Date of Birth: February 9, 1912, at Williams Point, Antigonish County
Parents: Ronald and Annie Jane (Cameron) McFarlane
Siblings: Brothers Colin Francis (Marie LeBlanc), John Andrew, Dougald C. (Nora Dyer), Ronald (Blanche Flemming), Cameron (Sarah Chisholm) and Frank (Kitty Connors); sisters Catherine (Mrs. William C. MacDonald, James River); Lillian Mary (Mrs Gibbons Thompson), Eunice, Janet, Christine, Josephine (Mrs. Bill Gilfoy), Margaret Mary “Molly” (Mrs. Ralph McCallum), and Nellie (Mrs. Harold Gilfoy, Williams Point)
Father’s Occupation: Farmer
Marital status: Single
Occupation: CNR Trackman
Enlistment: May 21, 1942, at New Glasgow, NS
Unit: 2nd Field Regiment, Royal Canadian Artillery
Service Number: F/64902.
Rank: Gunner
Previous Military service: None
Next of Kin: Mrs. Annie McFarlane, Williams Point (mother)
Date of Death: September 27, 1944, near Urbania, Italy
Final Resting Place: Arezzo British War Cemetery, Arezzo, Italy
Andrew Joseph “Josie” McFarlane was the eighth of 16 children born to Ronald and Annie Jane (Cameron) McFarlane. Josie’s mother was the daughter of John Cameron and Catherine Griffin, Heatherton. John was the grandson of Pioneer John Cameron, who emigrated from Achintore, Scotland, to Lower South River in 1801. Pioneer John married Christena “Christy” McDonald, daughter of Pioneer Laughlin McDonald, one of the first settlers of Lower South River. John Cameron of Heatherton was a nephew of Bishop John Cameron, son of Pioneer John and Christy Cameron.
Josie’s paternal great-grandparents twice removed were Pioneer Dougald McFarlane and his wife Margaret McDonnell. The couple and their nine children departed Aberdeen, Scotland, aboard The Dove in 1801. Two years later, the family settled in the Dunmore area of Antigonish County.
Dougald and Margaret’s son Angus McFarlane married Catherine McGillivary, daughter of Angus McGillivary, Dunmaglass. The couple made their home at Dunmore, where they raised eight children—sons John, Dougald, Andrew and Angus, and daughters Catherine, Margaret, Mary and Ann.
Andrew McFarlane, son of Angus McFarlane and Catherine McGillivray, married Catherine McKinnon, daughter of the Honourable John McKinnon, Williams Point, a member of the Nova Scotia Legislative Assembly. Catherine was also a niece of Bishop Colin Francis McKinnon.
Catherine’s MacKinnon grandparents, John MacKinnon and Eunice MacLeod, emigrated from the Isle of Eigg, Scotland, to Pictou in 1791. After their arrival, the ship’s passengers found themselves destitute and starving. When Nova Scotia Governor Parr assisted by providing food, the immigrants felt obligated when he requested that they settle in the Parrsboro area. John and Eunice MacKinnon and approximately half of the passengers obtained land grants there.
After 17 years in Parrsboro, unhappy with their failure to obtain a Catholic Priest, about 300 of the settlers made the “Great Trek” with their belongings and livestock from Parrsboro to Antigonish and Cape Breton.
Pioneer John MacKinnon, his wife and nine children obtained 200 acres of land at the very tip of Williams Point in 1808. Their children were Neil, John Jr., Ewan, Laughlin. Eunice, Catherine, and Colin Francis (later Bishop of Arichat). Neil MacKinnon became the first Roman Catholic to receive permission from the colonial Governor to teach school in the County of Sydney, which at that time included Antigonish.
John MacKinnon Jr. became a member of the Nova Scotia Legislative Assembly and was grandfather to Gunner Andrew Joseph McFarlane. He married Janet Chisholm of North River. The couple had six children—John J.; Eunice, who married Hugh Cameron, medical doctor and Member of Parliament for Inverness; Alice; Mary, who married William Grant; Christina, who married John MacIsaac; and Catherine, who married Andrew McFarlane.
