100th Anniversary Edition (of the Armistice)

1918

2018

100

TH

ANNIVERSARY EDITION

Lest We Forget a publication of

Since 2008

THEY LIVED... THEY GAVE... WE GIVE THANKS. LEGION 100TH ANNIVERSARY • PAGE 1 • WWW.MOOSEJAWEXPRESS.COM

Sunday, November 11, 2018 The 100th Annual Remembrance Day service at Mosaic Place starts at 10:45 am

We ask that everyone be seated by 10:30am Sponsored by the Moose Jaw Branch 59 of the Royal Canadian Legion this will be the 56th annual indoor service held in the city.

The service will be conducted by Reverend Doug Sheppard, Padre, Legion Branch 59 Lunch served at the Legion following the ceremonies.

Provided for adults only.

LEGION 100TH ANNIVERSARY • PAGE 2 • WWW.MOOSEJAWEXPRESS.COM

The 100th Annual Remembrance Day Service in Moose Jaw Remembrance Day, Sunday, November 11, 2018 10:45

ARRIVAL OF COLOURS AND GUESTS O’CANADA INVOCATION HYMN SCRIPTURE HOMILY ALL PRAYERS LAST POST, SILENCE ROUSE ACT OF REMEMBRANCE

ROYAL CANADIAN LEGION POPPY FUND COLLECTION LAYING OF OFFICIAL WREATHS LAYING OF ORGANIZATION AND INDIVIDUAL WREATHS BENEDICTION GOD SAVE THE QUEEN DEPARTURE OF COLOURS AND GUESTS The Royal Canadian Legion Branch #59 lounge will be open following the service. Lunch will be available. Adults only.

PLEASE CONSIDER JOINING THE ROYAL CANADIAN LEGION

We appreciate your support

TABLE OF Contents

Editor’s Note 4 Poem “In Flanders Fields” by John McCrae 4 5 Edna Jaques: The Answer to John McCrae (1871-1978) A Message from the Premier 6 A Message from Mayor Fraser Tolmie 7 8 After the Great War: The Roots of a Movement From Discord to Unity: The Fight for Establishment and the Creation of the Canadian Legion 10 Saskatchewan an Early Stronghold of Legion Support and Leadership 12 13 Legion Building: An Evolving Home for 80 Years Legion Helped Second World War Effort with Words and Action 14 Women Played a Vital Role in Growth of Legion 16 Land Acts Helped Shape the City and Province 18 Returning Veterans’ Project Cleared 100,000 Acres in Peace River Bush Country 19 Rural Communities Supported War Efforts 20 Legion Man Stood Tall on the Corner 21 22 Dispatches from the Depot: Military Heritage in Moose Jaw Canadians Faced Harsh Conditions in Afghanistan 25 26 Capturing Juno Beach: Local Veterans’ Art Brought the War Home Modern Legion Continues to Support its Local Communities 28 Local Legion Persevering in Tough Times 30 Bravery and Determination Earned Area Farmer the Victoria Cross 31 Legion’s New Dominion President Has a Vision for the Future 32 Anavets Celebrating 100 Years in Moose Jaw 34 Closing the Pocket: David Currie and the Last Battle of Normandy 36 Local “Communications Genius” Offered Vital Intelligence in WWII 38 Living to Fight Another Day: Walz Parachuted Out of His Spitfire Twice in WWII 40 One Hundred Years Since WWI Armistice and the Short Life of Percival Swaby Nash Moose Jaw’s Only Jamaican World War One Hero 42 Coulee Near Assiniboia Named in Honour of First World War Captain 48 John Poulton and World War I 50 Canada and the UK are Forever Connected in Remembrance 52 Canadian War Brides Gathered for Reunion in Moose Jaw 54 56 Remembering Some Moose Jaw Veterans Aboriginal contributions cannot go ignored 57

LEGION 100TH ANNIVERSARY • PAGE 3 • WWW.MOOSEJAWEXPRESS.COM

Editor'sNote

It is with great indebtedness that we continue to remember those that bravely fought for our freedoms during the World Wars and other battles. On November 11th, Remembrance Day each year is a good time to be mindful of the sacrifices made and how we can continue to inspire future generations to REMEMBER. We also acknowledge and appreciate our peacekeepers and those that still stand on guard for our freedoms today.

On this momentous occasion, the 100th Anniversary of the end of World War I, we celebrate the Royal Canadian Legion for the great work they have done in our country and locally on behalf of our war veterans and continue to do in support of the many services they offer.

As the editor of the Moose Jaw Express, I am very proud of this commemorative edition that was thoughtfully and insightfully put-together as it takes the reader through years of history and highlights many local war heroes. We would like to thank our editorial staff and contributors, our graphic design team and sales department. More importantly, we would like to thank the advertisers for committing to make this volume a very special keepsake edition. Our wish is that you gain a heartfelt appreciation for the Royal Canadian Legion, our veterans and today’s peacekeepers.

Moose Jaw’s Branch No. 59 of the Royal Canadian Legion has been a mainstay in this community for nearly as long as this anniversary. Unfortunately, there are very few WWII veterans still alive now, and although the local Royal Canadian Legion continues to survive, we as a community need to step-up to make sure it thrives. With very little funding for the services they offer, as well as the maintenance of their building, the annual sale of poppies just fills a small void in their coffers. The Royal Canadian Legion also looks to memberships to help finance their endeavours, as well as contributions that are gratefully appreciated.

Did you know that you don’t have to be a veteran to join the Royal Canadian Legion? Anyone 18 years or older that is a Canadian citizen can join for a nominal annual fee. For more information visit their website at https://www. facebook.com/RoyalCanadianLegionMooseJawBranch59/ , call 306.692.5453 or visit the local branch located at 268 High St. W, Moose Jaw. Respectfully, Joan Ritchie, editor

In Flanders Fields

In Flanders fields the poppies blow Between the crosses, row on row, That mark our place; and in the sky The larks, still bravely singing, fly Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the Dead. Short days ago We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow, Loved and were loved, and now we lie In Flanders fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe: To you from failing hands we throw The torch; be yours to hold it high.

If ye break faith with us who die We shall not sleep, though poppies grow In Flanders fields.

McCrae’s “In Flanders’ Fields” remains to this day one of the most memorable war poems ever written. It is a lasting legacy of the terrible battle in the Ypres Salient in the spring of 1915.

Edna Jaques: the answer to John McCrae

by Ann & Bill Heselton

Edna Jaques was born in Ontario in 1891 along with her twin sister. While Edna, a mere three and a quarter pounds (1.5 kg), was able to struggle along the road of life for 87 years, her young sister Erie, lost her battle at the age of six weeks.

Her father, at the age of twenty-seven had his captain’s papers and was the captain of a passenger boat that sailed from Collingwood to Fort William (now part of Thunder Bay). On the last trip of the season in late 1901 Captain Jaques had a harrowing time. For three days and nights they battled hurricane force winds and waves that continuously pounded his ship. When he arrived at Collingwood everything on the outside of the ship was gone - lifeboats, life-rafts, railings; windows were smashed and even half of the smoke stack was gone. After he pulled into the harbor all of his crew but one and about 60 passengers left their bunks having been sick as dogs as well as frightened and thankful to be alive.

It was his last trip.

Early in 1902 he received a visit from his cousin from Yellowgrass. They were laughing and talking in the parlor while the rest of the family were in the dining room where her mother was reading and the children were playing. Suddenly the folding doors between the two rooms opened and her father announced “We’re leaving Collingwood.” and then, taking a deep breath he said, “We’re going homesteading in the North West Territories…”(Saskatchewan). Her mother promptly fainted.

The family came west, lock, stock and barrel, to homestead twenty-five miles south east of Moose Jaw, near what is now Briercrest. Edna was eleven years old.

Edna started writing about the age of seven. (It is said she started writing as soon as she knew that cat rhymed with hat and rat.) She had her first poem published in the Moose Jaw Times in 1903. She was 12 years old.

John McCrea was a poet, and physician. At the age of 41 he enrolled in the Canadian Expeditionary Force following the outbreak of the first World War. He volunteered to join a fighting unit as a gunner and medical officer. McCrae wrote his poem “In Flanders Fields” on May 13, 1915, on an old envelope. It was printed late the same year in the “Punch” magazine in England.

In her own words, Edna, then 24, describes how she answered John McCrae: “When Col. McRae’s poem “In Flanders Fields” was printed, I memorized it.; then one day in the sewing room of the hospital the answer came like a flash of lightning. I screamed to the girl next to me “Give me a pencil quick, and paper.” She dug a pencil out of her purse and said,“I haven’t any paper.” I looked frantically around for paper but there was none there so I turned over a spool box (thread used to come a dozen spools to a box) and on the back of it I wrote my answer to his poem, as fast as my hands could write it, no thinking, no pausing, just words coming in as if someone was saying it.”

Some of her poems have gone far afield. “In Flanders Now” was used in a pamphlet form and raised over a million dollars in the United States in order to raise funds to restore a library in Brussels that had been bombed.It was also used at the first “Ceremony of the Unknown Soldier” in Arlington Cemetery near Washington and is inscribed on a scroll inside the chapel there.

LEGION 100TH ANNIVERSARY • PAGE 5 • WWW.MOOSEJAWEXPRESS.COM

(1871-1978)

Premier of Saskatchewan Legislative Building Regina Canada S4S 083

A Message from the Premier As Canadians around the world mark the 100th anniversary of Remembrance Day, we gather in act of remembrance and gratitude for the sacrifices made by our veterans. Together, with the people of Saskatchewan, our government is honoured to remember their bravery and to acknowledge the courageous women and men who protect this proud nation we call home.

those who have served and lived through the realities of war.

Holding them in our prayers and in our hearts, their sacrifice inspires us to make the world a better, safer and more peaceful place.

Thank you to the Saskatchewan Command of the Royal Canadian Legion for their tireless contribution to our veterans, our communities, our province and our country.

On behalf of the Province of Saskatchewan, with humility and pride, thank you to all of our veterans who have served, and those who continue to serve, to protect the freedom we enjoy Since our first steps on the battlefields of the First World War, today. Our government deeply appreciates the contributions our members of the Canadian Forces have served with strength and sacrifices you have made for our country. and honour. We remember those who have sacrificed for our country, those who returned, those who lost their lives, and the families they left behind. We reflect with sombre remembrance on the brave men and women who made the ultimate sacrifice in the name of freedom and to offer our thanks to Scott Moe Premier

LEGION 100TH ANNIVERSARY • PAGE 6 • WWW.MOOSEJAWEXPRESS.COM

A Message from Mayor Fraser Tolmie This year’s Remembrance Day marks a special day for Canadians as we remember that 100 years have passed since the 1918 armistice. A truce was called on the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month.

We will remember all wars that Canadian soldiers have fought and died in. Canadians have sacrificed for the freedom of others. As Canadians, we value a free and just democratic society. What makes us different is that, through our sacrifice, we try as a nation to export those values. The nations we deploy to, see Canadians in a very different way. We are not there for financial gain or to impose on other nations but to liberate so that others may live free and MESSAGE able to decide their own destiny.

MESSAGE FROM MAYOR TOLM FROM MAYOR TOLM

Many who witness this make the choice to immigrate to Canada seeking the freedom we have. And some choose to serve in our Armed Forces willing to share the same kindness that was shown to them.

On November 11, I ask you to reflect on the great sacrifices that have been made in order that we may all live in freedom.

On On behalf of the citizens of Moose Jaw and members Council, I extend a warm and sincere invitation to you an Cityfamily to visit Friendly City.

REMEMBER &ourBE THANKFUL welcome.

Moose Jaw is known throughout North America as the h Royal Canadian Air Force pilot training and the CF Snowbi Moose July 15, 2018 theMayor 15 Wing Fellowship, supported by 1 historic Moose Jaw, will host their annual Car Show which will be o W the public. res Fraser Tolmie For the first time, the event will also include a the CF Snowbirds! thatmance byand Members Jaw is a popular out Moose our website at ww tourist destination city with fasc ofsuch City Council attractions as the Temple Gardens Mineral Spa, the f Moose unsu Al Capone Tunnels, Casino Moose Jaw, Trolley Tours, W so Development Museum, Murals, and top performances at t City ofin Moose • 228 Main Street North WilsonJaw Performing Arts y.. Theatre.

www.moosejaw.ca Summer in Moose Jaw is always bustling with activit tourists and residents such as Sidewalk Days, Park Art, th Sincerely, Multicultural Festival, Farmers’ Markets, various eve LEGION 100TH ANNIVERSARY • PAGE 7 • WWW.MOOSEJAWEXPRESS.COM Crescent Park and so much more. Fraser Tolmie

Fraser The world’s largest moose, Mac, can be seenTolmie from High

After the Great War: the roots of a movement Matthew Gourlie Moose Jaw Express

The 128th Overseas Battalion of the Canadian Expeditionary Force at Camp Hughes in July 1916. Photo courtesy of Moose Jaw Legion Branch No. 59.

Canada came of age as a nation on the battlefields of the First World War. From the Somme to Vimy to Passchendaele to the Hundred Days offensive that pushed the Germans back and forced the Armistice, Canada played an important role in the Allies’ victory.

The British North America act was less than 50 years old in 1914 and Canada had yet to step out of its colonial roots. By the end of the war, Canadians were rightfully proud of their achievements and success on the battlefield. An enduring na-

tional identity was carved out of the exploits of battle and Canada enjoyed an international standing that it could not have imagined at the dawn of the conflict.

As Patricia Giesler from Veterans Affairs Canada said in Valour Remembered: Canada and the First World War: “The ‘Great War’ was also a landmark in Canadian national development. In 1914 Canada entered the war as a colony, a mere extension of Britain overseas; in 1918 she was forging visibly ahead to nationhood. Canada began the war with one division of citizen soldiers under the command of a British general and

ended with a superb fighting force under the command of one her own sons.

“For a nation of eight million people, Canada’s war effort was remarkable. A total of 619, 636 men and women served in the Canadian forces in the First World War and of these 66,655 gave their lives and another 172,950 were wounded. Nearly one of every 10 Canadians who fought in the war did not return.

“It was this Canadian war record that won for Canada a separate signature on the Peace Treaty saying that national status had been achieved.”

For all of the positives that came out of the war effort, the end of the fighting did not leave the nation unified and the political landscape would only become more fractious.

The First World War remains the bloodiest conflict in Canadian history. It was also a brutal war that saw the first wide-scale use of chemical weapons. Life in the trenches of the First World War was disease-ridden, miserable and brutal.

After the Battle of the Somme in 1916, Canada was struggling to find citizens willing to enlist to replenish the Expeditionary Force after some heavy losses in combat.

The issue was tearing the country apart as traditional divides of French versus English and rural versus urban grew over the issue. The resistance to conscription in Quebec sowed the seeds of a future separatist movement and hurt the Conservatives political aspirations in the province for decades.

Prime Minister Robert Borden introduced the Military Service Act on Aug. 29, 1917 which allowed the government to conscript men across the country. The Conscription Crisis of 1917 led to a number of Liberals to cross the floor to back Borden’s Conservatives. The new coalitions led to the formation of the CONTINUES ON PAGE 9 u

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LEGION 100TH ANNIVERSARY • PAGE 8 • WWW.MOOSEJAWEXPRESS.COM

We WILL Remember Them

The 128th Overseas Battalion of the Canadian Expeditionary Force leaving Moose Jaw via train on June 5, 1916. Used with permission, The Canadian Letters and Images Project www.canadianletters.ca Canadian Unionist government.

On the heels of this, the Wartime Elections Act was passed which gave the vote to the wives, widows, mothers and sisters of soldiers serving overseas -- allowing women the right to vote federally for the first time. The Act also disenfranchised naturalized citizens from the Central Powers opposing the Allies in the war. These measures helped give Borden’s Unionists a resounding mandate after earning the largest percentage of the popular vote in Canadian history.

It was in this context of patriotic fervour and the push for conscription that Prime Minister Borden addressed the Canadian Expeditionary Forces prior to the Battle of Vimy Ridge in April of 1917 and implored them that their bravery and sacrifice would be rewarded once they returned home victorious.

“You men are about to enter one of the most serious engagements that ever faced the Canadian Corps...” Borden began.

“You can go into this action feeling assured of this, and as the head of the government I give you this assurance: That you need not fear that the government and the country will fail to show just appreciation for your service to the country and Empire in what you are about to do and what you have already done.

“The government and county will consider it their first duty to see that a proper appreciation of your effort and of your courage is brought to the notice of the people at home, and it will always be our endeavor to so guide the attitude of public opinion that the country will support the government to prove to the returned man its just and due appreciation of the inestimable value of the services rendered to the country and Empire; and that no man, whether he goes back or whether he remains in Flanders, will have just cause to reproach the government for having broken faith with the men who won and the men who died.”

The Great War had produced more wounded veterans than any conflict in human history.

As they began to return home from the front while the conflict raged, it became increasingly obvious that the government was woefully unprepared for their needs and the sheer number of veterans coming home.

Historian Desmond Morton noted in his book When Your Number’s Up: “Canada had a lot to learn about veterans. The militia pension regulations in 1914 had been hurriedly improvised for the 1885 Rebellion and differed only in detail from arrangements made for the War of 1812.”

The mental problems that followed the horrors of war were not well understood either. The term “shell shock” was invented to help explain the post-traumatic stress that many soldiers were feeling during and after the First World War. If the affects were not well understood, how to best deal with them was a completely foreign concept.

Coupled with that war-specific health problems like trench

Military sports training in 1916 on St. Julien Day in Moose Jaw. A year earlier in the village of Saint Julien and Saint Julien Wood in France the Germans unleashed the first poison gas attack on the Allied Front in the First World War. The Canadian First Division held their line, but from the line, 6,035 Canadians became and approximately 2,000 were killed. Used with permission, The Canadian Letters and Images Project www.canadianletters.ca foot and tuberculosis and re-assimilation was not an easy task for many men.

In peacetime, Borden’s government was less enthusiastic about the benefits that waited for the troops in their return. They established pension rates and veterans’ rehabilitation programs without consulting the veterans themselves.

Fewer than five per cent of disabled Canadian veterans qualified for the top rate of compensation and most received less than 25 per cent of the maximum rate.

After fighting for their country abroad, Canada’s returned men were ready to continue fighting for the rights and benefits of their fellow soldiers.

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LEGION 100TH ANNIVERSARY • PAGE 9 • WWW.MOOSEJAWEXPRESS.COM

From discord to unity:

the fight for re-establishment and the creation of the Canadian Legion Matthew Gourlie Moose Jaw Express

As soldiers began to be discharged during the war, it didn’t take long for them to begin organizing.

Discharged soldiers began gathering as early as 1916 to connect with fellow former soldiers.

While the groups served a social function, they also served an advocacy role as the numbers of wounded soldiers mounted.

All told, 170,000 Canadians were discharged during the war. Once the Armistice was signed on Nov. 11, 1918, another 350,000 soldiers returned to Canada.

When the troops came back to Canada, they came home to a nation struggling to deal with how to help them re-integrate into society and how to pay for it all.

The government was still inexperienced in operating the machinery governing veterans’ affairs.

They had developed a system to process claims arising from the South African War at the turn of the century. There were only 7,000 Canadian troops involved in that conflict, a drop in the bucket compared to the numbers of combatants during the First World War. Compounding issues included the fact that returned soldiers came home to a country that was different than the one they had left: Canada had become more urbanized, women had entered the work force in greater numbers and the national debt had skyrocketed to $2 billion.

The government was finding it was much easier to promise to fully re-establish veterans during war time than it was to actually do it. Some soldiers recalled as “common knowledge” that they had been promised a “peace gift” of $2,500 once returning.

FORTHEM FORNOW F R EVER

As related in the essay, The Bonus Campaign, 1919-21: Veterans and the Campaign for Re-establishment by Desmond Morton and Glenn Wright, in February of 1919, Canadian Expeditionary Force Sgt. George Waitsell spoke to veterans in Calgary. Waitsell noted that every politician from the Prime Minister on down had promised full re-establishment. He believed that a simple one-time payment of a cash gratuity would fulfill that promise. Waitsell proposed $2,000 ($29,173.91 in today’s dollars) for those who had served in the front, $1,500 ($21,880.43 today) for those that had gone as far as England and $1,000 ($14,586.96 today) for those who had remained in Canada.

The Calgary Resolution was born.

Morton and Wright outlined what returning soldiers had received: “Having devised an elaborate and costly program of pensions and retraining for the war-disabled, for the first time a Canadian government refused to provide significant compensation for its able-bodied veterans.

