• Normandy Massacres

Date of birth:

April 21st, 1924 (Haileybury/Ontario, Canada)

Date of death:

June 11th, 1944 (Buron-Authie/Somme, France)

Buried on:

Commonwealth War Cemetery Ryes
Plot: II. Row: D. Grave: 4.

Service number:

B/135342

Nationality:

Canadian

Arthur Richard Hugh Hancock, known to family and friends as “Dick,” was the son of George Henry Hancock and Clara Alice Dorothy Hancock. He grew up in the Temiskaming region, attended school in Haileybury, and was part of a close-knit community.

Hancock enlisted in the Canadian Army on 3 November 1942 in Toronto. He was assigned service number B/135342 and joined the 1st Hussars (6th Armoured Regiment), Royal Canadian Armoured Corps. The 1st Hussars were a reserve regiment from London, Ontario, mobilized for active service in 1940, and by 1944 they were equipped with Sherman tanks as part of the 2nd Canadian Armoured Brigade.

As part of the 1st Hussars, Hancock landed in Normandy in June 1944 during the Allied invasion of France. The regiment played a key role in supporting infantry advances inland from Juno Beach. On 11 June 1944, just days after D-Day, Hancock was reported missing during the fighting near Authie and Buron, north of Caen.

Later testimony and research revealed that he had been taken prisoner by elements of the 12th SS Panzer Division “Hitlerjugend.” Along with other captured Canadians, he was executed by his captors—shot in the back after being marched away under the pretense of release. His death was part of a series of war crimes committed by the division against Canadian soldiers in Normandy.

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• - Canadian Virtual War Memorial (Veterans Affairs Canada)
  - Haileybury Heritage Museum

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