Image: A platoon of army recruits in training on parade along Richmond Ave. In the background are Imperial Bank of Canada, J.B. Oliver furniture store, Hudson Bay Raw Furs, Porteous Hardware, James Drug store. 1943 (SPRA 2005.052.01)
Regiment: Loyal Edmonton Regiment
Rank: Lance Corporal
Roy Boyd was born and grew up in the Wembley AB area. In October 1940 he enlisted for service in WWII in Grande Prairie. At first he joined the Edmonton Fusiliers, and then transferred to the Loyal Edmonton Regiment. For one and a half years he was posted overseas in England, North Africa, Sicily, and Italy. Roy was injured on December 26, 1943 in the Battle of Ortona in Italy and was the lone survivor of an Edmonton Platoon that was blown up by German pioneers. Roy was rescued after being buried for three and a half days and spent five months in Italian and English hospitals. He spent another year in hospitals back in Canada in Calgary and Edmonton. On December 24, 1944 Roy married Beryl Perves who was also from Wembley. He was discharged from the armed forces in July 1945, and shortly afterwards bought his father’s home quarter of land. The couple lived there until 1956 when they moved into Wembley. In 1968 they relocated to Grande Prairie. The Boyds had 7 children: Cheryl, Donna, David, Valerie, Vivian, Marilyn and Susan. Roy was a member of the Royal Canadian Legion. He passed away on January 16, 1985 at age 64 in Grande Prairie, and he was buried in the Lake Saskatoon Cemetery in Wembley.
Source:
Along the Wapiti p. 412 – Name listed in WW II Veterans
p. 338
Grande Prairie AGS – Obituary Index, Cemetery Index
Soldier Spotlight highlights veterans from the Archives’ online Soldiers’ Memorial. Each week, our volunteers select a remarkable individual to showcase in this blog series. The Soldiers’ Memorial commemorates more than 1,100 WWI veterans and 2,300 WWII veterans from our region. Three dedicated volunteers have contributed over 1,200 hours to this project by researching and writing biographies. Our goal is to have all South Peace soldiers acknowledged for their service. If you know of someone who lived in the South Peace and should be listed on the Memorial, or would like to get involved by researching a local veteran, please contact the Archives.