[Mark W. Tonner]

Jim;

The following is taken from:

Up The Johns!, The Story of The Royal Regina Rifles
by Stewart A.G. Mein, pages 116 - 117

"THE ABBEY OF ARDENNES

On the night of July 7, Operation CHARNWOOD, a three division frontal assault on Caen, began with the first attempt to use heavy bombers as a prelude to an attack by the army. The air attack devastated the city. The next day, the move towards Caen began. Units of 9th Brigade took Gruchy, Buron and Authie. Ardennes Abbey was being used by the 12th SS Panzer Regiment as headquarters and was heavily defended with mortars, machine guns, and 75mm guns. On July 8, the Regina Rifles were tasked to capture it.

To capture the Abbey, Matheson planned to attack with three companies, B, C, and D, and keep still under strength A Company in reserve. Before attempting the assault on the Abbey, Gordon Brown and Major Tubb did a careful reconnaissance. They climbed a church steeple north of Rots where they were able to see the fields stretching out between Authie and the Abbey. They didn't like what they saw. The area was flat, open and devoid of cover where an attacking force would easily be seen, what si more, the defenders had the advantage of dug in defences and clear fields of fire.

The North Nova Scotia Regiment had reached Authie at 1600 hours, H hour for the Reginas' attack was set at 1700 hours. At that time of year, the sun did not set until around 10:30 so the attack would take place in daylight. B Company, under Major Eric Syme, was the first to move to the Battalion start line at Authie. As the Company went forward from the assembly area, two German machine guns opened up on the advancing troops inflicting heavy casualties. Circumstances were such that B Company received little artillery or armoured support. In spite of the concentrated machine gun fire, the company struggled through Authie and reached their first objective, some mounds between them and the Abbey. They had taken 61 casualties in this short advance.

C Company moved to its start line at 1725 hours also under heavy fire. However, it pushed on, passing through B Company's position, and struggled over the pen area towards the Abbey. They were hit with tank and accurate mortar fire which caused many casualties, including the Company Commander, Major Tubb and all the officers and senior NCOs. Only 21 men of the Company remained in action and they were forced to withdraw to B Company's position under fire.

On the left, with C Company, D Company moved forward from Authie to within 500 yards of the Abbey also under machine gun and rifle fire. Each of the platoons wriggled forward using fire and movement. Sections shifted under covering fire of other sections, and the men were forced to crawl or run in short bursts. One of the Company's platoons deployed in a left flanking attack while the other two platoons attacked under the cover of smoke fired from their own two inch mortars. The ragged platoons finally reached their objective, the east side of the Abbey, at 2230 hours.

Gordon Brown returned from the Abbey and giuded A Company forward in the failing light to help consolidate the position sustaining 15 casualties on the way. All night long, the men held on behind the wall of the Abbey, against a deadly hail of German machine gun fire from as close as 200 yards. After a fierce fire fight at first light the Abbey was secured and the Germans driven out. As the German counter fire slackened, the men's spirits were given a further boost by their uncovering of the Abbey's wine stock!

The Battalion suffered 11 officer and 205 other rank casualties, 36 of them fatal, with one missing in action. This had been the worst fighting for the Battalion since D-Day. The capture of the Abbey by the Rifles helped pierce the ring of defences of Caen. That action, and the success of the British forces on the left flank of the Canadians, forced the Germans to withdraw back into Caen itself."
**************************************************
You had asked:

I would like to try to find out ( from D-Day to his death July 08, 1944 what or where he was or how he travelled there?)

Heres a map of the Regina's movements from 6 Jun to 8 Jul 44: