Lest We Forget

Profile of a Marmora soldiersubmitted by Gerald Belanger

As we gaze upon the solemn cenotaph now peac~fullypositioned on the north-western corner .of the Villagepark, we notice 12names eternally etched m the steel grayside wings. .

Names alphabetically arranged as if once removedfrom an old military roll-call book: Bonter, Brawley,Callery, Linn,Maloney, Nash, O'Brien, O'Connor.Regan,Reeves, Wilson and Wright. One can almost visualizeeach soldier snapping to attention and answering his name"Here, Sir"

Located directl y above the names are the ye~rs ".1939-1945" uniformally cut deep in the garnet and highlightedin block black lithochrome.

It is during those few years that 12 of Marmora' s finestand fittest young men died for their country. They wouldnever return home again, not even for bunal purposes.

We now profile one of these soldiers:

Robert J. Wright - C4580

Robert J. Wright was born in Marmora, Ontario, onFebruary 25, 1923. He was the son of Bruce W. Wright,a veteran of World War I, who had enlisted with the 155Battalion.

In 1933, Robert was attending the second class at theMarmora Public School. His classmates that year were:Doris Bedore, Isobel Hickey, Shirley Lummis, CecilNobes, Forest Robson and Victor Neal.

Reference: Marmora Herald, July 6, 1933

By 1935, school attendance was only compulsory forchildren between the ages of eight and 14. This ruling atthe time would later assist Robert in his desire to enlist withthe Hastings and Prince Edward Regiment. .

In 1936another incident, although unrelated at the timebut one that would certainly toughen Robert up for themilitary life later on, was the fact that the local Continu-ation School did not have a proper water system. TheSchool, which had opened on September 7, 1920, was theonl y school in the County that had no pure drinking water,no place to wash and no proper toilet facilities.

Reference: Marmora Herald, July 23, 1936

By the time Robert reached his 16th birthday, he hadalready enlisted at Madoc, Ontario, with the Hastings and

> Prince Edward Regiment.As a result, he was sent immediately for military

training which was being held at the Picton fairgroundsuntil December 17, 1939. Robert left Picton by train forHalifax, Nova Scotia: then, hooked up with his Regimentwhich sailed overseas on December 23.

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Although under the required age limit (18 years),Robert was almost six feet tall and looked every bit thesoldier. Whether Robert fudged or winked at the recruit-ing officer when asked his age, we will never know.

Robert celebrated his 17th birthday with the first con-tingentofthe Hastings and Prince Edward Regiment (nownicknamed the Hasty P's) which had now settled in at theMa·idaBarracks, Aldershot Command, England.

It is believed that at the time, Robert Wright was theyoungest Canadian soldier to go overseas (certainly theyoungest from this part of Ontario), wrote the MarmoraHerald in a long detailed article on February 29, 1940.

In December, 1940, Robert wrote to thank his motherand the Marmora Community War Workers for sendingChristmas boxes to all the local boys who had enlisted.

Each box contained a Christmas cake in bright wrap-ping paper, a pair of socks, a pair of gloves, 50 cigarettes,cake of chocolate, candy, dates, gum, 10 tea bags, 2 khakihandkerchiefs, a can of chicken and a can of apple juice.

Robert wrote anotherlettertohis mother, this time fromhis hospital bed in North Africa. He writes, "I got woundedon July 15, 1943, but I'll be out of here in a few weeks andback with the boys. I just got off my motorcycle when ashell hit the gas tank and it went up in flames. I've foundout the Germans are playing for keeps. When they oper-·atedon my arm, they took off my shirt, boots, socks, wristwatch and paybook, and all I had on was my drill shorts."

Reference: Marmora Herald, August 19, 1943

The next letter his mother received was from Lieut.Robert Scott, and he writes:

"I feel it is my duty as a Marmora boy to drop a line atthis time about the passing of your son Bob, as he wasknown to us. Yes, Bob was plucked from our midst on thenight of Feb. 8, 1944, killed in action.

An enemy shell came down in the vicinity to where hissection was doing a standing patrol. I think Bob was theCorporal in charge of the section together with Sgt.Fitizpatrick of Cordova. I know you will appreciate thislittle bit of information and you will be glad to know Ihavevisited his grave and had same nicely fixed up."

Reference: Marmora Herald, March 16, 1944

On June 20. 1943, at St. Andrews United Church.Marmora, Mrs. Daniel Osbome, mother of Ray and GeorgcOsbome. (both World War II veterans) unveiled an Hon-our Roll containing over 60 names of those on activcservice from the Marmora congregation. Robert Wright'sname is on this Honour Roll, which is presently hangingon the wall just before you enter the main body of theUnited Church.

Reference: Marmora Herald, June 24, 1943

Profile of Marinora soldier:researched and complied

by Gerald Belanger

Thomas Joseph Maloney was born on June 21 sr, 1923,in Marmora Township. He was the only son of MichaelJoseph Maloney and Rose McA voy.

After the sudden death of his first wife, Lillian Eliza-.beth Cook, Thomas' father decided to sell his farm andpurchase a store and a spare building lot on Forsythe Streetfrom Mr. H.J. Clarke.

Michael first went into partnership with Charles A.McWilliams in April 1916, and later with George Forestell.Together. the two men built a modern garage on the sparelot/iimd established the first General Motors dealership inMarrnora. selling the new Chevrolet motor car that wasnow coming into general use in the village.

The Marmora Herald newspaper, on April 27, 1916,contained the following: "They are also excavating for anunderground tank which will be placed in front of thegarage about five feet below the surface of the ground. The·tank ~will hold 10 barrels and will be fitted w~h an up-to-date automatic pump."

Thomas. Maurice Margaret. and his step-sister, LillianElizabeth, would all attend the Sacred Heart Church andSeparate School in Mannora. Thomas' senior grade threeclassmates were: Thornas J. Byrnes, Thomas D. O'Connorand Frances Bertrand Parcels.

Before he enlisted, Thomas started working part-timefor T.J. Byrnes. as a grocery clerk, in his Red & WhiteStore located on Forsythe Street. He also worked at theDeloro Smelting & Refining Co. Ltd until 1942.

Thomas enlisted with the Royal Canadian Air Force(RCAF) on October Sth, 1942, at Ottawa, Ontario. Afterenlistment. Thomas would complete his military trainingto become a Wireless Operator Air Gunner (WAG) at thefollowing Canadian Military Bases or Depots:

~ Lachine, Quebec (5 MD)- Taken on Strength (TOS) - Nov. 16, 1942- Struck Off Strength (SOS) - Jan. 31, 1943;

Queen's University, Kingston (PAED)- TOS: Feb. I, 1943- SOS: April 2, 1943Calgary, Alberta, (2 WS)- TOS: April 3, 1943- SOS: Oct. 16, 1943

Mountain View, Trenton (6 BGS)- TOS: Oct. 17. 1943- SOS: Dec. 13, 1943

Lachine, Quebec, (1 Y)- TOS: Dec. 14, 1943- SOS: Feb. 14, 1944

While overseas, Thomas was promoted to the rank ofFlight Sergeant on August 29, 1944. and four months later.on December 28, 1944, he became a Pilot Officer (P/O).He was assigned to the 419 Moose Squadron (MoosaAswayita), and made at least 16 dangerous tlights as aWAG over enemy territory.

As often was the case, after tlying day and nightmissions and encountering the usual heavy resistancefrom the enemy ground ack-ack guns and/or fighter air-craft, soldiers were granted a short leave before returningto further tlying missions.

