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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Wingham Advance Times, 1995-11-08, Page 8THE WHAM ADVANCE -TIMES WEDNESDAY, HOVERER 8,1995 "In honour of those who served...They truly are Canada's Heroes." Joe Kerr Limited Contractors Gravel - Crushing - Trucking Bulldozers - Front End Loaders 357-3530 1945 1995 P.O. Box 568, 129 Josephine St., Wingham, Ontario "Let us remember the many veterans who fought for our freedom" Hearing Help In Wingham Hillside Hearing. Instruments. Gary J. Pietrek Hearing Aid Specialist. Member A.H.I.P. of Ont. For Appointment call 357-2326 314 Josephine Street , Wingham "Let us remember those who have fought to keep our land free." BUILDING CENTRE43 000 North End of Wingham 357-3650 "Together...We will remember those who made the supreme sacrifice." Open Monday - Friday 8:00 a.m. - 6:00 p.m. Saturdays 8:00 - 12:00 noon 11 Diagonal Road, Wingham 357-3750 "Let us remember those who died for our freedom." hitoi'hrs • Ceramic Tile • Wallpaper • Carpet • Floor Coverings • Blinds • Josephine Street Wingham 357-1676 "On this day of Peace... we give thanks for our freedom. Lest We forget." McPhee IDA Pharmacy Josephine Street Wingham 357-1243 "Speak not of battles won or lost, but remember those who fought them." Davidson Well Drilling Serving Ontario since 1900 • FREE Estimates • Guaranteed Wells North Street Wingham (519) 357-1960 "Together we will remember the many who fought for our freedom." C.E. MacTavish Ltd. •Gas Bar • Service Bays • •Car Wash Bays• and much more to serve you better. FREE Estimates on all work. RYDER Truck Rental Josephine St. Wingham 357®2841 "On November l lth, if you can't remember war think of peace." Maclntyre's Bakery Josephine St. Wingham "Fresh Baked Goods Daily" 357-3461 THE ROYAL CANADIAN LEGION National ceremony • "Let us give thanks in prayer for those who fought to keep our land free." LAURENTIAN BANK OF CANADA SINCE 1846 237 Josephine St., Wingham 357-2022 Fax: 357-2573 _. •+—.+..+•.r..:.. -.a x --.-+. sw.++w ,..!riaxcMlTMf N.�.T� M14 Victoria Cross recipient...Harry Miner, shown in a photograph above, is the only resident of Huron County to be awarded the Victoria Cross for distinguished mili- tary service. The original cross, a replica of which is pictured at right, will be on permanent loan to the military gallery at the Huron County Museum at Goderich later this month. Miner, who died in August of 1918, also received the, prestiguous Croix de Guerre from the French government. to be held at Ottawa Victoria Cross going on permanent loan The 1995 National Remem- brance Day Ceremony will be held at the National War Memorial in Ottawa this Saturday, Nov. 11. The ceremonies are scheduled to begin at 10:30 a.m. and conclude at ap- proximately 11:30 a.m. The ceremony will mark the end of the newly -established Veterans' Week in Canada and the closing of celebrations and commemorations marking the 50th anniversary of the end of the Second World War. A multitude of events have been held across Canada as part of the "Canada Remembers" program as- sociated with the Second World War. The National Remembrance Ceremony focuses national atten- tion on the more than 114,000 Ca- nadians who have sacrificed their lives serving Canasda in both wars, the Korean War and other military missions. This truly national ceremony is organized by The Royal Canadian Legion with the support and coop- eration of the federal government. It provides all Canadians the oppor- tunity to remember, for one brief period each year, all those who went to war regardless of distin. guishing affiliations. Mrs. Elsie Amanda Wells, 89, of Edmonton, Alta., will be among the dignitaries taking part in this year's ceremony. She is the "1995 Silver Cross Mother". Her son, Private Frederick Orman Wells, died on March 8, 1951, at the age of 20 of wounds received while serving with the Prince Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry in Korea. Mrs. Wells represents all mothers whose chil- dren have died while in military service. The Youth of Canada will be represented by the senior winners of the Legion's national poster and literary contests: Jennifer Gillis of Fredericton, N.B., poetry; Geoffrey Little of Guelph, Ont., essay; Ali- son Frank of Bateman, Sask., black and white poster and Andrea Lee of Chatham for her color poster. A Chad's Day of Remembrance (Editor's Note: This poem was written by Jennifer Gillis of Frederiction, N.B., and captured first prize in a Canada -wide com- petition sponsored by The Royal Canadian Legion. Gillis will at- tend National Remembrance Day ceremonies this Saturday at Otta- wa.) A CHILD'S DAY OF REMEM- BRANCE A cold, biting wind whips the waves on to the silent sand. Chilled and questioning a child stands shivering. Tiny, mittened hands driven deep into the pockets of a down jacket. An innocent face gazes out from underneath a warm, woolen hat. A child untouched by war, untouched by tragedy, unknown by the multitudes of an- cient soliders standing at full attention on a cracked concrete curb. The endless list of the dead invades the thoughts of this quiet child. Who are these men? And why did they die? To a child's blank mind, war is simply wrong and dying is bad. There are no questions,`there are no excuses, only life and death, only good and evil. Silent moments and sombre echo- ing songs surround this tiny figure. Whispers of fallen comrades will forever haunt this growing mind. For the past, we mourn, For the future, we remember. Lest we Forget ••• They shall