Authors: Cpl Watson and Sgt General
Pte Robert Jamieson, Bobby to his friends, was born on June 22nd, 1923 and died in the early morning of April 16th, 1945 in Apeldoorn at the age of 21.
As the youngest of 4 children to his parents, Robert Jamieson Snr and Jane Jamieson, Robert spent his childhood living with his family in Milner, a small town in the Lower Mainland of British Columbia, now a part of Langley. He left school in 1940 after completing the 9th grade, working odd jobs before moving to Vancouver to work at the shipyards as a reamer. He enlisted at the age of 19 with the Calgary Highlanders on 2 February 1943, and intended to go back to the shipyards after the war. Within a year of enlisting, he was fully trained and sent to the UK on 15 December 1943. He was deployed to Italy on 19 February 1944.
Robert soon distinguished himself, earning a promotion to acting LCpl less than a month after arriving in theater. At the end of March 1944 he transferred into the First Special Service Force (“The Devil’s Brigade”), a joint American/Canadian commando unit operating in Italy with the American 5th army. While continuing to fight in Italy, Robert became a qualified paratrooper and picked up additional qualifications on various American weapon systems including rocket launchers and the 60mm mortar. In August 1944, only 6 months after arriving in theater, Robert was promoted again to Acting Sgt. That month, the 1st Special Service Force joined with the 1st Airborne Task Force for Operation DRAGOON, the invasion of Southern France. Robert took part in this month-long operation as one of the paratroopers dropped into mainland France to secure key locations for allied troops landing along beaches in the south of France. The offensive lasted until the 14th of September, a four week blitz which largely cleared out the remaining German presence in Southern France after the D-Day landings earlier that year. Only 2 days after the offensive actions were halted, Robert was wounded severely enough that he spent the next 3 months undergoing treatment in Southern France. In the meantime, in December of 1944, the First Special Service Force was disbanded.
Once he was released, Robert returned to Italy and joined with the PPCLI on the 17th of December 1944. Only 3 days after transferring, he requested to revert in rank to Pte and on Christmas Eve of 1944, transferred again, this time to join the 48th Highlanders of Canada. Robert continued to fight in Italy until February of 1945 when the 48th moved to Northwestern Europe to take part in the liberation efforts.
Moving through Belgium and into the Netherlands, Robert along with the rest of the 48th took part in Operation CANNONSHOT in April 1945. As a part of C Coy, on the 14th of April, Robert was part of the leading force which moved in to begin the assault on Apeldoorn. Fighting through the night and well into the evening on the 15th, C and D Coys moved through the city and cleared positions south of the canals. Snipers had been active throughout the day, and it was expected that there would be fierce fighting on the 16th to clear the remainder of the city. Robert and the rest of C Coy were expected to continue leading this effort. In the early hours of the morning on the 16th of April, 1945 Pte Robert Jamieson was shot and killed by a German sniper.
Robert may not have lived to see the liberation of Apeldoorn, but his actions and the actions of those he served with were what made such a feat possible. He contributed to the liberation of Southern France as a paratrooper in Operation DRAGOON, and took part in the fierce fighting that defined the Italian Campaign. While he may have only been a part of the 48th Highlanders for a few months, Robert demonstrated tremendous courage, discipline, and leadership throughout his time in the army. He exemplified the values that define the 48th Highlanders, and was a credit to the regiment.
Pte Jamieson at the time of his death was accredited with the following medals, 1939-45 Star, Italy Star, France-Germany Star, War Medal and the Canadian Volunteer Service Medal & Clasp. He was originally buried in Wilp, and was later moved to the Holten Canadian War Cemetery, in the Netherlands.
NOK: Son of Robert and Jane Hamilton Jamieson, of Milner, British Columbia.
