HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Wingham Advance-Times, 1989-09-19, Page 13, -
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WAR VETERAN REMINISCES --Muriel Alcorn of Gorrie shows a picture of her ATS comrades,
including Mary Churchill, at an inspection by Queen Elizabeth (the present Queen Mother). Mrs. Al-
corn was among at least 100 former Auxiliary Service members who converged on London, Ont., last
weekend for the first Canadian ATS reunion.
Muriel Alcorn recalls
ar years with ATS
Fifty years have passed since the
beginning of the Second World
War, but former Auxiliary Territo-
rial Service keyboard operator
Muriel Alcorn of Gorrie remembers
it all as though it happened yester-
day. Last weekend, Mrs. Alcorn
travelled to London, Ont. to
attend the first ever Canadian
reunion of Britain's ATS. Last
week in an Advance -Times inter- ,
view she recalled her years with
the ATS.
-Muriel DUrnford showed 4rUek•-•
British fortitude when she signed
up• with the British ATS in Is16yept*.
ben 1941 at the age of 19.
"I felt I had to join," she recalls.
"My country was at war. The only
thing that kept me from signing up
sooner•was knowing how much it
would upset my mother. I was the
only member of the family still at
home," Muriel explains. "Later, my
mother admitted I had done the
right thing. In the following year,
conscription was introduced, and I
wouldn't have had a choice about
the service."
She chose the Signal Corps, and
after three weeks' basic training
was given an additional six weeks
learning how to send coded mes-
sages by teleprinter all over Great
Britain. The information travelled
through a closed circuit system, and t
guided troop movements all over b
Europe.
"After basic training, 1 was asked
to stay on at the camp as a sergeant o
and continue training new recruits.
1 turned down three stripes because
I wanted to join the signal corps,"
she recalls.
"The ATS was formed in 1938,
and once the war was on, the work
performed by the service managed
to free up thousands of regular
army men for the battlefields," she
recalls. "Mary Churchill (daughter
of Winston Churchill) was in one of
our batteries, and even our present
Queen Elizabeth was in the ATS as
a trans rt driver
ti had tuft*
My country was at
. .
war,. the only thing
that kept me fro m
signing up sooner was
knowing how much it
would upset my
mother."
Muriel's-first posting was in Lin-
colnshire near a Royal Air Force
base. It was a good, safe posting,
she recalls. "There were no air -
raids in Lincolnshire at that time.
But I requested a compassionate
posting back to London to be near
my parents. So I ended up back in
he region that was being hard hit
y bombs."
She took a posting in Kent, then
n London's Hampstead Heath area
ver the next three years, and oper-
ated a teletype and switchboird.
There, ATS forces worked in anti-
aircraft gun posts setting the guns
and operating the spotlights.
"A lot of the time, we were
dodging bombs," she recalls. "You
always had to watch for the
bombers flying over, and later the
rockets that came with almost no
warning. And there were the buzz -
bombs that flew over, then dropped
suddenly. We never knew when or
where they would Fair
keyboard 'o
velt
,trThifJ*
sages on troop and supply in
ment throughout the military net-
work, it. wart.intemting fAnd useful
work, she says.
Muriel was among the first in
Britain to receive confirmation of
the D -Day landing at Normandy.
emessage came in at 3 ;wt.,'
ow what it was, of Muse
— it as written in oda. Lew the
cypher clerk carne in told us."
In 1043 she met her husband, Jim
Alcorn, a Canadian soldier sta-
tioned in London, at a dance. "Lon-
don was full of foreign servIcemen
in those days," She says. "We
always 11116:1 the nearby units to
OUT dances."
When she was asked to go over-
seas in 1945, she turned down the
posting because she was planning
to get married within a few
month's time.
"It was toward the end of the
war. I was married, then dis-
charged, and then came to Canada
as a war bride. And what a scram-
ble that was! There were no houses
available for us. In Canada they just
weren't prepared for all the
wartime marriages."
Mrs. Alcorn's years of service
earned her a Service Medal and a
Defence Medal. Now, those decora-
tions, her ATS pin and a few pho-
tographs are all that remain of
those days.
