By the beginning of July 1944 the Germans had withdrawn from the Lake Trasimeno area, but some pockets of enemy resistance remained behind. The British 28th Brigade, with the Ontario Regiment in support, was assigned to clear the area west and north-west of Lake Trasimeno. The axis of advance was northward through the villages of Pozzuolo, Lopi, Gioiella, Valiano, Petrignano and Selva.

The advance began at first light of 1 July with “C” Squadron leading the Ontarios. There was little opposition for the first 16 miles until the mid-afternoon. “B” Squadron had taken up the lead and came under fire at Selva from well-concealed self-propelled anti-tank guns. The tank commanded by Acting Captain Arthur Tongs was hit. Tongs was killed along with Trooper Max Dehmel and Trooper Walter Foreman. The war diary indicates that Lieutenant Oliver Hopkins was killed at almost the same instant. The record is not clear, but it is possible that he was killed by mortar fire.

Acting Captain Tongs was the troop leader and also commanded his own tank. The crew consisted of Trooper Harvey Henry as the gunner, Trooper Max Dehmel as the driver, Trooper Walter Foreman was  the co-driver and Trooper Allister Hurst the loader / wireless operator. The only survivor from Tong’s tank crew was Trooper Henry. A letter to his mother and some post-war discussions with his son Mike have provided one of the few detailed accounts of an Ontario Regiment tank being hit. Mike Henry passed along the narrative.

At around 1715 hours their tank was hit by a round from a German anti-tank gun.  Trooper Henry recounted that when the tank was hit there was a tremendous crash, followed by a sheet of flame and he found himself sitting on the floor of the turret. The next thing he remembered was being on the ground outside the tank, feeling like he was burning up. Trooper Hurst also made it out of the tank, although badly wounded. Both Henry and Hurst returned to the tank to try to assist Acting Captain Tongs. He told the two troopers to save themselves because there was nothing they could do for him.  Trooper Hurst died of his wounds the next day.

Acting Captain Arthur Frederick Tongs was born in Kellhier, SK on 2 August 1921. He grew up in Vancouver and started his military career as a private in the British Columbia Regiment in 1937. It appears that he lied about his age, as his Militia attestation paper from 1937 states he was born in 1920, while his Active Force attestation shows 1921. Tongs had worked his way up to the rank of sergeant when he signed on for active service in December 1939. He attended officer’s training beginning in July 1941 and was commissioned in November. After going through several postings and a promotion to Lieutenant he was taken on strength of the Ontario Regiment in January 1944.

Trooper Max Godfred Dehmel was born in New Waterford, Nova Scotia on 8 November 1915. The family moved to Toronto in the 1920s. A 1939 Toronto Star article recounts that he bicycled from Toronto to New York City for the World’s Fair. Dehmel was one of the earliest to join the Ontario Regiment, signing his name on his attestation paper on 21 September 1939. He was one of a large group of Toronto recruits who tried to join the local regiments only to find them full and being accepted by the Ontarios instead. His attestation listed his trade as a pattern maker / cabinet maker.

Trooper Walter William  Foreman was born on 10 October 1913 in Rousseau, ON. He was working as a labourer in Parry Sound when he joined the Active Service Force on 25 August 1942. Foreman was a fairly recent arrival to the Ontarios, being taken on strength on 29 May 1944.

Lieutenant Oliver Hugh Hopkins was born in Cainscross, England on 29 August 1919. The family immigrated to Canada in the early 1920s and they settled in Saskatchewan. Hopkins graduated from Royal Military College of Canada in 1939 and immediately signed-on for active service in October. He spent a brief time at the Canadian Armoured Fighting Vehicles Training Centre at Camp Borden before being taken on strength of the Ontario Regiment on 9 July 1940. Hopkins left the Ontarios in July 1942 and moved to various postings over the next two years in the UK and Canada, also spent several months at a tank school in Yuma, Arizona. He finally returned to the Ontarios in mid-May 1944.

Trooper Allister Richard  Hurst was also part of Acting Captain Tongs’ crew and was wounded at the same time. He died of these wounds on 2 July. Hurst was born on 8 March 1922 in Clarksburg, ON. He joined the Active Service Force on 12 January 1942. At the time he was living in Oshawa and working as truck driver and mechanic. He was taken on strength of the Ontario Regiment on 12 September 1942. Hurst’s brother, James, was also in the Ontarios and was killed on 13 June 1944.

