The Orleans Star Nov. 9, 2023

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Area cenotaphs solemn tributes to fallen heroes

By Fred Sherwin The Orléans Star

Most area residents are familiar with the Orléans war memorial, or cenotaph, located next to the Orléans Legion on Taylor Creek Drive. But there are three other cenotaphs in the area that pay tribute to the mostly young men who served in the First and Second World Wars and never returned home.

They are located in Cumberland Village, Vars and Navan and bear the names of men who answered the call to serve their communities, their neighbours and their country.

The cenotaph in Cumberland Village was erected outside St. Andrew’s Church in 1919 to commemorate the first anniversary of the end of the First World War and honour the seven local men who never came back. They are Charles McKenzie, Cheswell Allan, Robert Leslie Taylor, Peter MacLaren, William Spratt, John

McKenzie and Thomas Foy. Two additional names were added to the memorial at the end of the Second World War – Carleton “Tot” Kennedy and William H. Lough.

The tenth name on the cenotaph is that of Robert Victor Arnott who was killed in the Korean War.

William Spratt and Leslie Taylor were cousins who served in the First World War, along with a third cousin from Cumberland Village – Robert James Kennedy.

Spratt and Taylor were both killed in action. Sprat was 27 and Taylor was 33. Kennedy survived the war, including the Battle of Vimy Ridge and went on to serve as the township’s clerk and treasurer for 37 years. The R.J. Kennedy Arena is named in his honour.

After the war, he married Eva Farmer and the couple had six children, three of whom served

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The cenotaph in Cumberland Village was erected in 1919 to honour the citizen soldiers who died during the First World War. FILE PHOTO

COMMUNITY BRIEFS

Long-time Cumberland Panthers coach selected to NCAFA Hall of Fame

ORLÉANS – Long-time Cumberland Panthers coach Jeff Koradi has been selected to the National Capital Amateur Football Association (NCAFA) Hall of Fame. Koradi began coaching for the Panthers in 2008 when he started the U8 Mite program. He would take over the U10 tyke program the following year and would lead them to two straight A-Cup titles. The group of players under his tutelage would go to become one of the most successful cohorts in NCAFA history, winning five A-Cup titles in six years. Over the course of three seasons between 2010 and 2012 his teams won 46 straight games including two A-Cup titles before losing in the mosquito A-Cup championship in 2012. In 2017 he won the provincial bantam varsity championship. For the past three seasons he has volunteered as the offensive coordinator with the Panthers tyke and mosquito teams with his son Justice as the head coach.

Youth Awards deadline extended to Nov. 15

Above, the Navan Cenotaph has 23 names on it from the Boer War, the First World War and the Second World War. Right, the pedestal for Ernest Lytton Bonsall is among 11 others at the war memorial in Vars. STAFF PHOTOS

Area cenotaphs solemn edifices to fallen heroes

Continued from page 1

ORLÉANS – The deadline to submit nominations for the Orléans Outstanding Youth Awards has been extended to November 15. For more information and the criteria for nominations visit www.orleansonline.ca/OYA. in the Second World War. Dr. I.F. “Bus” Kennedy flew spitfires over North Africa and Europe and was twice awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross. Older brother Al Kennedy served with RCAF Wireless Communication in Bomber Command.

Younger brother “Tot” Kennedy was not so lucky. He died while on a training mission in England when the bomber he was assigned to crashed just short of the runway. He was only 21 years old.

The cenotaph in Navan has 23 names on it including the name of Oliver Burns who was killed in the Boer War in 1902 and Gary Vaillancourt, who served as a peacekeeper with NATO missions in Cyprus and Bosnia.

Fifteen of the men whose names appear on the cenotaph were killed in the First World War. Most had experience working teams of horses on their family’s farms and ended up serving in the Royal Artillery handling the heavy horse teams which transported the big guns from position to position.

Six of the men on the cenotaph were killed in the Second World War, including Cecil McFadden and David Irwin.

Cecil joined the Canadian Army in September 1942 – he went overseas in June 1944 and didn’t see action until December of the same year. He was killed two months later on Feb. 13, 1945, when the armoured personnel carrier he was driving was hit by anti-tank fire.

David Irwin was killed when the Halifax bomber he was flying was shot down during

a bombing mission over Germany on the night of June 22-23, 1944. He was 23 years old.

Of the three war memorials in the former township of Cumberland, arguably the most poignant is the one in Vars which was erected in September 1931 through the efforts of the Vars Women’s Institute.

In more recent years, 12 pedestals have been installed in front of the memorial with the names and likenesses of the 12 men who died in the two World Wars on them.

Ten of the men – Matthew Barkley, Wesley Simpson, Robert McElroy, Charlie Ward, Ernest Bonsall, Warren Dunning, Frank Cormack, Roy Brownlee, Fred Buckland and Arthur Buckland died in the First World War. Clayton Walsh and Stanley Hill were both killed in the Second World War.

Warren Dunning was among the first med from Cumberland to serve in Europe during the First World War. He also one of the first to die – killed in Battle of Festubert in May 1915).

Arthur Buckland was killed at Vimy Ridge in 1917 when he was 22. Roy Brownlee was 23 when he was killed during the Battle of the Somme in 1916. Ernest Bonsall was killed at Paschendale in 1917. He was 22. Matthew Barley, 18, and Wesley Simpson, 23, were both killed during the German Spring Offensive in 1918.

How the other men died is not known, but at least we have their names and a place to honour their sacrifice every Remembrance Day.

Jeff Koradi

Orléans knitting club in desperate need of wool

By Fred Sherwin The Orléans Star

The Busy Fingers knitting club has been left scrambling for wool after a local business partner decided to no longer collect material for them.

In past years, the 120-member club has knitted and crocheted thousands of scarves, mittens, toques and afghans which they then donate to social service organizations and agencies across Ottawa in the weeks leading up to the holiday season.

According to its founder, Eileen McCaughey who is 90 years young, the club donated over 3,000 items last year, all of which were made using wool donated by members of the public.

In past years, wool donations could be dropped off at the Aspira Bearbrook Retirement Residence in Blackburn Hamlet, which had volunteered to act as a collection point.

McCaughey found out in mid-October that Aspira was no longer interested in collecting wool for the club. She has been scrambling ever since then to find an alternative.

