Died during day 1 of Operation Cannonshot whose goal was the liberation of Apeldoorn, The Netherlands. On 12 April the 48th Highlanders crossed the Ijssel River near the town of Wilp and advance to capture Twello.
Frank Harris, service number B2162 was a private in the Canadian Army serving in different units before joining the 48th Highlanders of Canada. Harris was born in Toronto, Ontario to Allen and Margaret Harris on the 21st of August 1917. He was the spouse of Ilene Haris married in 1940, and the father of Marilyn Edith Harris.
He lived in Toronto all his life before joining the war effort. Frank attended public school in Toronto and completed 9 years of school before leaving at age 15 to go and find work. Before the war he worked on motor maintenance at O’Keefe’s Beverage and was a foreman at Dominion Break for 5 years while also working as a leather finisher at the A.R. Clarke Leather Company. Harris was also a part of the Governor General’s Bodyguards from 1935-1938.
Harris enjoyed hunting and fishing as hobbies and was described by his officer as having superior learning ability, while also possessing the traits of being confident and capable. He enlisted in the Canadian army on August 10th, 1942, and was appointed to the #4 Mechanical Transport Workshop Section which was a part of the Royal Canadian Ordnance Corps. On April 7th, 1943, he was posted to the 7th Canadian Division Ordinance Workshop Unit. Harris’ active duty with the Highlanders started when he was SOS (Struck off Strength) of his former unit on January 23rd, 1945, and TOS (Taken on Strength) to the Canadian Mediterranean Forces of which the 48th Highlanders were a part on January 24th, 1945.
On the 7th of February 1945 he disembarked in Italy and joined his fellow Highlanders in the Italian Campaign. Little more than a month and a half afterwards, private Harris left Italy on March 12, 1945, and joined the Canadian war effort in the Netherlands. With Operation Market Garden having failed it was crucial for Frank and the other 48th Highlanders to make Operation Cannonshot successful. During the planning days of the operation, it is said that the Highlanders embraced other units such as the Hussars before crossing the Ijssel River. It would have been consoling to think that Frank also partook in this action of fraternity.
Private Harris was killed in Action by German shelling while serving his country proudly in the Netherlands on April 12th, 1945. Harris was killed on the first day of battle along with 7 other Highlanders and his C.O Donald Alexander MacKenzie unfortunately, just 25 days before VE-Day. Private Frank Harris was originally buried in a temporary grave with religious rights in Wilp, Netherlands before being transferred to the Holten Military cemetery in the Netherlands where he lies today.
During the War Frank ended up serving in Canada, the United Kingdom, Italy, and finally the Netherlands. Frank Harris’ courage is immortalized by the multiple accolades attributed to his name. His tombstone reads, “All you had hoped for, all you had you gave, yourself you scorned to save.” Private Frank Harris was an example of what it means to be a true highlander, and he will serve as an inspiration to others who join this regiment in the future. May he rest in peace.
PEREZ – CATHERWOOD
