Name: Louis George Cottreau Rank: Private Service No: F/76184 Regiment/Service: Le Regiment de Maisonneuve, R.C.I.C. Date of Birth: January 25, 1917 Place of Birth: Lower Wedgeport, Yarmouth Co., NS Date of Enlistment: November 26, 1942 Place of Enlistment: Halifax, NS Address At Enlistment: Lower Wedgeport, Yarmouth Co., NS Age at Enlistment: 25 Height: 5 feet, 8 inches Weight: 157 lbs Complexion: Ruddy Eyes: Brown Hair: Dark Brown Trade: Farmer Marital Status: Single Religion: Roman Catholic Next of Kin: Maurice John Cottreau (Father) Lower Wedgeport, Yarmouth Co., NS Date of Death: July 26, 1944 Age at Death: 28 Cemetery: Bretteville-Sur-Laize Canadian War Cemetery (Calvados, France) Grave Reference: XVI. B. 6. The 28th name on the WWII list of the Yarmouth War Memorial Listed as George Louis on official records Commemorated on page 280 of the Second World War Book of Remembrance Displayed in the Memorial Chamber of the Peace Tower in Ottawa on June 16 Louis George Cottreau was the son of Maurice Jean Cottreau (1855-1944) and Marguerite Josephine (DeViller) Cottreau (1891-1974) of Lower Wedgeport, Yarmouth Co., Nova Scotia. He was the brother of Laurent Cottreau (b. 1918), Marguerite Julie (Cottreau) Newell (b. 1921), Austin Joseph Cottreau (1922-1994), Jane Marie (Cottreau) Brown (1925-2000), Edward Charles ‘Eddie’ Cottreau (1927-2016), Marie Therese (Cottreau) Carlson, Mathilda Cottreau, and Anne Syliva Cottreau (1936-1940). George’s brother Austin also served overseas with the Canadian Army during WWII. At enlistment George was noted as being, “a well-built chap who should make headway in the Army. [He] is used to good hard work […].” His only hobby listed when he enlisted was fishing. George served in Canada between November 26, 1942, and May 13, 1943, which included training at Camp 60 (Canadian Infantry Basic Training Centre No. 60) in Yarmouth, NS, from December 5, 1942, until February 9, 1943, the United Kingdom between May 14, 1943, and July 2, 1944, and in France from July 3, 1944, until his death. Prior to serving with the Regiment de Maisonneuve beginning in July of 1944, George also was assigned for a time to the Princess Louise Fusiliers (June 18, 1943 – August 20, 1943), and the Algonquin Regiment (August 21, 1943 – July 3, 1943). Serving with the Regiment de Maisonneuve in France, he died July 26, 1944, of wounds received in action against the enemy during Operation Spring (July 25-27, 1944). Operation Spring was intended to create pressure on the German forces operating on the British and Canadian front simultaneous with Operation Cobra, an American offensive. Operation Spring was intended to capture Verrières Ridge and the villages on the south slope of the ridge. The German defence of the ridge contained the offensive on the first day and inflicted many casualties on the Canadians. Private Cottreau was initially buried at the caves at Fleut-Sur-Orne, France, in a walled garden near the bend in the river and now rests in the Bretteville-Sur-Laize Canadian War Cemetery in Calvados, Normandy, France, along with another 2,793 Canadians; 187 of which are men with ties to Nova Scotia.

Louis George Cottreau

Sources and Information: Commonwealth War Graves Commission Veterans Affairs Canada findagrave.com