Sergeant Russell (Rusty) Hegadoren. an RCAF RearAir Gunner. also from Marmora. writes:

"In December. 1944. during Christmas week. Iwas granted short leave before being posted to No. 4Bomber Command. No. 102 Squadron. Pocklington.Yorkshire, England. This Squadron flew the Halifax

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Gelsenkirchen / Buer, Germany duringan evening attack against Scholven /Buer, GermanyAir Gunner Maloney was buried atGelsenkirchen / Buer, Germany.exhumed and reburied in theReichswald Forest War Cemetery.Kleve, Germany."

After Thomas was shot down. his family received theRCAF Operational Wings. a Certificate of his Services.his Log Book containing a record of his flights and variouscircumstances connected with them, and his rosary.

The rosary was a gift from his sister. Maurice. It wasmiraculously found by an English soldier. who mailed itback to the family still intact in its original small leathercase. It is now a treasured memory of the life of a brotherwho lived and died for the love of his country.

Thomas Maloney's name is one of the 12 eternallyetched in the steel gray side wings of the cenotaph. locatednear the shores of the Crowe River in Memorial Park. Theothers who died during World War II include: Bonter.Brawley, Callery, Linn, Nash, O' Brien, O'Connor. Regan,Reeves. Wilson and Wright.

Thomas Joseph Maloneybomber aircraft.

One of my favourite places to visit during leave wasEdinburgh, Scotland. I eventually dropped into a pub onPrincess Street to enjoy a few suds or two. and much tomy surprise was greeted by Thomas "Todds" Maloney, .there for the same reason as was on my mind.

Being Christmas, our non-scheduled meeting, mybirthday on Christmas Day, celebrating the ripe age of 19was, we decided, reason enough to celebrate.

We discussed our crew members and comparedthe Lancester aircraft to the Halifax aircraft, eventuallygetting around to chatting about what might be going onback in Marmora, and how grateful we were to the RedCross, our families, friends and church groups, for theirmany packages of gum, candy, cigs and clothing.

We wondered about the guys and gals back homeserving in the different Services. Names we rememberedtogether included: "Bud" Loveless, "Hawk" Trumble."Mac" Reeves, Phyllis Murnby, Pat Brawley, Bob andPercy Gray, and Lois Buskard. Lois and I had previouslymet when she first arrived at the RCAF Station inInnsworth, England.

After a lengthy visit, Todd and I shook hands witha final farewell and good luck and went on our separateways:'

A few days later PlO Thomas Maloney was reportedmissing in action. His Squadron declared him "PresumedDead for Official Purposes" on December 29. 1944.

In the Commonwealth Air Training Plan MuseumBook "Thou Shalt Grow Not Old" on page 416 it reads:

"Maloney, Thomas Joseph PlO (WAG)J93688 I R 188962. From Marmora,Ontario. Killed in action, Dec. 29/44,age 21. Number 419 Moose Squadron.Target Scholven / Buer. Germany

Lancaster aircraft #KB765 was hitby flak. blew up and crashed 12 milesNorth East of Essen, Germany at

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Remembrance Day Special.

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A profile ofaMarmora,----------' -:' ---------------

soldier: James JohnNaskWritten and compiled by,

Gerald Belanger

J ames J 0110 N ash wasborn on April 17th, 1908, inthe County of Somerset,Bath, England. '.

He was the son of JohnJames Nash and Anne Fell.Vel)' little is known abouthis family life. It is obvious isome-form of hardship]struck the' family in these Iearly years because J ames Iwas put in the care of the iBarnardo Homes. Thesehomes took in many chil-dren who had been aban-doned by their families. The'CreamoftheHomes' weresent abroad. Canadianfarm-ers' sons were deserting thecountryside and rushingoffto city pursuits. The farm-ers were in search of helpfor which they had a greatneed but vel)' little money.When threats of war brokeout, the emigration cycle toCanada ceased' between the.years 191p and 1919. Afterthe war, burdened with vol-ume~_oLl!~Jv _~rQhl!l!s,Barnardo's sent out its first'post-wm-party. It is believedthat James came to Canadaduring this period, He wa~approximately twelve yearsof age when he arrived atthe Barnardo Home in Bel-leville, Ontario, where hestayed a short while beforebeing sent to a farm in theCampbellford area.

On December 4,1929,James married Lena Mal)'Wells, the daughter ofRichard Henry Wells, andEliza Jane Bonter at Camp-bellford. They had three'children; Joan Gertrude,Douglas James, who died I

on August7, 1935, and Jean ,Rosalie. J ames usually,found work as a labourer Iaround the Marmora area.He helped on the construc-tion on Number 7 Highway'when it cut its way throughthe Village. The Marmora ,Herald dated October 12'and 19, 1933 wrote.

, 'An announcementvinregard to No. 7 Highway, orthat portion of it runningthrough MaI'I!10HLJ~LMa-=-doe, is expected at ail earlydate. The-route outlinedstarts at the section West of'.Marmora, constructed by,the McN anara Construction:Company a couple of years Iag;o and run,~easterly, to tb,",ej ,Village.cutting through thehill West of Crowe River;North of the present road soas to make a direct approachto the new bridge.rwhich Iwill be constructed oil thesite of the present one. '>:~

"Work on the No. 7High~way will start early in No-vember. It is estimated 1000men may be employed all

, through the winter months. "On September 11, 1939,

at Madoc, Ontario, bothJames and Robert J. Wrightsigned their military Attes-tation Papers to join. theHastings and PrinceEdward Eastern Regiment(Hasty Pees) for overseasactive duties. Wright's regi-mental number was C4580and Nash's number warC458l. ;~

On December 19, 1939,only three months after en-listment.Nashleft Montrealfor Halifax,Nova Scotia.From Halifax, he sailed to

,England. During the nextseven months J ames wouldembark and dis-embark sev-eral times from either Ply-mouth, England or Brest,Fiance.

Very little is knownabout the other members ofthe Nash family. However,we do know that while sta-.tioned in England, Jameswould often visit his sister,Gertrude. This" would ex-plain why he had to forfeitone day's pay for beingaway without leave(AWOL). Another fact dis-

I covered in his mil itaryrecords, was that on April30, 1943, and henceforth,all military fonus bearinghis name would be changedto reflect his first names asJamesJohn and not JamesAlbert Nash.

Nash deplored violenceand therefore volunteeredto a6t as 'Stretcher Bearer'throughout the war. His taskwas indeed difficult andrequired great compassionand concern as he had tocarry out his comrades frombehind enemy lines -tosafety. '

On October 22, 1943,Pte. N ash was officiallydeclared missing in action.On October 29th, 1943 hedied from pneumonia whilea prisoner of war (POW) at-Camp Stalag, 18A, Ger-niany.

He was initially buriedat Edling Cemetery in thesmall villageofSpittal, nearthe Drau River in Austria,Later he was re-interred atKlagenfurt British Empire,Klagenfurt, Austria in PlotA. Row A. Grave 12, Mili-tary records indicate 'he wasagain re-interred atVillanova Canadian Cem-etery, Villanova, Italy inPlot 1, Row C, lA. .

When N ash's wife re-ceived official notificationfrom the Director ofRecords, .Ottawa, Ontario,that her husband had diedwhile a POW, she had alittle time to grieve. Her lifewould be changed by thenews that the letter carried.She stopped receiving thatportion ,of his pay allotted

Tor family support. Instead,she received a Widow'sWar Pension. At the time,itwas about $40 per month.Even back then, it was notmuch to support herself andher two daughters. Jean wasjust starting Public :Schoolin Marmora and Jcan was ateenager.

