Fort York News FALL 2018 Page 2 Fort York News November 2018

Fort York Legion Branch 165 1421 Yonge Street Executive 2018-2019 P.O. Box 69009 Toronto, ON M4T 1Y7 President……………………… Col Gil Taylor 1st Vice President…..……. Maj George Chabrol Fort York Branch Calendar 2018 Immediate Past President... Col Geordie Elms Secretary……………………… Col Fred McCague

Treasurer……………………… Malcolm Hamilton

Membership Secretary…. Ann Unger November 14……………….. Sunnybrook Luncheon LW Joyce Lloyd December 5…………………. Granite Club Chaplain……………………….. Maj Gillian Federico January 31………………….. National Club District D, Zone 5 Rep…… LCdr Donna Murakami Blake Goldring speaker February…………………….. TBA F.Y. News……………………… Terry Sleightholm Sergeant-at-Arms………… Malcolm Morrison Public Relations……………. Sgt Peter Moon Sunnybrook Liaison………. Col Jim Hubel Newsletter Staff Remembrancer……………. Capt Rev. Greg Bailey

Writer/Publisher…………. Terry Sleightholm Branch Services Officer….Cdr Ed Sparling Photography………………. Sgt Peter Moon, RCMI Liaison………………… Susan Cook Terry Sleightholm Writers/Editors…………… Sgt Peter Moon Special Events Chair……... Maj George Chabrol Capt Larry Rose Ann Unger Special Events Team…….. Issey Abraha Kathryn Boyden Lt(N) Paul Costello Kathryn Langley Hope Name Tags Tom Pam

Members-at-Large……….. P/O Bill Milne Douglas Purdon If you require a name tag, please con- tact LCdr Donna Murakami and she will arrange to have one made for you. The cost is approximately $5.00 . Indicate whether you prefer a magnet or pin clo- sure.

[email protected] Page 3 Fort York News November 2018

2018. We are aiming for 100% participation and more WHY? money raised than ever before. hy do we do it? Why do we remember them? We are aiming for 100% participation and more mon- W Is it out of duty? Do we feel a responsibility? ey raised than ever before. It is our duty. It is the Is there a touch of guilt perhaps? When we hear the right thing to do. Please step up to help those who words of “In Flanders Fields…” do we see the faces have done so much for us in the cause of freedom of young volunteers or have the words become so and justice. familiar that the images blur in the mind as we take it all for granted? Do we really think of the dead who Thank you all. sacrificed everything for us…for peace…for jus- tice….for the freedom of democracy? Gil Those of us who have walked the battlefields and the Col Gil Taylor (HCol ret’d) cemeteries of France, Belgium, Italy and even South President, Branch 165 Africa, are struck by the ages of the fallen: 19 years of age, 35, 22, 43. In present day parlance they were MEMBERSHIP HAS ITS PRIVILEGES…… kids. But then, it is always the young who die in our wars. They sacrificed everything for us, for our way ……….and its responsibilities. First and foremost of life and they often did it before their own lives had among them is to submit your branch dues promptly really begun. In WW I, WW II and Korea alone there so we can push on with the job of supporting our vet- were 105,060 brave Canadians killed in action and erans. We provide hope and care for countless veter- another 210,403 wounded. Isn’t that something to be ans who look to us for help as they face the challeng- remembered? Of course, as members of Branch 165, es life has thrown at them. Membership is our very we have already made a pledge to remember. We small token that says we care, we remember and it have made a commitment to support veterans wher- gives us the chance to be part of a respected, herit- ever they are in need. To those who died, we can but age organization that actually does things for veter- offer respect and remembrance. But to those who ans who have done so much for us. remain we can stretch out our hands in friendship and We really have just three, important responsibilities; support. And each fall we answer the call by giving donate to the Poppy Trust, pay our membership dues generously to the branch Poppy Trust. We aren’t promptly and attend as many events as possible. But asked to stand on street corners or outside the liquor by doing just this, we are making a very real differ- store or at the bowling alley peddling poppies. But we ence for the veterans we serve. do depend upon each one of us doing our part. That’s why I am asking each of my fellow members to Our dues for the coming year are a mere $70 which send your donation now so we can continue with our you can pay by mailing a cheque or taking advantage vital work in aid of the worthy veterans out there who of our simple, new, online payment method. See the depend on our help. attached instructions that show you just how easy it is. I send you my thanks and best wishes for being Of course you can send a cheque payable to Fort part of 165 and supporting all of its good works. York Poppy Trust as always but now there is an easy, Please pay your dues promptly because that makes safe, electronic way to contribute. Just log into our all the difference. □ Fort York News November 2018 Sincerely, website and follow the instructions. A tax receipt will be issued for all donations received by 31 December Gil [email protected] Page 4 Fort York News November 2018 Tony Stacey Centre To Close By Terry Sleightholm he Tony Stacey Centre for Veterans Care is lo- T cated in east Scarborough, adjacent to Canadi- an Legion Branch 258. Within seven years the centre will vanish, perhaps with a housing development in its place. Actually Branch 258 will disappear before that. I started volunteering at the centre in 2000, the year that I retired and I have gained a great deal by being a part of it for 18 years. Others from Branch 165, such as LCdr Donna Murakami and Cdr Ed Sparling, have contributed their time to Tony Stacey as well. There are supporters who have worked to replace the centre but it will be a steep challenge to raise the re- quired $35 million. The home was a dream of a local vet, Tony Stacey, to have it built for veterans who did not want to be separated from their spouses. His dream came to fru- ition in 1976 with a two-story home on 2.5 acres of land given by the Legion. This policy of spouses or their children being able to stay there was likely a first for Canada. Tony Stacey was the home’s president from 1967 until 1983. He was also a resident from 2002 until 2004 when the original name of Metro To- ronto Legion Village was renamed to The Tony South African War Memorial 1910 Stacey Centre for Veterans Care. I am sure that he by Walter Allward, University Avenue would be saddened to hear that its demise is immi- nent due to a lack of funds to meet the requirements of the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act by 2025. Currently the centre has little money in the bank as its resources have gone towards major repairs such as the newly replaced roof which cost nearly a quarter of a million dollars. One possibility is that a new Tony Stacey Centre could be part of a new VIVA Retirement Communities project on the 7.5 acres purchased from Legion Branch No.258 whose membership has drastically declined in recent years. Whatever happens, I think most would agree that a veterans home is needed and valued in the Highland Creek community of Toronto, in whatever form it may manifest itself. □ Soldiers Tower, University of Toronto Page 5 Fort York News November 2018

