HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Lucknow Sentinel, 1944-07-20, Page 7t,
THURSDAY, JIMA/ 20th, 1944
1.
WITH THE TROOPS
• •
Bill :Treleaven the R.C.A.F.
:Visited thisweek, with his par-,
V.nts, Mr. and" Mrs; Harold Tre-
,
leaVen, prior to being posted
from Fingal to Rockcliffe.
. Kenneth MacKenzie of the R.
C. A. F., who has been posted to
the West Coast,...Visited recently
with his parents, Mr. and Mrs.
Wm.. MacKenzie of Langside.
Wounded In France
Mr. and Mrs. Leonard .Cook of
Westfield have received word
that their, youngest son, Pte Rus-
sell Cook, has been seriously
wounded in action in France.
Mrs. M. C. Orr received a let-
ter last Wednesday from her hus-
band inforining her that he was
in Franee. Mel is a tradesman
with the R.C.A.F. '
J. C. Johnston, who has been
stationed at Hagersyille with' the
R.C.A.F. for about two years has
been posted to Quebec and ex-
pects, to soon proceed overseas.
J. C. has been visiting .with his
parents, Mr. and Mrs. P. M. John-
ston. ,
Mr. and Mrs. Jack Henderson,
Boundary West, have ,recently
• received .word that their son,
Gni% Ronald. HendeIson,l 7 is in
France. Ronald says pe is enjoy-
' " " "Trig-tbineiVliat `aTeringe 'elk.;
mate now and' that the , farmers
are all busy haying.
• Enters Army Trade School
Jim ,Purves, son of Mr. and
Mrs. Les. Purves,• has enlisted in
the Canadian Army and' due 'to
his age will first the Army Trade
School. Jim was a member of the
Juvenile hockey team and has
been employed at the, Maple Leaf
Aircraft. He was a member of the
Wingham Reserve Battery for
some time. ' I
Marvin Maclntyre of the R. C.
A, F. left on Thursday. for Mine -
ton, 'N.S.' after spending his fur-
lough here with Mrs. McIntyre
who had 'planned to return with
him to the East but was unable
'to flo so due to the serious ill-
ness of her Mother, Mrs. Alex,
Mowbray.
Mel Johnston, son Of Mr. and
Mrs. Janie! Johnston of town is
taking a special army course at
Woodstock. ,Their son Clair is in
France and is safe and well ac-
cording to his latest' letter. He
managed to strike "a , bargain".
with a French farmer getting 3
eggs for 20c.
•
Left For P E. L "
Melvin Stewart of the R.C.A.F.
eft last Thursday for Prince E&
ward Island to take a 3 months'
course at Mt. Pleasant' boinbing
and gunnery sellool.,Melvin spent
a few days with his parents, Rev.
and Mrs. J. W. Stewart before
leaving for the .East. Mel had
originally planned to take a pil-
ot's Course, but due to the length-
ening of the course of 'training he
switched to air gunner.
4 Eggs For 2 Pair' Socks
Mrs. Harry Middleton of Port
Hope, formerly Iona Swan, has
ecei,ved Vtriltht. that -her_ husband
Gnr. Harry Middleton is in
France, having arrived there on
ituy ',1:larry Said he had not
seen an egg for so long that since
reaching France he decided to
try the barter slatein„, and with
fair success. Hairyma.tiaged to
obtain' fair eggs by surrendering
two pair of socka.,
77 -
The Lucknow Sentinel, LucknOw, Ontario
rAGE SEVEN
Lucky To Be Alive
Says tivasiol Gunner
--
Mr. and Mrs. W. S. McGUire,
R. 6, Lucknow, have received. a
'letter from their son, Gnr. Gor-
don McGuire who is with. an
anti-aircraft battery . i —France.
Izoil
"I'm 'lucky to be art , a good
many of my, pals are ot", he
said, and 'added, "I hate to talk
about it as 1 can't really find
words to: describe how terrible
war is"., ,, ••
P '
Gordon said' that . when they
hit the beach they worked 'furi-
ously • to dig in, their . gun, until
their hands were covered with
blisters and blood. ' Then they
scooped out slit ,trenche , for
,
I themselves when they 'Weren't
Iducking "Mortar bombs, gun shells
and shrapnel. .0
Gordon said that for over a
week he never had even his shoes
off. They got very little sleep
at night, but some in 'the day -
tune as, "Jerry doesn't come out
much then". -
Gordon said they were back
of the front line about a mile for
which he was thankful as he had
talked to one infantry soldier.
