Date of birth:

May 5th, 1927 (Blind River/Ontario, Canada)

Date of death:

March 2nd, 1945 (Hochwald/North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany)

Buried on:

Canadian War Cemetery Groesbeek
Plot: XIV. Row: D. Grave: 9.

Service number:

D/145624

Nationality:

Canadian

Private
Lake Superior Regiment (Motor), R.C.I.C.

Ralph Ash was one of the soldiers who took part in the actions during Operation Churchill, the attack across the so-called Hochwald Gap, as part of Operation Blockbuster. The Hochwald Gap is a narrow strip of open terrain over a high hill between the Uedemer Hochwald on the one side and the old railway line Uedem-Kalkar and the Tüschenwald on the other side. This attack resulted in a catastrophe for the Canadians. Ralph Ash went missing on March 2nd. However, one day after the attack, when the Germans had withdrawn from Xanten, Ralph was found by the priest and the regiment’s burial team. The priest mentioned that Ralph, together with Private William John Catto, had made a circumferential motion in the direction of a farm on the north side of the Gap. According to the team’s findings, they had encountered a German mortar position there, and a firefight ensued. Not only were there ten German victims, but Ralph Ash and William Catto died there as well.
Private Ralph Leonard Ash was still only seventeen years old when he was killed in action after 259 days of service.

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• - Ralph Leonard Ash | War Casualty Details 2662562 | CWGC
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  - Ralph Leonard Ash | Canadian Virtual War Memorial
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