not grow old, as we that are left grow old: Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn. At the going down of the sun and in the morning We will remember them. Laurence Binyon (1869-1943) Wear a poppy in remembrance Vie aBurnep jf uuerat )®nye 35 Patrick Street West, Wingham, Ontario Telephone (519) 357-1170 Licensed Operator • Layton McBurney Ltr1. Only one resident of Huron County has won the Victoria Cross, the highest military honor accorded an officer or enlisted man in the Commonwealth Armed Forces. Later this month, the cross will be handed over to the Huron County Museum at Goderich for display on permanent loan. The Victoria Cross was awarded posthumously to Harry Miner of Clinton for his heroic actions in the Battle of Amiens, France, in Au- gust of 1918. Remarkably, Miner also was the recipient of the French Croix de Guerre for his role in a battle at Lens in 1917: The invaluable Victoria Cross and the Croix de Guerre have been in a bank safety deposit box for al- most 30 years. The Clinton Legion Branch has replicas of the two med- als on display at its hall, but could not begin to provide the security necessary to house the original items. Steve McGuire, a former Clinton Legion president, said the Miner family presented the branch with Harry Miner's Victoria Cross and Croix de Guerre in a ceremony in the fall of 1968, 50 years after Min- er's death from wounds received at Amiens. Until 1993, the medals sat in a bank safety deposit box. That year, a special military exhibit opened at the Huron County Museum at Goderich to depict the contribution made by the military in Huron from the 1860s to the present day. At the time, Claus Breede, mu- seum curator, arranged to have the Clinton Legion Branch lend the Victoria Cross and the Croix de Guerre for the exhibit and later re- turned the items. Earlier this year, Breede wrote to the Clinton branch about the possi- bility of putting the medals on per- manent display in the museum mili- tary gallery. He made a presentation to the branch on Sept. 25 and soon after received a letter saying that branch members agreed to his request. The next step was putting proper security in place to house the med- als. The county will insure the Vic- toria Cross and the Croix de Guerre and the agreement is to be renewed yearly. Breede said he hopes the medals will be on display by the end of the month, presented at a special cere- mony. The Victoria Cross was a real drawing card to the military ex- hibit two years ago. While a replica is on display now, Breede says, these is just no comparing it to the real thing. The cross is invaluable as a col- lector's item, but more than that, says Breede, it is valuable to the community and finally now every- one will be able to enjoy it. HISTORY Harry Miner is one of just 93 Canadians presented the Victoria Cross since its inception in 1856. Eight of the medals were issued to Canadians prior to World War 1, 69 in World War 1 and 16 in World War II. During the Crimean War of the 1850s, Queen Victoria decided that an award should be instituted in the Commonwealth to recognize spe- cific acts of heroism. The medal, named the Victoria Cross, was struck from a captured Russian bronze canon. Since then, all medals issued have been struck from the same canon. Breede says the Victoria Cross is not shiny or elegant, but powerful in its simplic- ity. The Victoria Cross is not mili- tary "class conscience", but cuts across all ranks, from officers to enlisted men. It is presented for most conspicuous bravery or some daring or pre-eminent act of valor or self-sacrifice or extreme devo- tion to duty in the presence of the enemy. HARRY MINER Born June 24, 1891, at Cedar Springs, Harry Garnet Bedford Miner was working in Goderich Township on area farms when the .war was declared in 1914. An early photograph shows a stoc c(My-built young man with short, curly hair. He enlisted With the "142nd Bat- talion in November of 1915 and lat- er transferred to the 461st Huron Battalion, infantry. Lance Corporal Harry Miner was transferred to England with the bat- talion. Miner was sent to France to serve with the 58th Battalion as re- placement troops. . At the Battle of Lens in 1917, Miner's heroics earned him the French Croix de Guerre, but few details are known of the incident. The Battle of Amiens was held during the dying days of World War I. Miner's heroic deeds earned him his place in history as one of 69 Canadians during that conflict awarded the Victoria Cross. A description of his brave deeds is included in a supplement to The London Gazette, published in Octo- ber qf 1918. It reads as follows: "No. 823028 Cpl. Harry Garnet Beford Miner, late Central Ontario R. "For most conspicuous bravery and devotion to duty in attack, when despite severe wounds he re- fused to withdraw. He rushed an enemy machine-gun post single- handed, killed the entire crew and turned the gun on the enemy. "Later, with two others, he at- tacked another enemy machine-gun post, and succeeded in putting the gun out of action. "Cpl. Miner then rushed single- handed an enemy bombing post, bayoneting two of the garrison and putting the remainder to light. He was mortally wounded in the per- formance of this gallant deed." Harry Miner lies buried in a Brit- ish Military Cemetery at Croix, France. In memory of those fallen we salute our local Legion members for keeping our younger citizens aware of the sacrifices made to give them their freedom. • 1:1! tng ain AbbanctiZittxto 5 Diagonal Road, P.O. Box 390 ?Brigham, Ontario 357-2320 Fax: 357-2900