Debt of Honour - Pte Joseph Daniel Campbell

Joe Campbell, my father's uncle, was killed in battle in Holland during the Second World War.  A private in the Royal Canadian Infantry Corps from Dominion, Nova Scotia, Canada, Joe lost his life on February 10, 1945, the third day of Operation Veritable, Canada's Rhineland campaign.  He was 33 years of age.  Joe is buried in Holland, in Groesbeek Canadian War Cemetery, south of Nijmegen near the German border.

This page remembers his sacrifice, and encourages you to read the letter you will find below.

Joe Campbell, circa 1944

A few months after his death, Joe's mother, Mrs. Agnes Campbell of Dominion, Nova Scotia, received the following letter, signed by 'Just a guy who knew Joe'.  While the letter's author has never become known to our family, it holds a special place and continues to be appreciated.  It has been read on CBC Radio, been the subject of Remembrance Day play put on by students of Lockview High School in Waverly, outside of Halifax, and was read at the Remembrance Day 2000 dinner of Joe's old regiment, the Algonquin Regiment of North Bay, Ontario.

Joe is also kindly remembered, along with some other soldiers buried there, on the website of the village of Groesbeek.  Many thanks to webmaster Michel Janssen.