Acker, Lloyd Mitchell, was born 28 November 1924 in Churchover, Shelburne County to Maurice and Elizabeth (Littlewood) Acker. His siblings consisted of four brothers, Maurice, Manus (serving in Italy) Frank and Gerald (RCA), as well as three sisters, Iva, Geneva and Nina. He was employed as a checker for the Canadian National Railways when he enlisted in Halifax on 6 October 1943. After training in Halifax and Aldershot he embarked for overseas on 6 June 1944. Following a brief period of further training he embarked for France on 22 July 1944 and was killed in action ten days later at Normandy. Lloyd is buried in the Bretteville-Sur-Laize Canadian War Cemetery, Grave 16, Row E, Plot 4,Calvados, Franc

Lloyd Acker, Killed in action 10 days after D-Day

Mr and Mrs Thomas Nickerson also lost two sons. Claude Myron killed in action on 13 December 1943 and Edsel James killed in action in Italy on 17 September 1944. The following letter was written by Major Arthur Smith who conducted the funeral services for Claude:
" Let me say how sorry I am. It is grief to you but I hope it may be softened by the great sense of pride you may have in your boy who did not hesitate to risk his life for what he knew to be good and true. He was brought to our field ambulance December 13th very badly wounded and passed away shortly afterwards, quietly and peacefully without suffering. We buried him the next day with two others from the same regiment in a little British cemetery at a place called Fessicia. His grave is marked like all the others, with the cross bearing his name and unit. There are more than 50 of our boys buried there. Eventaully the remains of our Canadian boys who have laid down their lives in Italy will be collected and placed in one central cemetery. Everything was done for your boy and that he recieved every attention, and in death he was accorded the highest honor our circumstances permit - a soldier's burial- no honor is too high for such as he. May you be comforted in the recollection that no one ever dies in vain. Least of all a soldier of Canada, who served and died for this great cause to which we are all committed.

Claude Myron Nickerson North Nova Scotia's

Arnold Howard Allen, was born 5 January 1922 in Lower Ohio, Shelburne County. He was a mechanic when he enlisted in Halifax on 11 April 1941and joined the Cape Breton Highlanders Regiment. He trained at Aldershot, Nova Scotia. While there he met Joyce Marie Bent. Arnold was sent to Bermuda for two years. On his return to Aldershot he married Joyce in Kentville on 26 April 1944 and some time later embarked for England. There he switched to the Second Battalion, Algonquin Regiment, Royal Canadian Rifle Infantry and was sent to France on 25 August 1944. Arnold was in Belgium when he was reported missing on 14 September 1944. On 3 January 1945 word was received that he was a prisoner of war in the German camp at Leipzeg. Arnold was killed, during an Allied Air Raid when bombs were dropped on the camp where he was held. His daughter, Johanna Arnold Allen was born in Kentville, Nova Scotia, one week before her father was killed on 22 February 1945. Arnold is buried at Groesbeek Canadian Military Cemetery, Grave 1, Row D, Plot 12, Gelderland, Netherlands.


Morton Allen, in interviews, related since he was twelve years older than Arnold, the youngest of his nine siblings, he was not closely involved with events during Arnold's growing up years. Morton enlisted in 1940 and they met at Aldershot in 1941 when the snapshot was taken. Morton was in England when Arnold was killed. He remembers Arnold wrote about being forced to work in a mill while he was a prsioner.