“At discharge, soldiers retained their uniforms and received a $35 cheque as a clothing allowance. After a variety of wartime expedients, a post-armistice, order-in-council authorized a War Service Gratuity of up to $600 on the basis of service. The average proved to be $240. Government employment bureau co-operated in helping returned men find work. The rest was up to the veterans themselves.”

Able-bodied veterans were having a hard time re-assimilating after returning home. George Pearson, a journalist and veteran, underlined one troubling symptom “... that terrible restlessness which possess us like an evil spirit.”

The public were ready to welcome home their noble, conquering heroes, but the reality didn’t always align with the ideal. Some veterans re-adapting to the work force after they returned and at times either left or lost their jobs.

It wasn’t just a hangover from the horrors of the

LEGION 100TH ANNIVERSARY • PAGE 10 • WWW.MOOSEJAWEXPRESS.COM

The 128th Overseas Battalion of the Canadian Expeditionary Force march down Main Street as they leave Moose Jaw via train on June 5, 1916. Used with permission, The Canadian Letters and Images Project www.canadianletters.ca battle that plagued the veterans. If the returning soldiers weren’t living up to their idealized self, the soldiers felt the same way about the country they loved and had sacrificed for.

They returned home to see those that stayed behind had prospered while they went off to fight.

Everywhere they looked, veterans saw affluence that they were not sharing. Major G.W. Andrews, MP for Winnipeg Centre, complained that car registrations had grown from 10,000 to 27,000 during the war years.

Some prominent voices felt veterans needed to get on with re-establishment on their own.

Lord Atholstan -- Canadian publisher Hugh Graham -- warned: “The returned soldier must not be allowed to consider himself an unlimited creditor of the State to be supported in idleness.”

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There was a concern that after years of having the necessities of life provided and obeying orders and not thinking for themselves, the enlisted man may not have the sense of responsibility needed to thrive in society.

Not that it was an easy society to thrive in. By 1921, 300,000 Canadians were out of work.

Under this backdrop of unfulfilled promises, heavy debt and massive unemployment, veterans began to increasingly look to organize themselves and push for real change.

The first veterans’ groups started forming as early as 1916, but the first umbrella group in Canada -- the Great War Veterans Association (GWVA) -- was launched in Winnipeg in April of 1917. It seemed a new veteran’s group was organizing every other week as the troops returned home. Those groups reflected different branches of service or, often, their type of disability. In all there were more than a dozen groups lobbying and advocating for their cause.

The GWVA -- which had a chapter in Moose Jaw -- took up the cause of the Calgary Resolution and bonus payments for re-settlement. The same battle in the United States resulted in the government offering to settle all bonus payments by 1945 and as a result 43,000 people -- The Bonus Army -- marched on Washington in 1932 and 10,000 of those set up a shantytown to put pressure on the government. The Army intervened and used tanks and troops to push the veterans out, but the pressure eventually paid off as the

The Moose Jaw military hospital in 1918.

Used with permission, The Canadian Letters

and Images Project www.canadianletters.ca

promised bonuses were paid nine years early in 1936.

The bonus issue would be resolved in Canada with less violence, but little less acrimony. Under secretary-treasurer Grant MacNeil, the GWVA was willing to be flexible on bonus payments, but a new splinter group, the United Veterans League, believed veterans were due the full proposal in the Calgary Resolution. In 1919, Borden’s government finally acquiesced a little on the re-establishment demands and appointed a special committee on the “re-establishment problem.”

Chairing the committee was James Alexander Calder who was elected to House of Commons with the Unionist government in the riding of Moose Jaw in 1917. Calder set out to hold the government’s position at every turn and as they listened to every interest group that cared to speak, Calder concluded that it was impossible for the federal government to attempt to meet the demands outlined over the six weeks that the committee sat.

“By adding every imaginable past or projected expenditure on re-establishment and pensions, Calder insisted that Canadian ex-soldiers would have shared a total of $491,540,623 ($6.6 billion today),” wrote Morton & Wright.

Instead a sum of $25 million was put aside for winter relief to be administered by the Canadian Patriotic Fund. If any MP wanted to do more Calder warned, “then there is only one course and that is that some other administration must carry on.”

That ended any real hope of a re-establishment bonus and dealt a blow to the GWVA whose memberships largely felt let down by their own leadership and their government.

Still, the GWVA was the most effective of these early groups. Despite the failure to secure their bonus with the Unionist government, MacNeil convinced William Lyon McKenzie King’s newly elected government in 1922 to investigate the Board of Pension Commissioners for what the GWVA considered a conspiracy to deprive ex-servicemen of their entitled pensions.

The GWVA were also instrumental in helping

the government establish the Soldier Settlement program that put veterans to work colonizing land in Western Canada.

With growing momentum heading into the 1920s, the GWVA set out to try to unify veterans once and for all. At the 1922 GWVA convention in Winnipeg, the Association brought five other veterans’ groups into the fold to form the Dominion Veterans Alliance.

British Empire Service League grand president Earl Haig was a firm believer in the power of a unified veteran’s group and he brought the Service League’s council to Canada in 1925.

At Haig’s request many of the other veterans’ groups in country sent representatives as well.

Haig addressed 3,000 attendees and noted that if distance made unity harder to achieve for Canadian veterans, that made unity all the more important.

“I am quite sure that if your different societies come into a single organization, the influence of that single organization for the good of ex-servicemen in Canada will be something far more, far wider and far greater than the mere aggregate of the influence separately exerted by the existing societies,” Haig said in his address.

At the end of 1925, delegates from 10 organizations, each with their own branches, and 50 more regimental societies -- representing 790 unites and 20,000 veterans in all -- to Winnipeg.

Two major groups -- the Army and Navy Veterans and the Amputations Association -- decline to join, but the remaining groups agreed to draft a constitution.

In the beginning of 1926 the Canadian Legion of

James Alexander Calder in 1920 the British Service League was founded and began the process of ratification in each province and territory. It was incorporated by a special Act of Parliament and the Charter was issued in July 1926. In 1960, the Queen Elizabeth II would bestow the ‘Royal’ prefix upon the Canadian Legion’s title.

After finally achieving unity, the Legion sees membership skyrocket. In 1928 they reached 50,000 members. By 1938 they had 175,000 veterans within their ranks.

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LEGION 100TH ANNIVERSARY • PAGE 11 • WWW.MOOSEJAWEXPRESS.COM

Saskatchewan an early stronghold of Legion support and leadership Matthew Gourlie Moose Jaw Express

Once the Canadian Legion came to be, it found that its most loyal base of support was in Saskatchewan.

As the Legion began its ratification process with the national membership, Saskatchewan was the first stop on Feb. 17, 1926.

The convention opened with 128 representatives from 98 communities across the province. The majority were members of the established Great War Veterans Association, but the Tuberculous Veterans Association, the Amputation Club, the United Services Club, the Royal North West Mounted Police Veterans Association and others threw their unanimous support behind the new national body to create the Canadian Legion provincial command in Saskatchewan.

James McAra, a former Lt. Col from Regina who had led the GWVA in Saskatchewan for eight years was unanimously elected president. Among the other officer elected was former Brig.

Gen Alex Ross went overseas in Gen. Alex Ross of Yorkton who became the command’s honou1915 with the Canadian Expedi- rary treasurer and would go on to be the dominion president of tionary Force’s 28th Battalion as the Legion from 1934-37. a Major and finished the war as In his speech to the convention, McAra encouraged delegates Brigadier General. Saskatchewan Mil- to work together to make the Legion a success. “I cannot apitary Museum photo peal to you too strongly to get the broad vision -- broad as our prairies, broad in the national aspect, as well as broad in the particular aspect of ex-servicemen. I ask you honestly and sincerely to forget any connection you have had in the past and look to the future with a desire to accomplish the greatest good. All branches of the service, all ranks of the service, and all classes of the service should, and can, get together if they will.”

In March, Manitoba followed Saskatchewan’s lead in holding its first annual convention. Surprisingly, the third regional element to join the Legion was in March when a 14-member unit of the British War Veterans Association in Spokane, Wash. disbanded and re-formed as the first American-based post of the Canadian Legion.

The rest of the provincial councils ratified the Legion before the end of 1926 to establish the organization that lives on today.

Saskatchewan embraced the Legion wholeheartedly. They had the largest number of branches in the early years. The Great Depression couldn’t slow the growth of the legion in Saskatchewan. In fact,

Saskatchewan grew from 140 to 166 branches by the early 1930s.

The province fell on hard times during the drought years of the “hungry thirties.”

Provincial incomes fell by 90 per cent in two years and twothirds of the population was on some sort of relief as the Depression hit.

The Legion filled an important role during the Great Depression. In 1929, the Sas- An unidentified man holds a shovel in front of a shack in Saskatchewan in katoon branch donated nearly 1933 during the ‘Depression Days’ as written on the photograph. $2,000 (more than $29,000 in today’s dollars) for community relief and found temporary work for 38 veterans. The Regina branch put together more than 1,000 relief parcels for children in the area.

Brig. Gen. Ross would go on to play an important role as Legion president during the ‘30s. A provincial court judge, he initially resisted the nomination, but once he accepted the role he took it on with gusto.

The Legion movement was waning in 1934. Some Chambers of Commerce were lobbying to no longer mark November 11th as a holiday. Meanwhile, the coffers at the Legion were short on funds. Ross proposed that they focus on strengthening their own organization.

“Either we continue in the rut of legislative endeavor and live on subsidies until the people of Canada become nauseated by our importunity, or we branch out boldly into a new and wider sphere where the ex-soldier will solve his own problems and make himself responsible for the care and well-being of his comrades,” Ross told the 1934 national convention as relayed in James Hale’s Branching Out. “It is for us to decide now, and I am firmly of the opinion that we are at the parting of the ways and that our decision will have a far-reaching effect on the ultimate destiny of the ex-servicemen in Canada.”

Ross proved correct. There was a large membership drive that came out of the national convention and renewed plans for a pilgrimage to the Vimy Memorial. Two years later 6,300 veterans make the trip by sea with another 4,000 friends and family to Vimy for the unveiling of the Vimy Memorial. It would be a testament to the power of the Legion as an organization to co-ordinate with various governments and agencies to help organize such a massive undertaking.

Under Ross’ leadership, the government gives in to pressure from the Legion and recognizes the Canadian Pension Commission and establishes a royal commission to study the issue of veteran unemployment.

The Canadian Pension Commission is still one of three agencies administered under the umbrella of the Department of Veterans Affairs that is in place to provide aging veterans and their dependants with medical care and financial assistance.

A year later that royal commission recommended the establishment of the Veterans Assistance Commission to aid the more than 35,000 unemployed veterans at the height of the Great Depression. It also recommended the creation of the Corps of Commissionaires.

Today there are more than 21,000 Commissionaires employed in 1,200 communities nationwide. It remains a major source of employment for former members of the Canadian Forces.

LEGION 100TH ANNIVERSARY • PAGE 12 • WWW.MOOSEJAWEXPRESS.COM

Legion building: an evolving home for 80 years Matthew Gourlie Moose Jaw Express

The Moose Jaw Branch No. 59 building was built in 1927.

When veterans began to return from the First World War and were looking for a home-awayfrom-home -- or just a home, period -- they naturally congregated with other soldiers.

The first home for the returned men who would form the Great War Veterans Association, as well as the Army, Navy and Air Force Veterans (ANAVETS), was the Fire Hall on Saskatchewan Street. After the 128th Battalion had been formed, the Fire Hall had served as a sleeping quarters for some of the unit.

In 1921, the Moose Jaw’s No. 59 Branch of the Canadian Legion purchased a house at 405 Main Street from Broadfoot Brothers which ran a furniture and undertaking business. The building featured a sleeping quarters on the top floor for the caretaker and a number of veterans.

With businesses springing up around their Main Street location, the Legion was hoping to expand to meet the needs of their growing membership, once the local Great War Veterans Association chapter joined the newly created Royal Canadian Legion in 1926.

In E.E. Jenner’s history of Legion Branch No. 59 from 1996 “Herewith the Sting” he said: “An offer from the Community Hotel Association to buy the Legion property was met with mixed feelings within the Branch. One faction wanted to sell, the other did not. This split almost broke up the organization, but the sellers finally won out.”

Ultimately, the Legion sold their house and property to the Community Hotel Association for

the sum of $25,000 -- which is nearly $365,000 in today’s dollars. The Hotel Association would use the site to build the Grant Hall Hotel. The Legion’s current home was opened on Nov. 11, 1927 at 2 p.m. at 268 High St. W., after three days of celebrations.

Bird Construction Co. completed the building which featured a meeting hall, a ladies room and office on the first floor, sleeping rooms and a caretaker’s quarters on the top floor and a bar, club room and games room with one billiards table and a library in the basement.

The new building wasn’t without its faults. After heavy rains, the sewer would back up and water would seep into the hardwood floor in the basement causing it to warp and heave after it dried.

That hurt revenues at a time when money was tight everywhere -- including the Legion.

Following the Second World War, Branch No. 59 saw its membership expand and their building expanded with it. A building committee oversaw the expansion of the canteen in the north end of the building. A cement floor was poured in the basement and three new billiards tables were installed in the club rooms.

The new amenities and the popularity of the building caused some problems according to Jenner, who was the secretary-manager of the Legion at the time.

“Soon there was not enough room in the canteen and a way was cleared in the lounge rooms. The billiard tables were moved to the south basement room, and the whole floor licensed. The hall was being rented nearly every night, and the public were infiltrating the licensed premises. This brought on a warning that they (the public) must be kept out or action would be taken.”

With only $250 available to try to find a solution, Jenner traded two doors to stretch their funds and they built a temporary partition to separate the licensed part of the facility, keep the public out and appease the authorities.

The Legion finally got a proper upgrade in 195657 when extensive repairs were made and furniture and fixtures were renewed. They also looked at undergoing an even larger renovation effort.

McCudden & Goldie architects designed the renovations and Inland Construction completed them. The entire electrical system was renewed, adequate washroom facilities were installed and

there were new floor coverings, decor and furniture were refreshed. The cost was $40,000, which is more than $345,000 today. The renovated building opened in 1960, but more upgrades and expansion were still to come.

The kitchen was extensively renovated, and air conditioning was installed and in 1964 the planning committee proposed an expansion to the building which would provide more adequate auditorium and office space and expand their lounge facilities. The expansion was completed in February of 1966 for more than $80,000, a whopping $635,000 in today’s estimate.

The building was re-dedicated on the occasion of the 60th anniversary of its opening on Nov. 11, 1987. The event was also marked by the official opening of the new elevator that made building more accessible at a cost of $140,000, which is $272,300 today. The addition of the elevator was just part of $500,000 ($972,463 today) worth in

LEGION 100TH ANNIVERSARY • PAGE 13 • WWW.MOOSEJAWEXPRESS.COM

While still a part of the Great War Veterans Association, the local Legion was housed at the current site of Grant Hall. renovations that were spent over a five-year span.

“May this continue to be a place of comradeship, a place where the needy can get help, a place where the disabled find understanding,” said Legion padre Herb Taylor at the dedication as quoted in Moose Jaw This Week.

Legion helped Second World War effort with words and action Matthew Gourlie Moose Jaw Express

After the horrors of the First World War, Canadians were hesitant about jumping back into another global conflict. By the time Germany invaded Poland on Sept. 1, 1939 the mood had shifted from reluctance to grim acceptance of what was to come.

While Britain and France declared war against the Nazis that day, the matter was discussed in Canadian parliament and Prince Minister William Lyon McKenzie King joined the Allies on Sept. 10 with a Speech from the Throne.

If there was trepidation about re-entering a global conflict in the early days of Hitler’s time in power of Germany, the populace was growing invigorated by a sense of duty and patriotism.

With the Conscription Crisis fresh in the public’s minds, King opted to send a voluntary expeditionary force and rejected imposing conscription. The Royal Canadian Legion’s membership had voted in favour of universal conscription in the event of war at three consecutive conventions, but Dominion Legion president William Wasbrough Foster -- who would be promoted to Major General while serving during the Second World War -- urged veterans to throw their support behind the cause in a national broadcast address: “While we reserve the right of criticism (of Canada’s conduct of the war), we should withhold it until the government has had time to fully delineate its policy.”

After France fell to Nazi forces in the summer of 1940, the issue of universal conscription heated up. McKenzie King was extremely reluctant for a repeat of the Conscription Crisis of the First World War that had divided his Liberal party and significant parts of the country.

The government adopted a half-measure that seemed to dis-

F SM

please both sides of the issue. The National Resources Mobilization Act of 1940 allowed the government to register men and women and place them into jobs considered necessary for wartime production. It also allowed for conscription for the defence of Canada but did not allow conscripts to be deployed for overseas service.

Montreal mayor Camillien Houde implored French-Canadian men not to register under the new act. The government used the War Measures Act to send the RCMP to arrest Houde where he was detained without charge until 1944.

The Legion issued its manifesto “A Call for Total War” that was endorsed by some 500 other civic groups across English Canada. In the Legion’s national magazine, The Legionary, it was clear where Canada’s veterans stood on the issue: “While in the name of national unity the government of Canada indulges in these time-consuming political gymnastics, the Hunnish hordes are advancing towards the oilfields of the Caucasus and hammering on the gates of Egypt. Considering that the capture of either, or both, may jeopardize the whole outcome of the war, is it too irrelevant to ask a procrastinating government, ‘WHEN, in the name of God and our freedom, will you regard compulsory service against the enemy as NECESSARY? WHY, in the name of all that’s decent and worthwhile in life, don’t we get ACTION? Why, Mr. King?”

After 20 years of peace, there were veterans like Foster who were able to re-enlist. The majority, however, sought a new way to support the war effort. Beyond the push for full conscription, they looked for ways their experience could help the enlisted men.

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-- appealed to veterans that their knowledge and expertise could be valuable to the next generation of troops who were following in their bootsteps.

Addressing the Legion’s executive council, he said: “However long and desperate the struggle may be, we are not going to flinch, and we are again going to win... You legionnaires have a most important part to play. You are the people with knowledge and experience. You have been through a war which was of a different kind from this but at the same time contained much that is similar. Just as in politics you cannot CONTINUES ON PAGE 15 u

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do without what we call the elder statesmen, so in defence you are the elder statesmen. You are the people who can teach the younger generation the rudiments of the business and keep the national mind balanced, the national spirit keen.”

The Legion responded immediately to the call to a new role.

The Legion’s national council proposed forming a new organization to aid in the war effort: The Canadian Legion War Services Inc. From that initial organization, the Canadian Legion Education Services was also born.

It may not have been obvious to an outsider, but one of the lessons for veterans of the First World War was that boredom could be just as much of a threat to the enlisted man just as the enemy.

The Legionary implored legionnaires to pitch in to help soldiers in the new conflict in an editorial: “The old soldiers (of the Canadian Legion War Services) have a grave responsibility. They know the virtues and the vices that are all part of the game. They know the pitfalls into which the young soldiers can so easily tumble. It is their duty to emphasize the virtues and to caution wisely and judiciously against the pitfalls. One of the greatest teachers in life is example. Let the old soldiers be an example to the youth of today, an example in warm-hearted, generous comradeship, in unselfish devotion, in prudence and patience.”

When Canadian Legion War Services Inc. was established shortly thereafter, they partnered with the Salvation Army, the YMCA and the Knights of Columbus.

One of the primary issues they wanted to address was continuing education. The Canadian Legion Education Services grew out of the War Services Inc. and was tasked with giving soldiers productive avenues to fill their leisure time. Working with the Canadian Association of Adult Education, they made classes accessible to soldiers still based at home and at

the front. At home, teachers were available to help complete high school curriculum, plus French and German language lessons. Furthermore, high school diplomas and Bachelor of Arts degrees could be completed by correspondence.

Beyond earning degrees or certificates, the Education Services believed that having soldiers learn about the role of democracy through history and civics classes would help improve morale. The Education Services leadership also sought practical technical and vocational training that would serve the soldiers well when they returned home.

As the courses gained popularity with the troops and increasing acceptance from the brass, 23,000 enrolled overseas and 60,000 in Canada. Incredibly, with an arrangement with the International Red Cross, nearly 60,000 textbooks were sent to prisoner of war camps and almost 2,000 Canadians took courses while they were incarcerated.

The Legion’s War Services Inc. created mobile canteens where soldiers could read, write letters or play cards and socialize.

They also organized touring troupes of musicians, actors and speakers to entertain the troops in Canada and overseas.

According to Branching Out by James Hale, in 1940 alone the Canadian Legion War Services Inc. had screened 3,180 movies and held 2,329 concerts, dances and smokers. At the height of the conflict they had 35 touring shows and more than 1,000 canteens set up. By the end of the war they had shipped 10 million pieces of writing paper and distributed 125 million cigarettes.

