WASURERU-NAI

 July-Aug-Sept 2012 Page 6 
 

 

Across the Nation

Reports from the Regions
BC Banter
Ab/Sk Action
Manitoba Moments
Ontario Offerings
Quebec Quotes
Eastern Breezes
 

BC Banter ….

Submitted by your BC Region Executive: Lee, Bev, Graeme and Murray.

We send best wishes from the BC Region to all our Hong Kong Veterans, widows, members and friends as our summer comes to a close and fall is in the air.

Our annual spring luncheons and meetings were held on June 16 in Victoria and June 23 in Vancouver. Both gatherings were well attended and most of our Region’s recipients of the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Medal were presented with their medal and framed letter from the Governor General of Canada at these gatherings. For those recipients that could not attend one of the luncheons, their medal and letter were either presented in person at their residence or were sent by mail. The names of all recipients were posted in the June newsletter.

Gerry Gerrard (RCCS) was the only HK vet able to attend the Victoria luncheon accompanied by family members from Vancouver Island. Gerry also attended the Vancouver luncheon with family members from the Lower Mainland. Cory Turner (daughter of Richard (Dick) Johnson) received the medal posthumously on behalf of her father who had recently passed away. Vilma Sequeira (widow of Tony Sequeira, HKVDC) also attended along with Bridget Preston who is the Victoria area Director for Veterans Affairs Canada. Lee Naylor (BC Regional Director) and his wife Sherry travelled from Hope on the Lower Mainland to attend. We are grateful to Linda Quesnel (past BC Regional Director) for hosting the Victoria luncheon as she has done for over a decade.

Along with Gerry Gerrard attending the Vancouver luncheon were John Lowe (RRC) and Cornelius Nickel (WG). Mr. Nickel travelled all the way from Cranbrook with his daughter Brenda Bosben and her husband Stephen. John was present with his wife Florence.


The widows in attendance were Loretta Baty (Arthur Baty, WG), Pearl MacPherson (Don MacPherson, WG), June Naylor (Howard Naylor Sr., RCCS) and Dr. Eileen Cambon (Dr. Ken Cambon, RRC). A special guest was Thekla Lit who is the President of BC Alpha and Co-Chair of Canada Alpha (Association for Learning and Preserving History of WWII in Asia). The veterans were presented their medals and letters by Lee Naylor amidst applause and congratulations from all those HKVCA and family members and friends in attendance. Gerry Gerard presented the medals to the remaining recipients, as he had done in Victoria.

Graeme Stacey our BC Region Co-Education Chair and the BC Teachers Social Studies Association VP was presented his Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Medal at the School District No. 23, School Board public meeting in Kelowna by Lee Naylor the BC Region Education Chair/Director. HKV Vancouver Luncheon HKV John Lowe, Center Cornelious Nickles, Gerry Gerrard.

The Hong Kong veterans who could not be present at either luncheon to receive their QDJM and letter are, Bill Muir (WG), Bill Doull (RRC) and Wally Normand (RCCS). David Golden (WG) who recently passed away was presented his medal by the Governor General before the luncheons took place.

If you would like to lay a wreath on behalf of the HKVCA on November 11 at a cenotaph ceremony in your city in BC remembering our veterans, please contact your local Legion for details. Please send the receipt to Murray Doull (20368 Kent Street, Maple Ridge BC V2X 1A6) if you would like to be reimbursed by the BC Region of the HKVCA.

Our thoughts are with John Lowe (RRC) who recently broke his hip and is recovering in Peace Arch Hospital in White Rock. We also would like to express best wishes to those who are ill or are recovering from an illness.

 

Ab/Sask Action...

- Norm Fuchs

We held our Diamond Jubilee Medal Presentation at the Kensington Legion here in Calgary on August 18th. We had a great turn out for this special presentation. Gail Richoz was the MC and her son Eric read the HKV Protocol for Remembrance. We were very fortunate to have Jennifer Inglis, Area Director for Veterans Affairs Alberta, with us to do the presentations. We had seven medals to hand out; the first one was presented to Florence McGee, who accepted it on behalf of her husband John, who passed away in April. She and several members of her family drove down from Edmonton to attend this event.