During ,the Remem--'.brance Day Ceremonies of"November, 1978, Lena,

aged 78, laid a wreath onthe steps of the MemorialBuilding in Marmora. Lena_Na~!t, born on August 26,

, 1900' dIea'--on August 11,';1985 and is buried at theMarmora Protestant Cern-etery. She and her daugh-ters had lived most of theirlives at 12 North HastingsAvenue, Manuora, Ontario.

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Dear Editor,

Iri my itofile'of Jaril~~";;Jolm Nas!'(that appeared inlthe Marmora Herald dated INovember 7, 1998 I wrote;'"She (Mrs. Nash) stopp~d::receiving that portion of his";:pay allotted for family stip~.$port. Instead, she receiyeq'i.a Widow's War Pensloi{·?,'i:At the time, it was about.;$40 per month. ";,):'/

, I have recent lv readri~;f~article, from the' Manlloiii';':lHerald dated September·7';11939 in which if said; '>Y1

"Private soldier' s payfor~:!1939 is $1.)0 a day: w,fS";;$LlO in 1914" - , ,·"r

,:,··::tt~·. 'Ifhe has dependent;' th~;i

additional amount payab'J{<~to his \~ife is $35 a moii~h'.:~~jFor reach dependent child-the ~9!dier will receive~~lallowance of another $12:a >,month. ' , ;/frt;

..... ,..:;'4i«,In Private Nash's care,c;;

his allotment would have"been $79 per month. Thisi~lmade'·'up of the $20 fromhiS~pay 0[$1.30 a day, $35for;;1his wife,and $24 for his t\~6'Jdependent girls.~;,;;~

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1 also mtenctect to men-tion in the article on JamesNash, that a street in Mar7 'mora was named after him.,'What prevented me was the'fact that I had no informa- 'tion when that occurred. ANarticle from the MarmorafHerald dated.June 4, 195~:'~solved the' probleni. It"stated:

"Marmora's 'new 'streetsigns have been erected andthey present a smart appear~,~ance: They are clearly.;;printed in black and white."background and are about ~the most .attractive stre~t~signs we have seen any,place. . :.,;

Two new streets. Liilli"'fz;and Nash. have been naniea~~Jat the south end ofthe\iil~~i:lage. The names were _s~t:,-lected bywritirig the names'Son tl~lag~~eI.at ther0e:-!~morial Building of Mar;'jmora men who lost their:1lives fighting overseas ofi'slips of paper and dnm~ing\one out.' ",' +~C

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,Researched' andcom-spiled by Gerald Belanget.':i

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ADDITIONAL INFORMATIONArchives Record Sheets concerningDr. Barnardo,s children immigratingto Canada, indicate that James JohnNash was born on February 13th, 1910.James immigrated to Canada aboardthe S.S Caronia arriving at theMarchmont Home in Be11evi11e onJuly 21st, 1923.

byGerald Belanger

Leo lames O'Connorwas born on' October 29,191'7at Mannora, Ontario.He was one of the_eightsons and two daughters ofRichard 0'Connor and RoseCrawford. Three of the eightsons would join the Cana-dian army and serve over-seas; Richard Earl, ThomasDennis and Leo James. Be-cause of their age differ-ences, Richard Earl wouldsee action in World War Iand then train for WorldWar 11 while Thomas andLeo would go overseas dur-ing World'War 11.

Leo attended SacredHeart Separate School inMannora. His primer class-mates in September, 1923were: Margaret Reynolds,Anna Shannon, BertJohnston, Cecelia andMarion FlYDll.Leo went onand completed his four-years of schooling at theMarmora ContinuationSchool, graduating in 1934/35.

1ames Shannon' and hisbrother William officiallyopened their drug store onForsyth Street on luly 6,1933. Leo started workingpart-time as a clerk in thestore and held the job forfour years. Previous to hisenlistment, he had beencalled up under the Cana-dian National ResourcesMobilization Act of 1940(N.B.M.A) and trained atPeterborough's TrainingCentre Depot 3 for 30 daysstarting on February 19,1942.

His mother died on May7, 1941 and his father diedonNovember 16, 1942. lustprior to his father's death,Leo had enlisted on April

Profile of a Canadian Soldier27, 1942 with the RoyalRiflesof Canada, CanadianArmy (C.A.A) at Vernon,British Columbia and was .training at NewWestminister, B.C. .'

Leo was promoted to therank of Acting Corporal onJuly 18, 1942 at Nanaimo,B.C. and a full Corporal onNovember 23 at NewWestminister. On Decem-ber 29, he proceeded to No.5 District Depot (50.0),Quebec City until January6, 1943where he completedhis training before .going

'overseas. Leo left Debert,Nova Scotia on February 5,1943 and disembarked onFebruary 13 at the ,5th Ca-nadian Infantry Reinforce-mentUnit (5.C.I.R-U) in theUnited Kingdom. '.',.'

The Marmora HeralddatedApril 22, 1943 wrote;

"In a letter received fromCpI. Leo O'Connor, hewrites of having a weekend.visit:withhis youngerbrother Pte. Toni 0' Connor#C6438 who'went overseasin 1941. Leo arrived over-seas the early part of this .year. If was a happy eventfor the brothers to be to-gether again for a couple ofdays".. .'

While overseas defend-ing the Gothic Line, CpI.O'Connor suffered a gun-shot wound to the right armon May 23,1944 and spentthe next 23 days recover-ing. The Gothic Line was astrip of coastal complexsomethirty miles in depthfrom south to north. It be-gan at Metauro River andwent all the way to thecoastal town on Rimini onthe Adriatic Sea, It wasmanned by the best troopsthe Germans had in Italy.

When Leo 07 Connorreturned to active duty, thispart ofltaly has already beenabandoned as an active bat-tleground by the Allies. TheAmerican Fifth Army, theFrench Corps and the tacti-cal air force had withdrawnfrom the Gothic' Line andwere preparing for the sea-bom~'.j.Qvasion·o( southernFnfrice:~%at~eniaiIled 'ofthe Eighth Army was somereconstituted divisions ofthe defeated Italian forces,starved tor men ana weap-ons. In reality it had be-come a pauper army. How-ever, it was up to the EighthArmy's commanding of-ficer, General Leese, to con-vince Hitler that his forcesposed a threat to Austria orsouthern Germany. And so,the Eighth Army had to at-tack, again and again. Inorder to continue this de- .ception, Leese decided toattack where there-was anarrow gap less than tenmiles wide '~between' theshoulders of the Apenninesand the Adriatic Sea. OnAugust 23rd,theEighthAnny reached the Matauro.River and on August 25th,three hundred guns ithun-:dered along the Front TheFirst .Canadian Division

cr?ss~ the river valley sixnules inland near the Adri-atic Sea. The opening of thebattle went smoothlyas bothCanadian Divisions crossedconfidently and easily.upthe slopes of the massif. Onthe high ridge to the norththe Germans waited unde~tected. With an unheard oftarget before them, the en-emy observers concentratedat least thirty guns, includ-ing several 21-cm calibre,on the unsuspecting EighthAnny and at a given signalopened fire.

This is where; on August28, 1944, CpI. Leo JamesO'Connor E-52887 of thePrincess Patricia's Cana-dian Light Infantry(p.P.C.L.I) was killed inaction. His comradeswould;bury him a few miles fro~the town of Pesaro and laterhe would be re-interred andburied in the CanadianArIDy Cemetery at Ortona,Italy of .Isola del Piano,grave· one. . .

