John (Jack) Weakford Smith was killed in action in the Battle of Normandy

Laraine Maltby Smith of Coldwater, Ont., sent us a photo of her husband Tom as a baby taken with his father, Lance-Corporal John (Jack) Weakford Smith. The photo was made when Jack went AWOL to visit his wife, Florence, and their infant son in Midland, Ont.

A telegram from Lance-Corporal Jack Smith’s sister, Jen Smith, notifies another sister, Phyllis, of his death. Dated Aug. 30, 1944, it reads: “Received further word. Jack killed in action August Tenth. Love Jen.”

Jack and Florence Smith, with Florence wearing Jack’s cap. Lance-Corporal Smith was killed in action in France on Aug. 10, 1944, just four days before his son’s second birthday.

Lance-Corporal John (Jack) Weakford Smith was with the Algonquin Regiment. He had been in France for only a couple of weeks before being killed in action at the age of 31 on Hill 140, between Estrees-la-Campagne and Mazieres in France, during Operation Totalize. The Canadians defended against repeated German counterattacks on Aug. 9-10, but suffered heavy casualties, including Smith.

Lance-Corporal John (Jack) Weakford Smith is buried in the Canadian War Cemetery at Bretteville-sur-Laize, which contains Canadian soldiers killed during the later stages of the Battle of Normandy in the Second World War.

Cody Smith visited the grave of his grandfather, Lance-Corporal John (Jack) Weakford Smith, in the Canadian War Cemetery at Bretteville-sur-Laize, France, in 2003.

We thank Laraine Maltby Smith for sharing these photos and encourage others to share their photos of wartime or peacetime service. To submit a photograph (no photocopies), please mail to Find-Share-Discuss, c/o Legion Magazine, 86 Aird Place, Kanata ON K2L 0A1 or by e-mail (large file JPEG) to magazine@legion.ca. Note: photo prints will not be returned. Please include your daytime phone number and address along with a description of the photo, its date, the location and the identity of the people (first names and last) and where they are in the photo. Have questions? Call 613-591-0116.