Pte. Ramie Claeys

Service Number A102788

"D" Company

Cape Breton Highlanders

Killed in Action January 17, 1944

Ramie Claeys was born in Cortemarck, Belgium on April 22, 1922, the son of Camiel and Maria (Stroobant) Claeys, both from Belgium. When Ramie was young the family emigrated to Canada. His parents later separated and Ramie and his brother Polydor (Paul) lived with their mother in Chatham, Ontario and their sister Germaine lived with their father in Tilbury, Ontario. Ramie grew up and received his education in Chatham. He later worked as a waiter at the Tecumseh Hotel in Chatham. He had an outgoing personality and was well liked.

Ramie enlisted in the Canadian Army in Windsor, Ontario on August 26, 1942, with the rank of private. He was allocated to the Royal Canadian Army Medical Corps for basic training in Chatham, Ontario, and then to the infantry for training at Camp Ipperwash, Ontario. In March, 1943, Ramie went overseas to England where he was attached to 7^th Canadian Infantry Reinforcement Unit. On June 18, 1943 he was transferred to the Cape Breton Highlanders who had been training in England for almost two years. He sailed for Italy with his new battalion in October/November, 1943.

On January 17, 1944, the Cape Breton Highlanders took part in a larger Canadian attack to capture high ground east of the Arielli River near Ortona, on the Adriatic Sector of the Italian Front. It was the battalion’s first major action and it was carried out in daylight against veteran German paratroopers entrenched in well prepared defensive positions. To add to their difficulties, their sister battalion in the brigade, the Perth Regiment, had failed to take their objective on the left in an early morning attack, allowing the Germans to direct their full attention on the Cape Breton Highlanders’ attack.

Ramie Claeys was in “D” Company which led the assault across the valley of a stream called the Riccio, with their objective being a piece of high ground near two roads on the far side of the Riccio. “C” Company followed “D” Company ten minutes later. Many “D” Company men were pinned down in the water due to the intense machine gun and mortar fire. Promised smoke protection was ineffective. Ramie Claeys was killed in action during this fighting. He was 21 years old.

Unable to advance any further under the intense machine gun and mortar fire, and with mounting casualties, the survivors were ordered to pull back to their original positions after dark.

Thirteen Cape Breton Highlanders lost their lives in this action with many more wounded. To the survivors the battlefield forever became known as “The Valley of Death”.

Ramie Claeys was laid to rest in Moro River Canadian War Cemetery, near Ortona, Italy. He held the rank of private.

In a 1994 letter from Germaine (Claeys) Mack, Ramie’s sister, she related that her husband was serving in the Perth Regiment and managed to meet up with Ramie shortly before the attack on January 17th. It was the last contact anyone in the family had with Ramie.

References:

• Library Archives Canada website for Second World War Service Files - War Dead 1939-1947. To access the page pertaining to Ramie Claeys, click HERE.
• Canadian Virtual War Memorial website. To accesss the page pertaining to Ramie Claeys, click HERE.
• Find a Grave website for Moro River Canadian War Cemetery. To accesss the page pertaining to Ramie Claeys, click HERE.
• War Diary - Cape Breton Highlanders.
• Morrison, Alex and Slaney, Ted. The Breed of Manly Men – The History of the Cape Breton Highlanders. Sydney: City Printers Limited, 2002.
• Family information provided by Germaine (Claeys) Mack (Ramie Claeys' sister) in 1994.

The Collection:

Below is a wartime photo of Ramie Claeys. It was sourced from his sister, Germaine (Claeys) Mack of Chatham, Ontario in 1994. Also included is a wartime newspaper article describing the battle in Italy where Ramie Claeys was killed, and a photo of his grave headstone. 

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