Across the Nation
Reports from the Regions
BC Banter
Ab/Sk Action
Manitoba Moments
Ontario Offerings
Quebec Quotes
Eastern Breezes
BC Banter ….
We have experienced a very wet and cool spring in most regions of British Columbia but the weather is slowly showing signs of improving. For the last few weeks we have been glued to our TV sets, cheering our Vancouver Canucks on to what will hopefully be a Stanley Cup victory over the Boston Bruins. Hockey fever is alive and well in BC!
The Last Post will show that since the last newsletter was released, we have lost 3 of our region’s Hong Kong veterans. Claude Corbett, Aubrey Flegg and Harry Gyselman have passed away. All of these men served with the Winnipeg Grenadiers. Jan Solecki, who served with the Hong Kong Volunteers and was interned in the POW camps with our HK vets, has also passed away. Our thoughts and prayers go out to the families, comrades and friends of these brave men who sacrificed so much for their country and freedom.
On April 26, letters were mailed to our regional members providing details for the annual spring luncheons in Vancouver and Victoria. The letters also included a membership appeal to those who have not yet renewed their 2011 membership in the HKVCA. The same information was also sent to past members, some of which have left the association for up to 6 years. By doing so we are hopeful that many past members will return. Please advise us if your address has changed so that we can stay in touch.
The Vancouver luncheon was held on June 4 at the Ramada Metrotown Inn and Suites. Twenty-seven people attended the event including two HK vets and four widows. The vets were Gerry Gerrard, RCCS (who travelled from Vancouver Island) and John Lowe, RRC from White Rock. The widows were Loretta Baty (Arthur Baty, WG), Pearl MacPherson (Don MacPherson, WG), June Naylor (Howard Naylor Sr., RCCS) and Eileen Cambon (Dr. Ken Cambon, RRC).
|
(Click for larger image) |
||
 |
 |
 |
| Enjoying the lunch | June Naylor (r) and Eileen Cambon (l) | Lee Naylor, BC Region Director |
Family members accompanied the vets and widows, including John Lowe’s wife, Florence. The Last Post was read and followed by the Act Of Remembrance. Updates were provided regarding education initiatives, the HK Memorial Wall and regional news. We enjoyed a buffet lunch and many wonderful conversations with old friends.
The Victoria luncheon takes place on June 11 and we will include some news about this event in the next newsletter since it hasn’t taken place at the time of writing this report. We are grateful to Linda Quesnel (nee Stewart), our Past Regional Director, for agreeing to host the Victoria luncheon since neither Lee Naylor (Regional Director) or I are able to travel from the Lower Mainland to attend.
We
would like to express congratulations and best wishes to Bill and Claire
Doull who celebrated their 65th wedding anniversary on April 6th
at a quiet family gathering in their home in Sardis followed by dinner at
Dakota’s Restaurant in Chilliwack.
Pearl MacPherson (Widow of Don Macpherson, WG) and her oldest daughter Heather left Vancouver on June 7 to travel to Ottawa to visit the HK Memorial Wall and pay their respects. When they leave Ottawa they are headed to Toronto to visit with family. We wish them a safe journey.
The Gilbert family (children and relatives of Major Bertram Gilbert, RRC) will be well represented at the National Convention in Granby this August. Bruce Gilbert and his companion Pat Dunn, Gwen Day and many other family members are flying to QC for the HK reunion. The roots of the Gilbert family are from the Eastern Townships in Quebec and Bruce and Gwen went to school in Granby as children.
Educating Canadians about ‘C’ Force continues to be the main focus of our association. Last year, the BC region reached out to hundreds of students and adults at various venues in the Lower Mainland and Vancouver Island with our educational display, written materials, and personal contact. Our goal is to continue in the same direction this year as best we can. There is lots of work to be done in the area of education, but many tools are already in place. We welcome any members willing to step forward and assist us with our educational mandate.
Congratulations and best wishes to those of you that are celebrating birthdays and anniversaries. Our thoughts are with those of you who have experienced a loss in your family or are suffering with health issues. We wish you the best for the summer months and hope to see many of you at the National Convention in Granby this August.
Submitted on behalf of the BC Region by Murray Doull, Secretary-Treasurer.
Ab/Sask Action...
This region is experiencing some organization issues at this time. Norma Fuchs has done a great job of keeping in contact with the members and has been communicating with the National Executive about the membership but needs help to keep this region active.