Then John Dearden, Ralph MacLean and Doug Rees, Hong Kong Veterans from Calgary accepted their medals.

Arthur Schwartz, Hong Kong Veteran who lives in Cochrane could not make it to our event so Ralph MacLean and his son Doug drove out there after our celebration and gave him his medal. The medal for another of our Veteran’s, James Murray, (Deceased June 4/12) was sent to his family in Porcupine Hills, Sask.

(Click for larger view)
L-R Jennifer Inglis, John Dearden and Gail Richoz L-R Jennifer Inglis, Ralph MacLean and Gail Richoz
(no larger image available)
L-R Jennifer Inglis, Doug Rees and Gail Richoz
 L-R Jennifer Inglis, David Vadalin and Gail Richoz

David Vidalin was the next recipient. He was part of the landing party on the Prince Robert that arrived in Japan in August of 1945. He has been a strong supporter of the Hong Kong Veterans here in Calgary for years.

The last recipient was me, Norma Fuchs. I was very honored and humbled by being nominated and receiving this prestigious award. It really has been a privilege for me to spend time with these Veterans and their families over the last number of years.

Thank you to all of you who helped organizing this great event.

As a final note, you all know that at the beginning of September we joined with Manitoba to form the Prairie Region. Due to declining numbers, we felt that our remaining Veterans and members would be better served and supported by this larger regional organization of the HKVCA.

In Calgary, we will still plan our HKV November 11th ceremonies, and hopefully have enough member interest to hold some luncheons. As our final tribute to our HK Veterans, Gail and I still have plans for finalizing input for the Wall Mural at the Calgary Military Museum, and maybe even an internationally travelling display currently being considered by the museum.
We do want to stay in touch with all the great people we have met in the HKVCA Family.

^

Manitoba Moments ….

- Juliet Lafortune, Regional Director

Hello one and all. Well, what a great summer and now fall is upon us.
Well as you know by now there were Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medals awarded to the Hong Kong Veterans and members of the Hong Kong Veterans Commemorative Association.

We held our VJ Day on August 19 2012 at All Saints Church. The Honourable Philip Lee C.M., O.M.E; MP Pat Martin and MP Joyce Bateman attended to present the medals. We had approximately 120 people in attendance which included three widows - Ann Richardson, Ladena Mabeley and Myrtle Lytle.

The Following Veterans received the Medal from The Honourable Philip Lee - William Bell, Harry James Hawryshok, George Arthur Nobiss, Thomas Dewar, George Peterson, on behalf of George Lount Coutts (deceased) son Resby Coutts. I was honoured to be in attendance in Carman MB in the evening when Candice Hoeppner MP Portage-Lisgar awarded William Cornelius Krohn his medal.

(Click for larger view)
Bill Bell receiving his medal Harry Hawryshok receiving his medal.
Tom Dewar receiving his medal. George Peterson receiving his medal.
George Nobiss receiving his medal. Resby Coutts receiving his father’s medal – George Coutts
 
Bill Krohn receiving his medal.  

MP Joyce Bateman presented medals to the following Commemorative members - Barry Mitchell, HKVCA National Treasurer, MB Treasurer; and Juliet Lafortune, MB Regional Director. MP Pat Martin presented to Vince Lopata, Deputy Director and Sergeant at Arms for the Hong Kong Veterans Association, Stan Lopata, First Deputy Director and serves as part of the Colour Party for the Hong Kong Veterans. Carol Hadley, National President and Secretary MB Region was unable to attend the service but will be awarded her medal at the Reunion Luncheon on October 28, 2012.

What a wonderful day it was.

Thank you to Ann Richardson, Marlene Bell and Pam Heinrichs for all their help. The Colour Party of Vince Lopata, Stan Lopata and Alex Taylor and Piper Craig Munnoch did a great job.
The Ladies had their Tea and Tidbits with 10 people in attendance who had great conversation and a lot of good laughs.