Andrew and Catherine eventually took over the McKinnon property at Williams Point, and raised a family of seven children—Angus, Mary, John, Colin F., Ronald, and Janet. Ronald married Annie Jane Cameron in a ceremony held in Heatherton on November 26, 1901. The couple were parents to 16 children—Colin Francis, John Andrew, Dougald C., Catherine, Lillian, Mary, Eunice, Andrew Joseph, Janet, Ronald, Josephine, Margaret Mary, Nellie, Cameron, Christine and Francis.
Andrew Joseph “Josie” McFarlane was Ronald and Janet’s eighth child. Ronald worked as a section foreman with Canadian National Railways. The family’s situation changed dramatically when he died in St. Martha’s Hospital, Antigonish, on December 7, 1927, at age 51.
While the cause of death was identified as a combination of osteomyelitis (primary) and heart failure (secondary), a recent accident was another a contributing factor. According to family sources, Ronald fell off the roof of a large barn he was building for Ronald Cameron at Lower South River. The mishap aggravated the underlying conditions that led to his death.
Ronald’s passing left his widow to care for a significant number of dependent children. Several of the McFarlane boys found work with CNR at various locations across the Maritimes—Colin (St. Peters), Dougald (Moncton, NB), John (Antigonish), and Cameron (Stellarton). Two of the girls—Lillian and Eunice—departed for the United States, where they worked as registered nurses in New York.
Josie left school at age 15, having completed Grade 7, and went to work to help support the family after his father’s passing. He was first employed as farm labourer before landing a job as a truck driver for Gratton J. Fraser Lumber, Antigonish. During his time there, he became familiar with driving automobiles, light and heavy trucks, skills that were later noted in his service file. Around 1930, Josie was hired by CNR as a section man. During the two years prior to his military enlistment, he worked in the Sydney area.
Josie enlisted with the Canadian Active Service Force (CASF) at New Glasgow on May 21, 1942. At the time, he expressed interest in serving with an artillery unit. After completing his initial training at No. 61 Canadian Army Basic Training Center, New Glasgow, he departed for Petawawa, ON, in mid-August and completed artillery training there.
On December 12, 1942, Josie headed overseas and arrived in the United Kingdom before month’s end. A news item in the Antigonish Casket, dated January 21, 1943, reported that A. Joseph MacFarlane, Williams Point, son of Mrs. Ronald MacFarlane, had safely arrived overseas.
Josie was immediately assigned to No. 1 Canadian Artillery Reinforcement Unit, where he awaited a transfer to an active unit. In mid-March, he was granted 10 days’ leave. On May 13, his name was placed on the Western Europe Force’s Artillery Reinforcement List, an indication that he was about to be posted to an active unit.
On June 27, 1943, Josie departed for the Mediterranean theatre with a large Allied force. Infantry units landed on the southern coast of Sicily on July 10. Four days later, Josie set foot on the Italian island. On July 21, 1943, he was assigned to the 2nd Canadian Field Regiment, Royal Canadian Artillery.
The 2nd Canadian Field Regiment traces its origins to the 3rd Montreal Battery, formed in 1855 after British regular troops stationed in the city departed for Crimea. The following year, colonial authorities established the Battalion of Montreal Artillery. The unit was re-designated the 2nd Montreal Regiment, Canadian Artillery, in 1895.
During the First World War, the Regiment recruited several batteries for overseas service. After the outbreak of the Second World War, the unit mobilized as part of the 1st Canadian Division and departed for overseas. Its personnel were included in the Allied force dispatched to Italy in late June 1943 and set foot on the island of Sicily shortly after infantry forces came ashore at Pachino in the early hours of July 10, 1943.
As the infantry pushed inland in a northward direction, artillery units followed closely behind, providing support as required. The 2nd and 3rd Field Regiments were involved in the first major firing of Canadian guns in Sicily on July 14, in support of a British 51st Highland Division attack on the town of Vizzini.
Gunner Andrew Joseph MacFarlane joined the 2nd Field Regiment’s ranks on July 21. By that time, Canadian forces had reached Assorus, approximately 170 kilometers north of Pachino. In subsequent days, the Canadians pushed eastward toward Mount Etna, attacking German forces from the flank while the British XIII Corps pushed northward along the island’s eastern coast.
Canadian units advanced steadily eastward over the next seven days, securing several towns before reaching the outskirts of Regalbuto. On the night of July 30/31, all three Canadian artillery Field Regiments shelled the town prior to an attack by British units. After three days of hard fighting, Allied forces finally secured the location late in the afternoon of August 2. The engagement was the Canadian artillery’s last major assignment in Sicily.
