Private Robert Francis Harrigan
Survivor of WW2
Date of Death:
Service Biography
Robert Francis Harrigan was born at Masonville, Quebec, on 17 September 1917. Before the war he worked as a carder at the Huntingdon Woolen Mills and had also done farm and machine work. He enlisted at Montreal on 9 July 1940 as D-26466 with the Canadian Grenadier Guards. In March 1942 he joined the 22nd Canadian Armoured Regiment (Canadian Grenadier Guards), qualifying as a tracked-vehicle driver and motor mechanic. He served in Canada,then spend over 3 years in the United Kingdom and Northwest Europe, landing in France in July 1944, shortly after D-Day and while the Canadians were fighting up towards the Netherlands. Harrigan returned to Canada in October 1945 and was discharged at Montreal South on 21 November 1945 on demobilization.
Robert Francis Harrigan died in Burlington, Vermont on 19 August 1997.
General Information
Conflict:
WW2
Regimental No.:
D26466
Cause of Death (in war):
Survived
Branch:
Army
Regiment:
Canadian Grenadier Guards
Battalion:
22nd Canadian Armoured Regiment (Canadian Grenadier Guards)
Company:
Date of Birth :
Place of Birth:
Masonville, Quebec
Date of Enlistment:
Age at Enlistment:
22 years 9 months
Date of Discharge:
Age at Discharge:
28 years 2 months
Date of Death:
Age at Death:
79 years 11 months
Country Born:
Canada
Trade or Calling:
Carder (wool)
Next of Kin:
William Harrigan (father), Boyd Settlement, Huntingdon, Quebec
Address at Enlistment:
Boyd Settlement, Huntingdon, Quebec
Religion:
United Church of Canada
Place of Enlistment:
Montreal, Quebec
Was a Prisoner of War:
No
Height:
5 ft 8.5 in / 174 cm
Weight:
138 lbs / 63 kg
Chest:
35.0 in / 89 cm
Expansion:
3.0 in / 8 cm
Marital Status:
Single
Prior Military Experience:
No
Saw Service in:
Europe
Place of Discharge:
Montreal South, Quebec
Discharge Type:
Regular/End of Service
Discharge Notes:
Battle Died/Wounded:
Length of Service:
1961 days in service
Buried at:
Links
Ranks
| Conflict |
Rank |
Regiment |
Branch |
Unit |
Company |
Date From |
Date To |
| WW2 |
Private |
Canadian Grenadier Guards |
Army |
22nd Canadian Armoured Regiment (Canadian Grenadier Guards) |
|
|
|
| WW2 |
Private |
Canadian Grenadier Guards |
Army |
No. 4 District Depot |
|
|
|
| WW2 |
Private |
Canadian Grenadier Guards |
Army |
Canadian Grenadier Guards, C.A.S.F. |
|
|
|
| WW2 |
Private |
Canadian Grenadier Guards |
Army |
|
|
|
|
Awards
| Conflict |
Award |
Action |
Date of Award |
Date of Citation |
Source |
| WW2 |
Canadian Volunteer Service Medal and Clasp |
|
|
|
|
| WW2 |
1939-45 Star |
|
|
|
|
| WW2 |
France and Germany Star |
|
|
|
|
| WW2 |
Defence Medal |
|
|
|
|
| WW2 |
War Medal 1939-45 |
|
|
|
|
| WW2 |
War Service Badge — General Service Class |
|
|
|
|
Service Chronology
1917-09-17 — Born
1940-07-09 — Enlisted for active service as Guardsman
1940-12-14 to 1940-12-28 — Granted furlough
1940-12-30 — Admitted with urethritis
1941-01-11 — Discharged to duty after urethritis treatment
1941-02-17 — Admitted with recurrent urethritis
1941-03-09 — Discharged after treatment
1941-05-19 — Admitted with urethritis
1941-05-29 — Discharged after treatment
1941-11-03 to 1941-11-14 — Absent without leave; subsequently forfeited 24 days pay
1942-02-11 — Attached to Royal Canadian Army Service Corps, Sussex, for rations and quarters
1942-03-02 — Admitted with non-specific urethritis
1942-03-14 — Taken on strength of 22nd Canadian Armoured Regiment (Canadian Grenadier Guards)
1942-03-23 — Discharged from Sussex Military Hospital
1942-03-28 to 1942-04-10 — Granted furlough
1942-04-01 — Qualified Motor Mechanic, Group C, Class II; trades pay effective
1942-07-01 — Qualified Driver I.C. Class III, Tracked (Tank)
1942-09-04 to 1942-09-08 — Granted special leave
1942-09-25 — Struck off strength, Canadian Army Canada, for overseas service
1942-09-26 — Taken on strength, Canadian Army Overseas
