HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 2010-05-20, Page 9THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, MAY 20, 2010. PAGE 9.
This year marks the 65th year
since the end of the Second World
War, something former Blyth and
Auburn resident turned Wingham
resident, Stewart Ament should
know something about.
Ament, now a resident at Braemar
Retirement Centre in Wingham,
enlisted in the Canadian Armed
Forces on January 8, 1942 and spentseveral years overseas fighting forhis country.Ament says he was in Germanywhen the war ended, eventuallyspending his last Christmas in the
Armed Forces on the Queen
Elizabeth on his way back to
Canada.
“There was such a storm on the
way back,” Ament said. “But we
went on and the captain was not
supposed to come back, but he said
he had never turned back and he kept
going.”
Ament said that many of the
lifeboats on the deck of the ship that
brought him back to Canada were
broken by the high winds and
precipitation along the way. He,
however, spent most of the trip on
the bottom deck of the ship.
“It was so hot on the bottom deck
of that ship,” he said. “I had a
headache for days after that.”
When Ament arrived in Europe, he
was initially sent to England for his
military training. He said that he had
always wanted to learn how to drive
a truck, and being in the Armed
Forces gave him that chance.
After Ament had been in England
for two years, he then participated in
the D-Day invasion, storming the
beaches of Normandy, France, just
one day after the initial invasion
began on June 6, 1944.
Subsequently, however, after
Ament’s division’s initial
participation, in the invasion, he and
his colleagues spent several weeks
camping out in an orchard
somewhere in France, because the
roads weren’t large enough to
accommodate the trucks he and his
fellow soldiers were driving.
“A mistake was made and we got
there too early and there were noroads that we could go on with ourtrucks,” Ament said. “So we justlived in an orchard.”Ament said he and his fellowsoldiers spent at least three weeks in
the orchard, spending some nights
sleeping in his truck, under his truck
and sometimes sleeping on the gear
that his truck would hold.
“We couldn’t get our trucks up to
the smaller trucks to replenish
them,” he said. “So we would just
sleep in our trucks, on bombs or on
rations, whatever we had in our
trucks.”
In his time spent in the orchard,
Ament said he and the rest of the
The auction sale at Cathy
Wammes’ last weekend was a great
way to kick off the sunny weather
we have been anticipating. The
baked goods alone had $500 in sales
and it just got better from there.
The sun was out and the Huron
Chapel Evangelical Church was
blessed with a visit from the Clinton
District Christian Choir, little
smiling faces made the day on
Sunday.
This Friday there will be a team
effort with the Senior Youth Pitch ’n
Praise weekend. The senior youth
will be going to Braeside
Campgrounds in Paris, Ontario this
weekend for an exciting and great
time away. Please contact Rob
Campbell for time of departure for
this event.
With the outdoor weather here,
Auburn is considering new
playground equipment as the old
equipment has to be removed. If you
are interested in this project, there
will be a meeting at the park on
Thursday, May 27 at 7 p.m.
In the meantime if you have any
questions feel free to call Jim
Schneider at 519-526-7396, Jim
Glousher at 519-526-7750, Erma
Cartwright at 519-526-7256, Marg
Anderson at 519-526-4894, Jane
Smyth at 519-526-7037 or Patty
Cooke at 519-526-7425.
Upcoming events in Auburn
include ‘Elmira Poultry’Fundraising
for El Salvador and the
Londesborough United Church
Family Movie Night on May 28
at 7 p.m.
Local veteran reflects on 65th anniversary
❀❀ Auburn Co-op ❀❀
519-526-7262
❀❀ Belgrave Co-op ❀❀
519-357-2711 1-800-267-2667
Receive
a boxed
plant
with a minimum
$10. purchase
May 21st, 22nd & 24th
Hanging
Baskets
Buy 2 or more
and SAVE
$$$
3x5
Flags
$299
While supplies last
Come out and support your
local kids!
Open Holiday Monday
'til 4:00
at Belgrave Co-op
3 pm & 7 pm
RSVP (Book early!)
Herb Expo ~ May 28th
4"
Perennials
4/$1000
Don’t Miss Our Annual
Hot Dog Day
Sat., May 22nd
10 am - 2 pm
Save up to
70%off Resin High Back
Stackable Chairs
Special
$677
Reg.$1899
on selected
Garden Centre
items
By Kerri
Heroux
hopturn@
hotmail.com
PEOPLE AROUND
AUBURN
NEWS
FROM AUBURN
A proud man
Stewart Ament, formerly of Auburn and Blyth, now of
Wingham, poses in front of pictures of his family, holding a
picture of himself from over 60 years ago when he was
enlisted in the Canadian Armed Forces. Looking back on
the 65th anniversary of the end of the Second World War,
Ament says simply that he was glad to make it home. (Shawn
Loughlin photo)
By Shawn Loughlin
The Citizen
Continued on page 15