On August 6, a tragic incident inflicted a significant loss on the 2nd Field Regiment’s ranks. An American medium bomber returning from a raid was struck by German anti-aircraft fire and crashed into the unit’s regimental command post. The aircraft exploded upon impact, creating a shower of shrapnel and burning aircraft parts. Seven “other ranks” (OR) were killed, and another 22 men were wounded in the incident.
In total, the 2nd Field Regiment recorded 13 gunners killed in action, with another 34 wounded during its operations in Sicily. The August 6 mishap accounted for more than 50 % of its losses. Altogether, Canadian artillery units suffered three Officers and 31 OR killed, while 147 OR were wounded during the island’s liberation.
In the second week of August, the Canadian Division moved into army reserve in a concentration area near Scordia. Personnel spent the remainder of the month training and participating in a variety of recreational activities. The intense summer heat necessitated a daily rest period from 11:00 am to 4:00 pm.
Before month’s end, a second peril made its appearance on the island. In the summer heat, Sicily was blanketed with bugs. While black flies covered food items and flew into open mouths, they were more of a nuisance. The Ditttaino and Salso valleys through which Canadian forces passed in late July and early August, however, were infested with mosquitoes, a potential source of malaria.
Prior to the invasion, military authorities were aware of the threat and took several precautionary measures. A mosquito-repellant cream was distributed among the ranks, but was sticky, foul-smelling and uncomfortable to wear. Soldiers were also given mepacrine, a bitter, yellow malaria pill, four days a week. The medication, however, came with potential side effects. It occasionally caused cramps and diarrhea, and sometimes turned skin a yellowish colour.
Personnel were also encouraged to wear long pants. During the Canadian Division’s time in Scordia, military superiors introduced a “long pants and mepacrine parade” at 7:30 pm each evening. Despite the risk, many found the trousers uncomfortable and opted to wear shorts in the summer heat.
Despite the medication and precautions, an outbreak of malaria soon occurred, affecting an estimated 1,200 Canadian soldiers. Gunner Andrew Joseph McFarlane was one of the soldiers affected by the disease. On August 26, he was admitted to No. 4 Canadian Field Ambulance {CFA}, suffering from “headache, chills [and] general aching.” He was quickly transferred to No. 5 CFA, where medical personnel confirmed a diagnosis of malaria.
During his time in hospital, Josie’s name was once again placed on the Royal Canadian Artillery (RCA) reinforcement list. On November 20, 1943, he was officially attached to the 3rd Canadian Anti-Malaria Control Unit, where he served in an unknown capacity for almost two months.
On January 10, 1944, he returned to the RCA’s reinforcement list. Finally, on March 8, he rejoined the 2nd Canadian Field Regiment. On the previous day, I Canadian Corps units began the process of withdrawing from a salient north of Ortona, where they had served throughout the winter months.
Over the next several weeks, Canadian units rested and trained in preparation for an Allied spring offensive scheduled to take place inland from the Tyrrhenian Sea on Italy’s western coast. Before Josie’s unit moved out to the area, a disciplinary infraction interrupted his service. On April 10, he was sent to the 1st Canadian Field Punishment Camp for 28 days.
Released on May 4, Josie’s name was once again placed on the artillery reinforcement list. Three months passed before he returned to the 2nd Field Regiment’s ranks on August 11, 1944. During his absence, his comrades saw action in the Liri Valley campaign and followed retreating German forces northward past the liberated city of Rome in June.
By early August, the Allied advance had reached Florence and the Arno River, almost 300 kilometers north of the Italian capital. At the time of Josie’s return, military commanders were preparing an assault on the Gothic Line, which stretched across the Appenines approximately 40 kilometers north of Florence.
The defensive network ran from Pesaro, 30 kilometers south of Rimini on the Adriatic coast, to a point 40 kilometers north of Pisa on the western Italian coast. The Allied plan of attack involved two fronts—an American 5th Army push through the central Appenines toward Bologna and a British/Commonwealth offensive along the Adriatic coast.
In preparation for the assault, Canadian forces gathered in the Tiber valley, east of Lake Trasimeno, during the second week of August. The move to the Adriatic commenced on August 16. Over the next several days, infantry and artillery units made their way to a concentration area located between Tesi and Macerata. For one week, personnel encamped amid olive groves and vineyards in warm, sunny weather.