The War Services Inc. also offered personnel, including clergy, to council service men and women during the hardship of war. They also were able to provide emergency financial aid at home if there was a gap between enlistment and when a dependent’s allowances began to arrive. They dealt with 30,859 cases in the first year alone.

The program was a huge success and served as an introduction to the Legion for the troops and more than $1.1 million was in the corporation’s treasury at the end of the war to help with veterans and their families.

William Wasbrough Foster: Lieutenant-Colonel William Wasbrough Foster was the Legion’s Dominion president from 1938-40.

Remembering those who gave us our

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Women played a vital role in growth of Legion Matthew Gourlie Moose Jaw Express

A painting at the local legion branch honouring the work of the Ladies Auxiliary.

From the first day they opened their doors, the local branch of "Nurses and other women who have served in various capacthe Royal Canadian Legion was welcoming to women. ities with the Forces are eligible for membership," stated the Before the Canadian Legion was even created, one of its for- Great War Veterans Association of Canada Constitution and bearers, the ‘Great War Veterans Association’, welcomed all By-laws in 1917. Considering that some women had voted women who served during the First World War as full mem- federally for the first time that same year, that was no small bers. thing.

From the start, and as it grew, Moose Jaw's No. 59 Branch had some formidable women in key roles, both within the legion membership and through the Ladies Auxiliary which was an important pillar of the local Legion in its founding years.

The Ladies’ Auxiliary originated during the First World War when women were asked to help wounded Veterans returning home, and to provide supports for their families. When The Royal Canadian Legion was established in 1926, these women were a welcomed addition at Legion Branches as they continued the tradition of volunteering to support needy ex-service personnel, and to enrich the programs and activities of the Branch.

From the start of the First World War until her death on Oct. 3, 1937, Mabel Cant's main concern in life was the welfare of the families of active servicemen.

"Joining together with kindred spirits, this remarkable lady organized the Auxiliary to the Great War Veterans Association which rendered outstanding service both to their Branch and to its members," wrote a Mrs. M. Hindley, president of the Ladies Auxiliary in the 1950s, who honoured Cant in a special 40th anniversary publication in 1966.

Cant couldn't have been less aptly named. She became the first president of the Ladies Auxiliary when it moved into the Canadian Legion and received its charter on Nov. 2, 1926. She was also the first vice-president of the provincial command.

"Mrs. William Cant was a friend to all of those in need of help," added Hindley. "Her nobility of character, generosity and kindness won the esteem of all those with whom she came in contact."

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Ruby Smith served as a transport driver during the Second World War and 48 years as a member of the Moose Jaw Branch No. 59 of the Royal Canadian Legion.

Under her leadership the local Ladies Auxiliary became the largest in the province.

"Mrs. Cant set many precedents," Hindley wrote. "Her example stands for all to follow, an example of natural goodness of heart, intelligence, honour and integrity."

The early aims of the Ladies Auxiliary were simple, yet vital: to bring comfort and encouragement to sick and disabled war veterans and their dependents, and to work hand in hand with the Men's Branch for the good of the Legion as a whole.

For many years after the First World War, the Ladies' Auxiliary provided a Christmas party for the war widows with each also receiving a gift. They also gave a Bible to each of the children of the war widows. When the Legion's new home on High Street was built in 1927, the Auxiliary helped to furnish the rooms upstairs. These were used as temporary quarters for veterans passing through the city.

As times grew lean during the depression of the 1930s, the Ladies Auxiliary pitched in to pay the coal bill for the Legion Hall.

"On more than one occasion if it were not for their assistance, the building would have been closed because there was just not enough money coming in from the Men's Branch to pay the operating expenses," Hindley recalled.

To help raise the extra funds needed, the ladies would host concerts with members of the Auxiliary taking part.

The Ladies' Auxiliary provided furnishing for for wards in the Department of Veteran's Affairs hospital wins. They also brought comfort to veterans who were in sanatoriums, mental institutions and geriatric centres.

During the Second World War, the Ladies Auxiliary sent parcels to the Moose Jaw boys who were serving overseas. At home they entertained members of the Veterans' Guard once a month and also worked at the Legion War Services Club where men who were away from their homes and family were entertained.

In the early days of the Legion Hall there were

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no kitchen facilities. The Ladies' Auxiliary set up coal-oil stoves in the secretary’s office to prepare a meal for 200 people following the Remembrance Day services on Nov. 11.

The history of the Ladies Auxiliary is full of strong, dedicated volunteers. Florence Ingleby, for example was a member of the Auxiliary for 45 yeas beginning in 1927. She served as Auxiliary president during the Second World War and was a "Silver Cross Mother."

The local Ladies Auxiliary lost its charter approximately 10 years ago, but women continue to play an important role in the operation and growth of the Legion.

The upstairs hall at the Legion is named after Ruby Smith who spent 48 years as a dedicated member of the Royal Canadian Legion in Moose Jaw. Born in Medora Manitoba as Ruby Croy, she joined the Canadian Women's Army Corps in 1942 and served as a transport driver in Canada and England. It was then that she met and married Len Smith in 1945.

They settled in Moose Jaw and Smith began her work with Branch No. 59. She spent many years as the chairperson and active member of the Sick & Visiting Committee.

She was the first woman to serve on the executives of both the Moose Jaw Branch and the Saskatchewan Provincial Command. Smith was the first vice-president of Branch No. 59 from 1975-77, Zone Commander from 197780, District Commander from 1980-83 and

Mabel Cant, as painted by Harold Seabrook, formed the first Ladies Auxillary for veterans in Moose Jaw and was the first president of the Canadian Legion Ladies Auxillary in 1926.

Provincial vice-president from 1983-85.

In appreciation and recognition of her Legion duties, Smith received her Life Membership from Branch No. 59 in 1969, she won the Meritorious Service Medal in 1975 to which was added the Palm Leaf in 1992, the highest honour that the Legion can bestow on one of its members.

In memory of those who had the courage and devotion to fight for our country.

We will never forget your sacrifice.

We will remember them...

LEGION 100TH ANNIVERSARY • PAGE 17 • WWW.MOOSEJAWEXPRESS.COM

Land acts helped shape the city and province Matthew Gourlie Moose Jaw Express

Returning soldiers played a significant role in the settling of the prairies.

Separate programs after the war changed the face of Saskatchewan and impacted Moose Jaw and the surrounding areas.

A Canadian tradition of settling ex-soldiers on the land began in the 17th century, continued following the South African War at the start of the 20th century. Following the First World War, the federal government created the Soldier Settlement Act and the Soldier Settlement Board in 1917 and expanded them in 1919.

Its creation was a coup for the nascent Great War Veterans Association -- the main fore-runner to the Canadian Legion -- who helped push for its creation to help veterans re-establish themselves in the post-war era.

James Hale writes in his history of the Royal Canadian Legion, Branching Out: “GWVA officials were also instrumental in advising the government on establishing the Soldier Settlement program, which grew out of a bill passed by Parliament in 1917. Intended to meet the dual goals of putting veterans to work and colonizing tracts of land in Western Canada, the scheme set provisions for loans to prospective farmers and disbursement of arable Crown lands. After a decade, the program proved to be a failure; rising interest rates, falling returns on agricultural outputs, and the unsuitability of many veterans to farm-

ing led one-third of the 31,000 participants to pull out. Failure though it was, the Soldier Settlement program laid the groundwork for a similar scheme that did work after World War II, and it went a long way in the early 1920s toward cementing the GWVA’s position as a forward-looking organization.”

Through the Soldier Settlement Board, the federal government acquired more than 85,000 acres of First Nations reserve land in Western Canada for non-Aboriginal soldiers to settle on between 1919 and 1922. That constituted a significant depletion of First Nations reserve lands.

The federal government hoped soldiers would homestead in the Palliser triangle in Saskatchewan, in the Interlake region of Manitoba, the Peace River country in Alberta and in the northern forests of the three provinces. There were concerns that some of the lands were less-than-ideal for farming and not situated close enough to rail lines for shipping.

Loans on land to be purchased could be made up to a total of $7,500, including: up to $4,500 for land; up to $2,000 for stock and equipment; and up to $1,000 for permanent improvements.

It looked like a great deal, but with a struggling economy and the Great Depression around the corner, it was far from an ideal time to live off of the land.

The Veterans Peace Park in Moose Jaw’s VLA neighbourhood is dedicated in honour of those who served their country.

“Soldier Settlement quickly foundered, creat- to re-establish themselves without having ing as many problems as it solved,” wrote Hale. a heavy repayment obligation immediately “Throughout the 1920s, veterans had to fight hanging over their head. The Act also providfor relief from the program itself -- which ed more versatility to settlers who wished to promised inexpensive farms and affordable farm part-time or who opted to go into comequipment, but delivered crippling loan pay- mercial fishing on the coasts. In the 1950s, the ments and foreclosures. By 1930, when the VLA began to provide loans to veterans who government revamped the program, more wanted to construct their own homes. than 10,000 of the 31, 324 veterans enrolled Veterans were also encouraged to settle small had given up their farms.” rural or suburban areas. The Act helped creDespite the failure of the Soldier Settlement ate Moose Jaw’s VLA neighbourhood in the program, a similar program -- the Veterans northwest part of the city.

Land Act -- was passed on July 20, 1942. The The Canadian Encyclopedia notes that under Act was expected to cost $80 million dollars the Veterans’ Land Administration, a branch with the goal of settling at least 25,000 veter- of the Department of Veterans Affairs, “over ans back on the land.

140,000 ex-servicemen had sought assistance This time the government offered settlers time before new loans were terminated in 1977.”

SalvationArmy.ca LEGION 100TH ANNIVERSARY • PAGE 18 • WWW.MOOSEJAWEXPRESS.COM

Returning veterans’ project cleared 100,000 acres in Peace River bush country

By Ron Walter Moose Jaw Express

With more than one million soldiers returning home from the Second World War, governments across Canada scrambled to accommodate the heroes with some hope for their future occupations.

In Alberta, the unsettled Peace River bush country was viewed as a potential home for veterans wanting to farm. Veterans were offered a half section (320 acres) with a cash grant of $2,320 available from the federal government.

The vast unsettled Peace River region was all bush and unsuitable for immediate farming.

The Alberta Post-War Reconstruction Committee and the Soldiers Settlement Board convinced authorities the area around Rycroft, Wanham and Eaglesham would suit a settlers’ project for veterans.

A contractor from Seattle was hired to clear and break 100,000 acres of bush country for the

returning veterans with a $14 an acre cost and crop sharing with the homesteaders.

The Seattle operator backed out but a Lethbridge area farmer who had been performing custom farm work since 1929 took on the project.

O.B. Lassiter agreed to break 120,000 acres and was allowed to keep 20,000 for himself.

The arrangement gave the veteran full title after 10 years. If crops yielded more than five bushels an acre, the government got 3.3 per cent with 30 per cent to Lassiter.

The contractor found his cost to clear and break land was $21 plus an acre.

Lassiter, in his 60s, brought in eight Cats and a crew in 1946, adding five more Cat dozers in spring. The Cats were left from building of the Alaska Highway.

First, he had to build roads and a permanent

bridge over the Spirit River.

Each half-section parcel had a 300-foot wide strip of bush left on the north and west sides to prevent wind erosion and for firewood.

By 1947, he had cleared and broken sod on 11,000 acres. By 1955 he had cleared and broken 73,600 acres — enough for 230 families.

By the 1950s the Peace River country was bustling with families looking to create a new future on homesteaded land. The new farmer still had to pick roots and clear some stumps from the land.

Crop failure in 1954 drove many veterans from the land but some stayed, prospered, and expanded the farm.

Frank Greenfield and his wife Marjorie from Saskatchewan were among the settling veterans. According to the Greenfield Heritage website their first winter was in a 12-foot by 12-foot

canvas tent.

She preserved wild berries — saskatoons, strawberries gooseberries and chokecherries— and made wine from them Like many of the veterans this ex-RCAF mechanic worked for Lassiter running a Cat. She worked at a local restaurant.

Eventually they bought a 12-foot by 20-foot cabin for $1,000 from a fellow Cat skinner. The cabin was moved to Eaglesham by tractor and wagon, resting on skids when occupied.

In 1954 the Greenfield farm was described as a thriving mixed farm endeavour with grain and hay crops, cattle, chickens and pigs.

The Greenfield family lived near Pense, Sask. in the first homestead. Frank married Marjorie Hampton of Govan in 1942. They retired to the Okanagan Valley of B.C. Ron Walter can be reached at ronjoy@sasktel.net

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Rural communities supported war efforts

By Joyce Walter Moose Jaw Express

Community history books that were prolifically published in the 1980s thanks to federal New Horizons grants contain many interesting accounts of how small towns and villages faced the reality of two world wars.

Rural soldiers served in all branches of the military and upon their return, were honoured in various ways by the friends, neighbours and families left at home to pray and wish for their safe return.

The following excerpts come from the history book, Parkbeg Reflections, published in 1982.

“Many of Parkbeg’s men and women served in the two world wars. Parkbeg’s women on the home front put out a gigantic effort as well. They worked for the Red Cross and sent encouragement to the soldiers and did all in their power for the war effort.

“When World War I was over the men were not forgotten. In November 1923 the returned men of Parkbeg put on a variety concert with proceeds of the silver collection and poppies going to the Great World War Veterans Association.

“Parkbeg people were wanting to help out where needed so in 1923 a Red Cross Society was organized with Mrs. J.A. Upton, president; Mrs. A.G. McFadyen, vice-president; Mrs. T.G. Cauthers, secretary-treasurer; and a committee composed of Mesdames T.A. Upton, George Steele, J. McFadyen and Mr. W. E. Gollmar and Mr. J.A. Upton.

“When the Second World War started the ladies organized again to help. Holyrood had the Holyrood Patriotic Get Together Club, Parkbeg had the War Services Club and the north had the Energetic Red Cross.

“During World War II the Japanese released hundreds of aneroid barometer-controlled drift balloons. The majority fell into the Pacific, but a few made it as far east as Manitoba and one did make it to Parkbeg.

“On Feb. 8, 1943 the balloon was discovered by Gus Winkler who had gone out to locate some telephone line trouble. It was snagged on a fence at the alkali slough eight miles north of Parkbeg on Thomas Rollins’ land. Nobody had seen its flight and it had apparently come down during the night. They retrieved a chandelier, a barometer and the balloon bag measuring sixty feet in diameter.

“When the war ended there were many welcome home celebrations and unveilings of honour rolls.

“On Nov. 12, 1945 a welcome home dance was held in the Brandview School House when seven boys who had recently returned from overseas were guests of honour and were presented with writing cases and wallets. They were Jim Lawson, Bobby Peterson, Carlyle Benson, Roy Zilkie, A. Grasdal, Lloyd Cox and Hugh MacLachlan.

“A welcome home banquet and dance was held in Taylor’s Hall for the boys who had recently received their discharges from the forces. C.B. Martin, on behalf of the War Services Club, welcomed the boys back to civilian life and Rev. Joe Carpenter offered thanks for them being home safe again. C.B. Martin presented each boy with a $5 war savings certificate. Arthur Gamble and Doug Humphrey replied for the boys.

“After a turkey supper, dancing was the pleasure of the evening, music being supplied by Elwood Peterson. Boys receiving certificates were Jack McFadyen, Milton (Casey) Steele, Douglas Humphrey, James Lawson, Ben Smart, Arthur Gamble, Lloyd Lawson, Robert Peterson, Ed Hart. Three of the boys were not able to be present.

“A large crowd turned out for the church service held in the Kelly School when Rev. Joe Carpenter took the service. Eldon Lawson representing the army; Douglas Humphrey, the navy; and Howard Crebo, the air force, former students of Kelly School, took

part in the unveiling of an honour roll of all the teachers and students who served in World War II.

Humphrey gave an outline of the history of the school. Eight of the boys whose names are on the honour roll were present for the service.”

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Legion man stood tall on the corner

By Joyce Walter Moose Jaw Express

He was such a tall man, standing there on the corner of Main and Fairford Streets, stalwart against the bone-chilling wind and the falling snow.

The man, in a Legion uniform not quite hidden by a winter overcoat, had a dish of red poppies around his neck and he greeted everyone who passed by his spot.

I’m not sure if I had a quarter or a dime clutched in my hand, but I know I had a coin that I was going to give the man so I could receive a poppy. The Legion man smiled as I approached and bent down so I could put my coin in the slot and then pick out my poppy. My Mom helped me put it on my coat as my Dad talked to the Legion man, got two more poppies, and then gave him a salute as one veteran to another.

It was Poppy Day in Moose Jaw and while I might not have fully understood the significance of the Legion man on the corner or why we would wear poppies until after Nov. 11, it was taught in our family that we always wore poppies and when possible came into Moose Jaw to attend Remembrance Day services.

In our rural school the teacher made a special effort to observe

Nov. 11 and to make sure the school was decorated with poppies and crosses. As a class from Grade 1-6 we would listen to a radio broadcast supplied by the Department of Education that talked about Canada’s role in the World Wars and then we would sing along with some of the songs made famous by Vera Lynn.

But it wasn’t until that same teacher invited some veterans from the community to lay wreaths at our makeshift cenotaph that I started to realize the importance of the day. My Dad and two other veterans attended and showed their medals, taught us when and how to salute, how to stand at attention, and then recite In Flanders Fields together.

Those childhood moments have taught the importance of wearing a poppy, supporting the poppy fund and remembering the sacrifices that were made in the name of peace.

There will always be those who consider Nov. 11 nothing but a day off work, a day to sleep in. They suggest Nov. 11 is a glorification of war — no, it is an acknowledgment that peace came from the wars, that society today enjoys freedoms that would

not exist if our soldiers hadn’t fought for those rights and privileges.

Schools in Moose Jaw and area are to be commended for holding in-school services, teaching at an early age the respect due to veterans of world wars, peacekeeping missions, and extending to the men and women who now serve in the Canadian military.

It is an emotional time as one observes the Legion’s Nov. 11 ceremony, watching elderly veterans proudly wearing their medals, but aging each year. Those who have gone on before still have a special place in our hearts and when we say, “We Will Remember Them,” we will indeed remember my Dad, uncle, cousin and long-time family friends who proudly served.

The Legion man doesn’t seem quite as tall this year, but he symbolizes the strength and courage of the Legion man who sold me my poppy on that windy street corner so many years ago.

Thank you for your service.

Joyce Walter can be reached at ronjoy@sasktel.net

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Dispatches from the Depot - Military Heritage in Moose jaw

By Bill & Ann Heselton

.We invite you on a quick tour around Moose Jaw to see some of our military heritage as we remember those who fought and gave their lives for us. One doesn't have to travel far to see these reminders.

You may have to find some streets you've never heard of though. Lets’ start by going up to the northeast area of the city to the site to the of Ross School located at Willow Avenue and Oak Street.

During World War I Ross School was used as a military hospital, and during World War II it was used as a military barracks for the Canadian Veterans Guard which was initially formed in the early days of the second world war as a large defence force in case of an attack on Canadian soil.

The Guard was composed largely of first world war veterans and it included 37 active and reserve companies with 451 officers and 9,806 other ranks. Over 17,000 veterans served with them. The Guards were disbanded in 1947. Ross school also served as a collegiate school in Moose Jaw and on the staff was notable air pilot “Dick” Richard Ryan. Dick Ryan changed the syllabus of the training for World War I pilots that saved the lives of many airmen from Canada and abroad while in the Air Force.

They did not even know how to do a loop with aircraft and he gives a humorous account of how he learned to do a loop with his aircraft, but that's another story. It was under Ryan’s guidance that the Moose Jaw Flying club was formed at the Rosedale Airport in 1928. Under a Federal government scheme a DeHaviland Moth aircraft would be provided and grant of $100 for each qualified applicant who was physically fit and of British Nationality.

Let’s drive down Oak Street to Caribou Street East and drive west to 1410 Caribou Street West. This is the site of Mercury Service now, it was formerly Rosedale Airport and was also used as an aircraft repair plant for the Royal Canadian Air Force run by Canadian Pacific Airlines. At this site employees were doping the fabric on the wings and body of aircraft with the mixture called dope. It was an extremely flammable and poisonous mixture.

Next we can stop in at Central Collegiate Institute, 149 Oxford Street West, the oldest operating school in Saskatchewan. In the school’s front entrance on the first floor you can see two bronze plaques, one for

each war, to commemorate former students who lost their lives in each of the two great Wars. If you have a mobility problem please use the Oxford Street entrance. Be sure to stop at the office and check with the staff in the or the principal for the safety and security of the students in the building.

From Central we can head over to A. E. Peacock Collegiate at 145 Ross Street East.

