1914 to 2014
First World War
CENTENARY
Lest We Forget
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Volume 7.
No. 44
ROLL OF HONOR On Active Service F. Co., 102nd Regiment R.M.R. Captain Pott Color Sergeant Gibbard Sergeant Armstrong ‘‘ Martin ‘‘ Leonard Corporal Shore ‘‘ Gaskell ‘‘ Corbett ‘‘ Wood Rifleman Horsfall ‘‘ Rea ‘‘ Wood ‘‘ Gowanlock ‘‘ Smith ‘‘ Wilcox ‘‘ McPhail ‘‘ Campbell ‘‘ Clingan ‘‘ Johnston ‘‘ Cummings ‘‘ Gibbard ‘‘ Falconer ‘‘ Cotcher ‘‘ Leonard ‘‘ Ehlers ‘‘ Adams ‘‘ Asquith ‘‘ Cameron ‘‘ Hanon ‘‘ Hellier ‘‘ Winwood ‘‘ Honey ‘‘ Smith ‘‘ McClelland ‘‘ Hallister ‘‘ White Volunteered for Foreign Service Captain Pott Rifleman Gowanlock ‘‘ Hanon ‘‘ Asquith ‘‘ Hollister ‘‘ Adam As nurse—Mrs. Pott.
SALMON ARM, B.C., THURSDAY, AUGUST 6, 1914
SALMON ARM DOES ITS DUTY BY THE EMPIRE Even before war had been officially declared by Great Britain evidences of loyalty on the part of the residents of this district were plainly to be seen. Last summer, when the militia were called to camp, neither the R.M.R., nor the B.C. Horse were up to full strength, the latter being in fact, a troop only. By Thursday night, not more than 5 hours after recruiting opened, both were over full strength. Since that time drill has been constantly carried on and this morning, when the first contingent went away, a better appearing lot of men scarcely donned the King’s uniform.
Orders only called for 35 men from the rangers, and the names of those selected appear elsewhere on this page. Hundreds of people were at the station to see them off, the city band rendering many patiotic selections before and at the time of arrival of the train. Included in those who were present to give the boys a sendoff was the full squadron of B. C. Horse. “As the train pulled out the crowd cheered, and the band played “God Save the King.” Although at the present time the duty of those of the R.M.R. who left homes, and in some cases families, to help
the Empire, will possibly be to guard the railway only, tears were mingled with the cheers, for all recognized the possibility of the members eing called into foreign service, and as well, their willingness to do so if called upon. This evening the B. C. Horse leave for Kamloops to join their squadron. They cannot make a very telling appearance in parade, as they have no uniforms, but they are all wool and a yard wide. Word was received this morning that British Columbia’s cavalry might possibly be called into foreign service, and in a very onvincing manner the boys showed
that they were more than willing to do their duty by the Mother Country. The names of those who successfully passed the examination appear in another place on this page, and to say that they will also get a rousing sendoff is putting it mild. All the men who will willingly serve their country in time of need have not yet gone out, and this evening a meeting is being held in the city hall to form a hom guard which will commence training, and from the ranks of which volunteers will probably be asked for in case of need.
