Roy Walter Coffin lived to be only 22 years old. He was born on May 11, 1922, in the small town of Nokomis, Saskatchewan, Canada. Roy grew up on a farm together with his father, Chester Daniel Coffin. He had two brothers and a sister. His mother passed away in 1929, when Roy was still a child.
He attended a public school for six years. At the age of thirteen he left school to help work on the family farm. Roy was Roman Catholic and spoke and wrote English well. Before enlisting in the army, he worked as a laborer.
On November 9, 1942, Roy joined the Canadian Army. He enlisted in Toronto, in the province of Ontario. One of his motivations was to follow his brother, who was already serving overseas with the Canadian forces. Roy received the service number B/44963 and was assigned to the Queen’s Own Cameron Highlanders of Canada. He held the lowest rank, Gunner (Gnr). In total, he served 890 days in the Canadian Army.
After a year of training, Roy was sent to the United Kingdom, where he prepared for the war in Europe. He stayed in England from April 3 to September 21, 1943. From September 19, 1943 until April 16, 1945, he fought on the European mainland. On April 13, 1945, the Battle of Groningen began.
During the fighting in Groningen, German troops retreated eastward through the Oostersluis toward Delfzijl. To assist the Canadian advance, the local resistance fighter Popke Dijkema, together with his brother and son, manually lowered the bridge at the Oostersluis on April 16, 1945, so the Canadians could pursue the Germans. However, German soldiers were still positioned on the far side and opened fire. Popke Dijkema was wounded.
Roy Coffin provided covering fire to protect the men at the bridge, but in doing so he was hit by enemy bullets and was killed in action. He was buried in the Netherlands at the Canadian War Cemetery in Holten, plot 3, row H, grave 2.