On your way note that on the North West corner of the property there is a Cenotaph which honours Land, Sea and Air losses of Moosejavians from 1939 to 1945. Enter the school at street level and again check in at the office to advise staff who you are and why you are in the building. Across from the office you can view a metal scale model of the HMCS Moose Jaw, a Corvette that was the first Royal Canadian Navy ship to sink a German submarine.

Now let’s pop over to the Moose Jaw Museum and Art Gallery at 461 Langdon Crescent. In the museum there is a replica of a WW I trench. Just imagine the men living in a trench like that during all types of weather, attacked by the Germans on a regular basis and if that was’t enough they

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suffered for standing in inches of water and mud and getting “Trench Foot” (A painful condition of the feet caused by long immersion in cold water or mud and marked by blackening and death of surface tissue) for their troubles.

From here we can go on to Crescent Park and the Cenotaph there marking the loss of soldiers from a number of wars: The South African War 1899 - 1902, To the memory of those who died for King and Country in the Great War 1914 - 1919, The Second Great War 1939 - 1945 and the Korean War 1950 - 1953.

A Cenotaph is an empty tomb or a monument erected in honour of a person or group of people whose remains lay elsewhere, especially commemorating people who died in a war.

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Editor’s Note; The following was written but never published after a speech by Col. Marc Bigaouette to the Canadian Club in 2012

Canadians faced harsh conditions in Afghanistan Ron Walter Moose Jaw Express

Being a Canadian soldier in Afghanistan must have been one of the toughest missions, and that’s without bullets being fired at them.

That was the impression left by a presentation former 15 Wing Commander Col. Marc Bigaouette made in 2012 to the Moose Jaw Canadian Club. Bigaouete was commander of 430 Tactical Helicopter Squadron in Afghanistan in 2008-09.

Members of the Canadian Forces worked under harsh conditions — temperatures from minus 25 to plus 50, glaring sun, sandstorms, limited living quarters — and risked their lives while half a globe away from family.

The squadron‘s mission was protecting soldiers on the ground and supplying the forward operating bases (FOBs) that grew tenfold during his tour. Bases in local communities in Kandahar Province allowed the joint task force mission to touch the local population and deter the Taliban.

The squadron provided support at any time of the day, being the only NAT0 unit trained to fly over rugged terrain in the dark. “Our sleep cycle changed all the time.”

Missions usually lasted eight hours. Crews preferred night flying. It was cooler – only 38 degrees versus 50 degrees in day time — and “nobody can see you; they don’t shoot at you,” Bigaouette said.

While flying, everyone was obliged to drink a litre bottle of water every 30 minutes to re-hydrate in the heat.

“After eight hours of flying the guys would step off the aircraft. Not once in the stay would they stop and use the (urinal). They used 80 litres of water from the time they step on until they step off.”

Once in the field, soldiers carried an 80-pound pack plus their weapons.

The job over there was to make sure all the FOBs were re-supplied with food, water and all needs.

They slept and lived in eight-foot by eight-foot spaces in tents and ate on a base that fed 19,000 people.

“We worked 90 per cent of the time just because there’s no point in doing nothing. You want to keep your mind busy all the time.”

A recreation area was equipped with videos, computers, pool tables and a ball hockey rink.

“You need to relax at some point in time. You can’t be in combat all the time. You need to get your sanity.”

Soldiers in the bases were pulled out for three days relaxation. “You need to be able to sleep without one eye open.”

That ability to sleep securely at home in Canada is something the Afghans envy, not the wealth we have, he said.

When someone was killed, forces attended a service and within minutes were back on the job protecting others. “No such thing as we’re going to stop for a day and think about this. You’re in up to your neck and you’ve got a duty to the guys out there.”

“Some of us come back and just carry on with life. Others can’t. I did not see anything that would cause me to lose sleep at night. Others did.”

Being separated from family was an issue.

‘Bigaouette’s spouse, Marie, a former Canadian Forces member, said folks on the base offered support to families at home.

“We know guys are gone a long time,” she said.

“We also understand the success of the mission depends a lot on how well things are going back home. If things are falling apart at home, it’s really hard for them to focus on what they have to do.”

She said informal support ranged from coffee to tours and talks by wives with experience who let the others know they are not alone.

“There’s something special about deployment.

The guys deploy and the next day the car breaks down, the pipes leak… It happens to all of us.

We just figure out how to make it work.”

Col. Bigaouette said Canadians were respected and accepted by the Afghans because of their connection with the people and their patience to avoid injury to civilians.

“My impression, because we understand them – they accept us. Let’s show our ability by educating them.

Canada’s training role helped bring them to standards where Afghans could do their own security.

Ron Walter can be reached at ronjoy@sasktel.net

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Capturing Juno Beach: local veterans' art brought the war home Matthew Gourlie Moose Jaw Express

Decades before Steven Spielberg set out to capture D-Day and the invasion of Normandy as realistically as he could, a trio of local veterans set out with the same goal in mind.

If you spent any time at the Moose Jaw Legion Hall, Harold Seabrook's vivid war scene paintings are one of the first things that capture the eye. Seabrook's largest is a collaboration he did with other local veterans that sits in a display case.

Seabrook, Ian Scott, Tim Marrison and Gordon Elmer came together to create a 3D mural/diorama of the Allies landing on Juno Beach on D-Day. Seabrook, a Navy veteran who was part of the D-Day landing, painted the mural from memory and with the use of historical references from the Public Library.

The mural took 10 days to complete and it captured a great degree of realism.

"You'd be surprised how many people come up to it and say they know the white house on the hill," said Ian Scott after the mural was unveiled on Nov. 11, 1987. "Everybody has a story to associate with it.

"One guy said he was in the bottom of the house when the Germans were still on top of it and they had a little altercation.”

While they sought to be historically accurate in terms of the models and locations, Seabrook added a little flourish by setting the white house on fire in his depiction.

"I've been told so many times that the white house wasn't on fire," Seabrook said in 1987. "Apparently, it is still standing in the same condition it was in then."

The Hoffer House is still standing today. It was the first building captured by the Allies on the Normandy coast on D-Day.

This mural depicting the invasion of Normandy on D-Day is in a display case at the Moose Jaw Legion branch.

It has become a symbol of Canada's efforts to liberate France there." For the men who were there it brought June 6, 1944 and a tourist destination. The couple who own the house, -- D-Day -- flooding back. After it was completed all three Herve and Nicole Hoffer, are glad to take in any guests who men related that veterans who were there would compliment them on its realism. arrrive -- particularly if they're Canadian.

While the scene Seabrook painted wasn't intended to be 100 Seabrook did the painting and the layout, Marrison made per cent realistic. The plaque that accompanies it calls it an some of the models, as did Elmer who helped with some of "interpretation" and dedicates the piece to "those who were CONTINUES ON PAGE 27 u

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LEGION 100TH ANNIVERSARY • PAGE 26 • WWW.MOOSEJAWEXPRESS.COM

Harold Seabrook painted a number of pieces inside the Moose Jaw Legion branch. the history and Scott had the initial idea for the mural.

"I thought that with a mural, a father could bring his son in and show him what it was really like," Scott said.

Seabrook's art -- signed Seebee -- hangs in different floors of the building.

Seabrook's portrait of Victoria Cross recipient David Currie also hangs downstairs. He painted two portraits of first Branch president Mr. Joseph Allison and first Ladies Auxiliary president Mrs. Mabel Cant. He also painted three aging veterans and a separate picture of a girl holding a poppy that hang along with the list of Canada's war dead from Afghanistan.

Seabrook served aboard the HMCS Moose Jaw and painted 'U-boat Captured' in 1989 based on a real event from September of 1941. Once again Scott provided some work on the research. Seabrook painted a picture of the corvette capturing a German U-boat inside a ship's wheel. The painting hangs beside the original bell from the HMCS Moose Jaw and the ship's flag which is framed.

Seabrook passed away in 2004 at the age of 84.

Harold Seabrook's painting of Victoria Cross winner David Currie.

Harold Seabrook painted the ship he served on, the HMCS Moose Jaw, capturing a U-boat in 1941. A picture of Seabrook, right, and Ian Scott hangs below the piece.

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Modern legion continues to support its local communities Matthew Gourlie Moose Jaw Express

The roots of the Royal Canadian Legion are in helping veterans.

While that is still a large part of its mandate, the Legion has grown into a strong service club that contributes to its local communities.

Every year, Canadians honour veterans by wearing a red poppy in the lead-up to Remembrance Day. Those funds in turn go to help veterans in need across the country. Three years ago, the Poppy Fund raised approximately $16.5 million nationwide. Donations to the Legion Poppy Fund provides financial assistance and support to veterans, including Canadian Armed Forces and the RCMP, and their families who are in need.

Funds generated from poppy sales cannot be used for the operation of local branches. Still, all money raised by a local Legion branch stays within that local community and helps to pay for medical equipment, home services and long-term care facilities for those who have served or are currently serving in the Canadian Armed Forces.

"Our Poppy Chairman Bob Travalle does a great job on that side, with handling the funds and donating them locally," said Moose Jaw Branch No. 59 president Roy LaBuick. "We do everything we can in our power to keep things locally. The Poppy Fund has made donations to the (Moose Jaw Health Foundation) for things that the hospital needs locally. We keep everything here in the community as much as possible."

As it grew, the Legion sought to expand its reach. In 1959, out-going Legion dominion president David Burgess said that the Legion should embrace its service roots.

"The Canadian Legion was founded on the principle of ser-

100 YEARS

vice to others. For 35 years, it has gained strength through the performance of such service. This increased strength has enabled us to do a better job for veterans and expand our concept of service to include the community at large," Burgess said.

"Service through strength: Strength through service! This, comrades, should be the theme which carries us into the next 35 years."

As veterans re-integrated with society and began to thrive in the post-war era of the fifties, Branch No. 59's long-serving secretary-manger R.W. Dillon noted in 1966 that "during the past 10 years a progressive program of community effort was carried out" in Moose Jaw. Scholarships were offered to high school students starting in the 1950s. They helped the local Pony Baseball League through a financially difficult year in 1958 and took over running the program starting in 1959. It grew from four teams to 16 teams by 1964.

"Large contributions have been made to many deserving and worthwhile community projects, including the General (and later Union) Hospital, Providence Hospital, the Civic Centre, John Howard Society... track and field sports, Civilian and Veteran Handicapped Associations, senior citizens, and in the 1930s we operated a Veteran's Rehabilitation Workshop," Dillon said.

The Branch adopted the Navy League of Canada in 1957 and supported it moving forward. Branch No. 59 continues to support them to support cadet organizations -- the Navy League, the Army Cadets, Sea Cadets and Air Cadets -- today.

The bravest are surely those who had the clearest vision of what was before them, glory and death alike, and yet went out to meet it.

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"We try to keep close bonds with those organizations, as well," LaBuick said. "Some of those kids who are involved in that, they may make the military their careers. We want to make sure that the Legion is here to help them."

In the 1960s and 1970s, the Legion was a key supporter of amateur sports, particularly track and field, and invested in improved coaching. The Legion's track and field nationals remains the premier national event for teenage track athletes.

They also support youth with camps, scholarships, bursaries and cultural exchanges.

In 1979, Moose Jaw's Don Hamilton was the president of the Saskatchewan Command of the Royal Canadian Legion. He called on all of the local branches in the province to enhance and expand their work in their local communities. He cited the Legion in Moosomin that helped launch their local Block Parent program.

"The Legion, in many areas, has gotten involved in local events in the community and is helping to solve local problems," Hamilton has said in the past. "I hope that during my term of office those branches not already involved in the community will get involved."

Shortly after its inception, there was a proposal to allow the family members of veterans to also join. That proposal didn't immediately gain traction, but non-military, fraternal affiliates were granted associate membership in 1970. Those affiliates were granted the right to vote in Legion matters in 1980 and spouses of Legion members were granted voting membership in 1982. The thought was that in a time of sustained peace, there may not be veterans who saw combat to

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Wreaths are laid at the cenotaph during a Remembrance Day ceremony at the Civic Centre.

maintain the Legion in the future and the expansion of membership would insure a healthy Legion moving forward.

Later, all Canadian citizens became eligible for affiliate voting membership and non-citizens are still eligible for a non-voting affiliate membership. By 1986 the nature of the membership had changed with 150,000 of their 600,000 members being the children of service people.

"It's not just a veterans-only club," said LaBuick whose grandparents and other family

served, but was not in the Canadian Forces himself. "It's opened up to anybody who would like to be a member. They can come in and enjoy the facilities that we have. We run a lot of things. We have Friday night suppers; we have a shuffleboard league; we have three dart leagues that we run; we have curling and golf. We're always needing volunteers -- whether they're members or not -- with Remembrance Day, selling poppies and setting up for Remembrance Day."

The Canadian Legion band from Moose Jaw won the Saskatchewan Military and Brass Band contest from 1920-22 and 1924-35. The claimed third place at the Canadian National Exhibition in 1926.

LEGION 100TH ANNIVERSARY • PAGE 29 • WWW.MOOSEJAWEXPRESS.COM

Local Legion persevering in tough times Matthew Gourlie Moose Jaw Express

Roy LaBuick is the president of the Moose Jaw Branch No. 59 of the Royal Canadian Legion.

Roy LaBuick's grandfather served in the Second World War, which is where he met LaBuick's grandmother and brought her back to Canada as a War Bride.

It's a quintessentially a Canadian story. Yet LaBuick, president of the Moose Jaw Branch No. 59 of the Royal Canadian Legion, may not have even become a Legion member were it not for the luck of the draw.

LaBuick's grandfather Roy Lix served the full six years in the Canadian Army from 1939 until he was discharged in 1946. His grandmother Hazel Lix was born in England. She served as a nurse for the duration of the war in the Army hospitals.

They were but two of many from LaBuick's extended family that served in the Canadian

Armed Forces. LaBuick had a natural affinity for the Legion but had never become a member.

"I happened to go to a Legion function at the local branch there in Kamloops," recalled LaBuick, who was living in a B.C. city at the time. "They were having a draw and I bought some tickets.

They drew my number and they knew I wasn't from the branch. So they asked me where I was from and I said I was from Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan. There were two World War 2 veterans who flagged me down while I was going back to my table.

"They said 'When we were training in Dundurn we would always get weekend passes and we would come to Moose Jaw. Is that store still there? The one that has the trolley tracks.'

'Joyner's!' Sitting and talking to these two gentlemen reminded me of talking with my grandfather and it made me feel a little closer to home and Moose Jaw at the time."

LaBuick said he enjoyed listening to the veterans tell stories about his hometown in the 1940s.

"They said that everybody always went to Moose Jaw because if they got into trouble in Moose Jaw, the MPs wouldn't travel all the way from Dundurn to Moose Jaw to get them. That's why they didn't go to Saskatoon," LaBuick said. "I must have sat with these two gentlemen for two hours. I had such a great time I decided I wanted to become a member. Plus, my grandparents had served, along with a number of other family members, in World War 2."

That was 25 years ago. LaBuick joined Branch 59 when he moved back home. He has served on the executive for four years and his two-year

term as president is coming to a close.

"I wanted to be able to help those that served our country. I didn't serve my country, so I thought the next best thing would be serving the people who did," LaBuick said.

It is a challenging time for Legions across the country and Moose Jaw is no different. LaBuick said Branch No. 59 has a great membership with a number of dedicated volunteers, but they are facing some of the same challenges that have cropped up nationwide.

"All of the veterans clubs are facing an aging membership," LaBuick said. "We are still holding not too bad with our membership. As a province, we're considered one of the largest memberships after Saskatoon. The Saskatoon branch is around 600 or 650 and we're right in that ballpark."

LaBuick said the challenge is getting the younger generations to join up.

"And I mean not just the 20-year-olds, but people who are in their thirties and their forties," he said.

One of the factors to account for Moose Jaw's membership holding strong is due to the influence of having 15 Wing Moose Jaw in their backyard. LaBuick said there are plenty of local Legion members where Moose Jaw was their last posting and they opted to retire here. "(Those members) still have good connection out at the Base," LaBuick said. "The Base has been very supportive of us, as well. They donate some student pilots to us for Remembrance Day to help with the set-up and tear-down, which is great.

"They're always in constant contact with us, back

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and forth, for various things. We do have a good relationship out there with the folks there at the Base. They always do what they can for us."

During our conversation, the downstairs lounge of the legion is undergoing renovations and repairs to the cooler "It is a struggle financially because we're in a building that is well over 90 years old. There's maintenance and repairs, it's difficult for the upkeep of the building," LaBuick said.

"The gentleman that's doing the renovations to the cooler is volunteering his time. He sourced out the materials he needed and tried to get them at the best price he possibly could with whatever help he could get from local businesses. He's been in there for the last four days as a volunteer.

"Hats off to the volunteers who help keep this place together."

LaBuick said that a new building -- or even extensive renovations -- would be a huge undertaking to raise funds for. That may have to be the long-term goal as their building closes in on the century-mark, but for the time being their building and their membership are holding strong.

LaBuick credited the Legion finance chair Barry Young with doing a "remarkable" job of keeping their expenses in line.

"There are times when things need to be fixed.

What are you going to do? You need to get them fixed. It's a challenge," LaBuick said. "Financially we're doing what we can to keep our head above water. It's not been easy.

"My honest opinion is that I don't see the day that this Legion closes down. There is good support through the community."

Bravery and determination earned area farmer the Victoria Cross Matthew Gourlie Moose Jaw Express

Pte. William Johnstone Milne wasn’t afraid of a daunting challenge.

Pte. William Johnstone Milne’s name is inscribed on To understand the Vimy Memorial in France. Canada. Dept. of Na- Pte. Milne as tional Defence / Library and Archives Canada a soldier, it is illuminating to learn about how he enlisted. Milne walked more than 40 kilometres from a farm near Caron -- an eight-hour walk at minimum -- to enlist on Sept. 11, 1915.

Milne would never return home. He was posthumously awarded the Victoria Cross after he was killed in action on April 9, 1917 during the Battle of Vimy Ridge.

Willie Milne was born on Dec. 21, 1892 in Cambusnethan in South Lanarkshire, Scotland approximately 28 kilometres southeast of Glasgow. After completing his studies at Newmains Public School in Cambusnethan he emigrated to Canada in 1910.

He worked at Kirkland Farm -- southeast of Mortlach, near Caron -- for four years before enlisting. His height on his enlistment papers lists him at five-feet and five-and-a-half inches. He joined

Moose Jaw’s 46th Battalion and sailed for Britain on the SS Lapland from Halifax on Oct. 23, 1915. He was transferred to the 16th Battalion as a replacement and was sent to France on June 16, 1916.

Milne would see action in the Battle of the Somme that summer and was in action at Poziers and on the Ancre Heights that fall. He was hospitalized with influenza on Nov. 28 following an attack on Regina Trench.

During the Battle of Vimy Ridge, Milne showed great determination and bravery in his final hours.

After seeing an enemy machine gun firing on the advancing troops attack, Milne crawled on his hands and knees to reach the gun. He was able to kill the crew with hand grenades and then captured the gun.

With the machine gun captured, the line reformed and Milne again “located a machine gun in the support line and stalking the second gun as he had done the first, he succeeded in putting the crew out of action and capturing the gun” according to his citation.

Shortly after capturing the second gun, Pte. Milne was shot and killed by enemy fire. His body was never recovered.

Milne was awarded the Victoria Cross posthumously. It is the Commonwealth’s highest award for valour in battle. His is one of four Victoria Crosses awarded at Vimy Ridge. He is also one 16 Victoria Cross recipients with ties to Saskatchewan and one of only

81 Canadians who received the honour during the First World War. “His wonderful bravery and resource on these two occasions undoubtedly saved the lives of many of his comrades,” concluded his Victoria Cross citation.

Milne never married, and his Victoria Cross was given to his mother Agnes. When she passed his sister Nellie. It was later acquired by a Canadian citizen who put it up for auction at Christie, Mason & Woods in London. Pte. William Johnstone Milne Thanks to public donations, the received the Victoria Cross postCanadian War Museum was humously in 1917. Canada. Dept. able to purchase the medal for of National Defence / Library and Archives Canada £41,000 in 1989.

Milne was also awarded the British War Medal and the Victory Medal.

He is commemorated on the Vimy Memorial. A tribute plaque at the site of the Kirkland farm was erected in 1995.

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www.visitmoosejaw.ca 306.631.0059 LEGION 100TH ANNIVERSARY • PAGE 31 • WWW.MOOSEJAWEXPRESS.COM

Legion’s new Dominion President has a vision for the future Matthew Gourlie Moose Jaw Express

Tom Irvine has a vision for bringing the Royal Canadian Legion into the 21st century.

The Royal Canadian Legion’s new Dominion President wants to increase membership by making the Legion more attractive and welcoming to younger members.

