105mm vs 75mm Sherman

[Patrick Johnson]

I am very proud to say that the Troop Sergeant in this report is my uncle, Sgt. Gordon Fraser Johnson, who was not only the Sgt. that was flown to England along with a Troop Officer (Lt. Stanley W. Phillips) to learn the workings of the 17-pdr, but was also the tank commander who was involved in the action at Bulgaria. He was later killed in this tank near Barneveld, Holland on April 16, 1945, in one of the last major combat engagements of the LdSH in Holland. He was posthumously awarded the U.S. Bronze Star in 1946 for this action; a medal I now have proudly in my possession after my father gave it to me for safe-keeping.
On another note I am very pleased to see the Strathcona War Diaries have now been digitized. Inter-library loans were discontinued a number of years ago between public libraries and the Public Archives of Canada, which made a trip to Ottawa necessary if one wanted to view the material. Let's hope more WWII material becomes available over time.