1 who had faced a German bayonet
attack. Gordon added that' he
hadn't yet come face to face with
a German in battle, but had bur-
ied lots of them and had seen
• Many prisoners. 4.
French women sniper's are
'common he said. Some have mar-
ried Germans and are not to be
trusted. TWo soldiers he knew
1were killed by a Woman sniper,
who was located in a tree and
"filled with lead". ,
GOrdon's "chief &intern ' Was that
,
Inspflrents would be worrying
about him ",1 :dOet—WOrri,' In'
don't you", he said. "Thousands
are being killed every day and I
feel' selfish praying that I should
be saved. If I am, not spared I
will die known -1g I gave my life
fighting- for my country".
Gordon described their battle
ration, and remarked about the
beauty of the French poppies. He
said he had learned that Alvin i
Hamilton was in hospital in Eng-
land with his right hand ,severely
injured.
'Has ToWo Sons Now
'Serving In France •
Jim Hamilton *of the R.C.A.F.
at 'Teronto was home on a 48-.
hour pass.
PO. Tam Henry of the Service
Audit Group .of the R.CA.F., who
is 4 present stationed .at TOT -
onto, ;visited • with relatives here
last week. Tom had just return-
ed •from New, York where he
spent part of his leave.
Posted To West Coast
Section Officer Mary I. Philip
Of the R.C.A.F., W.D., has been
posted from Rockcliffe to Pat-
ricia Bay, British Columbia. Miss
Invasion Padre Now
Knows What War Isi
, Captain Graydon 0. Cox who
accompanied the Canadian invas-
ion forces into France, wrote Te-
,cently to his wife in Toronto;
telling her of some of his exper-
iences. This letter was published'
in the Toronto Star as one of the
prize-winning invasion letters.
Mrs. COX, who resides. in Tar -
onto, is a daughter of Mr. and'
Mrs. Mac Ross Or Kinloss .Town -
'ship and a niece of Mrs. Jack
Henderson, Boundary West..
'
Text of, Capt. Coxs letter fol-
onlow8
Philip left, for her new station :
"1 was in the opening-. of the
Saturday.,
Sent Pictures From Overseas second; frOnt and I really know
Supplementing official pictures I what war is like- Yes'';it is be -
which she had previously recehk-
ed, Mrs. T. F. Wilson recently
received several snaps of the'
cemetery and grave at Harrogate,
England 'where her husband' ko.
TOM Wilson is buried. These pie -
tures were taken and forwarded
to her by LAC. Ralph -Hoclgiris,
who is stationed near Harrogate.
RalPh is a son of Mrs Walter some others thought I was over -
Hodgins formerly of Concession Kinloss working as they took me back
10, \ I for a rest at the hospital. I really
..
I sleptfirst tirrie .1 .b.e.d. had rrrit
To Attend Trades School
yond imagination at times, but
'God has' been good *and I am safe
arid well. I have learned how to
.get flat to the ground in iipthing
flat and it has no doubt helped
me to come so far with a whole
skin.
"I have been very busy indeed
and evidently the doctprs and
Bud Orr, son of Mr. and Mrs.
M. C. Qrr has enlisted in the
Canadian Army. He has not yet
reached his 18th birthday and
will attend • the- Army Trade
School. Bud played goal for
Lucknow's famed juvenile hock-
ey 'team. He has been emplOyed
at.the Maple Leaf Aircraft plant
and was a member of Carruthers
orchestra. His father is now in
Frante with -the R.C.A.F.
. _
Is Well And O.H.
A letter received this Week by
his mother from WO. Alex Mac-
Iltenzie; D.F.M., was written on
March. 23rd. Letters written since
then have been ;previously re-
ceived. ,Two short 'clauses in the
letter were obliterated by the
'censor,, one of them following
the statement, "The Red Cross
is wonderful". Alex acknowledg-
ed receipt of valued parcels of
clothes, and asked for. cigarettes.