BRANCH 165 PARTICIPATES IN

PINE HILLS PRILGRIMAGE EVENT

Several members of Fort York Branch 165 attended the annual Pine Hills Pilgrimage lunch in September. The lunch at the Brigadier O.M. Martin Branch 345 took place the day before the annual parade and service of remembrance held in the vet- erans section of Pine Hills Cemetery in Scar- borough. Fort York’s participation at the lunch was co-ordinated by Commander Ed Sparling, a past president and the branch’s veterans service officer.

“Five years ago when I attended this function there were only two of us here from Branch 165, myself and Glen Carter,” he said. “We had two tables set aside for our branch and there were only two of us here.

“This year we brought 20 veterans from Sunny- brook (Health Sciences Centre) and nine members from our branch attended. The veterans want to come to an event like this and they have a good time.

“By being here we improve our profile in the zone and district. Everyone was glad to see us. We stand out because the veterans from Sunnybrook are all vets and our nine members are veterans as well.” Page 6 Fort York News November 2018

Pine Hills Luncheon Legion Branch 345

September 2018 Page 7

OCTOBER 25th

Branch165 MEMBER & AUTHOR CAPT LARRY ROSE SPEAKS AT THE TORONTO CRICKET CLUB

Past Presidents at the Cricket Club

Page 9 Fort York News November 2018 Cricket Club Dinner

Ambitions and What They Mean for Canada (co-authored 2018); Canadian Armed Forces

Arctic Operations, 1945-2015: Historical and Contemporary Lessons Learned (co-edited, Gregg Centre for the Study of War and Socie- ty, 2017); Roots of Entanglement: Essays in

Native-Newcomer Relations (co-edited 2017); Two Years Below the Horn: A Canadian’s Ex- periences in Antarctica, 1944-46 (co-edited Dr. P. Whitney Lackenbauer 2017); The Networked North: Borders and Borderlands in the Canadian Arctic Region (co r. P. Whitney Lackenbauer is the Cana- -edited 2017); One Arctic: The Arctic Council D da Research Chair (Tier 1) in the Study and Circumpolar Governance (co-edited of the Canadian North and a Professor in the 2017); Whole of Government through an Arc- School for the Study of Canada at Trent Uni- tic Lens (co-edited 2017); and (Re) versity, Peterborough, Ontario, in July 2018. Conceptualizing Arctic Security: Selected Arti- He is also a Professor in the department of cles from the Journal of Military and Security history (on unpaid leave for 2018-19) and co- Studies (co-edited 2017). Previous books in- director of the Centre on Foreign Policy and clude The Canadian Rangers: A Living Histo- Federalism at St. Jerome’s University in the ry, 1942-2012 (2013); Canada and the Chang- University of Waterloo, Ontario, Canada. He ing Arctic: Sovereignty, Security, and Steward- was the 2017-18 Killam Visiting Scholar at the ship (co-authored 2011); and Arctic Front: De- University of Calgary in fall 2017, and Distin- fending Canada in the Far North (co-authored guished Visiting Professor at Canadian Forces 2008, winner of the 2009 Donner Prize for the College in Toronto in winter/spring 2018. Whit- best book on Canadian public policy). Whitney st ney is Honorary Lieutenant-Colonel of 1 Ca- is also co-editor of the Documents on Canadi- nadian Ranger Patrol Group, which encom- an Arctic Sovereignty and Security (DCASS) passes patrols throughout Yukon, the North- series, to which he has contributed ten vol- west Territories, and Nunavut. umes. □ Whitney’s recent books include China’s Arctic Page 10 Fort York News November 2018

