Sergeant Alan Zeal

Sergeant Alan Bertram Cleverton Zeal of Drumheller, Alberta, and Rosetown, Saskatchewan, died May 31, 1944, in Italy at the age of 25.

Born Aug. 3, 1918, in Rosetown, Zeal moved to Drumheller, where he completed high school in 1936 and worked as a miner before enlisting at Currie Barracks, Calgary, on Nov. 10, 1937. He served with the Royal Canadian Armoured Corps, attached to the 2nd Armoured Regiment (Lord Strathcona’s Horse), during the Second World War.

Zeal went overseas in 1941, and his regiment landed in Italy in November 1943, advancing toward Rome. In spring 1944, while securing a bridgehead over the Melfa River near Ceprano, he was fatally wounded by shell fragments.

He is commemorated at Cassino War Cemetery, Italy, and on the Drumheller Cenotaph. His medals include the 1939–45 Star, Italy Star, Defence Medal, War Medal 1939–45, and Canadian Volunteer Service Medal with Clasp.