That’s when the Orléans Star stepped in and within a few days, they had found not one but two willing partners – Riverbend

Retirement Communities and Symphony Senior Living.

Unfortunately, in the time it has taken to find alternative locations to collect the wool, the club has fallen way behind in both donations and knitted items.

McCaughey says her members have been working on different projects on their own, but not nearly at the pace they need to meet the demand from the organizations they provide items to.

“Everyone is ready to start knitting, we just need the wool,” says McCaughey.

Wool in any amount or colour can be dropped off at either Symphony Senior Living Orléans on Lumberman Way off Orleåns Boulevard, or the Willowbend Retirement Community at the northwest corner of Trim and Innes Roads.

Donations can also be made by calling Eileen at 613-841-3641. Arrangements can be made to either drop wool off at her house, or have it picked up by a volunteer.

The vast majority of the items the club knits or crochets are donated to veterans and other seniors, women’s shelters, hospices, and anyone else in need of warmth during Ottawa’s long winters. Last year, the club donated over 100 items to refugee families who were fleeing the war in Ukraine.

The core group of about 20-30 women, meets the first and third Monday of each month in McCaughey’s South Fallingbrook

home where they share their love of knitting. “It’s a way to keep busy and feel like we’re doing something useful,” says McCaughey. “For me personally, it keeps me busy and it makes me feel great. I like to help people. It’s what keeps me going.”

Members of the Busy Fingers knitting club meet at Eileen McCaughey’s home the first and third Monday every month. FILE PHOTO

Never forgotten

Over the past 30 past years, I have had the honour to meet and get to know a number of men who served in the Second World War – Herb Deavy and Eric Smith from Navan, “Bus” Kennedy from Cumberland Village and Frank Cauley and Syd Davie from Orléans.

Herb Deavy joined the Royal Canadian Air Force in 1941. He wanted to be a pilot but his diminutive stature kept him on the ground where he served as a member of a ground crew at an air base in England. After the war, he started an oil and gas business in Navan and was an integral part of the community. He died in 2007 at the age of 84.

Eric Smith joined the RCAF within weeks of Deavy, but unlike his fellow Navanite, he managed to meet the height requirement for pilots by an inch and would go on to fly more than 50 highly dangerous, low-level missions over Europe.

Smith continued to serve after the Second World War and later accepted a secondment to the U.S. Air Force to fly Sabre jets in the Korean War. He would become one of a select group of men who would fly more than 50 missions in both conflicts. He served with the RCAF until his retirement in 1968 and eventually returned to Navan with his wife Dinah. He died in 2019 at the age of 98.

Irving Farmer “Bus” Kennedy joined the RCAF in 1940. He flew more than 320 missions as a Spitfire pilot over North Africa, Italy and France until he was shot down near Paris in July 1944. He managed to make his way back to England with the help of the French underground. When he returned, he went to see his younger brother Carleton”Tot” Kennedy at the airbase where he was training. When Bus arrived he found out that Tot had been killed just days before while on a training mission. As a result, he was allowed to return home. For his exploits, Bus was twice awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross. After the war, he studied medicine and eventually established a practice in his hometown where he served as the village doctor for 37 years. He died in 2011 at the age of 88.

Frank Cauley joined the RCAF in 1940. He was assigned to bomber command as a navigator and would fly more than 30 missions over Germany. In his later years, he served as a trustee on the Carleton Board of Education for nine years and was twice elected to Gloucester city council. He died in 2019 at the age of 97.

Syd Davie was born in the U.K. and was one of the first members of the British special forces. He fought at Dieppe, Normandy and was a part of Operation Market Garden. After the war, he immigrated to Canada and eventually settled down in Orléans with his wife Miza. He died in 2020 at the age of 96.

These men were all part of what is commonly referred to as our greatest generation. They all generously shared their stories with me and for that I am eternally grateful.

– Fred Sherwin, editor

Wear your poppy with pride during Remembrance Week

From Nov. 5 to Nov. 11, Canadians across our country observe Veterans’ Week, a significant period dedicated to honoring the remarkable courage and sacrifice of those who have served their country, both in the past and present, during times of both peace and conflict.

This week serves as a profound reminder of the selfless contributions made by our veterans in safe-guarding the values and freedoms we hold dear. It stands as an opportunity for communities to come together in gratitude and remembrance, acknowledging the immeasurable debt owed to these brave individuals for their unwavering dedication to our nation’s welfare.

for your generosity and for commemorating our veterans and this important day by proudly wearing your poppy.

Marie-France Lalonde Commons Corner

This Saturday, on Remembrance Day, I will be laying a wreath on behalf of Canadians while attending the annual ceremony at our local Orléans Royal Canadian Legion, Branch 632 in honour of the sacrifices that were made – and that are still made – to ensure our country’s safety and freedom. I want to recognize the immense work that our local Legion members and their volunteers are doing in preparation of the Poppy campaign, launched this year on Oct. 27 at the Walmart store on Innes Road. It was nice to meet you at Place Orléans on Friday, Nov. 3 at their poppy sale counter. Thank you Orléans

This monthly column gives me an opportunity to share news with you but also to highlight important individuals for their achievement. I want to congratulate local entrepreneur, Andrea Baird, owner of AKA Beauty Concepts for celebrating 10 years in business and for being a Certified Sustainable Salon, a Green Circle Salon. That means that up to 95% of the Beauty Waste is recovered and recycled, giving beauty waste a new life and joining the fight against climate change.

On Nov.16, local resident André M. Levesque, will be receiving the Order of Ottawa at City Hall for his outstanding contribution to our community and city. Congratulations for this recognition and for your engagement!

Moreover, I invite you to donate blood or plasma and to spread the word by inviting others to join us at our Orléans Donor Centre, located at 110 Place Orleans, Unit 1120. Every donation, no matter how small, can have a significant impact and help save lives. Let’s come together and make a positive change in our community by becoming a donor.

**La version française est maintenant disponible sur ma page Facebook**

Children the innocent victims of endless sectarian violence

This week’s column was supposed to be a celebration of my 34th anniversary writing for the Orléans Star and my seventh anniversary since buying the paper, but instead I feel compelled to write about what’s going on in Israel and Gaza. And what better time to write about war and strife than in the days leading up to Remembrance Day?