GOD SAVE THE KING
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ROLL OF HONOR Volunteers for Foreign Service of B. C. Horse S.S. M., G. K. Lingford Sig. Sgt., R. Lingford Sgt., A. Gorse Sig. Corp. Priest Trooper Milton ‘‘ Jameson ‘‘ Andrew ‘‘ Crossman ‘‘ Loftus ‘‘ Matthews ‘‘ Neish ‘‘ Buckell ‘‘ Balfour ‘‘ Bowden ‘‘ Hutton ‘‘ Marsh ‘‘ Randall ‘‘ Huth ‘‘ Holmes ‘‘ Robinson ‘‘ Murdock ‘‘ Crippen ‘‘ C. Wilson ‘‘ Black ‘‘ Sim ‘‘ Smythe ‘‘ Murphy ‘‘ Waldron ‘‘ Evans ‘‘ Harper ‘‘ J. H. Wilson ‘‘ Leonard ‘‘ Thompson ‘‘ McKay ‘‘ Tetlock ‘‘ Hendrickson ‘‘ Moir
Because of the courage of our troops we have our freedom
Remembrance Day 2014 2
Memories of war
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By Barb Brouwer (Reprinted from the November 11, 1998 issue of the Salmon Arm Observer) Local veteran Ron Routledge “hopes to God” there will never be another world war. His plea comes from a deep place of knowing what hell is wrought by men at war. He survived days of tor-
ture at the hands of his captors, without ever giving up any information or betraying his comrades. Asked why he didn’t talk, this courageous man and winner of the says simply, “it would have put someone else into the same predicament.” Routledge, a member of the Signal Corps was in Hong Kong when the Japanese overran and massacred every man at Allied Headquarters. He was out on assignment at the time but was taken prisoner soon after. s n ra te ve r u o Following a brief stay in to honour y b n w Don’t forget o d s Hong Kong’s North Point o laid their live brance and those wh prisoner of war camp, he em em on Arm’s R became ill, was transferred attending Salm s. ie n o m re ce to hospital and after recovDay s follows: a is le u ed h sc ering for about a month The basic all at H n io was sent to Shamshuipo. eg L e th • Form-up at Routledge was fortu10:15 a.m. nate there to get a job on h via p ta o n ce e th a six-man ration party, a.m. • March to xander 10:30 le A d an delivering daily supplies re o h Lakes , to other camps on the ce n s of sile s • Two minute h at re island. laying of w ceremony and This work party beh 10:57 a.m. at the cenotap came the vehicle for for reception n io eg L to passing messages, bek March bac
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ginning with notes about who was where, escalating to include smuggling much-needed medication, getting the word out to the world about appalling camp conditions and alerting the Allies to Japanese activity. As the courier system grew, Routledge says, the prisoners had to rely more and more on their Chinese lorry drivers and always make sure the Japanese guards didn’t see the transactions. There were many sympathetic Chinese who would go to the camp fence to pass food through to the poorly-fed prisoners, risking their own lives to do, says Routledge. Even though some were caught and shot, Continued on page 3
O
n Remembrance Day, we pause to reflect on the courage, dedication and loyalty of our nation’s soldiers. Throughout history their hard work and sacrifice have kept us safe and protected our freedom. We owe them a debt of gratitude that can never be repaid and we salute them for their service. To all the brave men and women who have sacrificed to put their country first, we thank you.
91 Hudson Ave. NW (Across from Salmar Grand) 250-832-8064
We salute our veterans and the courage and dedication they have shown to preserve our way of life and freedom. Salmon Arm 2430 10th Ave. SW • 250-832-7044
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We honour and remember those who fought for our country
Prisoner of war experience harrowing Continued from Page 2 others would take their place, he says. On July 1, 1943 Routledge was surrounded by soldiers. With bayonets pricking into various parts of his body, he was forced into a car and taken to Gendarmerie Headquarters - but not before he could warn his mates the game was up. Fortunately the Japanese believed the operation was for spying purposes only. Had they known the real focus of the operation was mass escape and getting medical and food supplies into the starving prisoners, everyone would had been shot at once. Routledge was beaten unconscious, questioned then beaten to insensibility again and has no idea how long it went on. He does recall “just wishing they wouldn’t revive me.” Eventually he was sent to Stanley Prison, taken over from the British during the Japanese occupation. Here, he became a ‘special prisoner’, whose treatment descended to a lower rung in hell. He was subjected to physical and psychological brutality in the form of the heinous water torture, and taken to a dark room in the bowels of
the prison, where he was told slivers would be placed under his fingernails and set on fire. He was joined at Stanley by four other members of the operation, which had been revealed to the Japanese by a careless Chinese lorry driver. From July 1943 until December 1, they were kept in solitary confinement. And, although communication was forbidden, Routledge says the five prisoners knew Morse code and those next to each other tapped out messages on the walls of their cells. Others opened the narrow food slots in their cell doors and used their fingers to work the code. The three officers in the group were executed but intervened on behalf of Routledge and his friend Sgt. Hardy by telling the Japanese they were not officers and had only been following orders. Routledge and Hardy were sentenced to 15 years hard labour at Stanley Prison. Most of their work involved weeding the garden and washing floors so they were able to steal and eat raw vegetables.“This is what kept us going in the manner it did,” he says. Routledge who had weighed 160 pounds