Last year was the 50th anniver-
sary of the ATS in Britain, attended
by 5,000 former servicewomen,
including Queen Elizabeth.
"After that, a wonderful woman
in London, Ontario decided to
organize an ATS grand reunion in
Canada," Mrs. Alcorn says. "She
formed a committee of 10, and they
started digging up all the former
ATS members they could find."
Mrs. Alcorn found out about the
reunion thritiugha letter from the
d
organizers publiOlted in Brittania
• magatine. She 'irmitediately got in
• touch with them Ono of the first
people to teSpOidi.
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case, treeeer or Sae Don't worry
The Locksmithk
Chris Hill of Fordwith has been
In the locIcernithing business for
almost five years, mitiallY learning
the trade from his father..
His own busineas, The Locksmith
In, opened in April, 1989 and
services the Liatowel, Wingham,
Palmerston, Harriston, Mount For-
est. Arthur and Elora are.as.
Mr. Hill, a licensed locksmith, is a
member of The Association of
Ontario Locksmiths (TAOL).
"1 am bonded and certified by
the TAOL," said Mn Hill, noting
special locksmith tools cannot be
purchased without certification.
M111, H111, who offers 24-hour ser-
vice, says he's been busy since com-
ing to the area.
With equipment and supplies
stored in his van, he services all
customers on the spot.
A variety of lockout services are
provided and Mr. Hill says it is
important to keep up with
advancements in locks and lock-
smithing.
"1 never turn anything down,"
said Mr. Hill who :s very deter
mined about his work. "I never
give up," he said.
He continues to take classes, try-
ing to keep ahead of new technolo-
gy in locks.
LOCKS
There aren't many people who
haven't locked keys in their car at
one time or another and when that
happens, help is only a telephone
call away.
Using a variety of lockout
HapSwatri
*as.
Organisi
The congregation of Wingham
United Church held a special pre-
sentation following the morning
worship service Sunday, in recogni-
tion of their former organist, Hap
Swatridge. Ken Wood, secretary of
the Official Board, extended the sin-
cere thanks of the church for 20
years' faithful service as organist
and senior choir director. During
that period, Mr. Swatridge only
missed a couple of Sundays due to
sickness.
Among the talents Mr. Wood
enumerated, the organist's, ability
to play without music stood out as
paramount. This enabled him, on
occasion, to cover mistakes made
by singers without anyone really
noticing.
After making his remarks, Mr.
Wood called upon Jeanette
Wardrop to present Mr. Swatridge
with a gift of matching luggage, as
an expression of appreciation from
the congregation. He received a
standing ovation.
In response, Mn Swatridge
thanked the congregation for its
support and the members of the
choir for their cooperation. Indicat-
ing that he himself hadbeen a 'for-
mer°member‘of the ;hohe said
had not sat as one of the
c�ngrega-
tion for some 27 years. During ide
time as organist, he did not real*
have such opportnititettr "see
who was there' • ° -
Following he presentation,
everyone was fa vited downstairs to
the Sunday Scin Oimim for a coffee
service as
timeoof
Mr. Swaastri4dge :iivassti,psrest4eillailitotof
WOO
1969. While not4fandliar With the
told thosejn charge
it's a keyboard, 1 can
• play ite spenteyery everting of
at the "hIef
an entire week, faitiliarizing him-
self with the pipe organ and its var-
ious settings. After two decades, he
achieved an enviable versatility
with the two -manual instrument.
Mr. Swatridgeoffitiallyretbed at
the end of August. To assume his
duties, the church has engaged
Mrs. Margaret Kai of Wingham. She
will also accompany the junior
choir, led by Mrs. Brenda Schedler.
For the past number of years, Mrs.
Kai played at the Blyth United
Church.
devices, Mr. Hffi can gain access to New Madill
principal
any make and model of car.
He uses tools similar to the "slim•
jims" used by police to snap open
sees niany challe -
the lock.