Leo O'Connor's name isinscribed in the grey gran-ite wings of the Cenotaphpresently located in the le-gion Park on the east side ofthe Crowe River. His name

. is also on his parents' up-right monument located atSacred Heart Cemetery,Marmora ..

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Profile 'of a Marmora Airman'

(Special to The Herald byGerald Belanger)

Stewart .Bon ter 's familyroots go back a long way inthe history and developmentof Marmora,

.Stewart BonterStewartMillen Bonter

was bornon September 24,1918 at Marmora, Ontario.Stew art. attended Beaver'Creek Public School No. 5

. ;' and later attended MarmoraPublic School from 1925until 1931. His MiddleSchool Classmates were,Floyd Loveless, D.onaldPrentice "andIda Kouri.Stewart completed his edu-cation at the MarmoraCon-tinuation School in 1937. In

'the summer of 1937, Stewartwent to the' Gal t VocationalSchool to study machineshop and drafting. After thathe .worked at his father's'Marble & Calcium Companyfor a few years.' In 1939,and for the next three years,Stewart worked as a toolsetter and was ,the Produc-tion Foreman In the. largemunition case department atthe Canadian Defence Indus-tries .at Brownsburg, .Que-:bee. " .•... :" '.' . :" -: Enlisted in 1942

Stewart enlistedin theRoyalCanadian Air Force(R.C.A.F.) on November 3,1942 at Montreal, Quebec.it's worth noting thatStewart had previously triedto enlist in the R.c.A.F. onSeptember 1939 at Trenton,Ontario. After completinghis basic training, manningdepot and. other .similarcourses, Stewartleft QUebecand returned to Ontario. Hefinished the Elementary Fly-ing .7ni.ini.ng· " School(E.F.T.S.)at No. 2, Oshawa,nT'l+., .•..;f"\ "',., ""'f"'h~,,""'" 10A1

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Stewart Millen BonterHe went to St. Hubert's,Quebec to take the Service

·Flying Training. Shool(S.F.T.S.) No. 13, finishingon March 19, 1944. on Feb-ruary 25, Stewart Bonter re-ceived his Commission asaFlyingOffice (F/O) at St.Hubert's, Quebec. The Mar-inora Herald wrote the fol-lowing i..

"After" taking initialtraining at McGill and Bel-leville and Elementary Fty- .

· ing at :(jshawa,' StewartBonter, son of Mr.. & Mrs.John Bonier ofMarmora,Township, received his Wingsand Commission at St.Hubert's, Quebec, last week. .

He is a graduate of thelast class ofPilots to betrained there. (It is now con-nected with Perry CommandManning Pool, etc.) He willcomplete his training (Com-mando Course) at Maitland,

. Nova Scotia before goingOverseas". .

Two storiesThere are two versions as

to how Stewart Bonter wasshot down while flying overGerman skies. :This is theCanadian military's versionas found in the book "TheyShall Grow Not Old" andpublished by the Common-wealth Air Training Plan

·Museuni Inc., Brandon,Manitoba, Canada>.

- ',' -Official 'Version .. On March 'J5, 1945.

:while flying over BactGrund,Germany: during a night at-tack against Misburg, Ger-many, Stewart's aircraft washit. ;The Lancaster aircraftNo. NEII9 was piloted byLeslie . Norman .Laing.Stewart Banter was the navi-gator 'when the 'aircraftcrashed after being hit. Othercrew-member on 'NE119were: . 'FiL Leslie NormanLalng(PlIot), F/)Doriald:Geo.rge·.·:SIilith '. (Bomb;:N.ill~r),F/O "lIyde,}li.Sgt'FrancisJosepbMarsh (Air~Gumierr3.nd R:A.F. :St D.;~O!9ARk_~*·JF}.~ghtp.ngi ~c

p.e~t)/; ...;.:-:;...Bonter,.and~ColqUh9Ui(hadorlgiIiail y_beenpost~.d ,to'N~"432Leaside S~~o~(S.aeitir ,MLucem) but ~t_the time weretemporarily' attached to No.

.405 Squadron.: Killed in the

.crash·:w,ex:e:' : Bo'i1terand,CQJquh~~.L}ung, srllithari<:t~;,,!sch were' capturedsh?r.!Ij~'~er -,~_e_c(as~~~dshofby the Gestapo. 'Hydewaswith an Evader or takenas a Prisoner of War(p.O.W.). '

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'~:;:~,:.,~l1Jrotlier's'story ",:,}"'~",'H6w~vet~iccordiiig :to'Eldoii"J3B'nte'r~"Stewart'sbrother, who was' also sta-~tionedOverseas 'at the time,',an'AiI~'&.i,'h,icendlarY bomb'hadbee' acdqentally droppedon"their aircraft: The targetthat night was a city in the

.Ruhrdistrtct of Germany,'called Hagen. .;Bonter waspiloting the Halifax BomberNo. NP689 at the time, toldhis crew niember to aban-

,don the aircraft. His crewmember were: FIO Vachon(Navigator), FIO Hinchli!1e

, (Air Bomber), PlO DarminCameron Lawton (Mid-Up-per Gunner), PlO ThomasDelmar Scott (Rear Gunner),Warrant Officer Andersen(Wireless Operator) andR.A.F. Sgt D. Colquhoun(Flight Engineer). OnlyVachon, Hinchliffe andAndersen survivied the crashand all were either Evaders'or became Prisoners of War,

Story continued,' ,• .After the war' was over,Eldon and his wife visited theHinchliffe'shome ' in

, K3Ieden, British Columbia., There, Eldon's version ofwhat had happened to hisbrotherStewart was con-

, firmed. Eldon and his wife,Margaret also visited the'gravesite of~his brotherStewart at the Reichswald

,Forest War Cemetery in'Kleve, Germany. At the

,Reichswald Cemetery"Stewart 'Bonters 'white',cross is surrounded by the, two ,crosses of his crewmembers, Lawtonand

, Colquhoun. Also buried at:.the Reichswald Cemetery is,'S<:ott.

Final letter , ..' "",,Two month beforehis

death, Stewart wroteafinalletter to his pare.~~>~~~iJ~mora:::, ' ~::'<i~:;'::~Z'\~:!'$.~-l-'~~omeho~ Ialways Im-itgin.~ I. ,shouldJear p~a~~,But not, well, I guess It ISsomething like when you areshown'a new andcompli-cated job. ' When properlytraIned it seems quite e~y.,Now I have not the slightestfear. There is only fear ofbeing i>ermanentlyinjuTe~~that is the one thing'I dread.:' '''I would likeyouto keepthe name.rBonter'ta namesynonymous withevery-thing that stands.' for, fair-ness. ,I have tried riot todis-grace it. .Remember r~going to be callingthe roll asyou come up and shall have

,your individual records be-fore me".

Love Stewart

By Gerald BelangerMarmora - Vincent

Callery was born on March28,1916, at Deloro, Ontario.His parents, Bernard BrianCallery and Beatrice EllenFeeney, were married at theSacred Heart, of MaryChurch in Madoc on June 6,1893. They raised their 12'children in the little villageoften referred to as the "Val-ley of Gold". His brothersincluded William, J oseph,Bernard, Francis, JarnesMurtagh (Murt), Michael,Frederick and Stafford andhis sisters were Beatrice,Zeta and Edith.'-.