at the start of the war, weighed 100 pounds at Stanley. By the Spring of 1945, Americans were bombing Hong Kong quite heavily so the prisoners were transferred to a “hell hole” in Canton. There they were forced to sit crosslegged on their beds, which consisted of two two-by-six planks, and stare at the wall all day long. “There were a few occasions when people were caught standing up,” he says. “Boy they were really smashed up.” Routledge survived these long forced sittings by going back home in his mind, counting his blessings, and prayer. “One thing, I put a lot of faith in God,” he says putting his hands together in a prayerful way. He was released at the end of the war and taken to a British military hospital then transferred to another one in Manila. From there he faced a long voyage to San Francisco, a train ride up to Victoria and a long stay in a hospital there. Routledge had firmly decided to put the entire war experience behind him and says it’s probably was this attitude that allowed him to continue Continued on page 4
Piccadilly Terrace is proud of our veterans and thank everyone who has served our country: Pauline (Peg) Clarke England - Women’s Auxiliary Air Force May (Liz) Facklam Canadian Women Army Corp. - Sergeant Norman Fletcher
Royal Canadian Air Force
Stuart Honeyman
Canadian Army
Victor Kerr
Royal Canadian Air Force
Remembrance Day 2014 3
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Village of Chase
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Remembrance Day 2014 4
War memories part of a painful past Continued from Page 3 and progress within the Canadian Army after the war. From hospital he returned to a wireless station in Victoria and met a “beautiful member of the Canadian Women’s Army Corps”. He and Laurie were married in 1947. When he retired from the military in 1964, Routledge became sales manager with Alberta Government Telephones and the couple came to the Shuswap on holiday. In 1968, the Routledges and their three children moved to Salmon Arm where he became the first manager of the Chamber of Commerce and was appointed coroner and justice of the
peace by the p rov i n c i a l government. He lost his wife just over two years ago and lives by himself in the house he shared with her for almost 30 years. Twelve separate books have described his heroic resistance. But dealing with his time in Asia is very painful for Routledge. He doesn’t like to talk about it and prefers to
leave it all where he so firmly put it after the war. He also wonders why people bring it up so often when “there are so many others worthy of commendation.” He bears his captors or the Japanese people no ill will. “It was a military engagement,” he says. As to a future without war, he says “When I see the violence that’s on the idiot box I fear we’re closing the gap to come back to another one.’
Shuswap MLA
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REMEMBERING those who fought and are fighting for the freedom and democracy we have today.
We must do more than remember By Barb Brouwer (Reprinted from the November 8, 1995 issue of the Salmon Arm Observer)
Lest We Forget
A trumpet sounds, tentative on the cold morning air. A young cadet plays tribute to those who made his freedom possible. He is surrounded, at the cenotaph, by a crowd of older veterans, cadets, police members and spectators of all ages. We are gathered once again to remember and give thanks. I fade back through a lifetime of Remembrance Day ceremonies and in the familiar ritual, feel the depth and streng th
of my attachment to my country and my fellow man. I remember my father, gone now, who came home to Canada in late 1945 having made the trek of a lifetime – from Sicily, up through, Italy, France, Belgium and into Holland for the liberation of that country, 50 years ago. He learned first-hand what war does to a nation and its people. He saw death, suffered loss, pain, illness and fear beyond imagination. He survived, came home to his
country, where housing and jobs were scarce and made the difficult transition from soldier to husband, provider and father. During his overseas service, his hair had turned from dark brown to gray. When I was a teenager, I watched with disbelief, his hair sil-
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Soldier’s sacrifices continue after war Continued from Page 4 ver in the short time he spent figuring out the radius of effects of nuclear bombs dropping in major Canadian cities. This was one of the jobs he performed for National Defence in that pre-computer era. On the rare occasions that my dad talked about his wartime experiences with the Army Service Corps, he told us of the frustrations of moving material and food over wild terrain in weather fair or foul. He never told us “war-mongering” tales and I pay tribute to him for raising me to believe that while we must defend our country, war is not an acceptable solution to the problems of humankind. The trumpet soars to complete the final notes of the “Last Post” and I am back at the cenotaph. An aching sorrow spreads through me and I spend the two-minute silence remembering… I flash back to a Canadian War Cemetery in Amhem, Holland. There, in a pastoral setting of great beauty, stretch row upon row of stark, white crosses. Each grave is decorated with at least two flowering plants, beautifully tended by local children. It is their continuing act of thankful remembrance. As I walk through the seemingly endless rows I am stunned by the sheer numbers, and an age at death that seems to average 19 years. I am