We all enjoyed a wonderful time in 2007 in Calgary at the National Convention and a super, awesome effort went into the events that were held there. However now we need people to get involved to help Norma keep this region going. Perhaps an organizational meeting could be held on a weekend so that travel could be accommodated and a new Executive could be formed. As you will soon hear that Howard Jesse has agreed to be the Education Chair for this region so that is a beginning. Please contact Norma at normaf@shaw.ca or 403-280-5680 to make plans.
Manitoba Moments ….
We continue to hold our monthly Luncheon meetings on the 2nd Thursday of each month at St James Legion in Winnipeg – everyone is welcome to attend.
Our Membership is down a little but most of our members are paid with several paying for multiple years and including a donation for a tax receipt.
Education - Carol Hadley and a member of the Winnipeg Rifles Museum team judged 17 student entries in the Veterans category at the Red River Regional Heritage Fair held in early May. Two exhibits won, Ceanray Harris-Read and Haylyn Ross with “La Vie interessante de Sigi Wasserman pendant l’Holocauste” and Kari Vamestad and MacKenzie Taylor with “Winnie l‘ourson”. The exhibits were very good and the presentations were done well. Thanks go to Patricia Bale and Barry Mitchell for manning the exhibit and doing the scavenger hunt for the students. They also hand out information on the Essay Contest to encourage students to use our resources for their next project. Plans are in the works for the MSSTA teacher’s conference to be held in October.
The Manitoba HKVCA Colour Party (Vince Lopata, Stan Lopata and Alex Taylor) has an active season as they participate in various military and community parades that help to give awareness of the Association to a wide range of observers. May 29 is the Annual Inspection of the Winnipeg Grenadier Cadets followed by the Annual Decoration Day parade at Brookside Cemetery. Due to weather conditions the ceremony was held inside Bardal's Funeral Home. Juliet Lafortune laid the wreath on behalf of the Hong Kong Veterans with Dennis Bell as escort. George Peterson, HKV President and Larry Stebbe, HKV Vice-President, were unable to attend due to health issues.
We are holding our ladies event, Tea and Tidbits, June 18th and we hope to see many of our ladies attend.
Our VJ Day will be held Aug 21, 2011 at All Saints Church on the corner of Broadway and Memorial Blvd. The Lieutenant Governor Philip Lee will be in attendance. There will be exhibits to view and refreshments to follow. The invitations will be sent out in July.
We received a note from Resby Coutts to inform us that George Coutts, his father, was in excellent health in his 95th year and still in Milita, MB. We had reported in the last newsletter that efforts to contact George were unsuccessful so we are pleased to get this news. However the sad news is Mona Coutts passed away on May 2, 2011 – sincere sympathy is extended to the family.
Unfortunately we were unaware of this event to attend it but are pleased to share this information to all our members. The University of Winnipeg - Faculties of Science and Business & Economics Convocation Ceremony, Thursday, June 9th, 2011 announced Degrees would be conferred in Science and Business and Economics. An Honorary Doctorate of Laws was conferred upon David A. Golden, a Rhodes Scholar, war veteran and a former prisoner of war. David was a lieutenant in the Winnipeg Grenadiers, Hong Kong veteran who resides in Victoria, BC. Our hearty congratulations to David and if we had known we would have attended.
Circumstances have occurred to prevent several MB members from attending the National Convention in Granby, PQ in August but we extend best wishes to everyone to have a wonderful convention and extend sincere appreciation to Lucette and her committees for all their hard work.
Until next time – stay well and keep in contact with us - - your Manitoba Executive.
Ontario Offerings….
From our Regional Director, Mike Babin: As you’ve read elsewhere in the newsletter, your Board of Directors has decided to put a very strong focus on educational programs. We know that the Hong Kong story is not well known among Canadians. For example, a survey of high school history textbooks a few years ago showed that only 50% of newly published books contained any reference at all to it, and those that did gave it very brief coverage. If textbooks don’t provide adequate information, then it’s up to us to fill the gap. Unless we do, this story will soon disappear from Canadians’ view.
The Ontario Region has long had a very strong commitment to educational programs, and we’ve developed a number of innovative and useful tools for teachers. I’m glad to see that the national Board has recognized this by asking Pat Turcotte to assume the role of interim National Education Coordinator so that she can pass along her expertise, and the experience we’ve gained in Ontario, to other regions across the country.