“We’re trying to get the attitude of the past changed into a modern-day atmosphere where younger members and Tom Irvine is the new their families will feel welcome into the Dominion President branches and participate,” Irvine said. of the Royal Canadi- “That’s happening now, but it’s not hapan Legion. pening across the country. It’s happening in pockets.”

Irvine began his two-year term as the new Legion president in August. He has been part of the Legion at a national level since 2004, first as chairman of Dominion Command for 10 years and then as the first vice president of Dominion Command

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starting in 2016.

“In the first couple of terms it was pretty static, but in the last four or five terms we have younger members coming into Dominion Command, the provincial presidents are getting a little younger and a little more up-to-date in modern technology and we’re evolving,” Irvine said. “In the last 10 years, we are getting better and we’re not into the modern-age society. We’re working on it. We’re moving. There are a lot of changes.

“It has greatly changed since I have been there the last 14 years and getting better.”

Irvine’s goal is to now see the Legion increase its membership and fully move into the 21st century.

“With our new marketing team that’s in place we’re doing social media a lot. We’re on twitter, we’re on facebook. The message is getting out,” he said “Last year we brought in 26,000 new members just through our efforts. That helps us a lot, but if you balance the membership with those who joined and those who didn’t renew and those who have passed away we’re at a deficit.”

Irvine’s main goal is to see the Legion’s membership increase by approximately 40,000 members to reach 300,000.

“If we can get back up to 300,000 members that would help us in our budgets, it would help us in our programs to stay financially feasible,” he said. “If we keep losing members then our programs will start hurting down the road. And that ‘down the road’ is coming in a few years. The biggest thing is to increase our membership.”

Irvine said that a lot of branches are still “living in the past.” To achieve that goal, he wants to see them start to think outside the box and provide a welcoming atmosphere.

“Last year, when I was membership chairman and first vice-president, we designed a hospitality program,” Irvine explained. “It’s designed for the branches to learn how to deal with the younger veterans and younger people coming into the branches. It’s just a general hospitality plan that most corporations have.”

Irvine worked with TD Canada Trust before retiring in 2004.

Irvine served with the reserves in the Black Watch (Royal Highland Regiment) of Canada for 23 years. He was also part of a CONTINUES ON PAGE 33 u

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peacekeeping tour in Egypt with the United Nations Emergency Force in 1975.

A native of Montreal, he joined the Legion 30 years ago. He was still a reservist and had moved to Ormstown in southern Quebec after getting married in the late-80s.

“I married into the community and several members of my new family were members of the Legion,” Irvine said. “I went to the Armistice Parade on November 11th. I was discouraged that in a town of 2,000 that only 10 or 20 people showed up for Armistice. That day I went to the branch and had a long talk with several of the members and I decided that I can do something about this. I joined the Legion that day.

“We got a team together and the next year we went from 10 to 20 to almost 200. That went on for years and I’m quite proud of that. It was then that I realized that I can make a difference. So, I stayed.”

Irvine has been trying to make a difference at the regional, provincial and national level ever since.

To achieve his goal of growing membership, he wants to draw both young veterans and veterans and their families to the Legion and give them reasons to be members and feel welcome and engaged with their Legion.

“A modern-day guy or gal or family don’t want to go to the local branch and play shuffleboard,” Irvine said. “One of the ideas I’ve been pushing for years is that every branch should have wifi. The soldier of yesterday used to join and go to war and get posted. Everyone from the town would go off together and they would all come back together. Nowadays a young man from small-town Saskatchewan joins and he’s off by himself and he comes back by himself. All of his buddies are across the country. If a branch has wifi and that soldier doesn’t, he has an opportunity to go to the branch, use the wifi at the branch and connect with his buddies.”

Irvine envisions a separate room where younger veterans could connect via Skype or text on wifi or play video games online with their comrades across the country to stay connected.

“A lot of them don’t drink today. A lot of them just drink coffee or just want to get out of the house,” he added. “They could have a separate room somewhere in the branch where they can go have a cup of coffee and play online. If they want to go into the main part and talk to the other comrades, that’s fine too. It’s a place for them to go.”

Irvine reported that modern-day veterans from Bosnia and Afghanistan -- and even going back to those who served during the Cold War -- haven’t been joining like they did in past generations.

“There’s a list of reasons a mile long, but between the combat arms guys and gals and the regular people that didn’t serve overseas or whatever, it’s the same attitude. The modern-day people don’t feel like the branch is welcoming. ‘Why would I bring my family into a relic? There’s nothing for my family to do,’” Irvine said. “We want them to change that attitude in the branches. ‘OK they’re putting on a barbecue this Saturday, let’s go to the branch.’ We want them to make it more family-orientated. For the modern-day guys who aren’t married, you need something else to draw them in and get involved. The modern-day guys are saying ‘there’s nothing there for me.’ I’m trying to work on that to change that attitude because there is a lot there for them.”

As much as he wants to see positive change, Irvine is also deeply passionate about the positive work the Legion is doing and the importance of their role in the lives of veterans and in their local communities.

“The Legion stands for a lot more than just a place to go,” Irvine said. “Being a member of the Legion helps support all of our programs that helps and supports veterans and our communities right across the country. Without their membership we’re in trouble.”

LEGION 100TH ANNIVERSARY • PAGE 33 • WWW.MOOSEJAWEXPRESS.COM

ANAVETS celebrating 100 years in Moose Jaw Matthew Gourlie Moose Jaw Express

The Army, Navy and Air Force Veterans club is the oldest in Canada. The local unit is celebrating its 100th anniversary at the end of this year 2018.

The local chapter of the ANAVETS were chartered as the Army and Navy Veterans in Canada's on Dec. 16, 1918 as Unit 11. Their number was changed to Unit 252 on Dec. 13, 1935.

The club boasts approximately 150 members and functions as a place for veterans and other people in Moose Jaw to meet socially.

The ANAVETS are also a service organization that helps its members, as well as the community at large. The club supports the local Cadets and also helps the Legion sell poppies each year, both in the club rooms, on the street and to businesses. In addition to their own Remembrance Day activities, the local ANAVETS also take part in parades with their colour party.

The club has a monthly supper and a meat draw every Saturday.

Unit 252 will celebrate their 100th anniversa- a dance hall, lounge and auditorium in 1958. ry on Saturday, Dec. 15 with an open house They moved to their current location at 279 from 2-8 p.m. There will be a cake-cutting at High St. W. in January of 2009.

3:30 p.m. and a meat draw at 4:30 p.m. Ev- The ANAVETS also had a Ladies Auxiliaeryone is welcome to attend and help them ry that was formed in 1959 and played an important role in the club until 2009. While celebrate at 279 High St. W. Before the Second World War, the club was the Ladies Auxiliary no longer exists, there known as the Army and Navy Veterans of are many women who play a key role in the Canada, with the Air Force being added to operations of the club.

In the early days of the club, the Army and the name after the war.

The first club rooms were in the Brunswick Navy Veterans had a band that continued Hotel on River Street and then they moved into the 1950s. into the basement of the old Fire Hall on The ANAVETS have more than 18,000 Saskatchewan Street and First Avenue North- members across Canada. west.

From there they moved to the house that at one time housed the Great War Veterans Association and became Grant Hall. In 1929, The names and signatures on the original they moved downstairs to a bank across from application to create an Army and Navy Veterans in Canada chapter in Moose Jaw the Walter Scott Building.

While in the old Hitchcock home -- their from 1918. long-time location at 112 1st Ave. NE in the 1940s. They expanded the building to feature

The original 25 members of the Army, Navy Veterans in Canada Moose Jaw Unit No. 11 is housed at the current ANAVETS hall.

The Army, Navy and Air Force Veterans Unit 252 has been housed at 279 High St. W. for nearly 10 years.

LEGION 100TH ANNIVERSARY • PAGE 34 • WWW.MOOSEJAWEXPRESS.COM

REMEMBRANCE DAY OPEN HOUSE Sunday November 11, 2018 12:00 NOON TO 8:00 P.M. UL

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LIGHT LUNCH SERVED

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COME JOIN US EVERYONE WELCOME! Army, Navy and Airforce Veterans MOOSE JAW No. 252

NEW MEMBERS WELCOME SEE LOUNGE FOR DETAILS

DECEMBER OPEN HOUSE

We would like to invite you to an Open House at the Army, Navy, Air Force Veterans Club at 279 High Street West, to commemorate our 100th Anniversary on

Sincerely Yours, President, Dave Low, Anavets Unit #252

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Please drop in and feel free to bring a guest.

The lounge will be open from 1:00pm - 8:00pm Cake Cutting at 3:30pm We have a a meat draw starting at 4:30 We look forward to seeing you if your schedule permits.

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Saturday December 15th, 2018.

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Everyone Welcome !!

LEGION 100TH ANNIVERSARY • PAGE 35 • WWW.MOOSEJAWEXPRESS.COM

Closing the pocket: David Currie and the last battle of Normandy Matthew Gourlie Moose Jaw Express

David Vivian Currie, Victoria Cross medal recipient.

David Currie had 10 days of combat experience when he was given a near-impossible task during one of the key moments of the Second World War. The Moose Jaw-bred commander was charged with taking 200 men and a dozen tanks to try to block the escape route of thousands of hastily retreating German troops fleeing the vice of Allied troops closing in on three sides during the Normandy invasion.

Not only did Currie and his men achieve the task given to them, but he led with skill and calm under a near-constant barrage from the Germans.

His actions during the final battle of the Normandy invasion earned him the Victoria Cross, the Commonwealth's highest military honour.

David Vivian Currie was born in Sutherland, Sask. on July 8, 1912 and was the oldest child of David Henry Currie and his wife Mable Brimble.

David Sr. was employed by the Canadian Pacific Railroad and the family settled in Moose Jaw

when David Jr. was one and the family stayed in the city until 1939.

Currie attended King George School and Central Collegiate before studying at the Moose Jaw Technical School before beginning a career as an automobile mechanic and a welder.

Currie joined The King's Own Rifles of Canada, which would eventually be re-designated as The Saskatchewan Dragoons, at the age of 14. He would rise to the ranks of second lieutenant in the local militia by the time he was 27 in 1939.

He joined the regular army in January 1940 and was promoted to captain in 1941 and to major in 1944. He would ultimately achieve the rank of lieutenant colonel.

Maj. Currie was commanding a mixed force that consisted of C Squadron of the South Alberta Regiment and two infantry companies of the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders, Canadian tanks and self-propelled anti-tank guns in June of 1944.

After the Normandy landings on D-Day on June 6, the Allied troops were slowly, but surely clawing back ground in France.

The U.S. 1st Army had a breakthrough following the success of Operation Cobra as of July.

They were able to penetrate the German line, reclaiming a lot of ground to the south and then expanding their reach in all directions, including looping back around to the north towards Argentan. With British forces driving the Germans back on the western front and the Canadian 4th Armoured Division doing the same from the north from recently captured Caen, the German 7th Army was quickly being surrounded in the "Falaise pocket" and cut off.

The Polish 1st Armoured Division had captured Hill 262 above the village of Coudhard in Normandy in the east and provided a vital foothold to help seal off the pocket and fend off the retreating Germans.

By time German General field marshall Walter Model ordered a retreat, Stanisław Maczek's Polish 1st Armoured Division had established themselves in the mouth of the Falaise pocket on and around the northernmost Mont Ormel

ridge's two peaks.

With the Americans less than 18 km south of the Polish position on Mont Ormel, that left increasingly fewer roads for the Germans to get their men -- and particularly -- their tanks and equipment out of the Falaise pocket.

It was left to Currie, his 200 men and a dozen M4 Sherman tanks to try to seal off the escape route at Saint-Lambert-sur-Dives -- about eight kilometres west of the Poles on Mont Ormel -and hold off the Germans until reinforcements could reach them.

They would be meeting a detachment of the German 2nd Panzer Division that featured 60ton Tiger I tanks that were twice as large as the Canadian's 30-ton Sherman tanks.

The first Canadian attack was unsuccessful as the Germans drove them back and knocked out two of their tanks with their 88-mm artillery cannons. Currie dismounted his command tank and surveyed the scene.

"Major Currie immediately entered the village alone on foot at last light through the enemy outposts to reconnoitre the German defences and to extricate the crews of the disabled tanks, which he succeeded in doing in spite of heavy mortar fire." reads his Victoria Cross citation in part.

After helping get wounded men back from the front and out of their bombed-out tanks, Currie decided to use his new knowledge of the German positions and immediately ordered his 115 remaining troops to attack again as dawn broke.

By noon the Canadians had succeeded in seizing a position halfway inside the village.

Despite being badly out-numbered, the Canadian armoured troops were able to push the Germans out of St. Lambert. Now they had to hold the Germans off. At one point the battle was so fraught that Currie poked out of the hatch of his tank to shoot at German snipers 50 yards away with his Lee-Enfield rifle.

All of Currie's junior officers were killed or wounded, leaving Currie to direct all aspects of the attack himself. He only slept for one hour during the 36-hour battle. He was able to send orders via radio from his tank, but also dis-

LEGION 100TH ANNIVERSARY • PAGE 36 • WWW.MOOSEJAWEXPRESS.COM

mounted during lulls in the action to talk to his men face to face and implore them about the importance of their mission.

"He did not permit his fatigue to become apparent to his troops and throughout the action took every opportunity to visit weapon pits and other defensive posts to talk to his men, to advise them as to the best use of their weapons and to cheer them with words of encouragement."

Against overwhelming odds, the Canadians held strong.

Currie was credited with skillfully organizing his defences in the face of near-constant counter-attack to hold their position and deal the Germans a surprisingly large number of casualties given their relative size.

They were supported by artillery and 40 Canadian infantrymen were able to reinforce the embattled squadron. When they arrived Currie himself led them to their positions and explained to them the importance of their task as part of the defence.

"When during the next attack, these new reinforcements withdrew under the intense fire brought down by the enemy, he personally collected them and led them forward into position again, where, inspired by his leadership they held for the remainder of the battle."

Once artillery support became available, he continued to order it deployed "despite the fact that short rounds were falling within fifteen yards of his own tank. He ordered fire from medium artillery to continue because of its devastating effect upon the attacking enemy in his immediate area."

In the words of one of his non-commissioned officers from his citation: "We knew at one stage that it was going to be a fight to a finish, but he was so cool about it, it was impossible for us to get excited."

On Aug. 20 Currie ordered an attack which captured the remaining half of the village to block the German escape route through Chambois-Trun for good.

The 1st Polish Armoured Division rained down CONTINUES ON PAGE 37 u

Maj. David Currie, third from left, oversees the surrender of German troops on the road out of Saint-Lambert-sur-Dives as the German officer comes forward, arms raised to surrender his troops. Credit: Library and Archives Canada on the retreating Germans from their position on the hill as they tried to beat a hasty retreat to the Seine. On Aug. 21, tanks from the 4th Canadian Armoured Division reached the Polish forces at Coudehard and the 2nd and 3rd Canadian Infantry divisions had fortified St. Lambert to seal off the Germans escape route.

"Major Currie’s gallant conduct and contempt for danger set a magnificent example to all ranks of the force under his command." reads his citation.

Over four days of battle, Currie and the men of the South Alberta Regiment destroyed seven tanks, a dozen 88-mm artillery guns and 40 armoured cars. They killed 300 Germans,

wounded 500 more and captured 2,100 Germans on their own. Shortly thereafter the remnants of the German 7th Army of 50,000 would surrender to the Allies, cut off from the rest of the retreating Germans.

His son, also named David Currie, told the Armed Forces web site that he believes his father's cool under pressure was forged during his years of training in Moose Jaw. "During his time with the militia, he trained with First World War vets, so he carried a lot of inside information with him. That was his foundation. If you have that ability in you, it manifests with that kind of exposure,” the younger Currie said.

Lest We Forget Phone: 306-693-3229 Fax: 306-693-3251

Maj. David Currie in his tank during the Second World War. Credit: Lieut. Frank L. Duberville / Canada. Dept. of National Defence / Library and Archives Canada St. Lambert was the final battle of the Normandy campaign. The battle concluded on Aug. 20 and Paris was liberated five days later as a path to Paris was opened on the Western Front.

It was vital victory for the Allies, but the fighting in Falaise -- as was common throughout the Normandy campaign -- came at a huge cost.

American general, and future president, Dwight Eisenhower described it in his wartime memoirs thusly: "The battlefield at Falaise was unquestionably one of the greatest 'killing fields' of any of the war areas. Forty-eight hours after the closing of the gap I was conducted through it on foot, to encounter scenes that could be described only by Dante. It was literally possible

to walk for hundreds of yards at a time, stepping on nothing but dead and decaying flesh."

Currie also participated in the Battle of the Scheldt and the liberation of the Netherlands in November of 1944.

Currie received his Victoria Cross medal before King George VI. Currie is the only Saskatchewan-born Victoria Cross recipient.

Prime Minister John Diefenbaker appointed Currie Sergeant-at-Arms of the House of Commons from 1960-78.

The Saskatchewan Dragoons' armoury in Moose Jaw has since been named the Lt. Colonel D.V. Currie Armoury.

Currie died in Ottawa on June 24, 1986.

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Local "communications genius" offered vital intelligence in WWII Matthew Gourlie Moose Jaw Express

Pat Bayly was a key figure in covert communications during the Second World War. photo courtesy of Town of Ajax Archives Pat Bayly was instrumental in the success of the Allied war effort in the Second World War. The Canadian spy didn't fire a shot during the conflict, but rather used his intellect and skills to give the Allies an upper-hand.

Bayly, a "communications genius" was able to intercept transmissions to aid the Allied effort and enabled the Allies to communicate quickly and securely during the war. He was also the assistant director at Camp X -- a British spy school on the shore of Lake Ontario -- during the Second World War. Benjamin de Forest "Pat" Bayly was born in

London, Ont. on June 20, 1903. He moved to Moose Jaw with his family three years later. He was named after both his father Dr. Benjamin Moore Bayly and his mother, who was born Alice de Foret Seaborn in Quebec. It is believed that his Irish roots earned the younger Bayly the nickname Pat. Bayly's maternal uncle, Walter Seaborn, had already moved to Moose Jaw before the Baylys settled there. Dr. Bayly opened a practice in Moose Jaw and worked as a medical health officer for more than 30 years. During the First World War, Dr. Bayly served in the 49th Battalion of the Canadian Expeditionary Force.

William A. Parish's biography of Bayly "The Unknown Canadian" notes that Bayly had founded his own modest radio station in Moose Jaw: "In the 1922 Official List of Radio Stations of Canada, Benjamin De Forest Bayly is listed as the owner of a radio station with the call signal 4EC. Pat was nineteen. Radio stations such as this would broadcast church services and other local events. Pat's early interest in radio and radio communication was to become so very important in his later role in World War II." Radio and communications were Bayly's passion, but he was also a realist and a gifted student. He attended the University of Saskatchewan and graduated from law school in 1923 at the age of 20. He was articling as a lawyer, but changed course not long after meeting his future wife, Margaret Grant from Hamiota, Man. They would marry in 1932.

Bayly opted to study electrical engineering at the University of Toronto and earned his BA in Science in 1930. To support himself during his student days, Bayly played the piano in a Toronto movie theatre. He also had his own radio show 'Pat at the Mike" on CFCA in Toronto. His time on the air ended at the behest of the chancellor when he became a professor at the University of Toronto.

That happened before he even graduated. Bayly's brilliance at the U of T saw him in a most unusual situation. He was still in his third year as an Engineering student when one of the faculty resigned to take another position. The Engineering Faculty asked Bayly to teach the departing professor's fourth-year class on radio communication. When Bayly reached his fourth year -- having already taught the course he was scheduled to be taking -- he was given an A without having to write any exams.

Bayly continued to lecture at the U of T when the war broke out.

Sir William Stephenson was born in Winnipeg in 1897 and served in the First World War. He relocated to England and became a millionaire, first in the steel industry, then patenting a system of transmitting pictures via wireless, manufacturing radios and a film studio. During a trip to Germany related to his steel interests, Stephenson discovered that nearly all of the German steel was devoted to armament manufacturing. Stephenson created his own clandestine industrial intelligence organisation.

That led to Stephenson providing confidential information to then-MP Winston Churchill about the rise of Nazism under Adolf Hitler. Churchill used the information -- which violated the Treaty of Versailles -- to criticize the policies of appeasement of the government of Sir William Stephenson's passport photo from the day.

When war broke 1942. out, Churchill, now Prime Minister, sent Stephenson to New York City to create and run the British Security Co-ordination (BSC) in Rockefeller Center.

Given the code name "Intrepid", Stephenson was officially a British Passport Control Officer.

