HENRY, Rosella Bernice
Age at Death: 22
Rank Private
Unit Canadian Women’s Army Corps
Service Number W130615
Place of Burial Burnsland Cemetery, Calgary AB
Date of Birth 1923.07.31
Place of Birth Swan River MB
Enlistment October 6, 1944, Calgary AB
Date of Death 1945.08.25
Daughter of Florence H. Ellis, of Calgary. Sister of Corporal Gordon James Byron Henry, who died while serving with the Royal Canadian Corps of Signals
Rosella had hoped to be a nurse, but had to leave school in the middle of Grade 9 due to a lack of finances. She worked in airplane maintenance at the DeWinton base in Alberta, and enlisted when the base closed. She completed basic training in Kitchener, Ontario, where her evaluation described her as “considerable above average ability, seems quite conscientious and serious minded and would fit well wherever placed.”
She crossed the country to serve at the No. 6 Depot in Halifax. She volunteered for Pacific duty, but tragedy interfered before she had a chance to go overseas. On August 23, 1945, she was driving a tow-motor carrying heavy equipment, which overturned when a skid collapsed. Despite being pinned under the 6,000-pound vehicle for nearly five minutes, she was still able to speak when brought to the Halifax Military Hospital, but she died from her injuries late that night. In a letter to Florence Ellis, Rosella’s mother, her commanding officer Lt. Louise Leslie wrote, “Rosella was conscious practically until she passed away and as I was with her until an hour before her death, I can say she suffered no pain and did not know how badly she was injured.”
Mrs. Ellis had already lost her brother, her first husband (Rosella’s father), two daughters who died in infancy, and a son who died in service, from burns incurred rescuing men from a sinking ship during the invasion of Sicily. She was devastated by Rosella’s loss and wrote a heartfelt letter to Lt. Leslie asking for more detail on her passing: “surely you could tell me more than you have. Tell me the few words she spoke for I know the dear girl was always rather quiet.”