Our latest effort is a set of three portable banners, which can be easily transported and set up for use in schools and other venues. Area Rep Bud Mann was instrumental in their creation, and he’s shown here with the results of his efforts. Our Ontario members can request that the banners be shipped to them for use in school or community programs. Just contact me (msbabin@gmail.com) to make your request.
We’ve used the banners at two recent events. The first was a symposium at the University of Toronto, arranged by the Richard Charles Lee Canada-Hong Kong Library. There were 6 speakers on the panel, including George MacDonell and Vince Lopata. Also a panel member was Nathan Greenfield, author of “The Damned”, which, if you haven’t read it, is well worth purchasing and reading. I was honoured to be the moderator of the panel. The symposium was a great success, with over 100 in attendance, and lots of accolades from the audience afterwards. In addition to our new banners, we also mounted a display of photos provided by the Canadian Consulate in Hong Kong, which they had shown at a reception on our trip in December, and at the ceremony at Sai Wan War Cemetery. And Shelagh Purcell displayed (and sold) copies of Leonard Corrigan’s POW camp diary.
We also used the banners at an Asian History Month high school teachers’ event in York Region (just north of Toronto).
Our new banners will be on display at the national Convention in Granby, and I look forward to seeing a big contingent of Ontario members there! Have a great summer!
Our Area Rep for West Central Ontario, Gordon Coyne reports:
Veteran Ken Pifher (RRC): Our friend Ken is leading a very exciting life these days, and we say “More Power To Him”. No sooner had he recovered from his trip to Hong Kong last December, than he began planning a winter vacation in St. Martin with his very good friend Phil Doddridge. Ken’s full report on it follows: “we had a wonderful time!” Then to top it off, Ken marked his 90th birthday with a party on April 23rd that had a host of friends and family present. Ken was the “life of the party”. Come June he will represent the Hong Kong Vets at The Canadian International Tattoo in Hamilton, Ontario. According to his calendar, we should also expect to see him at our Annual Conference in August. Bravo, Ken!
Veteran Gerry “Sunny” Sunstrum (RRC): Gerry can be forgiven for wishing that his life was a little more “sunny”, as he continues to seek a medical solution to some issues with his eyes. Thus far several surgeries have not done the trick. On top of that he experienced a nasty fall while out shopping in a Zellers store. His good news is that his lunch group at Timmers has grown back to four members; and two Canadian teams made it to the NHL Playoffs. Gerry continues to live independently, and is in his 94th year.
Widow Agnes Fehr (Victor Fehr RRC): In her 87th year now, Agnes is a going-concern in St. Catharines, Ontario. Moving from her house to an apartment has given her more time for the life of a busy volunteer. Two of her most active charities are Warehouse of Hope, and Out of the Cold. Agnes loves to stay in touch with HKVCA affairs.
Widow Esther Geraghty (Donald Geraghty RRC): Esther is living in Burlington, Ontario with her daughter and family. Her health continues to run at “OK”, and she has begun to use a walker. She manages to keep well informed of Association affairs. Her grandson, Scott, has been frustrated in his ambition to join the PPCLI, due to a slowdown on recruiting. He has redirected his interest to the artillery, and been placed on a priority list there.
Widow Irene Grimshaw (George Grimshaw RRC): A conversation with Irene’s son-in-law revealed that Irene has moved from a convalescent home, following a bad fall, to a Retirement Residence in Hamilton by the name of Villa Italia.
Bud Mann, our Area Rep for the Greater Toronto Area reports: Since the last newsletter considerable time was spent on coordinating and preparing information for the production of three banners. One banner tells the story of the Battle of Hong Kong supported by two banners of pictures. The objective of preparing the banners was to enhance presentations made, by the Association, informing the public about the Canadian soldiers in Hong Kong. The banners have already been used on at least two occasions attracting attention both times to the Hong Kong story.
Sincere thanks are extended to Ken Skelton for his help on the banners by allowing us to use pictures in his possession.
I would like to take this opportunity to welcome the newest members to the Association in the GTA area: John Banfill, Helen Banfill and Laura Mayne. John Banfill is the son of the late Dr. Banfill who was attached to the Royal Rifles of Canada. Laura is the daughter of William Mayne a veteran of the Winnipeg Grenadiers. Laura tells me that her father is doing quite well except for failing eyesight. However he keeps up on the news by having the newsletter read to him from cover to cover. Good for you Mr. Mayne!
