A clipping from the Markdale Standard November 1, 1945 as posted December 15, 2024 to the
Markdale Standard Memories Facebook group by Helen Ward. Google extracted the following text (with minor edits) from the image of the newspaper clipping.
"Home From Overseas
A member of the 1st Hussars to return home this week after four years of army life in the front lines is "Mac" Dixon, son of Mr. and Mrs. Russel!! Dixon of Markdale, and formerly of Walters Falls. This regiment was one of three who were assigned the special task, after months of training, of forming the spearhead on the Normandy beach on D-day, and Mac is one of the few survivors of their regiment whose experiences would, no doubt, fill a book. Mac Dixon went overseas with the Ist Hussars, the 6th Armoured Regimen:, in 1941. After landing in England they were broken up, and with troops from the Grey and Simcoe Foresters and other regiments, his detachment formed the 2nd Armoured Brigade. During three years in England they were on guard duty, and for seven months were trained for the task of Invasion under the British 79th Army Division.
It has just recently "been told how their tanks were made to actually swim the channel under water, and in the crossing Mac was one who had his share of thrills as well as good fortune. By means of a canvas hood, air-filled inner-tubes and other gadgets, their steel tanks carrying a crew of specially trained men, were given the task of landing on D-day. It so happened the sea was heavy that morning and the floating tank carrying Mac with four other crew sank — which must have felt like the end of everything. But the Hussars were prepared for that, and equipped with suits much like that of pearl divers and special oxygen masks, when they hit bottom and their tank filled with water, the pressure was released and they reached the surface. Three were able to reach the floating air raft, leaving Mac and his pal still in the water. While still floating his pal met death, and Mac was picked up two hours later by a small craft of L. O. P. All went well till their craft hit a mine, and they were thrown out. Of the crew of five Mac was lucky enough to be still in one piece and to float in with the tide about two hours after the first tanks had landed on the beach.
The rest of their squadron continued on into France, and it was here that W. E. Harris was in command and was wounded shortly after he took over. At the Belgium border Mac was slightly wounded and rested in hospital for fifteen days.
When he returned to the field a new regiment was being formed to carry the infantry to the front lines — the youngest Regiment in existence in the Canadian Army, and called the Armoured Carrier Regiment (the Kangaroos). It was formed from various detachments of men and their Canadian Ram tanks with the turrets removed were used as carriers for the infantry. It was on this assignment that they went into their last attack on V-E day in Germany. It was also while carrying wounded back to the clearing station that he met Pte. Isaac Lemon, an old school fellow from Walters Falls.
After V-E day this Regiment was broken up in Holland, and he was reposted to the 1st Hussars. While there he was posted for home, and enjoyed leave in England before sailing. At the Coliseum, Exhibition grounds, in Toronto on Sunday, he received a warm welcome from his parents and other members of the Dixon family.
On one of his previous leaves in England Mac had visited the grave of his only brother, Sgt. Pilot Walter Dixon, who had been killed in England in April, 1942."
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The article is pretty accurate. The
Duplex Drive tanks are better described in Wikipedia. They did not "swim" so much as "float" and they didn't do that very well. We have visited
Juno Beach (2020) where Mac's tank, the Bold, is on display. It raised from the sea in 1971 having been a fishing obstacle fouling nets for many years. Juno was one of the several beaches at the D-Day landing of June 6, 1944. I was aware that Mac went on to serve with the "
Kangaroos" but this is the first place I've seen that explained.
William MacKay (Mac) Dixon was Reg's uncle. His middle name MacKay is his mother's maiden name. William MacKay, who he is named after, was Nellie MacKay's brother who I knew as "uncle Bill". Mac was the younger brother of my mother Margaret Dixon. She describes the family ordering:
"My brothers and sisters were Edna (1916-1959), Grace (1917-2012), Walter (1919-1943), Margaret (1920-1997), William (Mac) (1922-1999), and Iva (1925-1997). Walter died during in England training as a pilot during the war. Mac drove tanks and similar equipment during the war, he landed at D-day and returned home safely." — See
Grandmother's Album (2021) in this blog.
You may notice the date was December of 1945 when Mac returned home — VE-day was May 8, 1945. The reason for the delay was Mac was single and married men were returned home first. For more see
Going Home 1945-46 at the
War Museum. Uncle Mac went on to marry Aunt Shirley (nee King) and raised four children: Nancy, Walter, Dianne and Gordon. It was Dianne who drew my attention to the Facebook posting.