As the attack was scheduled to commence on August 25, the first artillery “digging parties” departed for the forward area to prepare gun sites on August 22. The plan called for I Canadian Corps to occupy the center of the attack, with the 2nd Polish Corps on its right and 5th British Corps on its left.
During the attack’s first phase, the Canadians were to cross the Metauro River near Montemaggiore and advance 10 kilometers to the Foglia River, the next major water course, located south of the Gothic Line. A total of 10 artillery field regiments, including the Canadian units, would participate in the initial bombardment of German positions.
To maintain secrecy, artillery fire would commence only after infantry units had crossed the Metauro and advanced three kilometers. The guns would then target a series of concentrations and linear targets, timed to match an infantry advance at a pace of 100 meters every six minutes.
After nightfall August 23, the field regiments moved into their camouflaged positions and completed final preparations, The infantry advance commenced in the late evening of August 25, the first soldiers crossing the Metauro at 10:30 pm. Supporting guns started the protective barrage at midnight.
The advance continued throughout the morning of August 26, infantry units calling in supporting fire as required. As the soldiers gained ground, field regiments moved their guns forward to enable continuous and rapid fire as requested.
By the evening of August 29, four artillery field regiments had reached a flat area south of the Foglia, where they prepared to support a set-piece attack on the Gothic Line’s main defences. Late in the afternoon of August 30, Canadian soldiers quietly crossed the Foglia and began the push toward the Gothic Line.
By the morning of September 1, Canadian infantry units held an entire section of road running parallel to the Gothic Line in their sector and began final preparations to attack the defensive position. The following day, German forces retreated to positions across the Conca River as Allied units breached the line more easily than anticipated.
The push northward continued, the first Canadian infantry units crossing the Conca’s dry riverbed in preparation for an attack on the Rimini Line, a German defensive formation located 16 kilometers north of the Gothic Line. Named for the coastal town of the same name, the network occupied a series of elevated ridges that provided a clear view of the entire Canadian front line.
To break through the Rimini Line, Canadian units would have to cross a series of heights located between several streams that flowed into the Adriatic. On each ridge, German defenders commanded the slopes rising from the valley below. Two ridges—Coriano and San Fortunato—proved to be the most formidable obstacles to overcome.
Coriano Ridge, located around the village of the same name, lay approximately 15 kilometers south of Rimini. San Fortunato, the last and highest of the elevated locations, was three kilometers southwest of the coastal town. Its slopes rose to an elevation of 479 feet and represented the last area of high ground in front of the Marecchia River, which was located behind the Rimini Line. The broad, shallow watercourse marked the southern limit of the Lombard plain, which stretched inland along the Po River toward the Swiss border.
Somewhat over-confident after quickly piercing the Gothic Line, Allied forces would not be so fortunate in dealing with their next obstacle. It would take three weeks of bitter fighting to remove German forces from their defensive positions, at the cost of considerable casualties.
Fierce resistance from German positions atop Coriano Ridge initially held up the Allied advance, forcing a temporary halt to the overall operation on September 6, until the troublesome location on the Canadian Corps’ left flank was secured. Weather soon added a second complication as heavy rains commenced the same day, washing out temporary bridges across the Foglia and turning roads into muddy quagmires.
Artillery fire on German positions, however, continued, the 2nd Field Regiment firing 4,000 rounds on September 6 in support of 1st Canadian Infantry Brigade units. While Canadian artillery units waited south of the Marano River, a squadron of German night bombers attacked their locations, inflicting casualties on five different nights. German anti-battery fire also targeted their positions between the Misano spur and Conca River, where guns firing on Coriano Ridge were located. Forward artillery observation posts were also hard-hit during the pause.
Finally, on September 9, a new battle plan was put into effect. The 1st Canadian and 5th British Corps were assigned the task of capturing Coriano Ridge. The 5th Canadian Armoured Division and 11th Canadian Infantry Brigade would attack from the Besanigo spur, clearing the northern edge of the ridge, including Coriano village. Meanwhile, the British 1st Armoured Division would attack the location from the left.
The 1st Canadian Division would then secure a bridgehead across the Marano River and the high ground beyond, where the villages of San Lorenzo and San Martino, on the right flank directly south of Rimini, were located. Once in Canadian hands, the 1st Canadian and 4th British Divisions would establish bridgeheads across the Marecchia River, behind the Rimini Line.