All of the children at-te~ded the Deloro SeparateSchool and later some wentto the MarInora ContinuationSchool. Vincent graduatedfrom the ContinuationSChool in July 1933. Sub-jects taught 'in his Form' 11classes were English, Phys-ics, Arithmetic, Grammarand Zoology. His Form 11classmates in 1931 includedEdith B1!rrons,SidneyBultuc, Evelyn Bertrand,

, Elizabeth Gladneyand FordWoodhouse,

Profile of an airlDan,-

Vincent CallerySeveral of his brothers

started working at theDeIoro Smelting and Refin-ing Co. Ltd. after finishingschool. Joseph would laterservice overseas duringWorld War 1 and Staffordwould enlist in the Hasty P'sduring World War 11. His

'father also worked at the,Deloro plant for many yearsand maintained a farm lo-cated on what is now calledLajoie Road near Deloro. Thefarm was the old Hector

Auger ho'mestead. ' 'From October 1935 until

July 1941, Vincent workedat the Mclntyre Mines inSchumacher, Ontario, as amachine operator. After thathe worked for ay-ear' as amachine operator at the Gen-eral Motors plant in Windsor,Ontario. ' ':

Vincent had aiwaysdreamed of'becoming afighter pilotin the Royal Ca-nadian' Air Force (RCAF):On June:'25, 1'942, he en-listedthe RCAF at the, No. 8

" Recruiting Centre in Wind:sor, He completed his basicmilitary duties' at No. 1 Man-ning Depotin Toronto onAugust 14, '1942. From therehe headed for TechnicalTraining School (ITE ';itSt.Thomas, Ontario. After fin-ishing the TTS course. hewas sent to the RCAF sta-

, tion at Torbay, Newfound-land.

1t was during this phaseof his training that tragedystruck and ended Vincent'sdream of earning his wingsand fighting for his country.On the night of December12, 1942, a fire broke out inthe Knights of ColumbusArmy Hostel in St. John's,Newfoundland, that wasused as a sleeping, eating andrecreational centre for serv-ice men. Of the 3.50 to 400still in attendance that night,99 would perish in the fire

,and, another 100 would betreated for severe burns.

According to the PublicEnquiry, carried out by theHonoured Justice Dunfield in1943, it was concluded that:

the 'first fire warninginside the- building was at11:10; , ..

, the local military fire-fighters were on the SCene'at 11:18;

-, - by 11: 15 anybody stilltrapped inside the buildingwas already dead;

. the cause of the firewas suspected arsonin anupstairs storage area.

M~\.-R ..(\\-\\:::..a.Jh.~

\D \J~ '2....:l~1

~~.~ (l ~-t 1*)

The horror of the tragedywas brought' home to theresidents of Deloro and Mar-mora when Mr. and Mrs.Bernard Callery received of-ficial notice that their son,Vincent Callery, was one ofthose who lost _~~iE.lives inthe fire.

, Other airmen whodied included: G. D. Bellerive(lAC), G. E. Burton (ACl),E. R. Chapman (AC2), R. H.Corner (CPL), J. E. Cusack(AC2), L. E. Hoggard

,(LAC),- W~ L. Ibbetson(SGT), J. A. Lawrence(LAC), F. A. Langley (AC1),J. A; Legris (LAC), G. A.Lepine (AC1), S. Ci.Murray(AC1),J. R. Ouellett (LAC),F. J. Sawada (ACt) and J.

G, Sturgeon.In Gander,Newfound-

land, there is a small cem-eterymaintained by the Com-monwealth War GravesCommission. Over 190 menfrom Canada, the UnitedKingdom and Australia areburied there, mostly airmenwho died while training at theairbase during World War 11.Vincent Callery #R 164314-Aircraftsman Second Class(AC2) is one of those rr' ----"

He is not dead,lIe flies again, a phantom

plane. ' ' 'His hangar now eternity

gained. -On Remembrance Day

this year, let us observethose twelve names deeplyetched in the grey granite ofthe cenotaph. The names -Bouter, Brawley, Callery,Linn, Maloney, Nash,O'Brien, O'Connor, Regan,Reeves, Wilson and Wrightare Deloro and Marmoraboys who "WE WILL RE-MEMBER'.

Profile of Charles BrawleyCanadian Merchant Navy

by Gerald BelangerMarmora - The last war-

ship of the British Royal Na-vy's North Pacific ~qY.ll.drQQdeparted the Esquimalt basein 1906. For nearly 200years, the Royal Navy hadpatrolled Canadian waters,keeping intruders out and theCanadian sea lanes open.

Since Canada had pro-claimed itself an independentDominion in 1867, the Brit-i§h-s}lgg~§t~ i!!..1897_tQ!ltt~e_prosperous colonies shouldbegin to bear the cost of theirown naval defence. Thus in1910, Canada formed theRoyal Canadian Navy. OnNovember 7, 1910 the Un-ion Jack was lowered atEsquimalt and the new RCNUnion Jack was hoisted. TheRoyal Canadian Navy -about 800 officers and men- was in business. But in thenext few years, money to runthe navy and enrolment bothdeclined. Funding fell from$1. 7 million in 1910 to $0.6million in 1914. In 1914, thetotal strength of the RoyalCanadian Navy was 350.

The First World Warproved that we were a small-ship navy. It is one of the iro-nies of history that the smallcraft of the Atlantic patrolsin the First World War andthe corvettes and frigates ofthe Second World Warproved more suitable to Ca-nadians.

~ulin,gJt:0m 871 to 899,it was King Alfred who real-ized the importanceof astrong British presence atsea. When his ships were notne'ede'd"forwar purposes, hewould rent them to mer-chants to' import or exporttheir goods - thus the con-nection between the RoyalNavy -and the MerchantNavy.

Shortly after the suddendeath of his wife, ElizabethDavidson, Peter PatrickBrawley (1885-1952) wouldleave his native Bishopton,Renfreshie, Scotland andcome to Canada. Peterwould leave his sons, Johnand Charles, with an auntwhile he made his way toCanada. Peter starting work-ing immediately in Omemee,Ontario. He started with awork crew clearing a pathfor the new. telephone linesrunning through EasternOntario. It was while work-ing in the Marmora area thatPeter applied for. and wasoffered full employment atthe Deloro Smelting and Re-duction Company.

With a guarantee of yearlyemployment, Peter first mar-ried Rose Leo Doyle on April22, 1914 at the Sacred HeartChurch, Marrnora. Rose(1889-1968) was the daugh-ter of Thomas Doy le andMargaret Darrah. It wasshortly after this that Peterand Rose sent for his sons,Johri and Charles, to join thefamily and a new life in theVillage of Martnora.

In· September of 1917,John would attend the Sen-iorclass at the MarmoraSeparate. School and, in1918;Charles would attendthe Juniorclass, By 1920, aDeloro company house be-came available so the familymoved to the Village ofDeloro. It was here thatJohn, Charles (born January2', 1910), Thomas, MaryRosalie (born April 7, 1919)and Patrick J oseph (bornSeptember 30, 1921) wouldattend the Separate School in

Deloro Village.Charles Brawley always

loved adventure. As a youngman, he started working oncargo ships travelling theGreat Lakes and the St. Law-rence River system. Fromthis work experience, hemoved to larger ocean ves-sels and finally ended upworking for the Dodd,Thompson Company of Carediff, South Wales.

The shortage of escortvessels in the first year of thewar did not permit the pro-tection of convoys all theway from Canada to theUnited Kingdom. With therapid growth of the RoyalCanadian Navy, this becamepossible in 1941. However,by 1942, the German U-boats had sunk over 1,091Merchant ships in the NorthAtlantic. Enemy submarines,and armed raiders wereroaming the oceans at will.Ships carrying cargo weredetermined to get through.The safetv and timely arrivalof the convoy was the over-whelming only rule.

