Captain Edward "Eddy" Buchanan Stewart

Edward “Eddy” Buchanan Stewart was born in 1915. He attended Paris Central School and Paris High School. He was a member of the Paris Central Army Cadets. He became a meat cutter by trade, working for several local butcher shops. In 1938 Eddy joined the Dufferin and Haldimand Rifles, C Company in Paris. In 1939 he attended Camp Niagara with others from C Company, D&H Rifles for training. He married Ruth Louise Chittenden in 1939 and enlisted with the Royal Canadian Regiment in 1940. He was living at the time with his in-laws at 48 Ball Street.

Eddy was sent to Long Branch and Camp Borden and was promoted to Company Sergeant Major and assigned to the Canadian Infantry Training Centre in Borden as a trainer. Eddy would make a point to go to the Camp Borden train station to say goodbye to the Paris Boys leaving for overseas. Eddy received his own King’s Commission in 1943.  He was sent to England where he attended Battle School. In 1944 he joined the Royal Canadian Regiment (RCR) again in Italy near Rimini. He was wounded on December 26, 1944. By December 1944, the RCR was no longer in Rimini itself, but was fighting further north in the Ravenna area, specifically involved in actions to cross the Lamone River. The city of Rimini had already fallen to Allied forces, including the Canadians, in September 1944.

During December 1944, the 1st Canadian Infantry Division, which included the RCR, was engaged in the difficult "Battle of the Rivers" as part of the offensive to breach the last major German defensive line, the Gothic Line. The fighting took place along a series of rivers in the Romagna plain, north of Rimini. The RCR was in the sector near Ravenna and the town of Russi. The fighting in December was characterized by brutal winter weather, including torrential rain and mud, which made movement and air support extremely difficult. The ground was soft and subject to mudslides, and troops had to contend with mines and wire obstacles in addition to German fire. 

The actions around the Lamone River were part of a wider effort by the 8th Army to push towards the Senio River and outflank German positions near Bologna before the onset of winter forced a halt to major operations. The Canadian Corps eventually transferred to Northwest Europe in February 1945, and after his release from the hospital, Eddy rejoined the Regiment as it advanced through Belgium and the Netherlands.

After the war, he was billeted in Rotterdam with a Dutch family who Eddy kept in touch with for several years. He expressed great concern for the Dutch citizens having suffered through bad treatment and starvation. After he returned to Canada, Eddy joined the 56th Field Artillery. He resigned from the Militia in 1955 as a Captain. On July 4, 1955, Eddy was awarded the Canadian Forces Decoration for having 12 years of military service. He worked for the Veterans Land Act until his retirement.

While taking part in the Paris Remembrance Day Services on November 11, 1990, he fell ill. His grandson took him to the Willett Hospital where he was pronounced dead. Edward is buried in the St. James Anglican Cemetery in Paris, along with his wife Ruth Chittenden.