Joseph Cyril Laverne Jocque

Joe was born on April 11, 1919…the only boy of five children of Agnes Buchanan and Joseph Jocque Sr. His four sisters were Edna, Lyla, Lorraine and Eleanor. The family moved around a fair bit and like many families of that era, they struggled to make ends meet. The last house Joe lived in with his family was located at 40 Agnes St. in Acton.

Joe was 20 years old when World War II started and he knew it was not something with which he wanted to become involved. Joe was a quiet, gentle soul and could not imagine the horrors of war. It was three years later when he received a letter in the mail requesting that he join his fellow Canadians in the fight overseas and in early 1942, Joe enlisted in the army.

Joe joined the Princess Louise Dragoon Guards, Fourth Regiment and marched out of Ottawa. Joe sailed from Halifax on the SS Letitia, up past Greenland and Iceland to land at Greenoch, Scotland. The trip was stressful, with destroyer ships following them and then a submarine detected off the stern. Seasickness plagued Joe for days when they were halfway over. On July 25, 1942, Joe wrote in his diary “food bad, accommodation crowded, will be in danger zone tomorrow”. The next day Joe noted that their ship was attacked by a U-boat at noon and at 5 pm. They destroyed the first U-boat and damaged the second…it was Joe’s first taste of seeing the lives of his fellow humans obliterated.

Joe remained in the UK to continue his training, mortar and assault courses, through 1943. In August 1943, Joe moved by train and boat past Portugal, Spain and onto Sicily, eventually crossing the Messina Straits into Italy. Joe writes about this trip…a boxing contest on board the ship, a train blowing up in front of them…he writes of the beauty of the countryside…enjoying 400 miles of winding roads on the way.

Joe served as both RECCE (reconnaissance-the role of scouting ahead of main forces to gather intelligence on enemy positions, terrain and strength) and as a foot soldier in the infantry. By spring of 1944, many RECCE were transferred to infantry due to heavy losses in prior battles. In January 1944 Joe served for six weeks in the infantry division, and by July 1944 Joe received bad news…he was converted from RECCE to infantry. In August Joe wrote about the lowered morale of the regiment as they were “training for gothic line battle, dull prospects”. In September they entered the “gothic” line battle and Joe wrote only a few horrific, graphic words that day … “many died, what a shambles”.

Joe’s regiment moved onto France in early 1945, training and traveling, traveling and fighting, fighting and training along the way. In January four men from their troop were taken prisoner from the outpost during the night…Joe never writes of them again.

Joe’s regiment moved frequently, across France in March, though Belgium and on to Holland by April. Joes noted in his diary “big news coming, hope so”. The last page in his diary is dated May 1945 and reads “Cease fire at last, where to from here? Moved up to Rotterdam. Thankfulness of Dutch people compensates for the past”.

Joe served as a Corporal and earned the 1939-1945 Star, The Italian Star, the France/Germany Star, the Defence Medal and the Canadian Voluntary Service Medal and Clasp. He served in the United Kingdom, Central Mediterranean and Continental Europe. He was officially discharged on November 13, 1945. His discharge papers note that his eyes were brown and his hair blue…which of course is backwards.

After the war, Joe expressed an interest in carpentry and the army paid for him to go to school and learn that craft. Joe came back to Acton and married Helen McLellan in June 1951 and they had three children Shirley, Glenn and Marie.

Joe liked to work for himself and contracted to work for the Post Office, delivering mail to RR# 3 and RR#4 in Acton with his wife Helen assisting as needed. Joe did carpentry work and built his own house on the corner of Hwy # 25 and Sideroad 25, just south of Acton (the home torn down in 2025). At one time he and Helen owned the Breezes trailer park, and they also ran the Smoke Shoppe at various locations in town (John St., Main St. and the Acton Mews).

Joe died in 1990 at a relatively young age, one month from turning 71. He is buried at Fairview Cemetery in Acton. Joe was known by many in town through his various entrepreneurial endeavours, easily recognizable with his signature ivory cap that he would touch the brim of in greeting as you passed him on the street, his black glasses and somewhat large nose. We tip our hat to you Joe, for your service both as a Canadian soldier and local businessman.

Truly a Canadian Hero. His story lives on. *Submitted to Homes of Heroes Halton Hills by Marie Jocque South, Joe’s daughter.