Hello My grandfather was with the 45 Transport Company RCA during WWII and we are trying to find out where in The Nethelands he served as we will be going there next month. We have no one living in the family who can speak to it and Service record has been requested but I doubt I will get them soon enough Thank you so much!
Welcome aboard. There are no threads here for the company and a small number for the RCASC, which do not appear to help. There is an area for the Canadian Army in the Forums List, with 181 posts / threads and too many to skim through. You can search with Armoured. However this thread has a colour map and suggests that there is a website too: Project '44 It appears the correct unit title is 45 General Transport Company or Coy, Royal Canadian Army Service Corps / RCASC and they were attached to: From what appears to be an informative Canadian website: Private V.A. Moores, No 45/47 General Transport Company, RCASC - WARTIMES.ca Sometimes the division is shown as 4th Canadian (Armoured) Division. On the assumption the company did not leave the 4th Canadian Armoured Division, whether temporarily or permanently, the way to follow them would to plot the line of advance of the division. The company would be behind them! The company is not shown on Wiki, although a very then history of the campaign in NW Europe is given: 4th Canadian Division - Wikipedia There is a longer history and more of the 4th Cdn Armd Div. minus the company though! See: www.canadiansoldiers.com Presumably there is a divisional history somewhere! Not on Wiki though. Have you tried this site? Maple Leaf Up Presents the Canadian Army Overseas in WW2 - the History, Weapons, Vehicles and Equipment of the Canadian Army in Europe, 1939-1945 Some photos and brief background: Second World War: Royal Canadian Army Service Corps (RCASC), Korean War and Cold War This one changes unit title to: From: www.canadiansoldiers.com Earlier they had been attached to the 2 Canadian Infantry Division and had a change of title: See: Canadian Army Mobilization Orders No. 11 to No. 18 You can glimpse their route via those who died, found after a very basic search: Clarence McAfee - The Canadian Virtual War Memorial - Veterans Affairs Canada and Fallen Heroes of Normandy | List From a 2012 thread, so you may need to check for accuracy: Under pressure now to stop and walk the dog.
45 Cdn Army Transport Company was part of the First Canadian Army Headquarters units……..link to organization below. I’ll see what else I can find for you ROYAL CANADIAN ARMY SERVICE CORPS (RCASC) • No. 1 Cdn Movement Control Unit • No. 1 Army HQ Car Unit • No. 35 Army Troops Composite Company • No. 36 Army Troops Composite Company • No. 41 Army Transport Company • No. 45 Army Transport Company • No. 47 Army Transport Company • No. 63 Army Transport Company • No. 64 Army Transport Company • No. 1 Motor Ambulance Company • No. 2 Motor Ambulance Company • No. 1 Canadian Advance Stationery Depot • No. 1 Mobile Printing Section • No. 2 Tipper Platoon https://wartimes.ca/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/Canadian-Forces-WW2.pdf
Wow thank you both! I have gotten excited just having some sites to start with as I admit I get a bit lost in the titles etc! My mom will be really pumped to have some information and direction!
The 45 Transport Company War Diaries, which will tell you their location during the war. Unfortunately they have NOT been digitized yet, so if you want to see them, you can hire a private researcher to check them……or if you live near Ottawa, you can visit LAC and see the records and photo for free Collection Search
Sadly I live on the West Coast and the only friend I have in the area works when it is open so i tried calling them to see if we could even be told the towns or a couple before we leave. If only we had realized all of this sooner! But even the link on wartimes roll call having my grandfather's name on it was so special. Funny how that works..
The website I mentioned earlier is: Project '44 Some useful maps showing the advance and you can look at some units of the 4th Armoured Division - too much to fully assimilate now, so good luck.
