Military service
Burial/memorial information
From May 16, 1932, to December 21, 1935, he served with the Sherbrooke Carabiniers & Sherbrooke Fusiliers – NPAM – with the rank of sergeant. On the 22nd, he renewed his enlistment for three years with the Royal 22nd Regiment. On September 9, 1939, he enlisted in the regular forces of the Hull Regiment, registration number P-48789. On November 16, he sailed for England, arriving in Liverpool on the 25th. From April 16 to 21, 1940, he served with the Grenadier Guards battalion in London. Upon his return to Canada, he left for Vancouver, British Columbia, to serve with the Kiska Force in the recapture of the island from the Japanese. He returned to Canada on January 18, 1944. Returning to England on June 2, 1944, he was incorporated into Force M and on September 4, 1944, he landed in Italy. Transferred to the 4th Battalion of the Royal 22nd Regiment on October 9, he was hit by shrapnel on December 13, 1944.
''From the banks of the Vecchio, you could see the Naviglio canal, whose embankments rise to a height of about 20 feet... Trapped between two German divisions, the Regiment fought deep within enemy lines at the bottom of a pincer... The division commander decided to bypass the town [Bagnacavallo] on both sides... This was followed by a series of attacks, counterattacks, and reconnaissance missions... On December 13, Lieutenant L. Descôteaux fell under fire from an enemy detachment that captured six of his men." Histoire du Royal 22e Régiment, page 337.
He was buried on December 14 northwest of Russi along a road leading to Ravenna, in grave number 19. After the war, his body was exhumed and reburied in the British Empire Cemetery in Ravenna. He had served 1,922 days, including 1,518 overseas.
Digital gallery of Lieutenant Lionel Descôteaux
Digital gallery of
Lieutenant Lionel Descôteaux
Digital gallery of
Lieutenant Lionel Descôteaux
Digital gallery of
Lieutenant Lionel Descôteaux
Digital gallery of
Lieutenant Lionel Descôteaux
Digital gallery of
Lieutenant Lionel Descôteaux
Digital gallery of
Lieutenant Lionel Descôteaux
Digital gallery of
Lieutenant Lionel Descôteaux
Digital gallery of
Lieutenant Lionel Descôteaux
Digital gallery of
Lieutenant Lionel Descôteaux
Digital gallery of
Lieutenant Lionel Descôteaux
Image gallery
In the Books of Remembrance
Commemorated on:
Page 289 of the Second World War Book of Remembrance.
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RAVENNA WAR CEMETERY Italy
The site for the cemetery was selected by the Army in 1945 for burials from the surrounding battlefields. Ravenna was taken by the Canadian Corps at the beginning of December 1944, and the burials in the cemetery there reflect the fighting for the Senio line and the period of relative quiet during the first three months of 1945. Many of the men buried there were Canadians; one of the last tasks of the Canadian Corps before being moved to north-west Europe was the clearing of the area between Ravenna and the Comacchio lagoon. Others are Indians from the 10th Indian Division, and New Zealanders. The Cemetery also contains the graves of 30, 1914-18 War casualties concentrated in March 1974 from Gradisca Communal Cemetery , Italy and 3 other burials concentrated from other minor cemeteries in Italy. There are now over 30 graves of the First World War and 956 graves plus one Special Memorial of the Second World War.
For more information, visit Commonwealth War Graves Commission.
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