HomeMy WebLinkAboutClinton News Record, 2016-09-21, Page 1212 News Record • Wednesday, September 21, 2016
From Furrows to the Front Lines
Lynda Hillman-Rapley
Postmedia Network
In her book From the Fur-
rows to the Front Lines, Exe-
ter's Yvonne Reynolds takes
the reader back to the 161st
Battalion of Huron County.
"2016 marks the 100th
anniversary of the mobiliza-
tion of the 161st Battalion of
Huron County. A century
ago men from farms, offices
and shops responded to
forceful appeals to their pat-
riotism and enlisted to serve
king and country in World
War 17 she explained, add-
ing there are events planned
in Goderich in October and
November to commemorate
this milestone.
"The Battalion officially
mobilized in April, trained at
Clinton, Hillcrest Camp in
London, and Camp Borden.
Before going overseas, the
men were dispersed to their
hometowns on October 5 for
final goodbyes:'
"On Sunday, October 8,
Col. Combe, accompanied by
some members of B company
and the 161st Band, marched
up the steps of the Goderich
Courthouse to hand over the
Battalion's Regimental Col-
ours for safe -keeping. They
had been purchased for $255
from the Dominion Regalia
Company in Toronto by the
Exeter Ladies' Soldiers' Aid
Committee, who had pre-
sented them to the Battalion
at Camp Borden in August."
"Monday, May 24, 1920,
the colours were deposited
in Exeter's Trivitt Memorial
Anglican Church. By 1970,
the Colours had faded. The
originals, and replicas, were
framed and dedicated in a
special service on June 28.
They are still there," she said.
In her book, Reynolds
details that the Battalion
members enjoyed a dinner
at Goderich's Bedford Hotel
on Monday, Oct. 9, followed
by a dance in the Oddfellows
Hall.
"Next day the Battalion
paraded down East St. to the
Grand Trunk Railway sta-
tion. Twenty-eight officers
and 749 NCOs and enlisted
men boarded the train for
Halifax, then on to the SS
Lapland to disembark in Liv-
erpool, England. They were
soon shipped across the
channel for service in France
and Belgium."
Reynolds says the men
from Huron fought in the
bloodiest battles of the war -
Ypres, Vimy Ridge, Amiens,
Cambrai, Passchendaele and
Lens.
"British Prime Minister
Lloyd George wrote in his
memoirs, "Whenever the
Germans found the Cana-
dian corps coming into line,
they prepared for the worst."
Twenty-eight medals were
awarded for bravery, and
Clinton's Harry Miner was
posthumously awarded the
Victoria Cross. Six officers
and 111 men from the Bat-
talion were killed during the
war, and 15 succumbed to
their wounds later.
"By 1917, more Canadians
were dying in Europe than
were enlisting at home. By the
end of that year, members of
the 161st had been sent to
sea
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other units of the Canadian
Corps. The 161st was officially
disbanded Sept. 15, 1920. A
reunion was held in Clinton in
1935, and another in Exeter in
1966:'
The booklet "Lest We For-
get'; a history of the 161st Bat-
talion commissioned by Bill
Rowcliffe in 1996, has been
updated and reprinted. It is
for sale at Fincher's, Huron
County Museum, and Bay-
field Archives and Heritage
Centre. Listed is every man
who joined up, and if he was
wounded or killed.
In the original, widows Eliz-
abeth Fingland and Gladys
Sims were interviewed, and
stories and pictures taken by
Pte. Vic Hogarth were fea-
tured. Now, 100 years later,
Catherine (Fingland) McK-
night, Audrey (Sims) Bentley
and Bonnie (Hogarth) Sitter
were questioned about what
they remember after their
fathers returned home.
Catherine remembers her
father Frank Fingland always
wearing long sleeves to hide
the damage to his arm that
hospitalised him for two
years. Fingland wondered
why he had been spared after
losing his best friend in battle.
He used this time to get a uni-
versity degree, passed his bar
exams, became a lawyer, and
served 10 years as a provincial
judge before retiring.
Fingland considered his
beloved family his legacy.
Catherine remembers accom-
panying her father to annual
dinners in Toronto, where he
proudly introduced his
daughter to his some of his
wartime buddies who had
formed "The Beachnuts Club!'
A bottle of whiskey was to go
to the last survivor, but Cathe-
rine does not remember his
name.
Audrey Bentley's father Bill
Huron Superior
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Contributed photo
Yvonne Reynolds with her book From the Furrows to the Front
Lines.
Sims came home in 1919,
married in 1920, and Audrey
was born in 1923. Her father
never talked about the war, his
only souvenir a piece of
shrapnel in his shoulder. Sims
devoted his time to working
hard to support his wife and
family. There was no pension.
"When Audrey was in her
teens, Canada became
engaged in another war.
Audrey had 'hung out' with a
group of young people,
including Walter Bentley, who
was working as a barber in
Exeter.
Walter's father Earl and his
three brothers all served in the
161st, so the families knew
each other. Walter joined the
Royal Canadian Regiment in
1940. Bill Sim's reaction on
seeing Walter in uniform was
a pat on the back and "Good
boy, Walter" Audrey and Wal-
ter were married in 1946.
"Bonnie Sitter's hero is her
father Vic Hogarth. He was a
sniper, employing expertise
with firearms developed as a
Huron County farm boy. Bon-
nie discovered through a
researcher that her father won
a shooting competition, mak-
ing him the best shot in the
Division and the Battalion.
She remembers men coming
to their home to watch Vic put
on a blindfold, take apart and
reassemble a gun taken from
a German officer. The only
war story he ever related was
how he captured the officer."
"Hogarth was severely
wounded in the legs and back
after stepping on a landmine.
In 1930, he underwent a bone
graft, spending 30 months in a
body cast in Christie St. Hos-
pital. Shortly after returning
home, he bent over to tie his
shoes and the graft broke.
After another operation, he
spent another 30 months in a
body cast before resuming life
on his farm. He lived to be 90:'
Reynolds says Bonnie cred-
its her father with teaching his
children determination, com-
passion, generosity, love and
humility by his example.
"These three men, exem-
plifying the brave soldiers of
the 161st, together with the
many others who left Huron
County to enlist in other
units, will be honoured dur-
ing these centennial celebra-
tions. A number of historical
re-enactments and com-
memorative events are being
generously supported by the
Government of Canada,
County of Huron, Town of
Goderich and Huron Arts
and Heritage Network."
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