The attack on Coriano Ridge commenced at 6:00 pm September 12 with a 1st British Armoured Division advance on the left, followed by the 11th Canadian Infantry Brigade’s assault to the right at 1:00 am September 13. A total of 23 Canadian artillery units, including the 2nd Field Regiment, supported both maneuvers. The Canadian battalions methodically cleared the ridge during the day but encountered stubborn resistance throughout.
While the 3rd Infantry Brigade secured San Marino on the western side of the Canadian line on September 15, it took three more days of hard fighting for the 2nd Brigade to secure the village of San Martino on the eastern side, south of Rimini. While the battle raged, Allied commanders prepared for a major assault on German positions atop San Fortunato Ridge, southwest of Rimini.
The ridge consisted of a network of dugouts and several gun emplacements equipped with Panzer tank turrets. A winding, sunken road ran the length of the village. Years of use had worn the track down to a depth of six meters in places, with earthen banks and shale on its sides. The feature provided excellent cover for German soldiers and equipment.
Artillery units assembled in strategic locations in preparation for the attack. During the early hours of September 17, Canadian field and medium batteries concentrated harassing fire on the ridge and roads leading into and out of Rimini.
At 4:15 am September 17, the 4th Canadian Infantry Division advanced up the ridge’s left edge, with support fire from five field regiments. As the day progressed, all artillery resources assisted the Seaforth Highlanders’ advance into San Martino. Despite the fire power, the infantry made it no further than the Ausa River, a small, insignificant stream the size of a small ditch, located along the ridge’s base.
The following day, the situation remained unchanged. Finally, at 6:30 am September 19, two 2nd Brigade battalions advanced up the ridge, supported by an artillery barrage that lifted in stages. The soldiers were thus able to maintain a wall of fire 600 meters in front of their location as they advanced. It required six hours of supporting fire for the units to reach their objectives.
By daybreak September 20, the Loyal Edmonton Regiment and Seaforth Highlanders had reached the crest of San Fortunato Ridge, while the Royal 22e Régiment and West Nova Scotia Highlanders on their left consolidated positions captured earlier in the night.
Infantry units called in artillery fire throughout the day to break up German counterattacks. Realizing that the ridge was lost, enemy forces retreated across the Marecchia. By nightfall, advance Canadian units had crossed the river in pursuit. The following day—September 21, 1944—Allied forces occupied the town of Rimini.
The extent of artillery fire throughout the fighting was unprecedented. The 3rd Canadian Field Regiment, for instance, fired a daily average of 2,800 rounds per gun over its 23 days in the line. From September 8 to 21, Allied forces in the Rimini area had fired 1,470,000 rounds of ammunition.
After two weeks of hard fighting, the 1st Canadian Division withdrew from the line for a well-deserved rest. On September 27, Josie and a group of his 2nd Field Regiment comrades managed to obtain passes to Florence, approximately 160 kilometers west of Rimini.
Heavy rains had blanketed the area for several days. As the truck carrying the gunners to Florence passed along a mountain road, the vehicle overturned and plunged into a ravine near Urbania. Gunner Andrew Joseph McFarlane and three of his 2nd Field Regiment comrades—Jack Crossman, Summerside, PEI; Edmund Gearey, Preston, Lancashire, UK; and Nicholas Ponasuk, New Westminster, BC—were killed in the incident.
On October 12, 1944, military authorities sent a telegram to Josie’s mother Annie, informing her that “Gunner Andrew Joseph McFarlane [was] officially reported died date not yet available as result of accident.” Once weather and road conditions improved, investigators were able to visit the area and determined that the four deceased soldiers were buried in “a civil cemetery somewhere near Urbania.”
A subsequent letter to Annie, dated November 2, 1944, confirmed the date of Josie’s death as September 27, 1944. His remains were re-interred in Arezzo British Empire Cemetery, Arezzo, Italy, on July 27, 1945. Annie Jane McFarlane passed away at Williams Point, Antigonish County, on March 28, 1962.
Thanks to Gunner McFarlane’s namesake Joe McFarlane, Williams Point, who provided a picture of Josie and information on the McFarlane family.
Antigonish Cenotaph Project II 