Corporal E.E. "Duffy" Gendron with his parents George and Anne Gendron.--PHOTO COURTESY ESPLANADE ARCHIVEs
Duffy the tank made news this past summer when graffiti was found on the Second World War Sherman tank located in Riverside Veterans’ Memorial Park, just after it had received a fresh coat of paint and a new plaque. Vandalism to property is always shameful but this act disrespected and dishonoured the man for whom the tank is named.
On Sept. 9, 2017, the Sherman tank in the park was given the name Duffy, after Corporal Edward “Duffy” Ernest Gendron. During the Second World War, Edward Gendron was with the 29th Canadian Armoured Reconnaissance Regiment (South Alberta Regiment). During the later days of the Normandy invasion, also referred to as D-Day, Corporal Gendron was commanding a tank that came under Nazi attack on Aug. 10, 1944, resulting in his death.
In 1967, the SALH donated a similar 1945-built Sherman tank to the city, driven into Riverside Veterans’ Memorial Park by SALH personnel. Fifty years later the SALH honoured one of their own by personalizing that tank with Corporal Gendron’s nickname, “Duffy.”
Much has been written about the tank in the park, but little has been disclosed about the man behind the tank. Edward “Duffy” Gendron was born near Leader, Saskatchewan on July 12, 1920. He lived in Prelate for three years before moving to Medicine Hat with his parents. As a child, he attended St. Louis school. As an adult, he worked at Maple Leaf Mills as a flour packer.
Edward was of French-Canadian heritage. His father George, born in Quebec, had French-Canadian roots dating back to the early 1800s in Sherbrooke, Quebec. George headed west in the first part of the twentieth century, meeting and marrying his wife Anne in Prince Albert in 1911. Their young son Edward was speaking both English and French before he could read and write.
Edward was living with his parents when he enlisted on June 7,1940 with the South Alberta Regiment. His medical record indicates that he was not a big man. The military had high hopes that Gendron would “likely improve in weight” as noted in his medical examination.
His small stature may have been an advantage when confined to the cramped quarters of a Sherman tank. He served for four years before he was killed in action. He is buried in the Bretteville-sur-Laize Cemetery, located sixteen kilometres south of Caen, France.
Buried here are those who died during the later stages of the battle of Normandy, the capture of Caen and the push to close the Falaise Pocket which resulted in the liberation of Paris. How poignant that the young French speaking man is buried in the country of his paternal ancestors.
Edward “Duffy” Gendron will forever be commemorated by the proud Sherman tank bearing his name. But he is honoured twice in the same locale.
Engraved on the nearby Cenotaph is “EE Gendron,” one of 82 names of fallen soldiers from World War II whose remains are buried overseas.
Sally Sehn is a past member of the Heritage Resources Committee, City of Medicine Hat