1942-10-07 — Disembarked in the United Kingdom
1942-11-06 to 1942-11-12 — Granted privilege leave
1943-01-01 — Increase in tradesman's rate of pay to $1.75 per day became effective
1943-01-29 to 1943-02-04 — Granted seven days privilege leave with ration allowance
1943-05-12 — Admitted to 12th Canadian Light Field Ambulance
1943-05-13 — Transferred to No. 1 Canadian Special Hospital for non-specific urethritis
1943-05-29 — Discharged from No. 1 Canadian Special Hospital
1943-06-10 to 1943-06-16 — Granted seven days privilege leave with ration allowance
1943-06-24 — Proceeded on Motor Mechanic course and attached to No. 3 (Battalion) Technical Training Group for all purposes
1943-09-02 — Returned from Canadian Military Headquarters Motor Mechanic course No. 1109
1943-11-18 — Entitled to first Good Conduct Badge
1943-12-01 to 1943-12-09 — Granted privilege leave with ration allowance
1943-12-30 — Admitted to No. 1 Canadian Special Hospital for non-specific urethritis
1944-01-06 — Discharged from No. 1 Canadian Special Hospital
1944-04-11 — Qualified Motor Mechanic 'B' and granted Motor Mechanic 'B' trades pay
1944-07-12 — Absent without leave from 2200 to 2330 hours; subsequently awarded forfeiture of seven days pay
1944-07-21 — Embarked from the United Kingdom for Northwest Europe
1944-07-27 — Disembarked in France
1944-12-12 — Reclassified as Vehicle Mechanic M.V. 'B'
1945-07-10 — Struck off strength of 22nd Canadian Armoured Regiment to X-3 List on hospital admission
1945-07-10 — Admitted with cephalalgia / severe headaches
1945-07-31 — Discharged fit for duty after cephalalgia treatment
1945-08-03 — Taken on strength of 22nd Canadian Armoured Regiment from X-3 List
1945-08-13 to 1945-08-26 — Granted eleven days privilege leave to the United Kingdom
1945-09-12 — Struck off strength of 22nd Canadian Armoured Regiment for return to Canada
1945-09-16 — Embarked from Northwest Europe
1945-09-17 — Disembarked in the United Kingdom
1945-10-20 — Struck off strength, Canadian Army Overseas; overseas service ended
1945-10-21 — Taken on strength of No. 4 District Depot from Canadian Army Overseas
1945-10-29 to 1945-12-05 — Granted leave and ration allowance
1945-11-08 — Demobilization Medical Board; no treatment required
1945-11-21 — Discharged on demobilization
1946-05-13 — Requested War Service Gratuity cheque be mailed to Bank of Montreal
1949-11-08 — Medal request correspondence postmarked
Notes
Medical records document recurrent urethritis/non-specific urethritis during 1940-41, March 1942, May 1943 and December 1943-January 1944, and an admission for severe headaches/cephalalgia in July 1945. A demobilization Medical Board in November 1945 recorded no treatment required and cleared him for release.
Worked as a carder at Huntingdon Woolen Mills
Completed Junior matriculation at Massena High, New York in 1931
He had fractured his skull in 1931 and suffered recurrent headaches
English speaking only
Born Masonville, Quebec, Died Burlington, Vt
Death Certificate
Request confirmation number EA2026_0170704
Additional Service Notes
Served with the Canadian Grenadier Guards and the 22nd Canadian Armoured Regiment (Canadian Grenadier Guards) in Canada, the United Kingdom and Northwest Europe. He qualified as a tracked-vehicle driver and motor mechanic, later as Motor Mechanic B / Vehicle Mechanic M.V. B. He remained a Guardsman/Private and was discharged at Montreal South on 21 November 1945 on demobilization.
26 months in Canada, 37 in UK and NW Europe. Completed military course in motor mechanics
Additional Next of Kin Notes
Single with no children or dependents. Father William Harrigan and mother Anna Harrigan (Jane Ann Smith) were recorded at Boyd Settlement, Huntingdon, Quebec. Sister Daisy Harrigan of 601 Lansdowne Avenue, Westmount, Quebec, received a pay assignment during service.
Version: 3 Last modified: 2026-09-19 18:52:11
by: marc