First, I want to make it clear that I unequivocally support the existence of the state of Israel. I also condemn in the strongest manner possible the actions of Hamas and their unprovoked attack on Israel on Oct. 7 during which more than 1,800 innocent Israelis were killed and 200 hostages were taken. It was a despicable act and Israel had every right to retaliate against Hamas, its fighters and its leadership.

Unfortunately, they have done so in the worst, most indiscriminate way possible with an endless barrage of airstrikes on Gaza and its civilian population, half of whom are children under the age of 18.

Although exact numbers are impossible to determine, it is believed that by the end of October, more than 8,000 Palestinian civilians had been killed, including over 3,000 children.

On Nov. 1, the Israeli air force launched a

planned air strike on the Jabalia refugee camp in Gaza with the intention of killing a Hamas leader they suspected was hiding in a tunnel complex under the camp. They believe they got their man, but they also managed to kill more than 100 men, women and children in the camp. To the Israeli leadership, they were little more than collateral damage. To their wives, husbands, brothers, sisters, mothers and fathers they were family members who were deeply loved.

By now some of you may be questioning why a columnist in a community newspaper is writing about a sectarian war half a world away? The answer is simple. As someone once said, “The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.”

In this case I could no longer sit idly by

and see report after report about the carnage that is being inflicted on the civilians living in Gaza, and especially the children, without using my platform to say something.

At the time I am writing this column, the international community was already trying to convince the Israeli government –and prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu in particular – to enact a temporary ceasefire to allow humanitarian aid to get through to the civilians trapped in Gaza. Up until I wrote this, Netanyahu totally ignored their pleas. Hopefully, by the time this is published, he will have had a change of heart. If not, who knows how many more Palestinian children will have died from the Israeli airstrikes?

I am honestly at a loss to explain the difference between what Hamas did and what Israel is doing in retaliation, except for the fact that the Hamas attack was entirely premeditated while Israel’s actions are in response to the Hamas raid in which more than 1,800 men, women and children were murdered. But no matter the provocation, it does not justify killing more than 3,000 children who have nothing to do with Hamas or the initial attack.

In my own personal opinion, I believe the use of massive force against Gaza and

its population is an attempt by Netanyahu to cover up his failure to protect Israel’s southern border with Gaza.

According to reports, large numbers of Israel Defence Force (IDF) members were moved from southern Israel to the West Bank during the past number of months to protect Jewish settlements and quell escalating demonstrations there, which left the border area with Gaza vulnerable. A lack of meaningful intelligence meant that the IDF was totally unaware of Hamas’ plans. The result was the bloodiest day in Israel’s history.

The Israeli government’s response has been to try and make Gaza completely uninhabitable, without any regard for how many Palestinian lives are lost in the process. The only thing they are doing in trying to eradicate Hamas is to create Hamas 2.0. It may seem effective in making Israel safer in the short term, but in the long term it will have the completely opposite effect.

What is needed is an immediate ceasefire followed by multilateral negotiations to find a way to oversee Gaza. Ultimately, a twostate solution needs to be found. What has transpired over the past three weeks will either accelerate that process, or set it back years, if not decades.

Fred Sherwin

Remembrance Day

Remembering the forgotten casualties of war

By Fred Sherwin

The Orléans Star

In Canada, Remembrance Day is reserved for the men and women who served and died in the five major conflicts the country has participated in – the Boer War, the First World War, the Second World War, the Korean War and the Afghanistan War – as well as the thousands more who served and have since passed.

But we often forget that soldiers aren’t the only casualties of war. During the Second World War, 390,000 civilians, many of them children, died in France alone. That’s more than five times the number of civilian casualties in Great Britain.

When the Germans first launched their offensive into the northern and eastern parts of France in May 1940, it sparked a mass exodus of refugees fleeing the advancing forces. An estimated 8-10 million refugees fled their homes in an effort to escape the Nazi invasion – almost a quarter of the French population at the time.

Among the millions of refugees was former Orléans resident Miza Davie.

Born Mireille Bosc, Miza was just six years old when the Germans invaded France. As the advancing army approached Paris, Miza escaped to Marseilles with her mother Paule and younger siblings Robert and Françoise who were four and two

respectively.

It didn’t take long for the Germans to complete their invasion of France.

Miza’s mother, who was a radio personality in Paris before the start of the war, was forced by the Nazis to broadcast propoganda.

For the better part of two years, Miza and her siblings were raised by their grandparents – first in Nimes in the south of France and then in Générac near Bordeaux. Later in the war, they were reunited with their mother in Paris before fleeing to an uncle’s place in the north to escape the bombing in the French capital.

After immigrating to Canada in the 1950s, Miza began writing a collection of short stories about her life as young girl growing up during the war. Prior to her passing in 2005, those stories were assembled in a selfpublished book entitled “A Child’s Memory of the Second World War”.

Here are just two of those stories. The first is about having to take cover in a bomb shelter with her mother and siblings. The second is about her school friend Helena.

Lest we forget...

Please Get Us Some Bread

Times were very sad in 1944. Paris was bombed nearly every day and food was extremely scarce for everyone.

That day my mother was looking very worried and thinner than ever. She came to me and placed her colds hands on my shoulders, asking me in a very firm voice, “Please could you try to get some bread?” I could not refuse even though I was very scared to go into the streets of Paris alone.

My mother dressed me with great care, complete with my name tag and body number around my neck. I carried my little gas mask and was wearing my heavy wooden shoes, but I thought I could fly all the way to the bakery to get some bread for the family.

Out the door, I ventured down the street where we lived, past the marching German soldiers. I proceeded in the direction of the first bakery. The queue there was already very long as people gathered closely together in silence. No one would let me in the lineup. A cold wind was blowing the remains of a newspaper across the street. Finally, an elderly man grabbed my hand and placed me next to him in the queue. It seemed to take forever. Then, when it was my turn to be served, there was no more bread. I felt so sad and tears started streaming down my face.

I could not let my mother down, so I picked up my heavy feet and went on from bakery to

bakery with very little success. Finally, at the last one, the door was closed. I sat down and cried tears of despair in silence. Suddenly, the door opened up behind me. A very friendly lady spoke to me a few words which I could not understand and she disappeared in a flash only to come back a few minutes later with a little parcel wrapped in a greasy brown paper.