A second Ontario Regiment soldier died on 2 July after being wounded on the previous day. Corporal William Smith was in a tank that took a hit which set off a phosphorous grenade and burned three crew members. Smith was wounded the worst among the three crewmen.  William Arthur Smith was born in Waterloo, England on 12 April 1911. Smith was another of the earliest recruits to sign with the Ontario Regiment, having joined on 14 September 1939. He was living in Columbus, ON and working as a truck driver at the outbreak of the war.

“A” Squadron was moving north of Foiano on 3 July when a troop was hit hard by hidden German anti-tank guns. Four Ontarios were killed in this incident: Troopers William Kerr, Herbert Miller, Allie Rix and James Stewart.

Trooper William Whitelaw Kerr was born on 2 June 1917 in Verdun, QC. He was still in Verdun in August 1940 and working as a bank clerk when he joined the reserve battalion of the 17th Duke of York’s Royal Canadian Hussars. His next military move was to join the Royal Canadian Air Force in April 1941 and was trained as a radio mechanic. His service record is not clear, but he was discharged in December. His time as a civilian was short as he signed-on with the Army on 26 January 1942. Kerr was taken on strength of the Ontario Regiment on 12 February 1942.

Trooper Herbert Gordon Miller was born on 7 November 1918 in Sunderland, ON and was living there at the outbreak of the war. Miller was another one of the original Ontarios, signing up on 11 September 1939. He was working as a truck driver for Dixon and Son in Manilla, ON prior to the war.

Trooper Allie Wilson Rix was born on 10 January 1907 in Bath, ON. He was living in Toronto when he joined up for active service on 21 August 1942. His attestation paper indicated he was a truck driver, but he was working as a machine operator and shift supervisor at Morrison Machine Shop when he signed-up. In October 1942 his employer began a series of letters to Rix’s commanders requesting his release from the Army due being vital to running the night shift at the factory. The company was making precision parts for weapons and his absence caused the night shift to be shut down. The commander of the armour school at Camp Borden agreed and sent this recommendation to his commander, but nothing more came of it. Trooper Rix was taken on strength of the Ontario Regiment on 16 April 1944 and was a tank gunner.

Trooper James Stewart was born in Calgary, AB on 5 October 1921. He signed up for active service on 17 June 1941. His service record lists his occupation as both a truck driver and a machinist. Stewart was originally assigned to the Royal Canadian Dragoons and arrived in England with them in November 1941. He transferred to various units a few times in the next three years before being taken on strength of the Ontario Regiment on 16 April 1944.

Trooper Stanley Reid Hardin was one of several Americans who came north before Pearl Harbor and ended up in the Ontario Regiment. He was born on 19 October 1918 in Covington, Kentucky.

He left Kentucky and travelled to Windsor, ON to sign on with the Canadian Army on 29 November 1941. Hardin specifically requested to be in a tank regiment. His wish came true in June 1942 when he was taken on strength of the Ontario Regiment.

Trooper Hardin was something of a legend in the Ontario Regiment for his exploits as the ambulance jeep driver for “C” Squadron. He is one of the few non-commissioned members to have anything substantial written about him in the 1951 regimental history. Hardin was known for following closely behind the tanks as they moved forward to ensure that he could evacuate any wounded crew as quickly as possible. Through these actions he picked up the nickname “The Rebel”. His southern American heritage no doubt played a part as well. On 4 July his ambulance jeep ran over a mine and he was killed.

The Ontarios were relieved by the Three Rivers Regiment between 8 – 10 July and moved into a harbour for rest and maintenance for almost a week. It was time to continue the advance as the Ontarios rolled out of their harbour in the early morning hours of 16 July. The advance continued steadily over the next few days, being slowed occasionally by heavy machine-gun fire, shelling and demolitions. On 21 July the Regiment began moving back to a harbour area. The rest of the month saw no combat, but only some moves to new harbours.

The Ontarios were awarded the battle honour “Arezzo” for the actions of early July.

Rod Henderson

Rod Henderson is the Regimental Historian of the Ontario Regiment. He served as a Sergeant in the Regiment and is the author of “Fidelis Et Paratus: A History of The Ontario Regiment (RCAC), 1866-2016”.