The Annual Reunion luncheon/dinner to be held at Bardal’s, 3030 Notre Dame Avenue on October 28, 2012 from 2 – 6 p.m. We will have a display of memorabilia, a Queen’s Diamond Jubilee presentation to President Carol Hadley and Barry’s Emporium with the opportunity to pay dues. Cost of the tickets is $25.00 for a hot/cold buffet.

RSVP by Oct 20th by contacting Juliet Lafortune, 204-338-3354 or cell (204) 294-9335.
In the next newsletter we will be welcoming Alberta and Saskatchewan to become the Prairie Region. If any members in those provinces wish to supply us with information of your area and become an Area Rep, we would be pleased to have your assistance.

Till we meet again take care, live life and laugh a lot. Stay in touch, contact us any time even if it is just to say “hi”.

^

Ontario Offerings….

Hello from West Central Ontario. I hope you all found some time to enjoy our always too short summer.

On June 16th we held a luncheon that included our district's award ceremony for the presentation of the Queen's Diamond Jubilee Medal to 11 very deserving Hong Kong Veterans and several "civilian" HKVCA members. The medals were presented by Derrill Henderson, who was also a recipient.

I'm sure that Derrill has had a busy summer travelling to many areas to present many more medals, a task he obviously enjoyed. A huge thank you, Derrill!

Derrill Henderson receiving his medal from Pat Turcotte. Veteran recipients: Flash Clayton, Fred Cooper, Ken Pifher, Gerry Sunstrom and Lawrence Ross. "Civilian" recipients: Derrill Henderson, Pat Turcott, Lori Atkinson Smith, Nancy Hamer Strahl, Flora Fung and Nick Brune. Also in attendance was Dorothy Sauson, widow of Oliver Ray Sauson.

On July 30th, I accompanied my father, Ken Pifher, to London, Ontario, where he received a Veterans Affairs Commendation presented by the Minister for Veterans Affairs, the Hon. Steven Blaney. Ken received this for his role as one of the three Hong Kong Veterans who accepted the formal apology in Japan from the Japanese government in December, 2011 on behalf of all Hong Kong Veterans.

Also, we extend a big welcome to Lillian and Dawn, daughter-in-law and granddaughter of Sgt. Maj. John Robert Osborn (WG), who both relocated to our West Central region this spring.

With fall soon upon us, we have beautiful colours and crisp days to look forward to and now we can start counting down the months until we gather in Winnipeg next summer! I'm sure that the HKVCA members in Winnipeg have already formed their numerous committees to prepare our convention arrangements. A huge task for many to shoulder but we thoroughly appreciate your many hours it will entail. Thank you Winnipeg HKVCA!

Ontario West Central Area Rep
Pam Newhouse
pamhouse@hotmail.com

 

Hi from hot and humid London, Ontario. Does anyone have any rain we can purchase?
In our Southwest Region we presently have 37 members of which there are three veterans and nine widows.

Lawrence Ross has just moved into a lovely retirement residence after spending sixty years in his home. I had the pleasure of visiting Lawrence one afternoon earlier this week, and when I asked him how he liked his new home, his response was, “I love it! What’s not to love? They treat me like royalty!” Lawrence has his own one bedroom apartment and goes downstairs to the main dining room for meals. He gets daily visits from his adult children. There are approximately 25 other veterans living in the residence. Lawrence is a very gracious and gentle gentleman who enjoys having visitors. As I left, he said, “Maybe when you come again, you can spend more time!” I certainly will be returning.

Lawrence wanted me to make sure I told Alfred Babin about the benefits of this Manor, as he would like to see Alfred and his wife move in!

Unfortunately, Alfred’s wife Christina broke her hip two days ago and had surgery Sept. 7th. Please keep Alfred and Christina in your prayers. We all certainly wish her a return to good health.

The third veteran in our region is Les Canivet who lives in Orton. Mike Babin presented Les with his Diamond Jubilee Medal earlier this summer.

We hope to have our 4th Annual Luncheon in the near future.