“Here is a piece of bread for you, my

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LAURA DUDAS Orléans West-Innes

MATTHEW LULOFF Orléans East-Cumberland TIM TIERNEY Beacon Hill-Cyrville

CATHERINE KITTS Orléans South-Navan

Illustration by Miza Davie

Miza Davie

Remembrance Day

Former resident served throughout WWII

By Fred Sherwin

The Orléans Star

Syd Davie was the spouse of Miza Davie, whose story is shown opposite. He was born on a ferry in the middle of the Irish Sea while making the crossing from Ireland to England. That fact made joining the British army in 1941 a complicated affair.

He wanted to join the Irish Guards, but was prevented from doing so when he couldn’t prove he was born in Ireland. When he informed his mother of the situation, she marched down to recruitment office and let be known in no uncertain terms that her son was indeed Irish.

After joining the Irish Guard, Syd was hand-picked to be part of a special forces commando unit.

He was involved in the Raid on Dieppe and was one of the last soldiers to be evacuated off the beach, but not before he dragged several wounded comrades behind the safety of an armoured personnel carrier that had been put out of commission by a German anti-tank gun.

Although he wasn’t part of the initial Normandy invasion. He did undertake several missions in France in the weeks and days afterwards. He also took part in Operation Market Garden, the failed operation meant to act as a spearhead into Germany.

He was part of the unit that fought to take control of the bridge in Nijmegen in the Netherlands, which was made famous in the movie “A Bridge Too Far.”

He was there when the Netherlands was eventually liberated and he was in northern Germany near Denmark when armistice was declared.

One of his last commands was to send out a reconnaissance unit the night before the armistice was declared. His cousin was one of the soldiers who went out. He never came back

and was one of the last casualties of the war. Syd had the unfortunate task of informing his aunt that her son had been killed, She never talked to him again the rest of his life.

After the war, Syd immigrated to Canada and eventually ended up in Ottawa where he got a job working for the NRC. He would also meet his beloved Miza in Ottawa and the pair would settle down in Orléans where they became members of various Lions Club chapters including the Cumberland Lions and the Navan Lions.

After Miza died in 2005, Syd sold their South Fallingbrook home and moved into the Rockcliffe residence where he met Dawn Murray. The pair would be remain dear friends until Syd’s passing in 2020 at the age of 96.

When he was alive, Syd wrote down his recollections of his service during the war for posterity. Those dispatches were eventually turned over to the Orléans Star to be used for future articles. Here is just one of those stories...

Two Dummies

A week or so after landing in Normandy, Charlie Cummings and I were travelling through the beachhead from east to west, we were going to do a recce for an American unit. I was driving at the time and we were keeping close to the front, but staying just behind our front line forces - when we came upon a German tank stuck in a hedge and obviously dead!

Charlie was observing the tank through his binoculars and detected no signs of exhaust, movement or even the slightest heat shimmer, so we carried on, both of us content in the knowledge that this was a “dead un” - especially as it was inside our lines and behind our troops and had none of it’s own troops visible to us. On top of that there were the physical signs of the tank having been hit by armour piercing

shells, then as we passed right under it’s nose it was even more obvious that it had been knocked out of action. As we sped on down the road Charlie looked around just in time to see the burst of smoke from the tanks exhaust as the engine was started – “rear threat, reverse & face” shouted Charlie,

CONTINUED ON PAGE 9 Constituency Office 255 Centrum Blvd., 2nd floor Orléans, ON K1E 3W3 marie-france.lalonde@parl.gc.ca 613.834.1800 MFLalondeMP.ca

On November 11, let’s remember those who fought and sacrificed so much for our freedom and our country! We will remember them. MPP|Député provincial Orléans (613) 834-8679 | SBlais.mpp.co@liberal.ola.org

Remembrance Day

In war it is often the young children who are effected the most

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child,” she said.

I placed the small warm parcel inside my coat next to my heart which was beating so fast. I walked back home as fast as I could, ignoring the sirens and the bombing which had been taking place the whole time I was looking for the bread.

I still wonder to myself why adults create wars while children in the world look for peace and tranquility.

My School Friend Helena

My school friend Helena had two big black long braids. She had a pale complexion and was very slim.

That morning we were waiting in line for our daily morning milk drink, each child holding their little enamel cup.

Soon our turn came.The cup was filled with a mixture lumpy white-ish grey fluid with yellow rings floating floating on the top, which was cod liver oil.

You had to pinch your nose to drink this mixture, which left a taste of fish in your mouth for the rest of the day. It certainly put me off milk for the rest of my life.

Once we had finished our drink, we placed our cup back on the hook of our jacket which had our name, as well as our school number. in case the school was bombed and we were hurt or killed, the number would help the authorities identify us and contact our mothers.

The school bell rang and we all lined up in our various class groups and proceeded to each of our classrooms.

Helena was with me. We sat beside

each other at the same wooden desk. That morning as we were having our math lesson the door of the classroom suddenly slammed open. Two tall, massive German officers entered the room, the heels of their boots clacking on the parquet floor. They went straight to the teacher’s desk and in a loud voice with a strong accent in their broken French asked, “Do you have a child called Helena?”

All the children in the class were dead silent. My school friend Helena was getting so pale and started shivering. I took her hand. It was moist and clammy. I started to hold her hand tightly and tears started coming down her face. Then the two German officers directed themselves toward our desk. Helena’s heart was pounding so hard I could see it move under her blue school pinafore.

One of the officers grabbed Helena, who by then was screaming and crying at the same time with fear. She suddenly was lifted up by the two officers and dangled in the air. I was holding on to her hand so tightly that the other officer had to hit my hand to force me to let go. The pain was so bad that I started to cry. The next thing when I looked up Helena was gone, dragged out of the classroom like a criminal.

That night when I arrived home I was feeling so sad, so bitter and mad at the soldiers. I asked my mother, “Why did thety take my friend away?” The answer was, “She is Jewish, Miza.”

My mother grabbed me in her arms and held me tight. Not one human has an answer to this terrible crime. I hope this will stop one day.

Commemorating the sacrifices of members of the armed forces and of civilians in times of war.

