Canadian History in the Twentieth Century
In memory of
Private
Elmer Joseph Brant
August 19, 1942
Elmer Joseph Brant, family and life before the war.
Elmer Joseph Brant was born on April 14, 1921 in Deseronto, Ontario, son of Mr. and Mrs. Charles Edward Brant of 45 Bristol St, Hamilton which is where he lived at the time of his enlistment. Elmer’s mother passed away on February 1st, 1926, she was 33 years old.
Brant had one sister, Thelma – with no military relations - and two brothers; Private Clifford Lloyd Brant, a private who died on April 25, 1941, at the age 25 while serving with the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders of Canada (Princess Louise’s) and Lance Sergeant Leslie Cecil Brant who has not been recorded as a casualty in the Commonwealth War Graves Commission, nor in the First World War or Second World War Book of Remembrance. Elmer was the third oldest child.
Private Elmer Joseph Brant was an army soldier in the Royal Hamilton Light Infantry, R.C.I.C. Elmer enlisted in the army on September 23, 1939 at age 18, in Hamilton, Ontario. Brant was working as a restaurant clerk before he joined the army.
Newspaper Clipping – Source: Hamilton Spectator, November 2, 1944
Enlistment, Fight & Death.
The Dieppe Raid
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Private Elmer Joseph Brant was an army soldier in the Royal Hamilton Light Infantry, R.C.I.C. Elmer enlisted in the army on September 23, 1939 at age 18, in Hamilton, Ontario. Brant was working as a restaurant clerk before he joined the army.
Private Elmer Joseph Brant was recorded as missing in action during the Dieppe Raid on August 19th, 1942 and later presumed dead, he was only 21 years of age. Elmer Joseph was not married and had no children. Elmer’s body was never recovered.
Private Elmer Brant is commemorated at the Brookwood Memorial in the Brookwood Military Cemetery in Surrey, United Kingdom. He was one of the five in his infantry who went missing at the Dieppe Raid and one of the 900 + Canadians who were recorded dead, many from Brant’s unit. Elmer Joseph Brant is also included – along with his brother, Clifford - on a memorial at Tyendinaga Mohawk Territory in Deseronto, Ontario, in honour of the locals who made the ultimate sacrifice in the Second World War.
A few of Brant's military files 1939-42.
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Commemorations.
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The Royal Hamilton Light Infantry
Description
On an autumnal maple leaf proper a bugle Argent stringed Vert enclosing the letters RHLI Or and ensigned by the Royal Crown proper, the base of the leaf surmounted by two scrolls Azure edged and inscribed WENTWORTH REGIMENT and SEMPER PARATUS in letters Or.
Symbolism
The maple leaf represents service to Canada, and the Crown, service to the Sovereign. The regiment's light infantry heritage is symbolized by the bugle. Combined, "RHLI" and "WENTWORTH REGIMENT" are a form of the regimental title, and "SEMPER PARATUS" is the motto of the regiment.
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(THE ROYAL HAMILTON LIGHT INFANTRY (WENTWORTH REGIMENT), October 2010 (PDF Version, 151.92 KB)
The Royal Hamilton Light Infantry, R.C.I.C. later also known as the Wentworth Regiment, was officially established on December 11th of 1862 as the 13th Battalion Volunteer Militia – although recorded as active in the War of 1812 - and is still active to this day. It is the oldest regiment in the area of Hamilton-Burlington. The Royal Hamilton Light Infantry possesses one of the richest histories of our nation’s military. This regiment has taken part in every single Canadian military campaign in history. The regiment’s march is Mountain Rose, its motto; Semper Paratus otherwise known as; Always Ready, and the members of this regiment are known as the “Rileys”.
The Royal Hamilton Light Infantry has been through every stage of growth and each victory of the National Defence and Canadian Forces. The regiment influenced each battle and each of the Allies’ victories in the Second World War; this makes the Wentworth Regiment very important to the successful conclusion of World War II and the reputation of the Canadian Armed Forces and on a grander scale, in the development of the Canadian military.
The War of 1812
DEFENCE OF CANADA – 1812-1815 – DETROIT; QUEENSTON; NIAGARA
South African War
SOUTH AFRICA, 1899-1900.
The First World War
YPRES, 1915, '17; Gravenstafel; St. Julien
FESTUBERT, 1915; MOUNT SORREL
SOMME, 1916; Pozières; Flers Courcelette; Ancre Heights
ARRAS, 1917, '18; Vimy, 1917; Arleux; Scarpe, 1917, '18; HILL 70; Passchendaele
AMIENS; Drocourt-Quéan
HINDENBURG LINE; Canal du Nord
PURSUIT TO MONS; FRANCE AND FLANDERS, 1915 18.
The Second World War
DIEPPE; Verrière Ridge-Tilly-la-Campagne
FALAISE; Falaise Road; Clair Tizon; Forêt de la Londe;
THE SCHELDT; Woensdrecht; South Beveland;
THE RHINELAND; Goch-Calcar Road; The Hochwald; Xanten; Twente Canal; Groningen; Oldenburg
NORTH WEST EUROPE, 1942, 1944 1945.
