Rupert Joseph Clancy was born June 16, 1919, in Chatham, Northumberland County, New Brunswick, the son of Donald (Daniel) Clancy and Mary (Duplacey). He was one of seven children. The family was of Irish, French, and Scottish descent and attended the Catholic church. A brother David had died as an infant and their mother died in 1925 when Rupert was five. Records show that Rupert left school at age fifteen and worked in the lumber business for John Dickeson in nearby Napan. These were the Depression years, it was common to leave school at a young age, and he was lucky to find work.

Canada declared war with Germany in September 1939 and the following June, Rupert enlisted for active service with the North Shore (New Brunswick) Regiment. In the army, He was now making $1.25/day and he assigned $20/mo. to be sent home to his mother. The next thirteen months were spent training at Newcastle, Sussex, and Aldershot Nova Scotia. On July 18, 1941, the regiment sailed for Liverpool on the Duchess of York. Now in the United Kingdom, the regiment spent almost three years in intensive physical training and rehearsing beach landings throughout England and Scotland. In May of 1944, it became apparent that something big was about to happen. The North Shore (NB) Regiment, as part of the Canadian 3rd Division, had been selected to be part of the first wave of the invasion of France. Ross Munro, a well-known war correspondent for the Canadian Press, wrote that the rest of the Canadian army now viewed the 3rd Division with awe. Many now referred to them as the “death or glory boys,” and Division estimated their losses on the beach at 50%.

On June 5, 1944, after a delay due to bad weather, Rupert boarded a British Navy ship in Southampton, England, with A Company, No. 1 Platoon under the command of Lt Fred Moar. In the evening of June 5, 1944, they began crossing the English Channel and heading for the beaches of Normandy. That night every soldier was given a letter of encouragement written by General Dwight Eisenhower, supreme commander of the invasion. Lt. Fred Moar, commanding officer of Rupert’s platoon, then had every member of his platoon sign the back of his copy of the letter. On D-Day (June 6, 1944), Rupert landed in Normandy near Saint-Aubin-sur-Mer with A Company under the command of Major Archie MacNaughton. A and B Companies were the first units to come ashore. At about 8 a.m. their landing craft doors opened and the men poured out under heavy fire. They scrambled over barriers and mines and ran for the security of the seawall. A Company now made its way to a gap in the wall. Already they had suffered heavy casualties. Using explosives, they blasted a path through the bales of barbed wire covering the gap and were into the village and fighting house to house. It was now discovered that the houses were protected with mines and booby traps, and snipers were everywhere. In addition, many of the buildings were connected by underground tunnels or trenches allowing the Germans to escape and reposition themselves. But with repeated efforts using grenades and flamethrowers, they cleared the houses and the streets. The War Diary records that by 11:15 a.m. the German defenses had been eliminated, all Company objectives had been achieved, and the NS(NB)R was in control of Saint-Aubin. Historian Will Bird wrote that A Company had suffered twenty-nine casualties securing the beach and clearing the town. Records show that Pte Rupert Joseph Clancy was killed on the beach. He was twenty-four years of age. Later that same day Major Archie MacNaughton was killed at Tailleville.

For his service to Canada, Pte Rupert Joseph Clancy was awarded the following medals; the 1939-45 Star, France and Germany Star, Defense Medal, War Medal 1939-45, and Canadian Volunteer Service Medal with Clasp. Pte Rupert Joseph Clancy is buried in Beny-sur-Mer Canadian War Cemetery in Calvados, France, Plot I. B. 3. His name is also engraved on one of the D-Day monuments that stand along the seawall in Saint Aubin-sur-Mer.