NOVEMBER 10th, 2023 at 11:00 AM

• Opening Remarks

• Poems

• Last Post (Bugler)

• Prayer

• Act of Remembrance

• Silence (Two minutes) •

• Lament (Piper)

• Commitment to Remember •

Remembrance Day

Former Orléans resident was a reluctant war hero

Continued from page 7

at which I skidded the car around and shot off in my original direction at top speed, only this time I was now driving in reverse with our greater thickness of armour facing the threat.

When Charlie yelled,“Bail out,” I slapped the gear into forward and stood on the brakes at the same time, turning my head to the front just in time to see the flash of the gun. Before either of us could get out of the vehicle we were hit! Slam bang on target (I suppose he couldn’t miss at that range)

I should explain that there were two heights to the drivers seat – the normal one which was the highest, brought your chin just to the level of the top edge of the armour plate. In the lower position the drivers head was a couple of inches below the armour and he had to look out through a small window, this window was covered by a heavily armoured plate when the lower position was not in use.

The shell fired at us hit this window, right at my chest level and, thankfully, exploded It was a high-explosive shell not an armourpiercing (AP) shell as he should have used. If it had been an AP it would have either gone right through our armour plate or it would have torn huge chunks off the inside of our vehicle and in either case the result for Charlie and I would have been the

same. Luckily the decision of the enemy to use an HE shell meant that it exploded on the outside of the plate, the forward slope of the front of the vehicle directed the blast upwards in front of my face and not at it, thus I ended up getting the residue of the powder and bits of metal casing hitting my face instead of getting my head blown off! Reasonable! I still think so, I’ll take a deal like that any day.

So, over the side I go. Seeing nothing but red, all the world around me has changed to red, punctuated with white flashes. I landed on my feet, couldn’t see a thing, but that turned out OK because I took one step and fell into the ditch. Then, with a splash, Charlie lands beside me.

“What took you so long?” I asked, “You forgot your bottle of eau d’vie” he answers, of course I didn’t believe that at all until a moment later he says, “Give me your handkerchief”, and soon I am lying there smelling like a lush with Charlie washing my face with this high proof Calvados alcohol, while we listen to the hissing, pops, crackles and explosions of our vehicle burning up on the road above us.

Then he says, “You’re not going to have any eyelashes to bat at the girls for a while” and proceeded to cut my eyelashes off after which I was able to open my eyes to see that

Charlie Cummings had been on fire when he had splashed into the water in the ditch. His back was burnt where his shirt had gone up in flames, now that I could see I was able to smear the burn salve on his back and now we start to see some humour in our situation – Charlie thinks that I look like comic minstrel, while I see him as a clown wearing one of those shirt fronts & collar with no back.

The pair of us are sitting there laughing our heads off when a Grenadier Guards patrol comes along to check out what was happening. Someone had spotted a fire behind their position & they had been sent back to investigate. When we told them about the German tank they told us that it had been killed the day before - and at the moment it certainly looked “dead” again. Then I realized that the turret hatch, which had been open when we had first come along, was now closed! So, off go the Grenadiers and after a little persuasion, which cost one of the Germans his life, they hauled three lucky crewmen out of the tank, I called them “lucky” because war for them was now over!

After we had given the Grenadier officer a message for Bde HQ letting them know where to find us, we took off on foot for a Forward Field Dressing Station that we were

told was “about 100yards somewhere down that-a-way”. As we start off Charlie says to me ”I hope you are prepared for a long walk - ‘boots’ always exaggerate distance100yds can turn out to be 10 miles, 200yds 50 miles”. Luckily for us after what seemed to be the first long mile a truck came up behind us and the driver answered our question with “It’s just within spitting distance around that bend”, then hanging on to his running board for what I took to be another couple of miles, he says “here we are, then” and slowed down sufficiently to allow us to fall off without breaking our necks.

After we had our wounds looked after we both returned to our “day jobs” with our regular units. I had to do some explaining to my superior in regards to the damage to my face. When I told him that Charlie had used Calvados to clean my wounds, he immediately assumed that we had been off drinking somewhere. As members of an elite special forces unit, our home units and our commanding officers were never appraised of our activities and we were sworn to secrecy. Not only we were not allowed to tell our home units what we were up to only the occasions we went “AWOL”, our superior officers were never allowed to ask us. This situation often put us in some awkward positions.

Caravela owner organizing trips to his native island of Teceira

By Fred Sherwin

The Orléans Star

Fernando Diniz is the owner of Caravela Restaurante on Innes Road. The Portuguese eatery is one of the most popular dining establishments in Orléans.

A native of Terceira in the Azores, a group of Portuguese islands in the middle of the Atlantic, Diniz immigrated to Canada in 1985. After running a successful construction company for more than 30 years, he opened Caravela in 2016 and has never looked back.

After immigrating to Canada, Diniz would often go back to his native island to visit his parents and siblings. The COVID pandemic, however, put an end to his visits along with most other international travel. During that time, Fernando dreamed of turning his childhood home into a guest house for his friends and customers.

He began renovating his family’s fourbedroom home in the spring of 2022. He returned several months for another sixweek stretch to finish the work, which included adding an additional bathroom, a covered deck in the back, a private secondfloor terrace and a gazebo in the backyard.

This past summer, 24 different couples

stayed at the house and enjoyed Fernando’s hospitality as their host.

All of the couples were either friends of Fernando’s, or regular customers at the restaurant, who wanted to visit Terceira for a week or two and see where Fernando once lived and grew up.

After a successful first summer, Diniz is already taking reservations for next summer.

Direct flights to Terceira are available from Montreal (4.5 hours). The Azores are four hours ahead of Ottawa.

Diniz will pick his guests up at the airport and drive them to the house where they can freshen up before going to the grocery store to buy whatever sundry items they need (the porch is equipped with a gas BBQ). Guests can also purchase a phone card which will give them a local number to access the Internet and download emails.

The house is equipped with free Wifi and cable to access Canadian and U.S. television stations.

With Diniz acting as tour guide, the guests will visit Praia Da Vitoria City during their first full day on the island, where they can go swimming on the public beach and enjoy lunch at a local restaurant.

After returning to the house, they will be able to enjoy a 2.5-hour siesta before preparing to go out for dinner at another local restaurant chosen by Diniz.