filled with an overwhelming sense of sorrow and humility. For the first time in my life I grasp the enormity of the sacrifice marked there. Now I remember the men and women who did not die in the war but whose sacrifice meant spending the rest of their days, shattered in unimaginable physical and emotional pain. I remember before God, those who are still in hospitals and homes, and those who walk among us, in tribute to their fallen comrades. It is not enough to remember, I think. Would those who gave their rebuilt our country, forgetting our diflives so willingly have done so if it ferences and sharing our talents for weren’t for a greater good, a more sethe common good. cure peace? Would they think their The trumpeter’s “Reveille” brings sacrifice had been worth it? Fifty years me back to the present. I watch the after the end of “the war to end all parade return to the legion, am thankwars” we are still engaging in acts of ful for the veterans and feel a swell of exceptional hostility and intolerance. pride as I watch our young cadets. We almost lost our country last They have already committed to serve week! Is this not an insult to those their country. “O Canada we stand on who served us so faithfully, that we guard for thee!” might grow in freedom and peace? We must do more than reRemembering our country’s veterans member! We must honour those who sacrificed for us. We must do what they lost the chance to do, make peace with 250 832-7662 our enemies and #3 - 551 Trans Canada Highway NE Salmon Arm
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They shall grow not 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. ~ From Laurence Binyon’s ‘For the Fallen’
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Because of the courage of our troops we have our freedom
Remembrance Day 2014 6
Adventure and tragedy a part of women’s wartime experience (Reprinted from the November 10, 2004 issue of the Salmon Arm Observer)
The last three years of the Second World War is a snapshot frozen in Meg Crook’s mind. A Saskatchewan farm girl, Crook answered the call to enlist in support of her country in 1943. “Well, they were asking for volunteers and it sounded interesting,” she says in a matter of fact way. “I was at home milking cows. It was a way to get out and see a bit of the world.” Interesting became an understatement for the young woman who trained as an air force photographer and met and photographed the likes of Churchill, Eisenhower and the Duchess of Gloucester when they were in town. Arriving in Rockcliffe Air Force Base in Ottawa, her home for the rest of the war, Crook says she thoroughly enjoyed every minute of her Air Force career. Following six months of basic training, the 120, mostly women, photographers were on call and never knew when they would be called out on assignment. When they weren’t taking pictures, team members were busy creating maps of the entire country, using aerial photographs. These were then attached to the walls of a huge on-base auditorium. While most of her memories are happy ones about the shenanigans of the enlisted men and women she met, Crook is still haunted by one particular loss. She had been dating a young pilot who asked her to watch him test one of the Air Force’s planes. She remembers sitting in the middle of a long set of stairs by the runway. What she watched was a first-rate take-off that, to her horror, turned into a tragic nose dive and crash. “There was nothing left of him, they picked him up with a shovel,” she says sadly. “It took me a long time to get over that.”
Like most other veterans, Crook tells mostly funny stories of her war-time experiences. “The troop train from Edmonton to Ottawa was more fun than a barrel of monkeys,” smiles the tiny woman. Then there’s the time she talked her way around an army officer after driving two drunken enlisted men to their base in an army truck. Or the time an out-of-bounds RCAF man got stuck in a barb-wired fence separating the women’s barracks from an apple orchard. One memory that still rankles Crook is being spit upon by young boys as Armed Services personnel marched in Victory Parades. Designed to encourage members of the public to donate to the war effort, these parades took place about once a month and wended their way from Ottawa’s Union Station and over the bridge to Hull, Quebec. They were little brats, just ignorant,” she says indignantly of the opposition they encountered. Good or bad, Crook shares her memories with her sisterin-law, Vera, who was one of her officers in basic training at Rockcliffe. “Every time they get together, for an hour or so, they go
HONOURING THOSE TH HOSE WHO SERVED T he students, staff and trustees of North Okanagan-Shuswap School District No. 83 would like to salute the brave men and women who served, or are serving, their country at home and overseas.