But the men of the Mer-chant Navy were really ci-vilians. Between 180,000 and190,000 men served in theBritish. Merchant Navy, inthe Allied Merchant Navyperhaps as many again. Thereal heroes of the Battle ofthe Atlantic were the offic-ers and men of the MerchantService. These man servedin no organized force, woreno uniform, earned no rec-ognition or awards. As civil-ians, they earned a high rateof pay than any naval man -but they endured hardshipsunimagined aboard inad-equate ships in defence ofthe terrors of the wartimeNorth Atlantic.

The SS King Alfred (Sun-derland, England) #137268had a tonnage of 5,272,length of 400 feet, breadthof 52.4 feet and a depth of28.5 feet. It was CharlesBrawley's jc:.baboard the SSKing Alfred as a Fireman andTnmmer to- constantlycheck and trim the engineboiler rooms which pro-duced the steam for the re-ciprocating or steam turbineengines.

On the night of August 4,1940, while on duty, CharlesBrawley and a crew of sevenother men we-re struck in theengine room by a Germantorpedo. Everyone was lostat sea.

As the cold November airfrom the Crowe Rivernumbs our fingers, let usreflect for a few minutes onthe 12 World War Two vet-erans whose names are in-scribed on the grey, graniteCenotaph wings:

-Bonter, BRA WLEY, Callery,Lion

Maloney, Nash, O'Brien,O'Connor,

Regan, Reeves, Wilson andWright.

~A\\-. c=:--Il.A L'-.q tJ'b-.:) "Z.o 0 "2-

~G,~ I\ ~l"L

'Profile' of a-~:i{lCaI:(Jil~adian~~ldi~r

i - .~. . . '" - .-::;-=-.""

by"Get:ald B~langer,"_,.",; Marmora ',- ':Crother

Hubert.Wilson was .bornApril 30th, '1920, atMaynooth.Ontario. He wasthe son ofWeUington Wilsonand Laura McClean.~In Sep-tember'.' 19~2; Crd~erWilson attended the-Beaver 'CreekPUblic School, ~SNo.5: 'He graduated from hisSenior In'clasS' with hon-ours.vln his class .that yearwere only, two other stu-dentsvEarl Wilkes .andTheresa' McGdlth.

On September 14th,1939,Crother Wilson enlisted atMadoc with the BaSfingsandPrince Edward R.~egirrient(H8iPR).Aftd· a-short train-ing, peri'?s! .i,~'Cah~da, heembarked for Halifax onDecember 19th, 1940. Dur-ing-the-first few weeks ofAugust, 19~1. he was eitherat.Plymouth, England orBrest, France for advancedmilitary training. PrivateWilson was also admitted tothe 9thField Ambulance Hos-pital between October 13thand zr-. 1941. On March6th,1942, he was penalizedtwo days' pay for beingaway without leave (A.WL.)for one day ,and 15 1/2hours. On August s-, 1942,he was appointed LanceCorporal.

" O[Mhe,'ce,,~mm. ;"b( De-.cernber 71i1

, 1943, GeneralYokes issued hIS' orders'-foranother crossing,of the MoroRiver. The Canadianplanscalled for an "initial two-prongedassault by the 1st

Brigade to, captureBanLeonarde andthe 2~ Brigade,to seize the divisional objec-:tive. The area waSunmimed,even on, large-scale maps ofthe area. This mile and a halflane stretching'between tan-gled vines and crooked olivetrees will alwaysbe remem-bered as "Royal CanadianAvenue" by .the Canadianswho fought at the MoroRiver. ' '

Hardly had the Royal Ca-nadian Regimeflt(R,C.R.) ,crossed the start-line on De- 'cernber '8th, when 'it wascaught hi a heavy barrage ofartillery and -mortar: fire: It ,i

was hard to keepdfr~tipn; , I

for the close visibility .wasobscured by the tangledvines, which hung in a densecurtain from wires stretchedsix feet about theground,

ID the-early hours, of themorning of December 8th,astrong counter-attack mate-rialized on the CanadianFront. :'~A" Company 'with-drew when it was pinneddownby the enemy, but "B'"Company fought 'on. TheGermans also withdrewwith heavy losses.Includingcapturing 30 Canadian pris-oners by the enemy; It was'estimated that over 170 Ca-nadians were killed orwounded' during this briefexchange.

, It is suspected that this ishow Crother Wilson of "B"Company 'YasKiUed in Ac-

"tion (K.I.A.). He wasquickly buried in an olivegrove near Lanciano, Italy.Later, Padre Goforth whohad been with the Canadian.companies at Moro River for,the past four days gave himfinal blessings. CrotherWilson was re-buried atMoro River Military Cem-etery in Ortona, Italy, inGrave 9:Row f, Plot 7.

When-the fighting Wasover on the 9111 of December,General Montgomery sig-nalled-

"Hearty congratula-tions on a day's work andon throwing back the coun-ter-attacks. "

Crother Wilson's name isdeeply inscribed in the greygranite wings of the ceno-taph located at the MemorialPark. Elgin Ray Wilson wasalso K.I.A. on September 6th,1943. Another brother,Murray Wilson, had also en-listed with the Canadian 48thHighlanders. His only sister,Mrs. Beryl Blakely presentlyresides in Eldorado, Ontario.

t\\ -PNQ.. <N\ ~«~ \-\{;:.a~\.,a \J~ 200';\» c.. \

......_-------------------_ .._- -

I

A Canadian soldier:••" " e _'.~.' _ . '.. • ~ .. ', • }~~~:}!~~~t:?F:~i~·E;~;:···;-:;~~.~-:~'7"~

~nJtl~;'''~-'a:' "·"~a:q·I:·'<.·'m·'·····"' re"S"~~'l:~_i c;r·iC':l} ~~: ~~~.~~+:.::~,!~tf~!i,;'-.;,~'f'~~i~.,~l;l':;~;(:,,,?~,i]~.Il.,l~ y.~~~~:~iByG~ra.l~8.elange(· ,,0 ;,:"- .~, ::~. • ~, • r3lre#iY.~b,~· .a argefi' ~t~·,,.. tloliri;Ne'Y.13runs-

.M~~.T.9ra ~ lames 'Yilli~n1::;' , {·~t'. in'!p-e~l!i;IifepKWMom.It,~~;,;:£1}:kJ·}:VQ~.re'theywere'servingLiiin,wasborn November 6;'. . Churchillwhowrote, on Ianu-" when Called{or dutY with the" ~ ,-- '.',' -" _. . ' ',' ~ : '-, .( ~ . ~'I', ,.. , . . ~.,- .