On Day 2 of their visit, Diniz will drive the guests to Angra do Heroismo City where they will tour the local gardens, have lunch, visit Patio da Alfandega and Monte Brasil, drop by the Angra Marina Hotel to enjoy a drink while enjoying the amazing view, and finally visit Quinta dos Açores for an ice cream before returning home. And that’s just the first two days.

On Day 3, the guests will visit Quatro Ribeiras, where there are natural ocean pools for swimming, and the wine museum is in nearby Biscoitos. After lunch, the party will visit the Algar do Carvão, an ancient lava tube located in the central part of the island. Once everyone has had a chance to explore the caves, the party will return to the house to relax before heading out to dinner.

On Day 4, the guests will visit the Serra do Cume which has platforms offering a breathtaking view of the island’s interior. The Serra do Cume plateau is actually a volcanic caldeira. After enjoying the

view, the party will pick up some food at a local restaurant and enjoy a picnic in the mountains at Lagoa do Falcão before returning back to the house.

On Day 5, the guests will tour the southern part of the island with stops at the seaside village of Praia da Riviera, the natural ocean pools at Porto Martins; then the Baia de Salga and finally, the Gruta das Agulhas in Puerto Judeu which is only accessible at low tide.

On Day 6, the guests will enjoy a relaxing day at the house before heading out for their final dinner together on the island.

The next morning Fernando will drive the guests to the airport for their flight back to Canada or a connecting flight to the mainland should they want to explore the rest of Portugal.

Anyone interested in visiting Terceira next summer can either drop by Caravela, email him at fernando@accuratepoint.ca or call 613-868-1237. For plane tickets, Fernando recommends booking them through the Iberica Travel Agency in Ottawa. Contact Manuel at 613-241-9463 or email manuel@ ibericatravel.com.

Join Caravela restaurant owner Fernando Diniz for a week or two on his beautiful native island of Teceira. Stay in his family home and enjoy everything this Portuguese island has to offer.

Teceira - also known as the Lilac Island - is a World Heritage Site in the Azores archipelago. With sandy beaches, stunning views and a burgeoning wine industry, you won’t want to miss a thing!

Please contact Fernando at fernando@accuratepoint.ca for more details.

Visitors to Terceira can enjoy magnificent views of the central plateau from the Serra do Cume observation deck. FACEBOOK PHOTO

The bathing area of Biscoitos consists of natural pools situated among the black rocks on the north coast of Terceira. FACEBOOK PHOTO

City forms emergency shelter task force to tackle homelessness

Our city is faced with a homelessness crisis this winter, as a surge of demand has overwhelmed existing shelters and overflow facilities.

While the demand has been higher for all of 2023, since the summer, the system has faced unprecedented demand, and is now beyond capacity.

vulnerable.

Laura Dudas

Innes Ward 2

This need has grown exponentially over just the past weeks and is now largely newcomers. Both those new to the shelter system - which is up 167%, as well as people newly arrived to Canada, now making up half of shelter users. As you read this, there are over 250 people living unsheltered, and will need to access shelter services this winter. There are no beds available. We know that number will increase as people arrive in Ottawa, or residents lose their housing.

Recently, I joined Mayor Mark Sutcliffe in establishing the Emergency Shelter Crisis Task Force to respond to the crisis facing Ottawa’s emergency shelter system and provide immediate relief for our city’s most

This task force is co-chaired by myself, as chair of the community services committee, and the Mayor. We are supported by councillors Stéphanie Plante, Ariel Troster, Marty Carr, and Allan Hubley. In addition to fast tracking the municipal response, the task force will support the Mayor’s efforts to seek funding from federal and provincial governments, while also seeking access to unused federal buildings from the Federal Government.

We will continue to press them, and work with City staff and community partners on developing immediate solutions and actions required to address the crisis, but we cannot mince words, there is no easy solution. With winter coming, this problem will only get worse.

This task force will work with all City departments; to cut red-tape, to fast-track solutions, and to knock-down doors, but this is an absolute crisis, and will require an equal response.

Beat the winter blues by joining the Gloucester 50+ Centre

Hello, my fellow Eastenders. I hope this autumn season has been treating you well. As we enter November, I look forward to collaborating with my east end council colleagues more. We have three important events coming up to take note of.

- Remembrance Day at the Royal Canadian Legion 632 in Orleans, Nov. 11, 10 a.m. - 12 p.m.

- 2024 Joint Budget Consultation, Nov. 18, 12:30 p.m. - 2 p.m.

- Orléans Parade of Lights, Saturday Nov. 25, 6 .pm. - 9 p.m.

As the days get shorter and the snow draws nearer, many of us at the City are beginning to brace ourselves for the inevitable challenges

As chair of transportation committee, I can assure you that our winter operations crews have been busy preparing for what is soon to come. Though many, not all challenges we face in winter take place on our roads. The colder weather also results more isolation. That is why I thought I’d take this opportunity to promote an outstanding organization in my ward that also services Orléans – the Gloucester 50+ Centre.

The following is an excerpt from their

website...

The mission of this Centre is to enhance the quality of life of seniors of the City of Ottawa by disseminating relevant information and providing recreational, educational, cultural, and related support services mainly through the utilization of senior volunteers.

Tim Tierney

The Gloucester 50+ Centre invites seniors 50 years of age and over to join our growing membership.

Located in the Pat Clark Community Centre, the Centre is open Monday to Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. The Centre offers various activities that cover a wide span of interests, special events and so much more.

The membership fee is $40 per year. This fee entitles you to participate in weekly unstructured activities at a nominal fee and structured programs at a reduced rate.

Drop by the Centre and we will be pleased to show you around. The coffee is always on, and the fun, friendship and activities are yours for the taking. For more information drop by or give us a call at (613) 749-1974.

More info can be found at https://www. gloucester50pluscentre.ca/.

Beacon Hill-Cyrville Ward 11

Remembrance Day play an homage to the homefront

By Jody Maffett

The

Orléans Star

“Where Poppies Blow” is a play written by Canadian playwright Hannah Moscovitch. It tells the story of daily life during the First World War through the eyes of Gus, an 11-year-old boy living in Ottawa.

His 19-year-old brother Eddy, who volunteered for the army, is away fighting at the Front.