North Okanagan Shuswap School District No. 83
Continued on page 7
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Camaraderie r continues after wa
ge 6 Continued from Pa auys Crook’s daughter M off and giggle a lot,” sa ’re talking Air Force.” reen. “And I know they k its purpose, but Croo The laughter serves s rce Fo ed m th Canada’s Ar takes her association wi very seriously. ember of a Royal Cana She was a founding m d ne joi , Edmonton in 1948 dian Legion branch in Arm she arrived in Salmon the local legion when r 12 the local executive fo in 1955 and was on years. dher of five and gran The 81-year-old mot ’s ar ye is th en asked to be mother of eight, has be d rie bu s Although she ha Silver Cross Mother. d to war. one son, it was not relate hers’ left,” she says. “I ot “There are no other ‘m d.” ke as be am honoured to a other, Crook will lay As the Silver Cross M all of ur no ho tomorrow, in wreath at the cenotaph r. who lost their sons to wa , the mothers in Canada of r be em ly patriotic m Crook was not the on hanrved as an airplane mec her family. Her dad se orld Corps in the First W ic in the Royal Flying orld ain for the Second W War. He joined up ag her e RCAF. So did one of War this time with th sSa 22 16 e her joined th brothers. Another brot katchewan Horse. zed a Canada-wide re In 1995, Crook organi men. union of ex-servicewo t are no longer held bu Those large reunions en m the 14 or 15 local wo Crook keeps up with luns ’ en m wo ex-service ly th on m d en att o wh ion. cheons at the local leg
Local resident part of an elite para-ski combat unit (Reprinted from November, 2003, Salmon Arm Observer)
A well-trained but little-known para-ski-commandomountaineering combat unit was created during WWII. The team was the brainchild of Lord Louis Mountbatten, who knew the allies were ill-equipped to fight in snowy European winters. The call went out to assemble 1,800 Canada and U.S. volunteers who would undergo the most rigourous training possible. Divided into three 600 man regiments they made up a guerrilla organization – First Special Service Force - whose nickname was Devil’s Brigade. Into that elite group went local resident Robin Huth. The year was 1942 and Huth, at 21, was training as a gunner in the Canadian Air Force. A trapper in the Far North and familiar with living out of doors, Huth responded to the call for volunteers. This brigade was not for the faint of heart. First up on the schedule at the training ground in Helena, Montana, was a parachute jump from a C-47 aircraft. Training consisted simply of listening to a sergeant read instructions from a pamphlet, followed by a couple hours of jumping from a truck. Because there were more volunteers than necessary, the parachute jump became a way of weeding unsuitable men out. The process worked, Huth says with an ironic grin. Many men froze at the door of the aircraft and refused to jump. They were immediately sent back to their units. “Many broke their legs and, they too, were shipped back,” he says. “Two ‘meat wagons’ (ambulances) continually raced in and out of the jump field.” Many more men returned to their former units in the first few days. Those that remained got down to the busiContinued on page 8
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We humbly and generously thank all our troops who have fought for our freedom and those who continue to serve.
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Remembrance Day 2014 8
Because of the courage of our troops we have our freedom
Wartime winter mountain conditions rigorous Continued from Page 7 ness of building a top-notch commando group. Forty-mile route marches were the norm. Anyone who couldn’t keep up was sent home. The men trained with live ammunition. They demolished bridges and learned how to fight with knives. They were taught a “dirty” form of hand-to-hand combat. The winter of ‘42 found them skiing out on the Continental Divide. But, says Huth, contrary to Hollywood lore, they did not become expert skiers. The men did however, develop the stamina to “push the boards,” from dark to dark, all day every day for a couple of weeks. Dressed in white, the men skied in formation without speaking, obeying hand signals. At lunch, two-man holes were dug out of the snow and the men sunk into them to eat their rations and smoke their allotted three cigarettes. After six months of rigorous training, the unwanted had been weeded out. After nine months those who remained could not leave if they wanted to. Training continued at a base in Norfolk, Virginia. Here the men learned how to swim in the frigid Atlantic and, in full gear, practised climbing on rope ladders linking a ship to landing craft. This was followed up by two months of “jungle training” in Vermont. In the dead of night, the brigade rowed their way in rubber boats, from liberty ships to the Aleutian Island of Kiska to reconnoiter. That job was easy, says Huth, because the Japanese had left the island.
However, three or four members of the ensuing large regular-army attack force were not so lucky. They fell prey to booby traps left by the fleeing Japanese. Later, the brigade was nearly decimated in battle overseas and was finally disbanded. Those who were left joined other units. Huth spent the remaining war years as a sergeant in Shilo, Manitoba, providing advanced infantry training.
Remembrance Day
Remember the Veteran and their families today and everyday for their Ultimate Sacrifice for our Freedom, Peace and Justice. LEST WE FORGET
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