Vol. 10 No. 45
THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 7, 2013
YOUR COMMUNITY NEWSPAPER COVERING NORTH DURHAM
Editorial . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 Health . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26 Sports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18 Entertainment . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25 Classifieds . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
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Nov. 11 Scenes and stories from a local Legion marked across North Durham BENJAMIN PRIEBE The Standard
“We few, we happy few, we band of brothers; For he to-day that sheds his blood with me Shall be my brother; be he ne’er so vile, This day shall gentle his condition:
And gentlemen in England now a-bed Shall think themselves accursed they were not here, And hold their manhoods cheap whiles any speaks That fought with us upon Saint Crispin’s day.”
SCUGOG Port Perry - Parade forms at the Scugog Memorial Public Library at 10:15 a.m., marches off at 10:45 a.m. Remembrance service and wreath laying takes place at 11 a.m. at Cenotaph located at Township offices (181 Perry St.), followed by a ceremony at the local Legion branch (484 Bay St.) Blackstock - Parade to Cenotaph from Blackstock Arena (3440 Church St.) at 10:30 a.m.; service and wreath laying at 11 a.m. UXBRIDGE Parade leaves Uxbridge Music Hall (16 Main St. S) at 10:30 a.m., ceremony at Cenotaph (Brock St. and Toronto St.) BROCK Beaverton - wreath laying ceremony and service will take place at 11 a.m. at Simcoe and Osborne Streets. Sunderland - parade will start at 11 a.m. at the Town Hall (120 River St.) and end at the Cenotaph. Cannington - parade to the Cannington Baptist Church on Cameron St. West beginning at 9:30 a.m. on Sunday, Nov. 10. A wreath laying ceremony will take place at the Cenotaph on Nov. 11 at 11 a.m.
Local resident Geoff Leeming shares a story with fellow Legion members during a recent Veterans Afternoon, a monthly event at the Uxbridge Branch of the Royal Canadian Legion. BENJAMIN PRIEBE The Standard
When asked what his strongest memory from World War II was, Geoff Leeming, a veteran of the British military and member of the Uxbridge Legion, spoke this quote from Shakespeare’s Henry V. Geoff ’s company commander, Major ‘Banger’ King, shouted it through a megaphone on the morning of June 6, 1944. This piece of inspiring poetry gave the British soldiers resolve while Geoff and the other men of the East Yorkshire Regiment were standing in their small landing craft, sailing towards the beaches of Normandy on D-Day. The men prayed, checked their equipment, and readied themselves to pay the ultimate sacrifice in order to end tyranny. This is just one tale of the many told by our veterans. At the Uxbridge and Port Perry Royal Canadian Legion halls, a group of men sit around what is dubbed The Liars’ Table, having a chat or ‘chin wag’ as they call it, and sharing stories. Their conversations are both somber and hilarious, often at the same time. The scars of war have turned these brave men into caring comrades and brothers-in-arms, who continue to perpetuate the memories of the fallen, lest we forget. Their stories cover topics from time spent on leave and the black market of cigarettes and candy, to horror stories and tales of triumph. “In the evening after we broke through, I was sent on patrol to a French village,” recalled Geoff. “My buddies and I met a farmer and asked him for some water, he ended up giving us casks of cider and we went on our ‘merry’ way. The war was not all bad.” Only some of the Legion members saw combat, and many were involved in occupational or peacetime work only. However, the trials, reverence and honour they share bind them together. As one member put it, “I come to the Legion because everyone here is my friend, whether they’re from Alberta, British Columbia, Nova Scotia or England, they are all my brothers. I have never walked into a Legion across this land without receiving a nod, a pint, and a welcome.” TURN TO PAGE 14
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