"Stephenson's British Security Co-ordination had three major objectives: first, to promote pro-British propaganda in the United States and All reputable s the Western Hemisphere; second, to neutralize guarantee that Nazi propaganda and the work of Nazi spies good guarantee within the U.S.; third, to build a strong and ef- have installe fective communications network in the Western Minute Muffle writing. We stan Hemisphere." wrote Parish.

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The ultimate objective was to bring the United States into the war on the side of the Allies.

"Stephenson realized that effective, speedy and secure communications was the key to achieve all of the B.S.C.'s objectives," wrote Parish.

To this end, Stephenson recruited Bayly, "a communications genius" to be his "right-hand electronics man" and head up his communications department.

Because of the United States' Neutrality Act, Stephenson couldn't hire Americans and therefore Canadians would go on to play a huge role in the BSC. Bayly was perfect for the operation, for a few reasons. Obviously, his intellect and knowledge

The Rockex cipher machine developed by Pat Bayly during the Second World War.

of radio communications made him an ideal candidate, but he also provided great cover for Bayly to purchase the Aspidistra transmitter -the largest transmitter in the world at the time -- plus other high-tech radio equipment that was re-purposed in the war effort.

Bayly was sent to the United Kingdom to learn the British communications set-up and was given the rank of Lieutenant Colonel. There he worked with some key figures in British intelligence, including Brigadier Richard Gambier-Parry. He also went to Bletchley Park and Whaddon Hall to learn about the analysis of covert messages and to learn about the work done by Alan Turing -- who was immortalized in the 2014 film The Imitation Game -- and Gordon Welchman in breaking the codes of the German cipher machine Enigma.

Stephenson would establish Camp X on Dec. 6, 1941 -- the day before the attack on Pearl Harbour -- to covertly train American Office of Strategic Service operatives (the forerunner of the CIA) along with Canadian and British agents before dropping them behind enemy lines.

Camp X -- officially called Special Training School No. 103 -- was situated between Whitby and Oshawa, Ont. on the waterfront of Lake Ontario. Camp X was so covert that even Prime Minister William Lyon Mackenzie King wasn't fully aware of its purpose.

At Camp X, Bayly was second in command and established Hydra, a sophisticated telecommunication relay station with three large antennae that communicated with New York, Washington, Ottawa and London. To handle the

confidential traffic quickly and securely, Bayly invented a cipher machine named the Rockex.

The Rockex improved on previous Telekrypton devices. A stenographer could type a message normally, it would be automatically coded, and it arrived at the Rockex machine at the other end already decoded.

Bayly's expertise at Camp X proved invaluable.

During the decisive Battle of Midway in the Pacific in June 1942, radio signals from the Japanese were intercepted before they even reached their intended Japanese recipients.

"At Midway, the Americans knew the instructions for the Japanese Admiral before he did.

Consequently, the U.S. was able to put its aircraft over the Japanese fleet before the Japanese knew what was happening," wrote Parish.

Bayly was able to break the Nazi U-boat codes and he was able to quickly and securely relay their positions twice a day to ships in the Atlantic.

Famed Soviet defector Igor Gouzenko, a cipher desk clerk for the Soviet Embassy in Ottawa, stole 109 documents on Soviet espionage in North America in 1946. Gouzenko was stashed at Camp X while the Canadian government and its agencies decided what to do with him at the dawning of the Cold War. Children's author Roald Dahl trained at Camp X. It is believed that Ian Fleming, the creator of James Bond, did as well. Fleming wrote in The Sunday Times in 1962, that Bond was: "a highly romanticized version of a true spy. The real thing, the man who became one of the great agents of the [Second World War] is William Stephenson."

The site of Camp X is now named Intrepid Park in honour of Stephenson.

The Rockex remained in use by British consulates and embassies until 1973 and they were used into the 1980s by other Western allies as MI6 continued to secretly produce the communications machine for years.

After the war, Bayly established Bayly Engineering Ltd. and moved the company two years later from Oshawa to Ajax. Under his leadership, Ajax was incorporated in 1955 and he became the first mayor. Bayly died in 1994.

Pat Bayly Square in Ajax had its grand opening in September of this year. A statue of Bayly was erected in the square.

A bust of Pat Bayly sits in Pat Bayly Square in Ajax, Ont. photo courtesy of the Town of Ajax

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LEGION 100TH ANNIVERSARY • PAGE 39 • WWW.MOOSEJAWEXPRESS.COM

Living to fight another day:

Walz parachuted out of his Spitfire twice in WWII Matthew Gourlie Moose Jaw Express

Could you jump out of an airplane?

Would it make it easier if it was on fire?

How about if you were pretty sure someone would be shooting at you as you descended to the ground in your parachute?

During the Second World War, Don Walz was forced to eject after his plane was shot by enemy fire, twice.

The Moose Jaw pilot parachuted out of his Spitfire on two different occasions over occupied territory. Though his family back home feared he was dead, Walz survived both times. He was captured the second time, shortly before the war ended in 1945.

“He spent the last few months of the war in a POW camp, then he came home, married mom and went farming,” said his son Mike Walz.

Don Walz was born in 1917 and grew up on the family homestead just south of the city near Conn's Corners. He was 24 when he enlisted in 1941. He could have been exempted from service, but there was no doubt in Walz's mind.

"I told my dad I had to go," Walz said in a 1996 speech to the Roland Groome Chapter of the Canadian Aviation Historical Society.

He had his private pilot's license and had logged 37 hours of flying time, thanks to owning a halfshare of a DE Havilland Puss Moth.

“He always had a love for flying,” Mike Walz said.

Naturally he enlisted in the Royal Canadian Air Force, but to his dismay he was named a Flight Lieutenant and asked to instruct incoming pilots rather than being sent to the front. He be-

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Don Walz sits in his Hawker Hurricane in Gander, N.L. during the Second World War. came a flight instructor in Moose Jaw, Trenton, Ont. and High River, Alta. for 18 months before being sent to Dunnville, Ont. to train on Harvards.

"I got to love aerobatics," Walz said. "And I still wanted to be a fighter pilot."

He would soon get his wish.

Walz joined up with the RCAF's 127 Fighter Squadron in Dartmouth, N.S. where he began to fly Hurricanes. He was then sent to Gander, N.L. At the end of 1943, Walz and 127 Squadron were shipped overseas, but Walz was hospitalized with the mumps by the time they arrived. When he caught up to them three weeks later, they had been re-designated as 443 Squadron and were flying Spitfires under the command of First Lt. Henry Wallace "Wally" McLeod from Regina.

During the war, McLeod destroyed 21 enemy aircraft, recorded three "probably destroyed" aircraft, 11 damaged and one shared damage.

McLeod had 13 victories in the air during the Battle of Malta in the summer of 1942, earning him the nickname "The Eagle of Malta." In 2002, one of the buildings at 15 Wing Moose Jaw was renamed the Henry Wallace McLeod building.

"He was very rough; a real fighter pilot, a hotshot," Walz recalled in 1996. "He was a good man. If you did something wrong, he knew about it."

Going to a lighter and faster Spitfire IX from the Hurricane took some adjustment at first.

"You didn't really fly it. You just sort of wore it," Walz said.

LEGION 100TH ANNIVERSARY • PAGE 40 • WWW.MOOSEJAWEXPRESS.COM

Walz would soon end up in a five-plane escort over the English Channel with Johnnie Johnson, the RAF ace who finished the war with 38 confirmed kills. That escort heated up when they spotted some German planes. The Allies lost two planes in the battle but shot down six German Focke-Wulf FW 190s.

Walz' next significant action would be more patrols starting on D-Day on June 6 during the Normandy Invasion. Nine days later, Walz and the 443 Squadron set up on a dusty steel plank runway called B2 at Courseulles-sur-Mer on the northern coast of France, becoming the first squadron based in occupied France.

On the morning of June 15, they were flying back to B2 when Walz spotted a German plane below them in a break in the clouds.

"Let's just go up and take a peek" Walz said to his wingman, Gord Ockenden.

Allied flak -- anti-aircraft fire -- from the ground was around both planes and Walz's two 20-mm cannons jammed, thanks to having too much Normandy dust in them.

"They were still shooting at him from the ground and the shots were coming closer to me than to him!" Walz said.

Still he managed to worry the German enough with his .303 machine guns to force him to bail out of his plane.

That afternoon, on another sortie, Walz once again spotCONTINUES ON PAGE 41 u

ted German aircraft below them in breaks in the cloud cover, but this time they were badly out-numbered.

“He happened to be looking down through the clouds and he happened to see a couple of ME 109s, Messerschmitt 109s, and he spotted them and radio to his guys that there were some down there and they turned and went down. It ended up that it was a whole squadron, so it was a dozen against four,” his son Mike Walz said.

“All four planes got shot down and his three mates were killed. Dad was the only one who survived.”

Walz was hot on the tail of an FW-190, he suddenly heard his mate Hughie Russell yelling, "Break, Don!" Break! They're on your tail! For Christ's sake, break!"

Walz broke, climbing and turning, and saw out of the corner of his eye an FW-190 coming at him from a 90-degree angle. He had Walz dead in his sights and was opening fire.

"There was a huge bang and I was on fire," Walz said. "He'd hit me smack in the gas tank."

Instinctively Walz pulled his chute.

If he felt any relief to be out of his flaming Spitfire it was short-lived. One of the remaining German planes doubled back and tried to pick him out of the sky.

“He said when he bailed and pulled the chute, one of the fighters turned around and started to come at him and they started to shoot at him.

He said ‘I was scared as hell, so I started grabbing twine and started climbing. I was climbing up into that chute,’” Mike Walz said laughing at his father's logic when it came to dodging bullets.

It worked. Walz landed safely in a field in occupied France, near the town of Sassy.

“The German soldiers knew he was there, they just couldn’t find him," Mike Walz said.

Walz managed to hide in the wheat, no thanks to a couple of French mares. He noted that there must not have been any farmboys in the German platoon. If there had been they would have noticed the horses that were standing over his body and snorting, giving him away.

Walz spent a day, burned and hungry, trying to find help while avoiding the German infantry that were all over the countryside. He ran into farmers on three occasions and managed to get

some eggs, a civilian jacket and a beret to help disguise himself, but no one was willing to try to hide him.

The next morning still suffering and starving, he was considering surrendering until four Frenchmen found him.

“He was quite badly burned so they had to take him to Cesny-Bois-Halbout in a cart where he was underneath hay,” Mike Walz said. That was a 22-kilometre journey across country.

As Walz healed in hospital he had other problems -- the rest of the patients were German soldiers.

“He was starting to recover after a day or two and he was hallucinating and talking, but he was talking in English, so they got him out of there," Mike Walz said.

A local gendarme had him housed with a French family. The father had been an interpreter in the First World War and spoke English.

Walz was living upstairs while Germans ate in the small cafe/grocery store on the main floor of the house.

The Germans evacuated the town as the Allies advanced, so Walz was paired with a local woman and her son and pretended to be a deaf mute while they were transported by German soldiers. Eventually, French resistance workers were able to get him south of the fighting and once the Germans began to retreat, he was able to reconnect with Allied forces.

He was repatriated on August 11 -- 57 days after being shot down -- but not before some grilling from an American officer in the U.S. Engineering unit he found.

"He was just about as bad as the Germans," Walz said.

He was sent back to Britain before rejoining 443 Squadron near Evreux, though his superiors wanted to send him back across the Atlantic, not the Channel.

"I had to fight like Sam Hill to stay; they were going to send me home," Walz said.

Walz lived to fight another day. He officially registered three-and-a-half kills during his service.

He would be shot down again on Feb. 24, 1945 in the later stages of the war. This time it was much less dramatic. Up with a rookie wingman, Walz told Will Chabun that he had the sensation of "twigs hitting his aircraft's wings." As it

happened, it was actually flak from the ground.

His wingman told him he'd been hit, but Walz was incredulous until he began to climb, and his gauges were "off the clock."

He bailed out near Münster, in northern Germany near the Dutch border. He was captured almost immediately and taken to a POW camp.

“He said he was with two German soldiers and they knew the war was damn near over. They were hungry and so they stopped along the road and went to a farm a couple of hundred yards up the road to see if they could get some eggs and bread," Mike Walz recounted. “They told dad to sit on the tree stump and he did. I said ‘wouldn’t that be a good time to escape?’ and he said 'where was I going to go? I’m in the middle of Germany. I sat there because I was hungry, too.’"

An officer, Walz was put in charge of billeting at the camp.

“I think he was treated pretty good there. And again, all of the soldiers knew the war was on its last legs," Mike Walz said.

Hitler committed suicide on April 30 and days later the Germans surrendered.

"And the next thing you know, the Germans were the prisoners and we were in charge," Walz said.

Don Walz was given the Croix de Guerre by France and returned home to farm, married Genesta and had six boys: Alan, Greg, Brian, David, Mike and Brad. He also stayed active in aviation running West-Air for more than 20 years.

Walz went back to France a few times and reconnected with the farm family that took him in. On his last trip in 2000, the family returned a copper bracelet that Walz had been given by his wife-to-be Genesta. It was inscribed with his name and "love Genesta." Because the bracelet was loose-fitting, Walz would take it off when he was flying so it didn't snag on anything and tucked it into the heel of his boot.

As it happened, the bracelet was still in his flight boots and when the family finally decided to throw his clothes out in the late-1970s, the bracelet fell out of the lining of his boot.

“Tears were running down his face. That was the second time I saw him cry on that trip," recalled Mike Walz. "The first time was when we went to the one cemetery where one of his mates that

LEGION 100TH ANNIVERSARY • PAGE 41 • WWW.MOOSEJAWEXPRESS.COM

The 20-mm cannon off of Don Walz' shotdown Spirfire IX was escavated in France. was shot down was buried. He stood there and saluted, and tears were running down his face and I said, ‘dad what’s the matter’ and he said: ‘It’s all my fault.’ I told him it ain’t your fault. It’s war.”

If Walz knew the cost of war, he also knew how important that sacrifice had been.

When Walz and his family returned to France in 2000, the three grandchildren of the family that housed him welcomed them back.

"Dad and I walked into the house and the three grandkids all held signs that said, 'welcome to our liberators.' In Europe they don't forget that... they just don't let it go," Mike Walz said.

The engine of Don Walz' shot-down Spirfire IX was escavated in France and remains in the barn of one of the farms where he hid during the war.

One Hundred Years Since WW I Armistice And The Short Life of Percival Swaby Nash Moose Jaw’s Only Jamaican World War One Veteran

By Richard Dowson, Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan

Soldiers, Sailors and Airmen killed in World War One are buried, for the most part, in foreign lands, far from home. Lieutenant Percival Swaby Nash, 210th Battalion CEF, and the Royal Flying Corps, was probably the only ‘Person of Colour’ from Moose Jaw to go on active service in World War One. He died and is buried in Moose Jaw, far from his ancestral Jamaican home There is no record of Percy ever being referred to as a ‘person of colour’, which is not surprising. Information about race, ancestry, ethnicity or skin colour was not collected upon joining any ‘British’ type military, including Canada, Australia or Commonwealth countries.

Moose Jaw, March 1916 was very “British”. The Military Attestation papers for WW I asked only the basic questions including: Church affiliation, Vaccinations, Trade or Calling, Com-

plexion, Eye Colour and Hair Colour and scars.

Information needed to identify the Serviceman if killed and what type of cemetery plot. Next of Kin information was collected.

Petty Officer Hall is an example of the British Military’s lack of interest in skin colour or race.

William Neilson Edward Hall, born in Nova Scotia, on April 28, 1827 was awarded the Victoria Cross 10-years before Canada became a country. The British, Royal Navy did not care about Hall’s race. Seaman Hall was treated by the Royal Navy as an equal in all respects, including being awarded Britain’s highest military honour for bravery, the Victoria Cross.

Hall was the son of slaves rescued by the Royal Navy from a slave ship. As a Teenager he joined the crew of a Merchant ship out of Nova Scotia and travelled extensively. In 1852 Hall joined

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the Royal Navy and served in the Black Sea on the frigate HMS Rodney. As with any story – nothing is straight forward. A later version of HMS Rodney was a battleship that took part in the sinking of the Bismarck in WW 2.

However, back to the life of Able Seaman Hall.

He was bright, capable and in 1857 he was made “Captain of the Foretop”, the small platform high up in the rigging of the sailing ship, HMS Shannon. The Foretop was where sailors put out and took in sails. It was like being made the ‘foreman’ of a part of the ship’s crew.

The mid-nineteenth century was a time of colonialism by the British. As would have it, people who were being ‘colonized’ often didn’t care for the arrangement and mutinied. Hall and his ship was headed to China to deal with a local anti-British insurrection.

Orders were changed. They turned their attention to the events of the Indian Mutiny of 18578. Like the Chinese, India’s didn’t much care for Colonial rule either. They wanted freedom and independence – which they got 88 years later.

The crew of HMS Shannon sailed to Calcutta (now Kolkata), India and then on to Lucknow to help British soldiers under siege in the garrison (fort). It was a nasty little battle but William Hall hung in there.

Hall’s Victoria Cross citation reads: “Lieutenant (now Commander) Young, late Gunnery Officer of Her Majesty's ship 'Shannon,' and William

Hall, 'Captain of the Foretop,' of that Vessel, were recommended by the late Captain Peel for the Victoria Cross, for their gallant conduct at a 24-Pounder Gun, brought up to the angle of the Shah Nujjiff, at Lucknow, on the 16th of November, 1857.”

William Hall rose to the rank of Chief Petty Officer. As with all old soldiers and veterans, most

Percival Swaby Nash CONTINUES ON PAGE 43 u

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fade into obscurity. Hall died in Nova Scotia August 25, 1904. It wasn’t until 1954 that he had a proper military burial and had a cairn erected in his honour. Hall’s VC has a blue ribbon indicating it was awarded for service in the Navy, and not the usual marron ‘Crimea’ ribbon.

The point is, in the British military skin colour didn’t matter. The same attitude prevailed in British Moose Jaw at the beginning of the twentieth century. What mattered was the deeply rooted British Class-system. Your heritage, income, education, family, ‘station in life’ and your refined English accent.

Percy had it all. He was educated in the finest schools in England; was an architect and most certainly spoke with a sophisticated, refined English Accent. Soon after enlistment he was deemed officer material and placed in officer training. Percy became a Lieutenant.

Percy’s final resting place it the North-east corner of the old Moose Jaw Cemetery, off 9th East.

His headstone reads: “Lieutenant Percival Swaby Nash, Royal Air Force, June 27, 1919”. The bottom inscription reads: “Only Son of the Late James Nash, Solicitor, Jamaica, West Indies.”

He died at the Moose Jaw General Hospital while undergoing surgery and had no family in Moose Jaw. Percy, as he is listed in some of the records, was the son of Francil-

la (Swaby) and James Nash. He was born May 2, 1891 in Montego Bay, St. James Parish. Jamaica.

According to the Solicitor’s Handbook of Jamaica his father James Nash, was called to the Bar at Montego Bay, Jamaica on June 15, 1882 and he practiced law there. The family moved to Lucea in the Parish of Hanover some time around 1895 Percy’s Dad practiced law from his office on Main Street.

It has been 99-years since little five-foot-five inch Percy died so he is long forgotten to his family back in Jamaica and his long-since-passed friends in Moose Jaw. He is not forgotten to Moose Jaw history which asks, “How did a 22-year-old, well educated Jamaican kid end up in Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan, Canada in 1913? And who was he?”

The “Methodist Baptisms” records from Montego Bay, Jamaica, show three children. Percy was the oldest, then a sister Gladys and a younger brother Alan. Since the inscription on Percy’s headstone reads in part, ‘only son of ’ it is assumed Alan died as a child.

Based on information from the Jamaican Ancestral Records, at St. Mark’s Anglican, Mandeville, Manchester, Jamaica, regarding headstones, Image #3466C show an Alan Spencer Nash as having died in the 1890s. This would certainly be Percy’s younger brother.

There is another mystery. In the news report of Percy’s death, it says there were two sisters, one in New York and one in New Jersey. Birth and Baptismal Records: 1. Nash, Perceval Swaby, son of James Nash and Hortense Gertrude his wife, solicitor, residence Montego Bay, born May 2, 1891, baptized July

26, 1891 by John A. McIntosh Nash 2. Gladys Elaine, daughter of James and Hortense Gertrude Nash, solicitor, residence Stonewood, Montego Bay, born June 14, 1893 and baptized October 2,1893 by John A. McIntosh 3. Nash, Alan Spencer, son of James and Hortense Gertrude Nash, solicitor, residence Horner Rd., Lucea, born February 27, 1897, and baptized April 4, 1897 by John Duff.