As the play unfolds, the audience follows Gus as he first has breakfast with his middle brother James and then visits the Ladies Knitting Regiment which is knitting socks for the soldiers.

After visiting the Ladies Knitting Regiment, he drops by the post office to mail a letter to his brother and then the local military hospital where he meets Mick who was wounded and left blind during a gas attack on the Front.

It is Mick who first opens the young boy’s eyes to the horrors of war.

After talking with Mick, Gus goes to school where he gets news about his brother.

The play serves a dual purpose. First, it sheds light on what it was like growing up in Canada during the First World War, and second, it brings that message home to a

young audience through Gus’ experience.

For Cairine Wilson Secondary School drama teacher Jennifer Abma, “Where Poppies Blow” is an ideal production for her students to do in the days leading up to Remembrance Day.

Playing the lead role of Gus is Grade 12 student Evan Simcoe.

As a 17-year-old senior, the biggest challenge Simcoe faces is in convincing the audience that he’s an 11-year-old boy.

At one point in the play, Mick the veteran asks Gus his age. When Gus says, “fifteen”, Mick, who is blind, challenges him and he admits that he’s actually 11.

“It has been really challenging, but I have really loved the process,” says Simcoe. “And I’ve given a lot of thought to not just delivering the lines, but to how Gus looks at the world and how he walks and how he talks.”

Mick is played by Grade 12 student Simon Lee, who delivers the most poignant monologue in the play.

The job of making sure that everyone is on point, has been given to student director Avery Kaptein who won over the cast’s respect from day one of rehearsals.

The Grade 11 student is hoping that the

The cast and crew of the Cairine Wilson student production of ‘Where Poppies Blow’ which is being presented in the school gymnasium on November 10 and 11. PHOTO SUPPLIED

audience comes away from the play with an understanding of how war can impact the people on the homefront even when the fighting is an ocean away.

“Hopefully (the audience) will get a sense of what it was like to live through the war, and sort of live in the shoes of an innocent young boy like Gus,” says Kaptein.

The Cairine Wilson production is being

put on in the school gymnasium on Nov. 10th and 11th. Tickets are $10 for adults and $5 for students. Tickets for the Friday night production can be purchased online at https://ocdsb.schoolcashonline.com/Fee/ Details/76573/178/False/True.

Tickets for Saturdays production can be purchased at ocdsb.schoolcashonline.com/ Fee/Details/76602/178/False/True.

Children’s Storytelling Festival returning this month

By Jody Maffett

The Orléans Star

A smorgasbord of delightful stories for children aged 2-12 and for the young-at-heart will be shared at several locations in Ottawa and online during the week of November 20-25.

In English and in French, both Indigenous and other storytellers will provide a delectable array of stories from many cultures.

In-person storytelling is scheduled to take place on Saturday, Nov. 25 at the Ottawa Public Library’s Nepean Centrepointe Branch.

Francophone storytellers Marie Victoria Robertson, Le Pére Garneau and Mila Bercier will tell stories en français for children 3-5 years old from 10:30 a.m. to 11:05 a.m.

English storytellers Janet LeRoy and Brad Denys will use songs, musical instruments and rhymes in presenting “A Feast of Funny Friendship Stories” from 11:15 a.m. to 11:50 a.m. The stories are aimed children ages 3-5.

Following LeRoy and Denys’ presentation, Robertson, Garneau and Bercier will return to present “Aventures magiques et légendes captivantes!” for children 6-12 years old.

Between 2 p.m. and 2:50 p.m., Indigneous storyteller Louise Profiet-LeBlanc will share stories from her native Yukon.

You can also listen to Profiet-LeBlanc’s stories at the Odawa Native Friendship Centre, the evening of

Thursday, Nov. 20, along with fellow storytellers Mary Gunner, Jennifer Jerome, Doreen Stevens and Simon Brascoupé.

Louise Profeit-LeBlanc is from the Nacho Nyak Dän First Nation (First Nation of the Big River People) in Mayo, Northeastern Yukon; Mary Gunner from the Cree community at Moose Factory, Ontario, an island at the mouth of James Bay; Jennifer Jerome is Algonquin Anishinabeg First Nation from Maniwaki, Quebec; Simon Brascoupé is Anishinabeg/Haudenausanee – Bear Clan of Kitigan Zibi Anishinabeg First Nation, Maniwaki, Quebec; and Doreen Stevens is a member of the Loon Clan of the Algonquin Nation, in Kitigan Zibi, Québec.

All generations are welcome to the storytelling circle to hear traditional stories, stories of tricksters and stories of life memories. The Odawa Native Friendship Centre is located at 815 St. Laurent Blvd.

Returning to the Nepean Centrepointe library branch, Laura Davidson Leet and Uchechi Ogbonna will present “Stories from the Forest” on Saturday, Nov. 25 from 3-4 p.m.

Leet and Ogbonns’s stories are about the animals who live in the forests and wild spaces in Canada and Africa. Both talented tellers use their voice, their stance and their gestures to bring these characters to life.

For complete details, including the online story-telling. please check the schedule on the festival website at https://biblioottawalibrary.ca/.en/kid-zone, or at www. ottawastorytellers.ca.

Local mortgage expert authors book on private mortgage lending

By Fred Sherwin The Orléans Star

Chad Robinson is a fully licensed mortgage and real estate broker with over 25 years of experience.

During the pandemic, he decided to switch his focus from helping people secure mortgages to helping people earn passive income by becoming private lenders.

As banks tighten up their mortgage lending rules, more and more individuals are having a hard time securing loans.

As president of Align Mortgage Corporation, Robinson specializes in matching people who can’t secure a mortgage with private lenders.

Private lending is an avenue for individuals to realize great returns while avoiding the volatility of the stock market, or the headaches of renting out property to potentially troublesome tenants.

The mortgages are short-term –between one and three years – and yield generally earn over 8 percent and sometimes double digits.

Your typical borrower is someone who is either self-employed or recently

separated, or has been in a previous situation that continues to adversely affect their credit rating.

The mortgages can be funded by – just to name a few – cash, home equity lines of credit, RRSPs, RIFs or tax-free savings accounts and they are secured against the property.