As we approach Remembrance Day, it’s a good time to refresh our memories regarding Poppy Etiquette. Since 1921, the Poppy has stood as a symbol of Remembrance, our pledge to never forget all those Canadians who have fallen in war and military operations. - The poppy should be worn as close to the heart as possible or on the left lapel of the outermost garment.

I wish all of you a colourful and warm autumn season!
Marilyn (Wilbur) Morgan

 

HKVCA membership in Ontario Region - By Lori Atkinson-Smith

This might be the last HKVCA newsletter sent to some members. Go ahead. Check. Have you the 2012 Hong Kong Veterans Commemorative Association membership card?
Membership details to keep in mind:
- The Association’s Membership Year is January through December
- New and Renewing member dues are $20.00 per year
What does membership accomplish?
- Maintain and support the connection with the Hong Kong veterans still living and with the veteran widows.
- Ensure that the service and sacrifice of all Hong Kong veterans involved in fighting for their country will be understood and appreciated by more and more Canadians as time goes on.

If you are one of the 34 non renewed Ontario members for 2012, it isn’t too late to renew for 2012. Contact me at LoriR1952@gmail.com. Thanks. We do not want to lose you!!!

Monument Badge Discs by Lori Atkinson Smith

The committee gathering information on the HKV monument badge discs [aka HKV gravestone markers] is still alive and well. One committee member in particular, Barry Fair, in Ontario is diligently gathering obituaries and pictures for us every chance he gets! Barry himself has sent me well over 46 veterans’ information.

We still have much more to gather. The end result will be having all the information put on the HKVCA website. All in one place! So please take the time and send us your information- even morsels might lead us to a successful search.

For each veteran the following information is needed:
Veteran’s Name
Regiment and #
Date of Death
HK disc #
Copy of the obituary
Name of Cemetery/Columbarium
Address and City/Province of Cemetery
Next of Kin contact name
Next of Kin address/email
Picture of the gravestone (digital preferred)
HK disc vs. engraving
Picture of the veteran from just prior to going overseas
Picture of the veteran after the war
Information provided by:

Email or Mail the HKV monument badge disc information to:
Lori Atkinson- Smith
946 Wyldewood Road, R. R. #1,
Sherkston, Ontario L0S 1R0
1.905.894.5368 email LoriR1952@gmail.com

HKVCA website guidance on scanning-

Chances are most of the material that you gather is in paper form. Original paper form scans best. You will need access to a scanner to convert it to digital format.
Some tips:
1. If the source is black and white, scan it using the Greyscale setting.
2. When choosing the resolution (dots per inch- DPI)) use 100 to 150 DPI for large images (8X10 photo for example), and higher resolutions for smaller images (300 DPI for a 4X6 image, for example). Using a higher resolution setting is a waste when viewing documents on a computer screen.
3. When scanning photos, choose "jpg" as the output format and at least 800 px (pixels) as the image size.

If you have any questions or would like to help us out in this endeavour, please contact me.
The HKV monument committee suggest the purchase of the monument disc for your family member or friend as an act of recognition. Check out the HKVCA website to see a picture of the grave disc: http://www.hkvca.ca/store/index.htm.

The 3" cast metal disc comes with instructions to affix it to the headstone and a registration form. With the new adhesives we have today there is no need to drill the stones any more. This makes installation so much easier. The Monument discs are sent out with the installation description.

Order the gravestone disc, with your payment of $75.00 (including postage); cheque made payable to HKVCA, should be sent to: HKVCA, Suite 164, 1 Stafford Rd., Nepean, ON K2H 1B9.

***Remember, prior cemetery authorization and an installation authorization form must be completed by a family member or a HKVCA member in order to place this disc on HKV head stones. ***

Education Committee Report, HKVCA Ontario Region

- Pat Turcotte, Chair, Education Committee Ontario Region

The Writing Contest for 2011-2012 has now concluded. Judges have marked the entries, and the prizewinners’ names, and their work may now be seen in the Teachers’ Zone on our Website - www.hkvca.ca. Just click on the prizewinner’s name to bring up the work that person submitted. The efforts of this year’s 54 students really impressed the judges, and their ideas proved both thought-provoking and insightful.