As was the British custom of the day, the oldest son was given his mother’s last name as his middle name. His mother was therefore, Hortense Gertrude Swaby. The last name, ‘Swaby’ was well known then and now. In the nineteenth century the Swaby name was associate with successful ‘people of colour’ who emerged after Jamaican emancipation in 1834. Swaby is an old, distinguished Jamaican family name.

Maidstone Grammar School As was the custom of the ‘well-to-do’ of Jamaica, Percy was packed off to England at age 18 for a ‘proper’ British higher education. A little detective work is needed to know what ‘English

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school’ he attended.

Percy was a member of the “Royal West Kent Buffs” while at school in England. The British Regiment was at Invicta Park Barrack, Maidstone, Kent, at the time.

The Moose Jaw Henderson lists young Percy as a Draftsman and Architect. He probably studied Architecture at Maidstone Grammar School between 1909 and 1912. The school was well known for its Architecture programme and close to the Invicta Park Barracks.

Life and School in Kent, England 1909 – 1912 Between 1909 and 1913 Britain slipped into political struggles and labour strife. Trade with the world was declining and the United States and Germany were on the rise as economic giants.

The Canadian economy slowed in 1913.

The power of the British House of Lords was in decline. They fought back by obstructing progressive legislation. Northern Ireland wanted ‘Home-Rule’. Massive strikes disrupted comCONTINUES ON PAGE 44 u

merce. Suffragettes fought for women’s rights and the right for women to vote. It was a time of economic slow-down and upheaval, an unsettled time in Britain.

Socialism was on the rise. There was savage criticism of the hypocrisy of the ‘British Class-system’ and the ‘landed gentry’. The year 1913 saw the production of the George Bernard Shaw play Pygmalion that challenged of social hypocrisy.

The play tells the story of the relationship between an elocution teacher and Cockney flower-seller Eliza Doolittle. The name, ’Doolittle’ was a challenge to ‘upper-crust’ British attitudes toward the working poor of the day and deeply imbedded in the ‘British Class System’; a system continued in the very British the Moose Jaw at the beginning of the Twentieth Century (19011914).

Today, at a time when the stinging, accusing term ‘racist’ is common, people assume human relations in British Commonwealth Countries were always defined by race. They were not!

In 1914, attitudes among residents of Moose Jaw and District was primarily about the British Class System; your family, manners; how you held a cup of tea and how you spoke the King’s English. Just like the theme of Pygmalion.

Settling of Saskatchewan Immigration and settlement location in Saskatchewan from 1900 to 1914 was along ‘ethnic’ lines. Ukrainians north of Yorkton; Germans at Fox Valley; Mennonites at Nipawin and Herbert and so on. People settled in known ethnic communities where others spoke the same language and had similar customs. These immigrants

brought first generation attitudes from the ‘old country’.

Attitudes in Saskatchewan changed after WW I because of wider influx of immigrants from all parts of Europe. Those new Canadians were not about to put up with the old British Class System. Of course, other forms of pre-judging others replaced the Class System.

Immigrants to Moose Jaw from 1900 to 1914 were primarily of English decent. Jamaican immigrant Percy Nash, son of a solicitor and well educated at a ‘fine English School’ was British upper-class even though he was a person of colour. He was assigned to the ‘Right Class’ by the community.

Percival Swaby Nash in Canada Twenty-two-year-old Percy came to Canada about 1912 and settled in Moose Jaw. Like all young men he was seeking travel, adventure or career opportunity. The Henderson Directories at the Moose Jaw Public Library and Archives show his addresses and occupation in Moose Jaw as: 1. 1913 Nash, Percival; Draftsman for E.B. Merrill and Co – rooming at 142 Ominica Street East 2. 1914-15 Nash, Percy Architect living at 1124 and one half Henleaze Avenue W 3. 1916 – Living at 1136 – 3rd Avenue N.W., Moose Jaw and working as an Insurance Agent The 1918 Henderson Directory shows Percy as working for Kern Agencies Ltd., 13 High Street, Moose Jaw, a Stocks, Bonds and Grain Broker.

Percy was in the Insurance Department but listed as on “Active Service” in 1918, meaning he was in the military and his job was being held for his return. The Kern Agencies President was

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John H. Kern Jr. who lived at 1053 Chestnut Avenue, Moose Jaw. By 1914 Moose Jaw was hit by an economic slowdown. in 1914. There may not have been enough work for Percy as an Architect so he went to work as an Insurance Agent. He had the education for such a job.

World War One The War began in August, 1914. There appeared to be no big rush for troops in Moose Jaw at the time. By December 1914 organization was in place and recruiting began across Canada. The War, which really began as a spat between Royal Families in Europe, killed millions and altered the political structure of Europe forever.

The Suicide Battalion The first Battalion recruited and organized in Moose Jaw was the 46th Battalion, Canadian Expeditionary Force. The Battalion organized in Moose Jaw on November 7, 1914 and drew recruits from across Saskatchewan. This Battalion, known affectionately as the ‘Suicide Battalion’, left for England on October 23, 1915 where they underwent further trained. On August 11, 1916 they disembarked in France and fought with the 10th Infantry Brigade, 4th Canadian Division through France and Flanders until the end of the War and beyond.

Over just twenty-seven months the 46th Battalion lost 1,433 killed and 3,484 wounded, resulting in a casualty rate of 91.5 percent. Many Moose Jaw residents had relatives injured or killed while serving in the 46th, including cousin Charles Dowson of Avenue Q, Saskatoon. He was blown to bits at Passchendaele on November 18, 1917.

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Photo Courtesy of the Moose Jaw Public Library and Archives – 46th Battalion Spring 1916 Members of the Suicide Battalion leaving Moose Jaw for Training and the Great War and Death.

New Battalions Recruited: The 128th Battalion and the 210th Battalion The slaughter of World War One was beyond belief. Initially men hurried to join out of fear they may miss the ‘great adventure’ of war.

The 128th Battalion recruited men like William Oxley Waud of Conquest, Saskatchewan.

He signed up on December 5, 1915 to serve overseas. The killing in the war was so great that the need for new recruits as replacements became critical. Once in England, at the base at Bramshott, the 128th Battalion was split up and most joined the 46th Battalion as casualty replacements.

Sergeant Waud was a lucky one. He was wounded in the arm at Passchendaele and after hospiCONTINUES ON PAGE 45 u

tal in England was sent home to Conquest. His music playing career was over, he was alive and home.

After the full complement of men for the 128th Battalion was reached the order went out to organize a new Battalion in Moose Jaw and recruit more men. The 210th Battalion came into existence.

The 210th Battalion, Canadian Expeditionary Force, Moose Jaw The Battalion was approved in March 1916. Re-

Poster Courtesy Library & Archives Canada

cruits, like Percy Swaby Nash poured in. They were ‘Taken on Strength” and housed in the old Douglas Block on Main Street where the Rexall Drug Store is today.

The Battalion was organized by Moose Jaw resident, Lt. Col. Walter Ernest Seaborn who was born on 25 January 1880 in London, Ontario.

Seaborn moved west and was a very successful Saskatchewan barrister and insurance broker.

He was a member of the 128th Battalion, C.E.F. and left that Battalion to form the 210th Battalion, C.E.F. Seaborn family home in 1916 was ‘Clifton Hall’ on the corner of Clifton Avenue and Hall Street.

The building was later converted into suites and remains that way today. There are interesting stories on the Internet about Clifton Hall being haunted – maybe for another story.

The 210th Battalion, C.E.F. trained in Moose Jaw and at Camp Hughes before the 494 men left for England aboard the S.S. Carpathis April 12, 1917. Spirits were high.

The men were not prepared for the sad demise of the 210th Battalion, CEF. As was typical of the British in WW I, they wanted more ‘bodies’.

The 210th was split. Since they were Canadians the British saw to it that all NCOs, sergeants and corporals were demoted to the rank of Private.

All officers, including Seaborne were reduced to the rank of Lieutenant.

The Battalion never saw active service. Once in England they were placed in the 19th Holding Battalion. The men became ‘casualty replacements’. Most went to either the 46th Battalion or the 1st Canadian Mounted Rifles.

Clifton Hall, Courtesy the Moose Jaw Public Library and Archives Lieutenant Colonel Seaborn, reduced to the rank of Lieutenant, served on the headquarters staff of General Sir Douglas Haig. He must have been humiliated. He wasted three years of earnings while on active service but returned home.

Very few men recruited into the 128th or 210th returned home. Charles Dowson and the others are buried in Europe.

Percy Joined the 210th Battalion, Canadian Expeditionary Force Percival Swaby Nash enlisted in the 210th Battalion at Moose Jaw on March 20, 1916 and was assigned the Regimental Number of 255211. On that day he was living at 1136 – 3nd Avenue NW, Moose Jaw. He was now Private P.S. Nash making $1.00 a day plus another ten cents when on maneuvers in the field.

This was Percy’s first Attestation Paper – there were two. On his second Attestation Paper completed on May 15, 1916, his address is 1152 – 2nd Avenue NW. This was probably a mailing

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The Cheerful Men of the 210th Leaving Moose Jaw in the Spring of 1916 Courtesy the Moose Jaw Public Library and Archive address.

He was a little guy – only 5 feet 5 inches tall (1.65 m). There is a very good chance he was shorter.

The minimum height for enlistment was 5 feet 5 inches. Percy is described as having Black Hair, Dark eyes and Dark Complexion. Many men were listed as having a dark complexion, including the author’s Grandfather, Private Parker of the 162nd Battalion. Percy had scar on left cheek, origin unknown.

Percy was chosen for officer training. He left the Battalion on April 2, 1916 for officer training and rejoined the 210th Battalion in Winnipeg on My 14, 1916, hence the second Attestation Paper. He was now Lieutenant P. S. Nash, ‘B’ Company, 210th Battalion, C.E.F. Ill Health and the Royal Flying Corps According to the newspaper report of Percy’s death, he was unable to go overseas with the CONTINUES ON PAGE 46 u

210th Battalion because of ill health. The 210th sailed for England on April 12, 1917 without Percy. Soon after, on May 1, 1917, Percy was declared ‘surplus’ because of poor health and Struck Off Strength (S.O.S.) and Discharged from the Battalion.

From here Percy Swaby Nash follows an indirect course back to Moose Jaw. After leaving the 210th Battalion CEF he seems to have become part of the Canadian Defence Force, as a Private, in July 1917. His address is now listed as the Hammond Building, Moose Jaw. Our Percy was a persistent young man. He was seconded to the Royal Flying Corps, which became the Royal Air Force. The RFC needed members, training facilities, airfields and aircraft. They looked to Canada for support. The training was mostly in Ontario at Long Branch (the former Curtiss Flying School), Borden and Leaside (Toronto). Number 4 School of Military Aeronautics was established at the University of Toronto. He completed his training with the RFC in the fall of 1918, probably at the University of Toronto. The name Percival Swaby Nash appears on the RFC Nominal Role.

The Armistice was signed on November 11, 1918. Percy was Struck Off Strength and Discharged from the military on December 13, 1918 and returned to Moose Jaw some time in January, 1919, luckily missing the Influenza Epidemic that killed many in the city.

The Deadly Spanish Flu and Moose Jaw The Influenza Epidemic is worth a few words.

The first identified case of the dreaded Spanish Influenza was Harry Land, an immigrant, who died on October 5, 1918. Soon after the epidemic

rose to a crisis in Moose Jaw, and all of Southern Saskatchewan. By October 19, 1918 the situation was grim. There were no antibiotics. There was no way to fight the flu. If you caught the flu you eventually recovered or were dead in ten days.

Emergency hospitals were set up in all Saskatchewan cities and towns. Schools were closed. The Moose Jaw Hotel (Cecil Court) on the south hill became a hospital as did Prince Arthur School and other schools, churches, community halls, bowling alleys and anything else appropriate.

Men and women made and wore gauze face masks as protection against the flu. The shortage of men made it necessary for the City of Moose Jaw to ‘press’ men into the service of digging graves. Churches, like the Zion Church, set up soup kitchens and served sandwiches.

The epidemic reached a peak at the end of October 1918 in Moose Jaw but not before killing 45 people. It slowly subsided, leaving the Province by the summer of 1919.

Happy to have missed the influenza pandemic, Percy settled back to work in the Insurance Department of Kern Agencies. He was a Charter member of the Kiwanis Club of Moose Jaw and attended their first meeting on April 29, 1919.

Things looked good for Percy. He’d missed death in battle France and Belgium and missed the Influenza Epidemic. Things were looking up. He made Moose Jaw his permanent home – not realizing how permanent it would become.

Percy needed an operation for an unknown reason. One was scheduled for Friday, June 27, 1919 at the General Hospital in Moose Jaw. Percival Swaby Nash never made it. He died on the operating table.

The next day, June 28, 1919 “The Moose Jaw News” printed the following story about a young man who had found a new home, in a new country and made many friends. He was settled in Moose Jaw and was enjoying life.

Moose Jaw News, Saturday, June 28, 1919 “Popular Member of Younger Set Passes Divide “Percy Nash Died Yesterday Following a Serious Operation “Percy S. Nash, one of the most popular young men of the city, passed away yesterday afternoon following a complicated operation at the General Hospital here. Funeral will be held tomorrow (June 29, 1919) afternoon at 3 o’clock from “The Ranch”, 922 Main Street North, Moose Jaw. Captain Williams of the Saskatchewan Military Hospital will officiate, while the members of the local Great War Veterans of whom P. Nash was a member, will parade in a body.

“Mr. Nash was at one time a Lieutenant in the 210th Battalion, but owing to ill health was unable to proceed overseas. Not to be denied, however, he later enlisted in the Royal Air Force and had just completed his training when the armistice was signed. His sudden demise will be greatly felt in many circles as he was a prominent member of the gold, tennis and Prairie clubs in addition to being one of the charter members of the Kiwanis Club. A well known musician, Mr. Nash was also a composer of some talent and in this regard he will be missed in the musical circles of the city.

“Mr. Nash was in his 28th year at the time of his death. He is survived by his father, who resides at Montego Bay, Jamaica (It appears his father was dead at the time of Percy’s death) and by two

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sisters who reside in the States of New York and New Jersey, respectively.”

Courtesy the Moose Jaw Public Library and Archives Dedicated to Charles Dowson, 46 Bat. CEF, Killed in Desire Trench, Nov. 18, 1916

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Coulee Near Assiniboia Named in Honour of First World War Captain Matthew Gourlie Moose Jaw Express

Captain David McAndie gravesite at Cerisy-Gaillet Military Cemetery in France.

Saskatchewan is a vast land of 651,900 km² with countless small geographic features dotting the landscape.

The Saskatchewan government's GeoMemori-

al Commemorative Naming Program seeks to honour Saskatchewan military personnel, police officers, emergency responders and others who have lost their lives in the service of our province or country by naming natural features across the province after them.

A year ago, the provincial government recognized First World War Captain David McAndie by naming a prominent coulee after him on the Lake of Rivers near Assiniboia. McAndie homesteaded near the area at the beginning of the war.

He was killed in action in France in 1918.

"I am delighted that Saskatchewan has honoured the name of my uncle by naming this feature," said Mackenzie McAndie, the nephew of Cpt. McAndie. "We, as a family, are very proud of David McAndie and -- indeed -- of the 10th Canadian Battalion who acquitted themselves so well in the face of the enemy. Especially those who gave their lives."

McAndie was born in Tarbet, Scotland on May 17, 1887 and immigrated to Saskatchewan in 1911. When the war began, he enlisted in the 46th Battalion of the Canadian Expeditionary Force in Moose Jaw and left his homestead in the hands of his brother Hugh who had his own homestead nearby. McAndie was assigned to the 10th Battalion during the war -- the only battalion to see combat in every major battle in France -- and became one of the most decorated Canadian officers of the First World War. He received four awards for conspicuous gallantry in the face of the enemy: The Military

Cross, Military Medal, the Distinguished Conduct Medal and the Belgian “Croix de Guerre.”

He was also mentioned in dispatches several times, once being mentioned personally by Field Marshall Douglas Haig after the Battle of Vimy Ridge in which the Canadian Division earned great distinction.

Shortly after the Battle of Vimy Ridge, McAndie received his Military Medal on April 28. 1917 in the attack on the village of Arleux-en-Gohelle.

Still a sergeant, he took over his platoon after all of the officers in his company had been killed.

He was honoured for "conspicuous bravery and devotion to duty" as took the initiative to take charge and press the attack forward through the village and on to its final objective.

He had received the Distinguished Conduct Medal only five weeks earlier for "conspicuous gallantry and devotion to duty" after he had "displayed great courage and coolness on several occasions under heavy fire."

McAndie earned the Military Cross on Aug. 8, 1918 when he led his company in an advance well in front of the Allied line, to liberate the town of Caix. He received the Military Cross for "conspicuous gallantry during an attack" and his citation also noted that he "captured and held a strongly garrisoned position considerably in front of the final objective."

He was killed in action a week later on Aug. 15, 1918 and is buried in Cerisy-Gaillet Military Cemetery in France.

Lieutenant-Colonel Peter J. Boyle curator of the

Captain David McAndie had a coulee near Assiniboia named in his honour after he died in combat during the First World War. Calgary Highlands Regimental Museum and Archives brought McAndie's nomination forward.

It was reviewed by the Saskatchewan Heritage Foundation's Geographic Naming Committee who forwarded its recommendation to the provincial Minister of Park, Culture and Sport for approval.

Their sacrifice gave us

our freedom

let us never forget

WARREN MICHELSON MLA Moose Jaw North Constituency

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We Remember

To those who fought valiantly for our freedom yesterday and those who serve bravely to preserve it today, Esprit Lifestyle Communities extends our sincere gratitude and respect.

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John Poulton and World War I

Written by Dr. Gerald Poulton (Grandson) and Submitted by Sandra Poulton (Granddaughter)

John Poulton was born in St Pancras, London, England in 1876 and married Alice Susan Elizabeth Partridge in 1898.

The family emigrated to Canada, arriving in Quebec on the Southwark on 13 June 1907. Prior to leaving England, John had served in the 17th North Middlesex Rifle Volunteer Corps (a Private), being discharged after 5 years service on 16 November 1899.

With the advent of World War I, John enlisted in the Canadian Overseas Expeditionary Force (CEF) on 23rd Septem-

ber 1914 at Valcartier, Quebec.

His regimental number was 22087, and he was initially ,---- assigned to the 60th Battalion [Victoria Rifles of Canada], but was transferred to the 11th Battalion when it was raised in 1914. 11th Battalion had been recruited out of Saskatchewan and Manitoba and mobilized at Camp Valcartier, Quebec, and travelled to England on the S.S Royal Edward, a ship at that time belonging to the Canadian National Steamship Company (a division of the CNR). The Royal Edward was built in Govan, Scotland for a fast mail service between Marseilles and Alexandria (Egypt), but when this was unsuccessful, it was converted into a passenger liner. During the War, it ran troops from Canada to England but in 1915 was torpedoed while taking British Infantry troops to Gallipoli. John's attestation papers show that he was 5 ft 634 in, with blue eyes, light brown hair and a fair complexion; he had tattoos of a coat of arms and stars on his right forearm and another on his left arm. He was considered "fit for service", but as we will see later, that was not to be so.

In England, 11 Battalion- was based at Tithvorth Carlip, on the Salisbury Plain. Its purpose was to provide reinforcements to Canadian units in the field. For John, it was not to be, as his records show that he was "struck off service" on 18 March 1915, as being medically unfit. The proceedings of the Medical Board show that he had well marked varicose veins in the right leg, a small left side varicocelei, and hammer toe on the left foot (second toe). None of these were caused/occa-

We Will Never F orget

sioned by the military service, but the Board did conclude that they would cause a good amount of pain, particularly during marching. The recommendation was "discharge as permanently unfit" and return to Canada, which he did on 30 March 1915. Formal discharge was 4 April 1915 at Quebec. An interesting aside is revealed by some of the documents relating to this period of service. At the beginning, his home address was given as 27 William Street; at some point in 1915, this was changed to 855 Willow Avenue, which signalled a re-alignment of street names in Moose Jaw. John re-enlisted in the CEF on 28 December 1915, at the age of 39 years 11 months! As a point of interest, no mention was made in any of the documents about the existing conditions which caused him to be previously declared unfit for service.

You might even think it was a different person — he is now 5 ft 8 in, with grey eyes, brown hair and a fair complexion.

No tattoos mentioned. He was this time assigned to the 128th Overseas Battalion (regimental number 781581).

John Poulton sailed to England on the S.S. Grampian, arriving on 24 August 1916. The S.S. Grampian was built in Glasgow for the Allan Line in 1907, and transferred to the Canadian CONTINUES ON PAGE 51 u

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Pacific Lines in 1917. Prior to WWI, the Grampian brought immigrants to Canada from Britain, with about seven crossings each way per annum. It was destroyed by fire in 1921.