1~~$m¥ai~ofa. ,He:w'as'thi?: ...ary 7, ~94~:S. /,',;:' ....:<:::'e,x,p~d!~PJ1.to'Hong Kong, Atson ofWilJiarri R.Liill1(l870~.:~ , . ':Thisis all wrong. If Iapaii: . tli~,tim.e, the Royal Rifles were1845)~dMai-g:rretcOSby(l873~·~~'. . goestowar~~'u~ then!' isn~t,.;at tUn!fuli~strength 'as,abat -

" " . ". _ ,,' ~ .' • '/' "'. ...' ......', ' I .,. " r-' ", ,••. ,...•"~~</.~~''''~''L, .~ ' ..1, • .' '.

lQ4<?).,Hisfatheiwas the.Reeve ..: .: the slightest chance of holding '; tiili9n,:;34;officers and 773 oth-dfM~ora Village from i937"; :, Hong Kongor relieving it:',.··~,,· er,~:·.n. .... . ,u~ti{his'de~tl16n Novetriber:<~ .. _' Can~da.was'ask~d to send /j~'e;,L~waSam~~be~of

.,..',.' ,.' .::'\ '. L·, .",;.... " ._,',".' ,,". ' ., I .: ,~ . '.;.•."." . _~_,j • '.,

26,).9~5~<'>;~,:; .,~.<~;),;.,:,: one ortwo battalions to Hong . th~>JloyaPtf1esas they left YaJ.-.-Siblingsof'[arries included.:?: Kong. Theyagreed but did not .. cartiel]Q1,lebec,October 23 and

Claz:i'.(j895);Carrie':(I899)~Ma:-:< - knoW.of.Chmchlll's previous .' tr~yel~dby'train to.Vanc~~ver.6~1~/JW2e~~?q~)afd ~~t\.." " .r~m~ks~~'pi<s~bjec~. At ~~ \ From th~r~ they embark~d oe-Lmn (I9d7j;:B'Oth,Clara and '" ~ .. ,,::.'.•"y ....,c,'(:."',.. time, Canada did not have me -: tober Zzwith the Grenadiers on

•.•. -.!.t' . 't •• ~::.-!..: ".'~ ••.• ?.:.,., .. ~; -' ':"--,;,-,~,: .•-~.' -r-: ••.. ;.",.,' - ~."'"~;'-"., - "

'Carrie died during the !!ill!leim! _~:~yMer leavirigschool.Tames . telligence organizations of her> -the,Brifisj1 transport ship, the- -'1· -,... -". '-' ,~' " . .-.... "' .' ~ J' " '" _. • - • • ••••••••••. w·. ' .

that swept throughCanada and,;:- worked severalyears at the De- own in the Far East and relied. ·Awatea.The Canadians landedJ .; ••••, _. .:' •••• ,.... --'~,,!'----. " •••••..••.. , ••. " ."'-:'. ~ '.' ( -~ "'•• ' -•• ,.' .~ ,t. -' '~'.,'-:.,.;:w.••. -.' " .• ' .•.••

the-world in 1918. Mabel mar.:-"-jloro,Sm$ipgandRetip.ingCoJIl- upon London for such infOl1ll!l~",:onlYthr~.'Y.eeksbefore the warried'Harola P.Naylor and-died ;~tPiinY~.~f60lmilii:~gthis '. tion. On SepteIpber30, eallada'< -br:Ok~~ih{'the far ~te~ porton'JW'if2s" 1989.'~~·mar~~;: ~ri~4emar:ned·&~eR~~. agreed ~oseAd~Fhe-~~y.aIRi!l;~;~UlIi?~g·KoIig. The,first bombrled Ihomas E. Pritchard and ~ erford and a son.Prederickwas . : <!I1dthe WInnipeg Grenadiers. ;: fell on.Pearl Harbour, Decem-

',<~.'~""'-""-'- '-~""- •• ,... •...~_ ••,:.• ---!...::....: .• __ '-., ,.~,._ ..:.c,•.• I' .'i....;- .-.. .. _ -

died March i. 192Q~ :'.~' - <' born ill 1938. Iames separated Final approval was obtained' ber 7: followedshortly by at-lames waS an hon:o~ sti.l(teii~\,··from his~e'wlieri he enlisted . October. 9 ari~fthe battali~ns . r tacks on Hong Kong.

throughout his schoolyears With ,~, Withthe Hastingsand ~Ce EeI- .. arrived ill Hong Kong Noye~~ Canadian l~ at Kong Kong. '.' \ - " . . "-

the exception of 1931/32.-His ward Regiment, July 15,1940, ber 16,1941., were heavy. A total of23 offi-~arksinFonn Threeat the Mar: .. at Picton. Ontario. .The Royal Rifles of Canada '. cers arid 267 other ranks weremora Continuati~n Sch~olin. ,.: The Japanese did not enter had been mobilized on July 8, killed or died of wounds. Ofthat year SUIU<tOa low47.88per _t:li~warfor more than two years 1940, and spent the following .: these numbers were seven of-cent. His classmates thatyear .:after theoutbreak in Europe.By . yearirlN~wf6urlclJpnddoinggar-' fic~h and 123 other ranks ofwereDougl~sAir~art,){ower. ~the lirPe' the Japap.~~~attackei rispnclJ.ty.Jp.S~piember,l9411 . ' theRoval Rifles. "

..•.. \ :". .••... ,',1.",\_ t. ...'; ";'.-.',' I.. !. • '_ ~ c' '.\ ... ·c/.:.. '.' '\.-,,~, ~ ,'.~ .:~~ . ~- ----

HewittandIean Gladney, .. ix1Deeember,J941,Canada had ·they;were3ssigriedcoastdefense ;Th~\enemy committed nu-•• ••• • • • •. ), "-" ~ '- -" , , '/ ,,'. -t •• riIefotlS'act's of wanton barba-

?~~:~_~.m~y of the defend- .ers who had become prisoners.1'0>.,," <.' .

~Lv.;3f~ere.fo~? ,butchered_.to death: In the case of Private

. fartie§William Linn, #C-6368,h~Iiadhis tongue cut off ~d he.hied' t2d~th. According to hismilitary records, 'PrivateJames .LfurtwasK:IA., D~mber 23,j91it.in.H6I1g'K~ilg. . .•. Y JariieSLinrihas his name in-~.~~ ~!h7greywfugs of the.€elll>Uph'!cfcated'iP'Memo-:.' ':·' ••.--C~3!"t:""" />" .y.l~ .••·:.f\f;: ., . --:''. ,,': nal·Pcirki :ThereiSalso a street,A~~~;lilih in ili~.v~age·;Q(~9~~~f;.·{;~:,:.:;..1{;·' .:

~ AA.. '4'v\ ~ Q 1\ \\ f=l.f\L"

5 ~~\.J zoo+'td~ ~ 'f \a

PROFILE OF A MARMORA CANADIAN SOLDIERRONALD MEEHAN REGAN

OCT, 2005

Ronald Meehan Regan was born on March 12th, 1920, at theMeehan farm located north of Marmora. Ronald was the firstson of Wi:J-~iamMichael Regan and Mary Edna Meehan. Ili s fatherwas born on May 24th, 1895, at Brooklyn New York and died onApril 7th, 1968. Mary was born on February 10th, ~898, in N.YCity and died of tuberculosis on March 18th, 1928. Both areburied at the Marmora Protestant Cemetery.

Ronald's brothers and sisters included ;William Edward who wasborn on January 2no, 1922 , Helen Elizabeth born on March 2nd,1923 and Kenneth James born on February 26th, 1925. After hisfather remarried Mary Muriel Litt on July 2nd, 1929, at the St.John's Anglican Church in Peterborough, another sister was born;Eleanor Kathleen, November 28th, 1930.

Ronald passed his Upper School Examinations held at the MarmoraHigh School in June, 1938. Some of his schoolmates that year were;Ewart Haacke, John Gray, Donald Prentice, Mary O'Neill, AnnePaquet and Joyce Smith.

Prior to his enlistment on September 28th, 1940 at Kingston'sVimy Barracks with the Royal Canadian Corps of Signals (R.C.C.S),Ronald was working as a Laboratory Assistant at the DeloroSmelting & Refining Company.

Ronald's family were military peoplE. His father served with the58th Company of the Canadian Forestry Corps during WW 1. Hisbrother Kenneth served briefly with the Canadian Army during WW 2.He retired early, due to worsenlng head injury that hE hadreceived as a young boy delivering milk from a horse-drawn milkwagon in Marmorc. The marmora Herald dated JunE 29th, 1939 wrote;

11 Kenneth Reo ar, has beer, Lv i ncunconscious In the Bellevill~

hospital since (having) beenhit by a car. He was makingthe rounds with the Neal boys,delivering milk, and on MainStreet, is reported to havEjumped off the milk wagon andrun in front of a car. The manyfriends of Mr & Mrs Regan andfamily are hoping for a completErecovery" .