There are pooled options where Robinson finds like-minded investors who are willing to put in a minimum of $10,000 each and individual options that start at $50,000 (*for eligible investors only via Offering Memorandum). In most cases, the loan or investment is secured via a mortgage on the title of the property.

The best part about private lending, besides the returns, is that the lender gets to decide on the level of risk they are willing to accept. Obviously, the higher the potential risk the higher the potential returns.

Robinson has put all his knowledge and expertise into a new book entitled, Becoming the Bank: The Simple Lending Process that Creates Passive Income for Everyday People.

The book takes the reader and potential investor through the ABCs

of private lending, including the five Cs of successful private lending: Collateral, Credit, Capacity, Capital and Character – and Robinson does it in such a way as to both educate and illuminate.

Full of straightforward advice for beginner investors, the book is a guide to ditching traditional investing in favour of a profitable pursuit that gives the investor the same control, flexibility and freedom as big banks. By the time the reader finishes the book, they are well-versed in all the ins and outs of private lending.

It really is a well-spring of knowledge on a subject that many investors know very little about.

In the final analysis, private lending can be a relatively low-risk investment with the potential for attractive returns and allows you to take control of your investment portfolio.

Becoming the Bank: The Simple Lending Process that Creates Passive Income for Everyday People is available through Amazon and Indigo.

You can learn more about the author and private lending by visiting chadrobinson.ca.

Chad Robinson

Orléans seniors proof you’re never to old to lace up the blades

By Fred Sherwin The Orléans Star

Every morning between 10 and 11 a.m. a group of men between the ages of 65 and 85 lace up the skates and play hockey at the Ray Friel Centre.

Most of the men have been playing hockey since they were young boys. Fred Theberge, 85, and Germain Souligny, 83, are the oldest among them.

The pair have been playing men’s hockey together since the 70s. They continue to enjoy the game for the comraderie and because they still can.

“If you stop moving, you’re dead,” deadpans Theberge. “You gotta keep moving. Doesn’t matter how fast, as long as you keep moving, you’re still alive.”

Souligny, who owns the Heritage Funeral Centre, plays three times a week – Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays.

“It’s good exercise and it keeps me going,” says Souligny who has played hockey every winter except during the COVID pandemic when the public rinks were forced to close for a year.

“It wasn’t easier getting back,” says Souligny. “It took a little while, but when you wake up in the morning, it gives you something that’s fun to do.”

Each team in senior men’s hockey consists of nine or 10 players, or two lines, and each game is an hour long. Shifts are limited to a couple of minutes, but it still means being on the ice for about 30 minutes.

There are never any penalties either. Any infractions are entirely accidental. Besides, there are no referees to the call the penalties even if they happen. Besides, referees would only slow down the game and the games are already slow enough.

“Fred was joking with me one day that we used to skate a lot faster in the 70s,” says Souligny, while admitting they both did a lot of things a lot faster in the 70s.

While there is no official scoreboard during the games, most of the guys keep track of the score in their head, and most keep track of their own scoring tallies for the year.

“At the end of the year, if you ask us how many games did we win, nobody would know,” says Souligny who figures he has scored “three or four” goals so far this year.

For all of the men who play seniors hockey, it is a true love affair of a game they grew up playing and have never outgrown.

Souligny and Theberge says they plan to continue playing hockey until their bodies no longer let them. How long that will be, is

MORE THAN JUST SENIOR LIVING. IT’S A NEW LIFE

Our Orléans community o er residents a new path for living. Providing peace of mind and freedom, so you can focus on living your best life.

Germain Souligny, 83, right, plays hockey three times a week including every Tuesday morning at the Ray Friel Centre with other senior men (above). FRED SHERWIN PHOTOS

anybody’s guess, but until then, they plan to meet every Tuesday morning to lace up the blades and enjoy the sensation of gliding along the ice which forever takes them back in time.

• Join in for daily activities and social outings

• Nutritious and delicious meal plans

• 24-hour professional nursing care Independent Living, Assisted Living, and Memory Care

COMMUNITY BILLBOARD

SATURDAY, NOV. 11

REMEMBRANCE DAY

CEREMONY on the parade grounds at the Orléans Legion Branch 632. Colour party parade will begin at 10:30 a.m. Ceremony at 10:45 a.m. Light snacks and assorted dessert to follow.

NAVAN REMEMBRANCE

DAY CEREMONY starting at 10:45 a.m. in front of the Navan cenotaph next to the Navan Memorial Arena.

SATURDAY, NOV. 11

SUNDAY, NOV. 12

HOLIDAY MAGIC CRAFT

SHOW presented by the National Capital Artisans Guild on both days from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Lester B. Pearson High School, 2071 Jasmine Cres.

SATURDAY, NOV. 18

CHRISTMAS BAZAAR from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Orléans United Church, 1111 Orléans Blvd. Crafts, holiday decor, jewelery, food items, baked goods and much more! Free admission. Plenty of parking.

SATURDAY, NOV. 18

CAIRINE WILSON CRAFT

FAIR at Cairine Wilson Secondary School, 975 Orleans Blvd. from 9 a.m. - 3:30 p.m. This popular school fundraiser features over 100 vendors selling a wide variety of crafts, holiday decor, jewelery, bath products, food items, baked goods and much more!

SUNDAY, NOV. 19

HOLIDAY GIFT BAZAAR at the Stray Dog Brewing

Company from noon to 4 p.m.

Local vendors. Great beer. Live music. Stray Dog Brewing Company is located at 501 Lacolle Way in the Taylor Creek Business Park.

FRIDAY, NOV. 24

SATURDAY, NOV. 25

SUNDAY, NOV. 26

THE OTTAWA SCHOOL OF THEATRE presents

“The Velveteen Rabbit” at the Shenkman Arts Centre.

Showtimes: Friday at 6:30 p.m., Saturday at 1 p.m. and 4 p.m. and Sunday at 1:30 p.m. Tickets are $25 for adults and $10 for individuals 25 and under. Family package (2 adults and children) $50. Tickets can be purchased at www.ost-eto.ca.

George Robert, 84

Passed away on October 25, 2023

Joseph Henri André Gougeon, 86

Passed away on October 23, 2023

Jacques (Jack) Delorme, 85

Passed away on October 23, 2023

Relax, and Live With Us

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