News and Views Volume 36
www.winstonchurchillcanada.ca
Winter 2012
Dear Fellow Canadian Churchillians: New Members A very warm welcome is extended to: Alex Barron, Scott Cameron, Dale Dreher, Mark Gaskin, Peter Hockin, Paul Keery, Chad Leddy, Timothy Maloney, Debbie O’Reilly, Richard Rohmer and Denis Smyth. ICS Canada/Churchill Centre, 29th Annual Conference, October 11/13, 2012 “Churchill’s North America, the States and Canada, Foe to Friend” The Conference was a great success, with 220 people registered; comprised of 113 Canadians, 100 Americans, and 7 British. Many thanks to the hard working organizing Committee - Randy Barber, Cliff Goldfarb, Chuck Anderson, David Brady, Gord Walker, Bob Jarvis, Barrie Montague and Terry Reardon. Also to the many volunteers who made the proceedings go so smoothly. Maybe unfair to the many fine contributors but special recognition has to be given to the panel chaired by Gordon Walker: “We Were There.” The panel included: George MacDonnell, who was a Sergeant Major in the Canadian Expeditionary Force defending Hong Kong against the Japanese in December 1941. He pointed out that Winston Churchill had earlier deplored any attempt to defend Hong Kong as it would be an impossible task. This had not been conveyed to the Canadian military chiefs beforehand. He stated that not a single soldier escaped and of the original 2,000 troops, 560 never returned home. George entertained the audience with a story of when he was on a business trip to Japan and he was asked had he been to Japan before. He replied yes he was there from 1941 until 1945 – after a stunned silence there were mutterings from the Japanese. George stated that he knew enough Japanese to know they were saying: “don’t bring that up again!” Jack Rhind was a plotter in the Canadian Army in Sicily and mainland Italy; his duty was to direct the gun fire to the targets. He kept a diary from which he quoted. He took part in the battle for the strategic position of Monte Cassino which he visited twenty years later, and rather than mud he saw green fields and the land as it should have been. In the liberation of Rome on June 4, 1944 he received a personal blessing from Pope Pius 12th. He finished by saying: “War is a Terrible, Awful, Thing.” Richard Rohmer is Canada’s most decorated citizen. During the War he was a 1st Lieutenant in 430 Squadron. He was involved in reconnaissance. A notable occasion was when he noticed an impressive German Staff car in northern France, on July 17, 1944. He presumed that it must be occupied by someone important and he passed on the information; a fighter plane took over and attacked the car and Field Marshall Rommel was badly in-
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jured. Richard knew Churchill’s Private Secretary, Jock Colville, who had been given a leave to join the RAF – he mentioned that Colville was not allowed to fly over enemy territory in case he was captured and might be forced to reveal important information. John Turner, Canada’s 17th Prime Minister, spoke of meeting Churchill outside the Parliament buildings after the famous “Some Chicken: Some Neck,” speech of December 30th, 1941. “The great man looked me straight in the eye and said, ‘Good of you to be here, good luck!’ That meeting, with the greatest man I ever met, became indelible in my memory.”
Next Event The Annual General Meeting – Thursday, February 28, 2013; 6.30 pm. Enclosed is the formal notice. The business part will be kept short and a flyer will be mailed out to Members beforehand showing the rest of the programme.
Chartwell Bulletin The October Bulletin is on our web site. It includes an excerpt from ICS Canada Vice-Chairman Terry Reardon’s book: Winston Churchill and Mackenzie King, So Similar, So Different www.winstonchurchillcanada.ca – click: about ICS; Chartwell Bulletin; October 2012 (toggle down to “Follow this link for more Churchill in the news” – 8th item). The major part of the book deals with W.W. ll, with emphasis on the significant part played by Canada. As an example a quote from respected British historian Richard Holmes’, In the Footsteps of Churchill: “In 1940-41 Britain would not have survived as an independent nation had it not been for the agricultural, industrial and financial aid received from Canada.” Robert O’Brien the Past Chair of our sister association, The Churchill Society for the Advancement of Parliamentary Democracy, has commented on the book: “It was wonderful: It is a must read.”
PayPal With an electronic payment system being the preferred choice for many people, your annual membership renewal letter will include the option of payment by this method.
Comments, suggestions, articles would be appreciated. Please write or e-mail to Terry Reardon, 182 Burnhamthorpe Rd, Toronto, Ontario, M9A 1H6. Tel. 416 231 6803. E-mail: reardont@rogers.com.