man named Cees Cuperus from the Netherlands.

Cuperus, from Wouw in Nord-Brabant, said he had found our paper through the Internet and was looking for information on a soldier buried in his town's military graveyard named Francis Branch.

A call to the Legion sent Larry Miller on a mission - to find this soldier's family and update his memorial in Wouw.

Francis Clyde Branch died in action in Wouw on Oct. 26, 1944 at the age of 25. He was buried temporarily near an antitank ditch. Later he was moved to Bergen op Zoom and buried again in the Canadian War Cemetery in grave 3 E 10.

Branch was a member of the Lake Superior Motor Regiment, now called the Lake Superior Scottish Regiment. Most likely, Branch and the other members of his regiment went over seas around 1942 for training and didn't see action until July 1944 in Normandy. The motto of the regiment is Inter Pericula Intrepidi, or fearless in the face of danger.

The Regiment was also the only one to ever go on strike, after soldiers witnessed turkeys being wheeled by for officers on Thanksgiving Day 1940. They refused to eat the grilled cheese they had been served and stayed in their barracks until the ironically named Lt. Col. Cook authorized - and paid for - the kitchen to make turkey sandwiches for everyone. It's not known whether Branch was involved in the strike action.

Most of the soldiers buried in the Bergen op Zoom cemetery died in the Battle of the Scheldt, when allied forces wanted to take the estuary from German forces in order to have a port to bring in supplies, and also to open up Antwerp to allied shipping.

The Nov. 2, 1944 issue of the Cranbrook Courier reported the story:

Son of K.H. Branch reported killed.

On Wednesday K.H. Branch received a wire notifying him that his son, Pte. Francis C. Branch had been killed overseas. No details were given, but it is expected more information will soon be available.

Pte. Branch spent most of his lifetime in Cranbrook and had many friends in the city. His untimely death in the service of his country is a sad blow to his parents here.

Also reported in that paper was the death of Sgt. S.E. Rualt, another Cranbrook man whose brother had also been killed in action.

Branch was one of three children. He left behind three siblings, a brother, who worked for the City of Cranbrook, and two sisters. The youngest sister, Inez Paradis is still in Cranbrook.

On Saturday, a wreath was laid on Branch's behalf at a re-dedication of the cenotaph, to mark Legion Week.

According to Cuperus, 31 Canadians are buried in the cemetery alongside Branch. Cuperus is a local historian and member of the Local History and Geography Association in Wouw. He is trying to locate information and pictures of 211 soldiers to update their records and put displays up for each soldier.

Miller says Branch's remaining family was excited that the museum in the Netherlands was taking the initiative to establish the memorial, and that they want to meet Cuperus.

A picture along with information will be sent to Cuperus to display in Wouw.

Special thanks to Larry Miller, the Royal Canadian Legion Branch 24 and Nadine Kelsey.