-17
• •
'., • • • I. •
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'the car trunk, he can pick the lode at. e ; clill'Secondery School
Mr. Hill can make replacements htWinghant, Is Otitis coinfortable
for lost car keys using thekey code With his new 'surroundings after
nunibers. It can also be done by spending the past six years as prire•
tearing apart the steering column cipa.1 Goderich.
and taking out the lock, how• m
ever r• Murphy has take.n over as
this atime-constuning effort. , principal from Ken Wood, who
TraVelling with his tools and a retired earlier this year after several
sigh on his van has already proved years as principal at Madill. Mr.
beneficial to Mr. Hill who has got- • Wood cast a long shadow at Madill,
ten business just by being at the but his legacy and „that of those
right place at the right time. before him -- a well-run, organized
Moving into a new home and school, traditional and conservative
wanthig to change the locks doesn't in outlook — has made Mr. Mur -
mean you have to buy a new sys- phy's job that much easier.
tem for your home. Mr. Murphy has served as an
Mn• Hill can' recode the present administrator at every high school
lock and make new keys for it. in Huron County except Bluewater.
"I've done a lot of that," he said. Each school has its own particular
Anyone with a piece of antique flavor, he says, but adds that he has
furniture with a stubborn or bro- found Madill to have a quieter,
ken lock or lost key isn't out of more -relaxed pace.
luck.
The principal at Goderich District
11/4°121 Hill can repair antique kicks, Collegiate Institute for the past six
and has some replacement locks as
well. years, Mr. Murphy learned early
this spring that he would be replac-
He' can also fix a bent key, or ing the retiring Mt Wood.
make new one.
Installing Master Key Systems, One of the first challenges facing
used Often in apartments and Mr. Murphy when he arrived in
hotels, is also a service offered. Wingham was a re.structtiring of the
The system provides a pass key school year to a two-day system Of
which will open a aeries of locks, four 75 -minute periods per day,
although the key fOr each individu- from the old eight -period day.
al lock Will not open each door. The change, which also is in
Even if you're locked out of your place at other county schools,
freezer, Mr. Hill has a variety of allows staff and students more time
freezer lock keys or he can order
keys for the modeL •
to get,involved in an activity dur-
ing the longer period. This is partic-
He can pick locks of houses, suit- ularly hel for physical edema-.
cases, toolboxes — just about any-
thing with a lock.
Mr. Hill guarantees the lowest
prices for his SeMCe.
A minimum $25 service fee is
charged per call.
Recoding a lock system costs
monad $7 while there is a charge
$10 to install a lock plus the cost of
the lock.
Mr. Hill doesn't like to place a
time limit on his work and allows
at least an hour ler each job.
All of his work is guaranteed and
if something breaks in the process
or later under normal .use, Mr. Hill
has it repaired.
He won't break a lock to gain
entry, but will drill a lock out and
replace it, if the need arises,
VAN
His van is a travelling lockeinith
•.hop. Drawers ont hundteda
of- blank keys stand ady along
*Pith a valie of cutting
e
fading h
!those who
whtch he find
-4146iirianatintclence-tios '
A native of London, Mi'Murphy
was educated there, attending the
University of. Western Ontario,
where he majored in chemistry He
• began his teaching career in,Brant-
ford in 1963 and moved to
Goderich in 1966 when he became
head of the science department. Mt
Murphy and his family have lived
there ever since.
He also possesses a master's
degree in educational administra-
tion.
Education in the 1990s will focus
on the individual, predicts Mr.
Murphy, as well as programs
designed for specific needs. Some-
thing he currently is involved in is
a needs assessment for night srirool
credit courses.
Alternate education and flexibili-
ty in the delivery of programs also
are directions in which education is
heading, says Mr. Murphy. One of
his goals is to develop a "give-and-
take" relationship with local indus-
try to use the resources of each to
the greatest advantage.
The popular cooperative educa-
tion program also will continue and
hopefully grow each year, adds Mr.
Murphy.
The integration of the trainable
retardedinto the mainstream of
school life is another goal which
gradually is being accomplished.
The school must be responsive to
the natural progressions of the larg-
er societysays Mr. Murphy, which
he feels it is doing.
re hided 611f and *ant
' be reachedbyii
';.-tit• die:14
W Rd AL—Herb Murphy is the new principal at the F.
E. Madill Secondary School in Win, replacing leen Wood, who
hasretired. Mr. Murphy most recently was high school principal at
Coderick but hasteen an administrator at all county high schools.
.P•
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