His sister, Helen, joined the Women's Division of the R.C.A.Fduring WW 2. Helen married Roy Alexander Roberston on March 28th,1947, in Campbellford at the St. John's United Church Parsonage.Roy served Overseas during WW 2 for 2~ years.

After enlistment, Ronald received his military tank trainingat ;lst Army Brigade and later at the 4th Division Signals inBarriefielc, Ontario, Canadian Armoured Corps Training Centre,Camp Borden, then to Vocational Training Wing, Toronto. OnMarch 24th, 1941, he was attached to the 1st Canadian ArmyTraining Brigade Coy. On February 6th, 1941, Ronald was confirmecthe rank of Lance Corporal (L/Cpl) and on April 25th he wasqualified as an "A" Electrican Signalman with the Royal CanadianArmy Signal Corps (R.C.A.S.C).

On a route training excercise in May, 1942, Ronald took sick. Hewas admitted as a patient with the Emergency Hospital (CountyInfermary) at Mill Road, CambridgE, England, suffering from alow pelvic abscess. In a letter home, Ronald writes

"1 came in here for a minorappendicitis operation and sofar I've had four operations,however, 1 have'nt had one fOla week now so I'm hoping foythe best".

On July 2nc, he was examined by Major C.W Clark, CommandingOfficer at the 5th Canadian General Hospital. The Major writes

11 This patient has hac a stronetime with peritonitis. Hi~

T

condition now appears to beimproving. He is not wellenough to be moved".

Corporal Ronald Meehan Regan Regiment # C64468 died on July 4th,1942,-of pulmonary embolism following localised peritonitus afteracute appendicitus. He died at 0840 hours. Ronald was buried onJuly 8th at the Brookwood Military Cemetery, Woking, England inGrave 5, Row F, Plot 32. Ronald had spent 644 days'in the militaryservice of which 381 days were spent Overseas.

Ronald Meehan Regan!s name is inscribed in the wings of the cenotaphat the Marmora Legion B.emorial Park.

Resee.r ched by i

Gerald BelangerMarmora, OntarioP.O Box 431613-472-2314/) ( ,r"

, C'{~'

PY/Af'( ~/i ! 1"-.-11(, i

lJ

PROFILE OF AN AIRMANMacKENZIE REEVES

26 AUGUST, 2006

MacKenzie Reeves was born on August 1st, 1919 in Madoc, Ontario ,the only son of Loomis Sandfield Reeves and Florence Spry. Hisparents were married on July 10th, 1917 at Bonarlaw. Loomis wasborn on August 12th, 1887 in Madoc and died on September 14th, 1945.Florence died in 1964 at the age of 63 years. Both are buried atthe Lakeview Cemetery in Madoc.

MacKenzie attended the local Public School from 1925 until 1932.He later graduated from the Madoc High School in July, 1936, withhis Junior Matriculation. The Grade 12 subjects that year included;English, French, Latin, Chemistry, Geometry ~nd Ancient nistory.While attending nigh School, MacKenzie joined the Prince EdwardRegiment from 1932 to 1934.

For several years, MacKenzie ran the Imperial Esso Service Stationin Marmora located on the corner of No. 7 and No. 14 Highways.Although he had enlisted on December 4th, 1941 at the Ottawa R.C.A.FRecruiting €entre to train as pilot, it wasn:t until December, 1943,that he was able to sell his service station in Marmora to WilliamAlbert Sanderson (1871-1947).

On his recruiting medical forms, Reeves wrote the following abouthimself -

• 1 like to smoke four cigars a dayand on occasion like an odd beer ".

On the same form the Medical Officer wrote -" At 202 pounds, he is overweight by

45 pounds, but is physically fit,stable and interacts above average,best suited for pilot Observer "

As an Aircraftsman 2nd Class (AC2) , MacKenzie Reeves #R143774 wassent to One Military Depot (#1 M.D), Toronto from April 26th, 1942until May 9th:then to Five Initial Training Unit (#5 I.T.U),Belleville, from May 10th until September 12th ;then to Ten ElementaryFlying Training School (#10 E.F.T.S), Pendleton, from September 13th

until November 21st ithen to Two Service Flying Training School(#2 S.F.T.S), Uplands, from November 22nd until April 2nd, 1943.

On March 19th, 1943, Group Captain F.A Sampson, Commanding Officerof #2 S.F.T.U, Uplands, Ottawa, presented wings to the graduatingclass of R.C.A.F pilots. Among the Ontario graduates were FloydRussell (Bud) Loveless (1919-1990), Deloro, and MacKenzie Reevesof Madoc. Group Captain Sampson urged them to excel in their jobsand if so 11 they would likely come out of this war alive and kicking".

Flying Officer (F/O Reeves iJ87156, left Halifax on May 16th, 1943and disembarked in the United Kingdom on May 24th. On June 29th hewas sent to the 77 Pilots ~dvanced Flying Unit (#77 P.A.F.U) andthen on to the 57 Operational Training UNit (#57 O.T.U) at Eshott untilOctober 26th, 1943. From G.S.U, he was assigned to the R.C.A.F .403 Wolf Squadron, Belgium, flying the Spitfire Aircraft. His flyinginstructors at the time wrote i

" A likeable type, good disposition,asset to any squadron, steady nightflier, should have no trouble onoperational aircraft, has a tendencyto be over-confident, but no seriousfaults "

Reeves was posted Overseas on June 8th, 1944, and was promoted toF/o (Pilot) on August 21st of that year. Altogether F/O Reeves had739 flying hours with the 403 Squadron (Stalk & Strike) and hadspent 1,159 days in military service of which 665 days were Overseas.

Flight Sergeant (F/S) R.E Barbour filed this report on the dayReeves aircraft was hit i

" On March 28th, six aircraft took offat 1126 for a route patrol over theHeerenberg-Borken area in Germany.Reeves called the flight leader andreported that he saw some transporton a road below. With permission ofthe fli~ht leader, Reeves and myselfwent down to strafe the above mentionedtarget. I saw Reeves open fire and

immediately intense light flak concentrationopened up on us. We immediately began toclimb and turn in directions. I then sawReeves Spitfire Aircraft XVI, Serial #SM 302go out of control and dive steeply into afield where it exploded. This occurred aboutten miles East of Haltern, Germany atapproximately 12:20 hours.No parachute _was opened previously to crashingafter been hit "

According to his Graves Registration Military Form -

" He was buried at 5 o'clock on April 4th,1945 in the United States Military Cemeteryat Margraten, Holland in Grave 60, Row 3,Plot F which is next to the gravesite ofArthur Oldham #4860807 of the Royal Signals "

However, according to the book "They Shall Grow Not Old", by theCommonwealth Air Training Museum Inc., page 633 -

" Reeves was reinterred and is now buried atBritish Cemetery, Nederweert, Limburg,Holland fn Plot IV , Row A, Grave 9 "

On October 17th, 1945, Florence Reeves wrote to the Chief of theAir Staff, Air Marshall Robert Leckie and requested the following-

u Since 1 am the last member of the family,please forward his uniforms, trunks andbelongings to me " .

MacKenzie Reeve§'.name is inscribed at both the Madoc and Marmoracenotaph.

Researched by;

Gerald BelangerMarmora, OntarioP.o Box 431613-472-2314