Operation Goldflake was the code name for the move of 1 Canadian Corps and 1^st Canadian Armoured Brigade from Italy to northwest Europe in Feb / March 1945. It was previously covered in the March 2020 article: https://tankmuseum.ca/blog-post/operation-goldflake/

The February 2025 article covered the loading of the LSTs: https://tankmuseum.ca/blog-post/operation-goldflake-photo-album-part-1/. The February and March 2025 articles include photos not included in March 2020. Unlike the photos in the February article, these photos are all confirmed to be the Ontario Regiment.

All the ships arrived in Marseille, France in early March. The wheeled vehicles moved north by road in convoys, while the tracked vehicles were transported by rail. All the Regiment’s vehicles were reunited in Mouscron, Belgium by 15 March. The Regiment stayed at Mouscron for over a week.

The action picked up on 22 March when the first vehicles were loaded on transporters. The wheeled vehicles departed camp on 23 March, bound for Ewijk, Netherlands, the new location for Regimental Headquarters. On the same day the loading of the tanks on train cars began at Herseaux, to the east of Mouscron. Their destination was Nijmegen.

“B” Squadron had the honour of being the first Ontarios to engage the enemy in northwest Europe. On 26 March they fired on German-held houses. The squadron remained in combat over the next few days while “A” and “C” Squadrons carried out training with the infantry and learned to move tanks on rafts. This training was in preparation for upcoming operations.

Rod Henderson

Rod Henderson is the Regimental Historian of the Ontario Regiment. He served as a Sergeant in the Regiment and is the author of “Fidelis Et Paratus: A History of The Ontario Regiment (RCAC), 1866-2016”.