Private Otto Helmer

Private Otto Helmer

Army

Leader, Saskatchewan

Died: Apr 5,1945

Commemorated at Holten Canadian War Cemetery, Holland

Otto Helmer, born November 30, 1918 at Leader, Saskatchewan, completed his education at Mendham, Saskatchewan in 1933. Single, he lived at Leader where he worked on the family farm before moving to Claresholm, Alberta in 1937 to work as a tinsmith helper. While living in Claresholm, Helmer enlisted at Victoria, British Columbia May 21, 1942. Overseas in July 1944 with the Royal Canadian Signals, Helmer went on to serve with the Royal Canadian Infantry Corps attached to the North Shore (New Brunswick) Regiment (Pro Jure Constans) as a Private during the Second World War. Landing on Juno Beach in France June 6, 1944 with the 8th Infantry Brigade, 3rd Canadian Division, the North Shore (New Brunswick) Regiment went on to take part in Operation Windsor and the attack on Carpiquet airfield. Moving into Holland during the Battle of the Scheldt, the regiment advanced into Germany, returning to liberate Zutphen, Holland in April 1945. On April 5, 1945, Private Otto Helmer died of a fractured skull when his motorcycle collided with a military vehicle while delivering a dispatch under blackout conditions near Almen, Holland. Killed instantly, he is commemorated at Holten Canadian War Cemetery, Holten, Netherlands.