I had the opportunity and pleasure of speaking with Margaret MacDonald recently. Margaret is the wife of Allison MacDonald a veteran who served with the Royal Rifles of Canada. Both Allison and Margaret are doing well except for a stroke suffered by Allison last November. Fortunately it was not too crippling but he had to give up driving. Margaret is now the chauffer. Allison is originally from northern New Brunswick but he and Margaret have lived in Oshawa for many years.
Just adding a note to let you know that Dorothy Soper is doing well. She is very content in Sunnybrook; likes the accommodation and would welcome visitors. She is in L Wing Room 116.
If I can be of help to any of the members in the GTA please let me know. Also I would appreciate it if you would please pass along any news that would be of interest to the Association and or other members. (bud.mann@sympatico.ca 905.294.5342)
One last item of interest: Our Area Rep for the southwest, Marilyn Morgan, recently visited with Veteran Harold Baker and his wife Eileen who live in Aylmer, ON. They’ve been married for 66 years! Harold is coming up on his 92nd birthday, and unfortunately is having some serious health issues. Eileen had a bad fall in March and was in the hospital for nearly a month. They’ve both been seeing doctors rather more than they would like, but are keeping in good spirits, regardless.
Membership report- Lori Atkinson-Smith: Membership numbers in any association or organization fluctuate. HKVCA is no different. Just the Ontario region is losing 28 Regular members so far this year. If you haven’t renewed, please reconsider keeping your membership alive in HKVCA. For your convenience you are able to renew for more than 1 year at a time.
Hong Kong Monument Badges: This group of volunteers are collecting pictures and obituaries of ‘C’ Force. We still are missing many, many pictures of gravestones with or without the HK monument Badge attached. So please search them out and keep the information coming. For details please connect with Lori Atkinson Smith at LoriR1952@gmail.com or your regions rep.
Talk about a special delivery- Carol Cotton, daughter of John Hotton, RRC, from Prince Edward Island, was visiting family near where I live. She brought me graveside pictures and copies of newspaper articles that had interviews of her father - Thank you Carol.
To find out what Belledune, NB is doing for the Hong Kong Veterans see this link: http://telegraphjournal.canadaeast.com/north/article/1407720 .
That’s it, have a great summer!
Quebec Quotes ….
- Lucette Mailloux Muir, Regional Director
Greetings from warm sunny Québec.
In the region we are fast at work with preparations for the upcoming HKVCA National Convention next August.
Personally the month of August to Labour Day weekend is a very busy time with children, grand-children and sister’s birthdays and wedding anniversaries. It seems that somehow I always get involved with gatherings and parties. My guess is that they know how to ask for help, but we love it and enjoy.
Since our last report it has been business as usual with our local executive meetings as well as the on-line National Board meetings.
In the region we have lost two of our HK Veterans: Raoul Tremblay and Marcel Ouellet, WE WILL REMEMBER THEM! We also lost our widows: Lillian Brunet widow of Lucien Brigade HQ, Judith Metallic widow of Patrick, Madeleine Bernard widow of Emile and a Regular member Donald MacAulay son of Cecil.
On June 11th we will be attending a dinner/evening at our local branch of the Royal Canadian Legion honouring and thanking all volunteer workers for the branch. On July 19th we will be travelling to New Richmond, QC representing us personally and all our members of the Quebec Region for the burial of Edwina Doddridge.
That’s it for this time. Enjoy a beautiful summer and if you are driving do take care. Looking forward to meeting many of you, in August, here in Granby. It is always a pleasure to see old friends and make new ones. Have a wonderful summer and till next time.
.^
Eastern Breezes…
- Emmie Flanagan, Regional Director
Greetings, from Sunny Atlantic Canada, where the torrential rains have finally subsided. Our lilacs are blooming and the blossoms are being enjoyed by many bumble bees.
On May 23rd, I introduced to Council the plans for our "Hong Kong Veterans Memorial" in Belledune, NB. Both council and public were in favour of the proposal. They liked the idea of placing "Gander" front and center, along with the names of his "Royal Rifles" friends from NB and the Gaspe Coast. We are now in the process of having the Gander drawing slightly altered. The artist’s rendition will be completed by June 20th. It is with much anticipation that we will have Gander by November of this year. The memorial wall will be complete by 2012.
Hope you all have a safe and wonderful summer. To all the dads out there...Happy Father’s Day!