Leslie Reid's parents Walter Reid (b. ca. 1893) and Florence Emily Wright (“Florrie”) (b. ca. 1896) married on April 16, 1919 at St. John's Garrison church that stood on Wellington Street near Bathurst and they both lived nearby in Clarence Square. They had been born in England – Walter, in Holloway, a suburb of London and they came to Canada as children with their families. Walter served in World War I with the 48th Highlanders and had his hearing damaged on the batllefields of France. In 1920 the couple had a daughter Ellen Sarah and then Leslie was born on February 5, 1921 in Cochrane, Ontario. His father was working as a farmer.

 

By 1927 the family had moved back to Toronto, to 670 Woodbine Avenue. Walter was employed by Toronto's works department. Ellen and Leslie started at Norway, with Leslie in Grade 1. A brother and sister were added to the family: Victor Alexander in 1929 and Florence Shirley in 1930.

 

Leslie graduated from Norway and attended Danforth Tech from 1936 until 1939. He played left wing in hockey and was a good public speaker. He was involved with the Boy Scouts at St. John's Norway church and ultimately became a scout leader. Leslie sang with the Beaches Youth choir. In his first year at Danforth, Leslie began an apprenticeship with a mechanical dentist on Greenwood Avenue, which continued until he joined the infantry in 1940.

 

In 1939, Leslie joined the reserves for The Governor General's Horse Guards. He applied to the army's dental corps, but was getting tired of waiting to be called up. Leslie had a good friend, Maurice Stone, who lived on Kenilworth Avenue. Maurice had his junior matriculation from Malvern and although he was only sixteen, he was joining the army. Leslie enlisted with him on July 3, 1940.

 

Leslie and Maurice had basic training at Camp Borden. In September Leslie spent a week at Toronto's Christie Street veterans hospital, suffering from a slight concussion, which probably happened during training. He had a week's leave in January 1941 prior to embarking from Halifax to Britain. On February 28, he and Maurice landed at Gourock, Scotland, at the mouth of the Clyde River.

 

They were soon shipped south to the Canadian Army Camp Witley, 65 kilometres southwest of London, to be trained for a raid on the French coast. At the time, the Allies' position in the war was bleak – in June 1940, the British had been forced out of Europe at Dunkirk and early in 1941, the Allied Army in North Africa had been pushed back to Egypt.

 

Leslie and Maurice had been with the Canadian Infantry Holding Unit but in May they were transferred to the Royal Regiment of Canada, a unit mainly comprised of Toronto men. Leslie was assigned to B Company, 12 Platoon of the regiment. The two remained at Whitley for more than a year and life must have become boring. Leslie's files indicate that starting in October, he would return late from leave, having his pay docked. He had several infractions, including not being on parade on Christmas Eve. His behaviour improved slightly when he was made batman to Captain Frederick Nicholls. A batman is the personal assistant to an officer, looking after his personal uniform and equipment. Sometimes he would be the officer's driver. In combat he would be a bodyguard to the officer and would dig the officer's foxhole, leaving the officer with time to lead his unit.

 

By May 8, 1942, Leslie was also a server in the officers' mess. Operation Jubillee was being drawn up. It was to be a raid on the French coast at Dieppe, utilizing mainly Canadian troops. By May 20 the 2nd Canadian Infantry Division had mobilized to the Isle of Wight, off England's south coast, for intensive training for an amphibious landing in July. Leslie made friends with a family in Clearwater, on the island's west coast. Poor weather in July forced the raid to be delayed, although some leaders felt it should have been abandoned. It was decided to embark in August instead which came as a shock to many of the men, who felt that the Germans would have known about the raid by then.

 

On August 18, 1942, 5000 Canadians, 1000 British and 50 Americans set out from Newhaven on England's south coast to cross the English Channel to Dieppe. (See the Roy Elson Walker biography for a more detailed description of the operation.) The plan was to land before dawn at 0400 hrs through smoke screens. There was a 20 minute delay because some of the ships encountered a German convoy and were fired upon. When the men landed on the beach, the Germans were alerted and the smoke screens had dissipated. The Royal Regiment of Canada was tasked with Blue Beach, to the north of Dieppe. It was a pebble beach with a sheer cliff above. The Canadians were sitting ducks on the beach. The last time Leslie was seen was clambering over the esplanade wall. The losses were horrifying and only six percent of the men who landed returned to Britain that day. Maurice may have witnessed Leslie's death. Maurice was taken prisoner as was Captain Nicholls who was wounded. In a letter to his parents from his prisoner of war camp, Maurice wrote of Leslie's death, which his parents conveyed to Leslie's family. Leslie's remains were never recovered.

 

Thirteen alumni of Danforth Tech fought at Dieppe. Only two returned to Britain following the raid. Seven were taken prisoner and four were killed, including Leslie.

 

Leslie's name is listed on the Brookwood Memorial, in Brookwood Cemetery, 25 miles south of London, England.