He said he was "well and O.K."
Alex, as our readers will know,
is a prisoner in Germany. The
following day Mrs. MacKenzie
received a letter written on
atimmmap
I April 19th. Alex, said parCels and
Mrs. Jas. MacFarlane of town
received word last week from her
two sons, Walter and Tom, both
of whom are in action in France
with an infantry reginient
Since then Mrs. MacFarlane
has received a letter from a 'lady
in Southern England who saw
ston of • Ashfield, arrived in God -
Tom stioruy nerore he sailed. The
erich last Wednesday afternoon
God -
letter reads as follows:. •
by bus. Tpr. Johnston returned
Dear Mrs, MacFarlane, to' Canada recently from overseas
' thought pZrhaps you would and bears scars of battle receiv-
like to know how yOur son Torn ed in Italy on -February 6th last
while serving .with a tank corps.
is. My son and I had the pleasure
of talking to him • a few minutes The young soldier is suffering
from a compound fracture of the
skull, a fractured arm and the
loss of his left leg, amputated
just below the knee. He arrived
in London. Saturday and is on a
_short leave 'from Westminster
hospital in that city. He was
greeted upon arrival in Goderich
by his parents, his sisters, -Helen
and • Beatrice and by several
friends from his native township.
Tpr. Johnston went to ,England
with a reinforcement unit.
Back Overseas Again
cigarettes, were coming through
well. They have a major and
minor softball league formed and
the competition is. keen.
invalided Wine From Italy.
Tpr.• Robert Johnston, 21, son
of former • township councitor
John A. Johnston and Mrs. John -
while -the, convoy stopped outside
my house. He is looking really
fine and very cheerful. He was
talking of "away back home",.
.while'we gave them a cup of tea
and a sandwich to cheer thenn on
their way. He said that with
"events" recently they. have had
very little time .for letter writing
and I asked him if 'he Would
care for me to write you a few
lines. ,
We see all the boys on their
way '"over" and try where poss-
1
ible to give them a smileand. a
handshake. Its very little we are! Mr. ari0 Mrs. George Burgess
received a letter last week from
their son Pte. Wm. Burgess who
is overseas with a hospital unit.
Pte. Burgess was previously
overseas for a lengthy period
with the Forestry Corps. He was
posted back to Canada several
months ago, but is now track in
the °Id- 'Country again.
able to do for our fine lads, but
we do what we can.
Try not to worry toomuch. He
was really in the best of spirits
and very well. It was a, real
pleasure talking to him.
The / writer expressed every
confidence in their equipMent,
"[Monty" and in ultimate victory.
Iboots and clothes off since Mon-
day .(four days) and it was, some-
thing of a treat'I came back up
,the line late yesterday afternoon.
"Just after the show was over,
one of our lads, who comes from.
Vancouver, Came to me and
showed me a letter} from his
mother urging him to put his
'trust,in God. He asked me if • I
woulbapthe him then, so I ask-
ed one of. our officers to go with
me, and • 1 took a 'water bottle,
and in a safe nook outside, he.:
made •his =vowS,and-was- baPtized,.
'As- soon as I finish this letter I
must write to the lad's' mother
and tell' her about it; this is his
wish.
"When I was going to bed last
night I noticed a tear in the cover
Of my 'beclz-roll and thought it had
just been touched by a piece of
flying shrapnel. Then ,I noticed
that the ground -` cork , from the
cork mattress was leaking out
arid examined further. I found
that there was a hole right thru
the cork mattress and there was a
German machine gun bullet ly-
ing in there. The blanket inside
had a hole in it and my air. niat.
tresS- was punctured-- on both
!sides. I must try to put a patch
Ion it and see if I can't make it
air -tight once more. The eider-
,
idown filler was not even touch-.
ed 9
'Things are 'koing pretty well'
with us here. It is fairly quiet
today and everyone is enjoying
the respite. If we could have a
bath and change into clean
clothes we would all\ feel. much
better. But the spirits of • every-
one' are high and 'morale is A-1.