The next Contest is already on the Website as well, and one way you, our HKVCA members, can help stir up interest in this project is to let the History teachers and the High School students in your area know that the HKVCA Cross Canada Writing Contest for 2012-2013 is underway. Teachers interested can find all of the information about the contest itself in the Teachers’ Zone, and can work with their students to create a very special remembrance of one of the 5 Hong Kong veterans who are part of this year’s study. Some schools introduce the study of Hong Kong in the first semester, and some in the second semester, so that it’s important to get the word out right away. The final deadline is not until May 24, 2013 so there is ample opportunity to take part. A total of $750.00 in prize money will be available for the winning entries!

Many thanks to the judges of this year’s Contest. Four on the English side have already let me know that they really enjoy the students’ work and are prepared to act as judges again. We will be looking for someone to work on the French side as Mme Giard, for health reasons, will not be able to continue. We certainly did appreciate the excellent job she was able to do this year.

Our other Education Committee activities for the Fall and Winter season include the Resource Fair for History teachers from across the country, sponsored by the Parliamentary Library in Ottawa on November 6th, and the OHASSTA Conference (Ontario History and Social Science Teachers) being held in Niagara-on-the-Lake this year on Nov. 22nd and 23rd. A great deal of time is spent preparing the materials for these two events. Any Ontario member who can spare a few hours in September or October to help with these preparations may reach Pat Turcotte at Ph. (905) 274-3189 or by e-mail at petsask@sympatico.ca.

^

Quebec Quotes ….

- Lucette Mailloux Muir, Regional Director

Greetings all from a sunny summer - like day here in Quebec.

Hope you all enjoyed a wonderful summer in company of wonderful people. In Quebec the summer has been quite busy with family and with many members of our Hong Kong family.
On July 6th we had a presentation of the Jubilee Medals on the Gaspe Coast in New Richmond, QC for the local Veterans.

Eric Batley, Dempsey Syvret, John Roussell, and Edward Campbelton, Hong Kong Veterans Non Veterans – Allan Marshall, Debra Batley-Everett, Marcel Mondou, Lucette Mailloux-Muir


We were very well received by the RC Legion of Cascapedia St-Jules, QC. Many family and friends of the recipients attended with great pride. On July 14th a presentation of the Jubilee Medals was held in Granby, QC at the Castel Hotel for local and Montreal area Vets.

 

^

Eastern Breezes…

- Emmie Flanagan, Regional Director

The Annual HKVA Maritime / Gaspe Reunions were held in Belledune, NB, for the first time ever September 7 - 9, 2012. A total of 107 guests registered for the event, which was beyond my wildest expectations. At least 60% of the attendees lived outside of Belledune. We had one HKV daughter who traveled all the way from Penticton, BC and her brother drove in from PEI. Eight of our guests were from Ontario, several from Quebec, including our HKVA National President, Phil Doddridge. Many traveled from all parts of Nova Scotia and New Brunswick.

The event kicked off Friday evening with a "Meet and Greet" followed with a "Wine and Cheese Party". Throughout the night music played from the 1940's. Many of our guests brought in a picture of their Hong Kong Veteran along with some memorabilia from WWII and every one had a story to share. I asked everyone to mingle especially with our Veterans, their wives, widows or siblings.

One guest got up on stage and recited a poem by Belledune HKV Alfred Elsleiger, titled "The Siege of Hong Kong”. The story behind Alfred Elsliger, is that he lived through the Battle of Hong Kong, endured almost 4 years as a POW, only to come home and within a month, be tragically killed in a car accident. His poem hangs at our Royal Canadian Legion Branch #77, where all of our events took place.

A widow stood up and read a touching poem about "The Old Iron Box" - A place where her husband stored all of his memorabilia, including a diary from the Battle of Hong Kong and another of his recounts as a prisoner of war.

To get everyone laughing ‘Lonesome Leroy from Carlton County’ entertained us, and that he did! On this night we also officially launched our Atlantic Canada ‘C’ Force Memorial Fund raiser.

