Regimental Number: M55563
Peter, born on May 31, 1920 at Bezanson, was the oldest of Roy and Maggie Robideau’s five children: Alfred (1921), Amelia (1922), Leo (1924) and Ernie (1925). Peter’s father, Roy, was from International Falls, Michigan and his mother, Maggie, was from England. Roy arrived in the Bezanson area in 1917 and enlisted in WWI where he met and married Margaret Hague. Peter was raised on the family farm in Bezanson and attended the one-room Lindsay School.
Peter enlisted on July 25, 1940 in Grande Prairie with the 4th Division Petrol Coy, Royal Canadian Army Service Corp. He served as a Private in Canada, the United Kingdom and Continental Europe. Peter was discharged on demobilization on October 26, 1945 in Calgary and returned home to Bezanson. He received the 1939-45 Star, France Germany Star, Defense of Britain Medal and the Canadian Volunteer Service Medal & Clasp.
Peter married Evelyn Wilburn of DeBolt and they had four children; Jerry, Russell, John and Dennis. They lived in Grande Prairie until 1966 when they moved to Calgary where Peter found employment in a Steel Mill. He had only been retired for 6 months when he passed away on February 1, 1979 after a battle with cancer. Peter was buried in the Glen Leslie Cemetery near Bezanson.
Contributed by Wanda Zenner
Sources:
Smoky River to Grande Prairie History Book
Interview with John Robideau – son