The 128th, the Moose Jaw Battalion, began recruiting in late 1915, went to England in 1916 and was absorbed into the 15th and 19th Reserve Battalions in August that year. John's record shows that he was transferred to the 50th Battalion, being taken on strength on 14 December 1916; the 50th (Calgary) Battalion was part of the 4th Canadian Division which saw action in France and Flanders.

These units were based at Camp Bramshall, which was located on Bramshall Common, Hampshire, part of the Aldershott Command. In late 1916, the 4th Division was involved in the Battle of the Somme, after which they wintered in Artois, preparing for the Battle of Vimy Ridge. Many historians say that this battle was a defining moment in Canada's history [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of Vimy_Ridge].

Again, an interesting point revolves around Vimy Ridge.

John Poulton was a participant, very fortunate to have survived. Many did not, and an incredible memorial to those who fell was imagined, designed and created by Walter Seymour Allward — a distant relative of John's daughter-in-law Marie (Allward) Poulton.

The Battle was fe-rocioifs, lasting from the 9th of April to the 12th. Nearly 4000 died, with another approx. 7000 being wounded. John was one of those wounded, on the first day [which, it turns out, was Easter Monday]. Most of the medical records state that it was a gunshot wound, but one records it as being due to shrapnel. Regardless, John's condition was listed as "seriously ill" and he was moved to No 32 Stationary Hospital at Wimereux, a small town, 5 km north of Boulogne in the Nord Pas-de-Calais. This hospital began

as the Australian Voluntary Hospital operating from 1914 to 1916, after which time it was taken over by the British Army.

John was at Wimereux from 15 March to 8 May when he was transferred back to England to the War Hospital, Clopton.

The War Hospital was in Clopton House, Stratford-on-Avon.

Clopton House and estate date from the 14th century. The estate remained in private hands until 1930 when it was broken up. The house is now composed of residential apartments.

The War Hospital was used for less severe cases of injury, and John spent 85 days there before being transferred to the Canadian Convalescent Hospital, Hillingdon House, Uxbridge.

The original Hillingdon House was built in 1717 but destroyed by fire; the present house dates from 1844. The British Government purchased the house in 1915, intending to put it to use as a POW camp; local opposition led to its being used as a convalescent hospital by the Canadian Forces until 12 December 1917 when it was sold to the Royal Flying Corps for use as an Armament School. When the RAF was formed on 1 April 1918, it became the Central Depot.

John spent a further 19 days at Hillingdon, where his injuries

were described as "two scars on left knee, one in front over patella, other to outer side of knee adherent to bone. Can flex knee only 450. Knee swollen, tissues thickened. Not likely to be raised in 6 months". Discharge was recommended.

John returned to Canada on the S.S. Missanabie, sailing on 18 October 1917. Built in 1914 in Glasgow as a passenger liner, the S.S. Missanabie was a Canadian Pacific Line vessel which sailed between Canada and Liverpool during WWI. It was sunk on 9 September 1918 while 50km off the Irish coast.

A Medical Board at the Discharge depot in Quebec examined him, and on 5 November 1917 found: "This soldier has marked varicose veins in right leg. He has had these for 1❑ yrs. At times after standing or walking for 1 hour, the right leg swells. On Apr 9th/17 this soldier was wounded in the region of left knee joint. There is a large scar 25c2" adherent to the lower end of the femur and the patella. The peri-articular structures about the knee joint are enlarged. Flexion of right leg at knee joint is 45°. He walks with the leg held rigid at the knee joint. His heart and lungs are normal."

The Board calculated a 20% incapacity, which they felt would be permanent. Discharge was effective 15 November 1917.

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LEGION 100TH ANNIVERSARY • PAGE 51 • WWW.MOOSEJAWEXPRESS.COM

Canada and the UK are forever-connected in Remembrance Thank you to Bryan Wilcockson, Friend of the Moose Jaw Express from Selby, North Yorkshire, UK for his contribution to this very special edition. “My personal crusade is that of a certain James Isaac Drake who flew from an airfield not far from where I live (Riccall). If any of his relatives should read this be certain that he is remembered, as they all are,” he said.

There’s a Norman church in the middle of town in Selby, North Yorkshire, UK (built in 1069) shortly after William the Conqueror invaded Britain in the Battle of Hastings. It is called Selby Abbey.

To mark the centenary of the end of the First World War, the local townsfolk have pinned knitted poppies to the church railings to remind us of the high price paid by small communities in the ‘pals battalions’ where nearly every family was affected by the war in one way or another

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“And they who for their country die shall fill an honored grave, for glory lights the soldier's tomb, and beauty weeps the brave.”

Inside the church are the battle flags of famous squadrons and a memorial to the fallen of the First World War. A fairly unremarkable story so far, until you realise that Canada is never that far from the hearts of those that live there.

For inside the Abbey there is a memorial to a fallen Canadian soldier, here is his story……

George was a Selby lad; his father was the cross bearer at the Abbey.

George signed up for the British Army 14/4/1902 aged 18 years 9 months; he served in the 1st Royal Dragoons until his discharge

We Remember

CONTINUES ON PAGE 53 u

-Joseph Rodman Drake

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14/4/1910 rising to the rank of Kings Corporal.

George was a talented artist. Whilst in the army, he gained a Certificate in Education, in Writing from Dictation, Arithmetic, Copying MS, English History and Geography. He served in India during his army service.

On leaving the army, he went to Canada and worked for Westinghouse as a draughtsman. At the outbreak of war, he joined Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry.

Brigadier-General, the Rt. Hon. (Andrew) Hamilton Gault (18 August 1882 –28 November 1958) M.P., D.S.O., raised at his own expense Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry, the last privately raised regiment in the British Empire with $100,000. The Regiment was named after Princess Patricia of Connaught a granddaughter of Queen Victoria.

The Patricia’s were assembled and trained separately from the rest of the Canadian Expeditionary Force, recruiting largely British born Canadians who had previous military service.

The Regiment was led by British officers and outfitted with British weapons and equipment.

Although it was the first Canadian combat unit in action, for most of 1915 the Regiment served as part of a British brigade in a British division.

In September 1914 the Battalion was sent to France. During his time in France, he was promoted to acting Corporal. He was wounded 2/6/1916 during the first day of the battle of Mount Sorrel.

The 3rd Canadian Division, which had been formed in December 1915, was the target of a crushing German bombardment on the morning of 2 June. The barrage devastated the for-

ward Canadian positions and killed hundreds.

German infantry then swept forward, capturing Canadian positions at Mount Sorrel and on two surrounding hills. A hastily organized counterattack on 3 June failed. Three days later, the Germans exploded four mines under the Canadian positions and captured the village of Hooge. The Battle of Mount Sorrel lasted for almost two weeks and cost the Canadians over 8,000 casualties.

Having lost the first two phases of the battle, the Canadians achieved victory in the final operation. Careful planning and concentrated artillery bombardments had begun to tip the balance on the First World War battlefields in favour of attackers over entrenched defenders.

George died of wounds at the 2nd/1st South Midland Casualty Clearing Station on the Somme, 106 days after he was wounded on the 16/9/1916. He is buried at the WARLOY-BAILLON COMMUNAL CEMETERY. There are over 1,300 Commonwealth burials from World War I and two from World War II. Also, in the graveyard are 158 French and 18 German war graves. He is also on a memorial in Selby Abbey.

George, who was serving in the Canadian Army, had 2 brothers in the same theatre of war - Ar-

thur and John, both serving in the British Army.

There is no information as to whether they met on the battlefield, either before or after his injuries.

For many years after his death, his parents, on or around the 11th of November, received an envelope from Canada, with only a Maple leaf in its full autumnal (fall) colours in the envelope, they never knew who sent it.

His mother wore a PPCLI brooch until her death in 1954, as did, it is claimed, a local schoolteacher who never married.

A haunting story, that I suspect is repeated too many times in too many communities.

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Canadian War Brides gathered for reunion in Moose Jaw Surviving wives of Second World War soldiers and their families took part in three-day event Randy Palmer Moose Jaw Express

When one thinks of Canada’s involvement in the Second World War, one of the few things that comes to mind is potential romances between Canadian soldiers and the citizens of the various countries they fought to protect.

There were many. And a surprising number – over 48,000 in total – turned into marriages that saw the young brides sail the Atlantic and start lives with their husbands in Canada.

During the June 22 weekend, 2018, a handful of those brides took part in the eighth annual Canadian War Brides and Families Reunion at the Temple Gardens Mineral Spa in Moose Jaw. While their numbers have fallen to a few dozen in the 72 years since the Second World War, it’s done little to dampen the enthusiasm and joy they receive from the opportunity to reminisce about days gone by with those they had so much in common with.

“When you see a 91-year-old woman literally galloping over to hug a friend she hasn’t seen for many years, it’s amazing,” said Canadian War Brides president Lynn Martin. “This is what

these ladies look forward to, not necessarily all the activities we set up, but being able to sit down and chat with friends they haven’t seen for years and go over their stories again. It’s a wonderful feeling.”

That 91-year-old woman was none other than Jean Fells, the aunt of Ms. Martin and founder of the Canadian War Brides and Families. Fells married husband Robert shortly after the Second World War and they settled with Robert’s family on a farm in the Girvin area.

She wasn’t alone – Fells estimates eight or so other war brides were in the Girvin area, and another dozen or so on farms around Davidson. Many of those ladies gathered for an evening of entertainment one night and it was from there that the official organization known as the Saskatchewan War Brides was formed in 1975.

“Most of these ladies came here by themselves, and they had no friends, no families other than the husband they’d married,” said Martin. “So it was a huge thing to go up that gangplank and

be able to get on a ship and come across to Canada and then go to all parts of Canada, in so many diverse places, to settle.

“That’s why it meant so much for them to be part of a group that had people who had been through similar experiences and similar things.”

As time began to do it’s thing, provincial war bride organizations slowly began to dissolve, with Saskatchewan deciding to go that direction in 2010. That’s where Fells stepped in – at the sprightly age of 85 – and formed the Canadian War Brides and Families.

“It was because our war brides were getting older and we felt the young people needed to come and get involved,” Fells explained. “I think they were beginning to realize the importance of war bride groups, to keep it going... It’s been very well received, and I think that as we’ve gotten older, the younger people are starting to take over and that’s one way of keeping it going. I’m still quite active in the group and I will be as long as I can.”

CONTINUES ON PAGE 55 u

2018 marks 100 years since the end of World War 1.

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The group took part in a host of events through their three days in Moose Jaw, ranging from trolley tours and the Tunnels of Moose Jaw, culminating with the Gala Banquet on Saturday that was attended by Lieutenant Governor of Saskatchewan Tom Molloy, with Moose Jaw Mayor Fraser Tolmie as emcee– himself the son of a war bride.

The ninth annual reunion will take place in Edmonton and Fells hopes to see many familiar and many new faces, all of whom she knows will have great stories and many memories.

“I don’t know how to put it; it’s really like saying hello again to your family,” Fells said of the gathering. “It’s a matter of keeping family ties together and our war brides are just like family. So, it means a lot to all of us to get together, and we’re going to Edmonton next year, so I’m saying right now: ‘if you’re a daughter or a son of a war bride, we want you to join our association.

You’re all welcome!’”

Surviving Canadian war brides are joined by Lt. Gov. Tom Molloy (left) and Moose Jaw Mayor Fraser Tolmie during their eight annual reunion banquet at Temple Gardens on June 23.

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2018-10-23 5:58 PM

Remembering Some Moose Jaw Veterans

By Richard Dowson

Over the past four years, I have collected stories and information about many Moose Jaw and District veterans. Some survived the war – some were prisoners of war – some were killed in Flying Accidents and so many were killed in active service. Here are a few.

Dambuster Raid Three men from Moose Jaw and District took part in this famous raid – a contribution greater than any other small community. The men were Ken Brown, Moose Jaw – survived the war; Bobby Urquhart, Moose Jaw, Killed In Action and Stephan Oancia, Limerick who also survived the war.

Bill Waud Wrk in Fairey Battle #5 B & G Sch Dafoe 1942 pic George William “Bill” Waud Bill, from Outlook was an aero-engine mechanic – took his mechanic training at the old Douglas Block in Moose Jaw. Bill survived and settled in Moose Jaw after the war. He taught Auto Body at Peacock High School for many years.

John (Jack) Luther Cornell, Moose Jaw Jack was born and raised in Moose Jaw and the District. He graduated as a pilot from Service Flying Training School in Dunnville, Ontario.

He was posted as a Hurricane pilot to the only fighter squadron ever formed in Saskatchewan – 135 Squadron that was formed at Mossbank.

Cornell, Jack Aug 14, ‘42 Wings The Squadron was transPrd Dunville

ferred to Victoria (Patricia Bay). He was killed in a flying accident on December 28, 1942 north of Active Pass just off Salt Spring Island, B.C. Sergeant Gordon Armstrong, Air-gunner – Moose Jaw Gordon’s bomber was shot down on July 19, 1941. He parachuted to safety and was a Prisoner of War for four years. He survived the war and returned to Moose Jaw. Gordon’s Dad was the barber at the Grant Hall Hotel for decades. Gordon Armstrong’s best buddy, Bill Braken, who signed up with him as was Killed in Action while with Bomber Command.

Rex Probert, Pilot Moose Jaw Rex served as a fighter pilot with the Desert Air Force – a mix of Allied forces. He flew combat missions in North Africa; Sicily and Italy. He was shot down and parachuted into the Mediterranean where he was rescued. He and survived the war. He passed away earlier this year in Calgary. Rex’s brother Bill was killed while serving in the R.C.A.F. overseas.

Flt Sgt Ken Brown 1943 Probert, Rex

Leo Miller, Moose Jaw Leo was captured in the fall of Hong Kong and taken prisoner by the Japanese. He survived the war.

Ben Copeland Ben Copeland, Flight Engineer, 838 Outlook Avenue, Moose Jaw was Killed in Action October 1, 1942 when his Halifax bomber failed to returned from a bombing raid. He was twenty one years of age.

Jack T. Dalgleish, Artland Saskatchewan Not all Saskatchewan men served with Canadian force. Sergeant Jack Dalgleish was serving with the 25th Marines, 4th Marine Division when he was killed February 19, 1945.

George Chow – Moose Jaw George was living and working in Hong Kong when it was over-run by the Japanese. He escaped across country and back to Canada. He settled in Toronto.

Private Denzil Brooks, Moose Jaw Private Brooks was a member of the Veteran’s Guard of Canada and was killed October 21, 1942 in a motorcycle accident near Canmore, Alberta. He was forty nine years of age and is buried in the Rosedale Cemetery in Moose Jaw. Sergeant Pilot Stanley R. Maxmen, Stanley or Axel as he was known lived at 803 Main Street, Moose Jaw. He was Killed on Active service with 111 Fighter Squadron, R.C.A.F., while serving in Alaska. He is buried in Fairbanks. Axel’s fighter crashed, with others, en-route to Dutch Harbour. He had married his high school sweetheart, Edythe Elsie Chesworth just a few months earlier. He was 20 years old.

F/O Donald H Orr Donnie’s father was with the Saskatchewan Anti-Tuberculosis League of Saskatchewan and eventually the becoming general superintendent and medical director at Fort San Flying Officer Donald Hugh Orr was a navigator on a 428 Squadron R.C.A.F. bomber that failed to return after bombing the rocket pens at Peenemunde. He was Killed in Action August 18, 1943.

LEGION 100TH ANNIVERSARY • PAGE 56 • WWW.MOOSEJAWEXPRESS.COM

Aboriginal contributions cannot go ignored

By Scott Hellings

During World War I and World War II, Aboriginal men and women contributed greatly to Canada’s war effort, both at home and overseas.

At the start of WWI, Canada did not have an official policy on the recruitment of Aboriginal people. In fact, they were originally discouraged from enlisting, with some even turned away. That, of course, would change as the war moved on and casualty rates increased and by 1917, recruitment events were held on reserves to encourage more Aboriginal men to enlist. That same year, the Military Service Act introduced conscription, which mean mandatory military service for all British subjects of age. "Treaty Indians" were not exempt, even though they did not have the rights of citizenship that obligated Canadian citizens to serve. Eventually, they were provided this exemption, except for non-combat roles within Canada.

But many Aboriginal men wanted to fight. In fact, in some communities around half of the eligible male population en-

Sergeant Tommy Prince (R) with his brother, Private Morris Prince, receives his Military Medal at Buckingham Palace. Photo source: Wikipedia

listed. They enlisted for many reasons, such as earning a guaranteed wage, to travel, or for patriotic reasons. Not everybody wanted to enlist, however, and in some communities, elders discouraged men from enlisting. Still, it is estimated that at least 4,000 Aboriginal people served in WWI (including 100 men from Saskatchewan alone) and approximately 3,000 enlisted in WWII (of which 440 came from Saskatchewan). The number of Inuit and Métis soldiers is unknown because they were not counted in the records, and so these numbers are likely much higher. Many Aboriginal men also later participated in the Korean War. During WWI and WWII Aboriginal men and women aided the war effort on the homefront through donating food, clothes, and comfort items. They also purchased Victory Bonds and made generous financial donations to institutions like the Red Cross and the Salvation Army, even though many families were struggling financially. Aboriginal peoples also got heavily involved in the Canadian workforce. During WWII, many Aboriginals patrolled the western coast, looking for signs of a Japanese invasion. Some even provided reserve lands for use as airports, rifle ranges and defence posts.

Life in the military was difficult and there were many cultural challenges. Indeed, military life conflicted with some Aboriginal traditions’ military ranking and some Aboriginal soldiers were even discharged for refusing to cut their hair.

Aboriginal soldiers also faced challenges when returning to Canada. After the First World War, many veterans returned with illnesses like pneumonia, tuberculosis, and influenza.

Others came home injured and this impacted their ability to provide for the families and communities. As well, many Aboriginals were no longer considered “Status Indians” because the Indian Act stated that anyone who was away from the reserve for four consecutive years would lose their status. Unfortunately, they were not afforded the same benefits as other veterans because of Indian Act restrictions.

At least 300 "Status Indians" lost their lives in WWI and more than 200 were killed or died from wounds during WWII. Aboriginal soldiers earned a variety of decoration for their bravery in action. During WWII, they participated in every major battle and campaign, including the Dieppe landings and the Normandy invasion.

Some, like Chief Joe Dreaver of Saskatchewan’s Mistawasis

Chief Joe Dreaver of Saskatchewan’s Mistawasis Cree Band. (Gladys Johnston). Photo source: www.veterans. gc.ca/ Cree Band, served in both wars. During the First World War, he earned the Military Medal for bravery in the field. Dreaver re-enlisted at the start of WWII. He was too old to serve overseas, but remained in Canada, watching over prisoners of war in Alberta.

Of course, the late George Terry, a former Moose Jaw resident, was also a decorated soldier. Terry served in WWII and the Korean War as a medic, supply officer, and parachutist. He was appointed a Member of the Order of Canada in 1997 and also received 13 medals. Terry passed away on February 8, 2009 in Bow Island, Alberta.

Thomas George Prince was one of Canada’s most decorated Aboriginal soldiers. He served in WWII and the Korean War and was honoured with the Military Medal and the American Silver Star. During the Korean War, Prince received the Korea Medal, the Canada Volunteer Service Medal, and the United Nations Service Medal.

Aboriginal men and women were vital to Canada’s war effort.

This Remembrance Day, be sure to honour our Aboriginal veterans.

LEGION 100TH ANNIVERSARY • PAGE 57 • WWW.MOOSEJAWEXPRESS.COM

Revera

remembers

One hundred years after the end of the First World War, Revera recognizes the brave men and women who served their country and fought for our freedom. We are proud to serve the many Veterans who now call Revera home. To hear their stories, visit Reveraliving.com/ReveraRemembers2018

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Moose Jaw, SK • 306-693-5835

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Revera is proud to partner with The Royal Canadian Legion

They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old: Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn.

At the going down of the sun and in the morning,

We will remember them.

Laurence Binyon, For The Fallen

Since 2008

LEGION 100TH ANNIVERSARY • PAGE 59 • WWW.MOOSEJAWEXPRESS.COM

When you go home, tell them of us and say For their tomorrow,

we gave our today.

John Maxwell Edmonds

DA -CANA TRANS WAY HIGH

9TH AVENUE NE

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661 THATCHER DRIVE E. MOOSE JAW • (306) 693-3673 www.knightfordlincoln.ca LEGION 100TH ANNIVERSARY • PAGE 60 • WWW.MOOSEJAWEXPRESS.COM