On Saturday a breathtaking Memorial was held with the marching of the Colours. We had a local piper and drummer to call in the people. Veterans and Legion members from Belledune and Campbelton, NB marched in and a Hong Kong Veterans wreath was placed by HKVA Maritime/Gaspe President, Neil Darrah. Neil’s nephew, Reverend Allison Kirkbride gave a moving speech about his HKV grandfather and to all war veterans.

Two Queens Diamond Jubilee Medals were presented to local Hong Kong Veterans, Graham Boudreau and Eugene Lapointe. Tasty seafood chowder was served at noon, along with crumpets and tea.

The annual meeting was held with about 40 in attendance. An update on the ‘C’ Force Memorial was presented with handouts to the group. The overall cost of the monument is $115,000, whereby VAC will contribute up to $50,000 if it is placed in Belledune, NB and we (HKVCA Maritime/Gaspe) need to fundraise $ 65,000 to make it a reality.

The next topic was to decide if we would continue with HKVA Maritime/Gaspe or have it merged with HKVCA Atlantic. There was much debate on this subject and a consultation with Bill MacWhither (who was not in attendance), on his thoughts. A short recess was called to call Bill. The meeting reconvened with his provisions:

• All monies remaining in the HKVA Maritime/Gaspe account be dissolved and shared equally with the Florenceville NB Legion and the Atlantic region ‘C’ Force Memorial. It was also unanimously decided that we rename our region, from HKVCA Atlantic, to HKVCA Maritimes/Gaspe Region.

Election results for the HKVCA Maritime/Gaspe Executive were also determined and are as follows:
Regional Director - Emmie Flanagan
1st Vice Director - Neil Darrah
2nd Vice Director - Helen Wedge
Secretary - Peggy Kirkbride
Treasurer - Tony Boudreau
Membership Rep. - Bernard Leblanc

It was also determined during this meeting that our next annual reunion will be held in New Richmond, Quebec - in September 2013.

The banquet was attended by 98 guests, with HKVA Maritime/Gaspe president, Neil Darrah, as Master of Ceremonies. Neil recited the protocol of the HKV center table setting. Phil Doddridge removed one chair and 10 year old great- grand daughter of HKV Allison Pollock removed the other. Reverend Kirkbride said Grace and a great meal was enjoyed.

Speeches were delivered from members of the head table which included Phil Doddridge, Derrill Henderson, Emmie Flanagan, Don Dempsy (President of local Legion Branch 77), Cheryl Juncas (President of Ladies Auxiliary) and Mayor of Belledune, Ron Borque.

Phil Doddridge gave a very moving speech and praised Derrill Henderson on his persistence and accomplishments with the ‘Apology from Japan". Phil then invited me up to give me a piece of paper. When I got to the podium, I noticed it was a cheque and he conveniently had his thumb over one zero and I thought he was so generously contributing $100.00 to our ‘C’ Force Memorial, until I realized it was actually $ 1,000.00 WOW, that floored me and brought me to tears. I told the audience how pleased I was to have received $626.00 during the fund raising launch, but now it was up to $1,626.00. By the end of the evening our fund raiser was over $ 1,700.00.

Derrill Henderson also gave a captivating and enlightening speech, although I’m still wondering why he mentioned I sometimes give him a rough up (ha ha). I failed to mention to our audience that Derrill is like an older brother to me and like other siblings I tic him off sometimes. On the other hand I have learned so much from Derrill and I hope to continue our endearing relationship.

At 6:00 pm, three more Queen's Diamond Jubilee Medals were presented to:
Allison Pollock - Hong Kong Veteran
Neil Darrah - HKVA Maritime/Gaspe President
Helen Wedge - Past National 1st Vice President

Derrill Henderson, Allison Pollock, Helen Wedge, Phil Doddridge and Neil Darrah.

A ‘Social Evening’ was followed at 8:00 pm, where local talent entertained our guests.
On Sunday morning a breakfast/brunch was held at the Belledune Home Style Restaurant. I totally slept in and missed saying my good byes to many...ah, but to err is human!
I thank all who attended and hope this reunion was memorable ...I know it was for me.
A time it was and what a time it was!