Name/Title
Captain Lloyd George Rupert, MC, (1918-1970) - Commander of No. 84 Light Aid Detachment, RCEME, attached to our 22 Canadian Armoured Regiment (The Canadian Grenadier Guards)Description
Part of the Lieutenant Michael A. Hayes-Rivet (MHR) Trust Collection
*** FOR ARCHIVE PURPOSES ONLY - ARTIFACT NOT PART OF MUSEUM COLLECTION ***
Captain Lloyd George Rupert, MC - Commander of 84 LAD (Light Aid Detachment) assigned to the 22nd Canadian Armoured Regiment (Canadian Grenadier Guards).
** FIRST MEMBER OF A CGG UNIT TO HAVE A BUILDING NAMED AFTER HIM - Camp Borden
His citation for his Military Cross which was awarded on 27th of July 1946 reads as follows:
"The teamwork of officers and other ranks and the value of battlefield support is typified by that of 84 LAD attached to 22 Canadian Armoured Regiment, the Canadian Grenadier Guards."
'In Cintheau, Normandy on 8 August 1944 the regiment had harbored after losing 17 tanks to mines and anti-tank fire. Although all other armoured recovery vehicles were pinned down by a hellish concentration of high explosive and 88 mm fire, Sergeant K.F. Larochelle, crew commander of the armoured recovery vehicle of 1 Squadron, pressed on and by skillful maneuvering reached his squadron's tanks. After servicing them, he devoted the remainder of the night to recovering a knocked-out tank, rendering it fit to fight the next day."
In the operation at Hill 195 the next day, the regiment suffered several tank casualties and when ordered to pull out there were three serviceable tanks which required recovery. The Hill was still under enemy mortar and shell fire with 88 mm guns covering the area. Captain L.G. Rupert, the LAD‟s commander, personally reconnoitered a way in and directed his recovery equipment to the tanks. He supervised the entire operation, and the tanks were successfully recovered. He did the same thing on several other occasions during the campaign.
Again, in Belgium at Wouwsche Plantage near Bergen-op-Zoom on October 23, 1944, he was called on to effect recovery of several tanks temporarily out of action due to mines. The woods north of the railway track contained machine gun positions and mortars. Captain Rupert, without considering his own safety, personally directed and supervised the successful recovery of these tanks.
Meanwhile, Sergeant Larochelle was given the task of recovering two disabled tanks behind the enemy‟s forward positions. Realizing the anxiety of the crews marooned in the enemy‟s midst, he immediately moved forward with his recovery vehicle. Reaching the disabled tanks, he jumped down from his vehicle, adjusted the towing hitch and was about to mount his own vehicle when a veritable hail of shell fire descended on their position, cutting the towing hitch to ribbons. When the shelling slackened off he rallied his crew, improvised a new towing hitch and recovered both tanks in the face of a terrific crossfire.
Later, on 1 March 1945 in the Hochwald Gap he snatched two slightly damaged tanks back from a forward slope under direct observation of enemy anti-tank guns. Only the boldness of the move and the skill in hitching and getting away made the venture successful.
Sergeant Larochelle was awarded the Military Medal for consistently displaying the highest qualities of leadership. His fighting spirit continually drove him to tasks “beyond the normal call of duty, setting an example to every man in 22 Canadian Armoured Regiment.”
Captain Rupert was awarded the Military Cross because 84 LAD‟s excellent record, due to his leadership and executive ability in effecting repairs, recovering equipment, making modifications, improving equipment and maintaining guns, had kept his “Regiment in a state of fighting efficiency by virtue of its being able to maintain in the field a maximum number of fighting vehicles for all operations.”
(On a warm, sunny August day 50 years later, friends and family of Captain Rupert gathered at Camp Borden for the formal naming of the newly renovated workshop building. As part of a short, simple ceremony his widow named the building the “Captain Lloyd George Rupert, M.C. Building” in his honour.)
Source: The Story of Electrical and Mechanical Engineering in the Canadian Armed Forces up to and including the 50th Anniversary of the formation of the Corps of Royal Canadian Electrical and Mechanical Engineers by Colonel Murray C. Johnston, 1995Context
Of the 26 CGG Gallantry awards received during WW2, (9 of which were Military Crosses), Captain Lloyd George Rupert, MC, commander of No. 84 Light Aid Detachment, RCEME, attached to our 22 Canadian Armoured Regiment (The Canadian Grenadier Guards) was a recipient for courage and bravery in the field!Created By
Lieutenant Michael Hayes-Rivet, retired.Create Date
January 6, 2022Updated By
Lieutenant Michael Hayes-Rivet, retired.Update Date
May 30, 2025
![RCEME troops work to repair the track on a Sherman tank in heavy rain, near Geilenkirchen, Germany, 25 November 1944. [© IWM (B 12087)]](https://d8e7jbdw4fu0e.cloudfront.net/7470/110698f0-6e8a-11ec-aa09-2108c3e65972-wxWXe09.lg-nt@2x.jpg)