The Abbaye d’Ardenne: Remembering Westmount’s Lieutenant Thomas Windsor

Windsor was educated at Queen’s School before attending Westmount High School. After completing his studies, he began working for the T. Eaton Company in Montreal. Over the course of seven years with the company, he earned increasing responsibility and eventually became a department manager, demonstrating the leadership and reliability that would later serve him on the battlefield.

In 1937, Windsor married the love of his life, Roma Helen Jackson. The young couple made their home at 4799 Upper Grosvenor Avenue in Westmount, dreaming of spending a lifetime together. Tragically, their happiness was shattered when Windsor’s mother, Cora, died shortly after their marriage. Yet Windsor and Roma continued making plans for the future, unaware that their lives were about to change forever.

As war swept across countries and continents, Windsor made a life-altering decision. Determined to play his part in the struggle for freedom, he enlisted in the Canadian forces in Montreal in April 1942 and later became a proud member of the Sherbrooke Fusiliers Regiment, Royal Canadian Armoured Corps, 27th Armoured Regiment. A natural leader, Windsor was dependable, responsible and courageous, qualities that led him to officer training in Brockville, Ontario. There, he completed his training and was commissioned as a lieutenant.

In May 1943, Windsor embarked for England, where the long preparation for the Allied invasion of Nazi-occupied Europe began. For months, Canadian troops trained relentlessly for the day they would cross the English Channel and confront Hitler’s forces in Normandy. When the invasion finally began on 6 June 1944, Windsor went into battle with his men, leading from the front as Canadian armoured forces fought their way inland against determined German resistance. The following day, as the advance continued through Buron towards Authie, the Sherbrooke Fusiliers encountered the fanatical 12th SS Panzer Division. The fighting was fierce, and amid the chaos of battle, Lieutenant Windsor was captured.

The Abbaye d’Ardenne, an ancient religious site near Caen, had been taken over by the 12th SS Panzer Division and was being used as the headquarters of Standartenführer Kurt Meyer. On the evening of 7 June, Canadian prisoners captured during the fighting around Authie and Buron were brought there. Eleven were selected for execution. Windsor was among them. One by one, the prisoners were taken into the abbey garden. There were no cries, no pleas — only silence and dignity. Thomas Windsor, a lieutenant who had crossed the Atlantic, trained for the invasion and led his men into the fury of D-Day, was executed in cold blood. He and his fellow Canadians were then buried in the garden of the Abbaye d’Ardenne. Their bodies were discovered in 1945.

Today, Windsor lies at Bretteville-sur-Laize Canadian War Cemetery in Normandy, among thousands of Canadian servicemen who also gave their lives for peace and liberty. Beneath open skies, the wind moves gently across a landscape once torn apart by war, where rows of graves now stand in quiet formation. Each one marks a name, a story, a life lost in an unforgiving war.

When his country called, Lieutenant Thomas Alfred Lee Windsor fulfilled his duty with pride and courage. Now it is our responsibility to honour and preserve his memory, ensuring that his name is never forgotten. France will always remember the sons and daughters of Quebec who came to its aid in its darkest hour and paid the ultimate price for its liberation.

Based in France, John Dekhane writes tribute articles dedicated to fallen World War II heroes. He does this work voluntarily, with the sole goal of keeping these often-forgotten stories alive.