The boys are discovering that
there is really some comfort in
prayer and are not ashamed to
talk about it. Even though I
have sometimes felt scared,1 was
conscious of a Presence about me,
and a certainty that all is well".
Invasion Pictures
A folder of pictures 9f the in-,
'vasion was recently received by
Mr. and Mrs. Peter McCall from
their son Jack. The, illustrations
_pictured Canadian' troops enroute
to the NOrrnany invasion coast,
and in one picture Sgt. Clarence
Greer, son f Mr. and Mrs. J. M.
Greer,: is to be seen. ,Clarence-'
was aboard the mother ship H. M.
C. S. "Prince David" from which
a number of invasion craft were
lowered. Clarenee had his head
down, cleaning a. Bren gun, when
the "shot" was taken.
. , ' • .
GREAT WAR VET ••
KILLED IN FRANCE
•
Pte. Alex MacKenzie, a v ran
of the last war, and who een
overseas for three years in the
•present conflict, has been official-
ly reported killed in action on
June '9th. - ,
His sister, Miss Mary oMacKen-
zie of Concession 5, Ashfield, was
liotified on June 23rd that he Was
missing and on Monday, of last
week received official word list-
ing her brother as killed in act-
ion. No detail's are available, but
it is assumed he was killed in
Normandy. This assumption is
strengthened by a letter written
to his nephew, Donald, just two
days before the invasion 'started.
Alex MacKenzie was a son of
the late Mr. and Mrs. Donald
'MacKenzie 'of the PortAlbert
district. He was born 52 years ago
in Ashfield.
He enlisted, in August of 1914,
a few days after the otithreak of
the First Great War • and was
overseas for over 'four 'years. He
h1istdTih" artillery -unit -but -
later transferred to the 43rd
'Cameron Highlanders of Winni-
peg.
Upon his return from overseas
he made his home in 'Western
Canada, and again enlisted soon
after the outbreak of the present
struggle with the First Canadian
Scottish Battalion of Victoria, B.
C. Pte MacKenzie trained at De-
bert, N.S. and went overseas in
August 194J.
He was an.ardent Scot who
thrilled at the sound of the
pibroch and enjoyed reading a-,
bout Auld.,Scotland or visiting
•the Land 'o the Heather. In a. let-
ter written in May he mentioned
°sending his relatives two books
about Scotland., These arrived
after he was reported missing.
Pte. MacKenzie was not mar-
ried. He is survived by two sis-
ters, Miss Mary MacKenzie; R.R.
1, Dungannon; Miss Grace Mac-
Kerizie;. Reg.N., of Toronto; Dr.
Hector. MacKenzie of Bellevue,
Alta.,. and Donald MacKenzie of
Blyth. The late John A. MacKen-
zie, e* -reeve of Ashfield was
brother. 'Two other brothers,
James and Roderick MacKenzie, •
also of Ashfield, predeceased him.
Member Of Coyle Russell's
Crew Repatriated From Germany
Some details of the operation
Keeps Him In Touch that ended in Flight -Lieut. L. C.
In a letter to the Fire Com- (Coyle) Russell becoming a prie-
pany acknowledging receipt, of oner of war in Germany have
his fountain pen, Harold Greer been learned by his parents, Mr.
of the , R.CA.F. says: We are
and Mrs. A._ Russell_ of Wing -
well into summer over here and
are absorbing the beauty of the ham. These, facts have been
English countryside when we can learned from the air gunner of
get time off fromwork, which the crew, George Pridham, who
isn't often. The invasion has is now back in Canada having
meant an increase in 'work but been repatriated due to the loss
we don't mind if It gets us home of a leg on this flight. Coyle and
sooner• Pr.i..qhart,1were,the only two of
so well and our Russian allies I the crew 'saved. ''They bailed out
driving ahead we are all looking 1 at about the same moment that
for an early ending of the war.
Just received a bunch of Sen-
tinels and spent a • couple of
hours reading upon the news.
It seems to bring the old town
closer when I read about what is
happening back there".
• \
their bomber was rent asSunder
by an explo•sion. Coyle landed
safely but suffered from shock
and .wandered about the country-
side for two days before being
taken prisoner. 'He" fully recover-
ed very quickly.