Corporal Joseph Mathew Gregory was a Canadian sniper during both the First and Second World Wars. He concealed his age and joined the army at 15. He told friends he developed his later talent for sniping as a boy when he hunted in Saskatchewan. He had the use of a camera during his action in World War I and had a large collection of photographs documenting the horror he witnessed. He was from Northampton England
After his service as a sniper in France during the First World War, Gregory settled in Calgary, Alberta with his wife and worked as a labourer. Upon the outbreak of the Second World War, he re-enlisted with the newly formed South Saskatchewan Regiment on 7 September 1939 in Weyburn, Saskatchewan.
Credited with several kills, he participated in the Dieppe Raid, where he lost an eye to a ricocheted bullet.[1] His actions earned him the Military Medal "in recognition of gallant and distinguished services in the combined attack on Dieppe". Attached to the Battalion Headquarters, Gregory had been deployed four times to find enemy snipers shooting into the headquarters.[2]
He became a celebrity after his return to Canada and was employed in Canadian Army recruiting.
In the mid-1950s he worked at the RCAF base at Tofino BC and remained in the Tofino area for the rest of his life. He died sometime between the late 1950s and early 1960s. At Tofino he was an avid duck hunter and fly fisherman and taught many people these skills.
His account of the Dieppe raid appeared in Time magazine's October 26, 1942 issue, and he was also interviewed for the December 1 Hamilton Spectator.
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