Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Wingham Advance-Times, 1989-09-19, Page 13, - "'' fttzti044MAti iriett40440~..,101114$44ft ' ,,,414tie ,Ailt.t. 't• V 41' 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. • ". 400 liitv nd#1111`firid, afiyort ikere tkiieW-.Fidtit the r'dar,ft She r.r 'admitted' lait 'Ike'1 knOW Ple are alit° Londonfrom . , !'• Ili over Northfront Calle Pie*Yeik and all parts df • C:alla 4 4llot MISS !*0404,, fright ' Attack, it they WAla, S ' VICE-.4tur1e1 Altoili yew ai Att'S teltepilit Operators viialt who Wok oit the ehoteS, Of 40* dttd WOrldWartivo, <, 0./n • 1p crilar l4oc,14494 �y ,Use, suIt 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. • ..V411Maltifi-l*W0/6000401141V-Vt: • ‘01*,t646610at '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• , • .