The Toronto Cricket Club Dinner Page 11 Fort York News November 2018

Dr. Whitney Lackenbauer, Honorary LCol of the 1st Ca- nadian Ranger Patrol Group, speaks to Branch 165 mem- bers and guests on “Arctic Operations: Past, Present and Future” at RCMI on October 25th. Page 12 Fort York News November 2018 RCMI Dinner, October 25th

Page 13 Fort York News November 2018

Canadian Red Ensign 1868-1921

Page 14 Fort York News November 2018

Page 15 Fort York News November 2018 Mail From The Front ters and post cards, as well as a number of silk hand- kerchiefs which were sold in villages near the front.

Eddie never talked about the war, unless it was to say that he met someone at the front from back home. One would think that he was on a holiday or business trip. He usually asked about the family or thanked my grandmother, Emily, for a recent letter or package. No mention was ever made about the conditions or action near the guns. The postcard is from Bonn, 1919.

1916 1919

y maternal grandfather, ABdr Edward C. “Dear Wife M Bridge, enlisted in the Canadian Artillery, CEF This is a picture showing the bridge across the Rhine which we in 1916. He signed his attestation papers at Shorn- marched across when we entered Germany. Where you see the cliffe, England after returning to his native England cross is where general Currie and his staff stood to watch us from Montreal in the spring of 1914. march past. It is a splendid structure. Eddie was an “old man” for enlisting at 31. He was Love from Ted” married with two children and one on the way who I included two photos of Eddie to show what four would become my mother. Born in August of 1916 years at the front does to a man. Younger-looking and while Eddie was at the front, my mother was named eager to be in the fight in 1916. Older and worn-out at Marie because it was a name that reminded him of 34 years of age in 1919. France. The insert shows one of the gifts sent home by Eddie to Emily. □ By Terry Sleightholm Eddie, like so many other Canadians, saw action in most of the battles in France and Belgium: Hill 70, Ypres, Mount Sorrel, Courcelette, Thiepval Ridge, Vimy Ridge, Passchendaele and others right up until the end of hostilities. He and his 2nd Division walked their horses in a long march from France to Bonn, Germany in December, 1919 as a part of an occupa- tional force. No one knew what the Germans might be up to even after the Armistice.

When Eddie wrote home, it was either on very thin tissue or on a postcard, often accompanied by very thin, decorative silk “hankies”. I still have Eddie’s let Page 16 Fort York News November 2018

lot of good ideas and she was a strong team leader. CANADIAN RANGERS AND JUNIOR RANGERS That’s why she was chosen to be the top Junior HONOUR TEEN SUICIDE Ranger at the camp. She was number one out of 141 By Peter Moon Junior Rangers. She was quiet but she worked with her team and with every one at the camp. Everyone liked her.” embers of the local Canadian Ranger and Jun- M ior Canadian Ranger patrols played a lead role Karlena’s mother said her daughter enjoyed being a at a funeral iin Bearskin Lake First Nation for a 13- Junior Ranger. “She told me Karlena was very excit- year-old Junior Ranger who committed suicide. ed about going back to Camp Loon next year,” War- rant Officer Meikle said. Members of the small Oji-Cree community, which has a population of 500 and is located 625 kilometers Grand Chief Alvin Fiddler of Nishnawbe Aski Nation north of Thunder Bay, were shocked in September met with the Junior Rangers and told them Karlena’s when they learned Karlena Kamenawatamin died by death had brought attention to the difficult living con- her own hand. ditions in most of the North’s First Nations. Karlena lived in a run down house without electricity. They expressed their grief while making it standing room only in the small Full Gospel Church for both Sol Mamakwa, the NDP MPP for Kiiwetinoong riding, the visitation and the funeral service. Junior Rangers was also in Bearskin Lake for the funeral. He shocked acted as pall bearers and presented a Junior Ranger the Ontario Legislature when he stood to announce flag to Karlena’s parents at the conclusion of the ser- Karlena’s suicide and told them that three years ago vice. They also flanked Karlena’s casket in the back a 10-year-old girl also committed suicide in the com- of a pick-up truck when it was driven from the airport munity. to the church after an autopsy in Thunder Bay.

“There’s a lot of sadness in the community,” said Warrant Officer Kevin Meikle, an army instructor, who helped organize the funeral. “It’s a very small commu- nity so any loss is felt by all and certainly all the Jun- ior Rangers knew Karlena well. They are sad but they are coping.”

He said grief counselors who flew into the community were helping the Rangers and Junior Rangers and other community members by conducting sharing cir- cles with them.

“We were shocked when we learned of her death,” said Captain John Mc Neil, the army officer who com- “Two years ago, the suicide rate for children under the age mands the 1,000 Junior Rangers in 24 First Nations of 15 in First Nations I represent was 50 times more than across the Far North of Ontario. the national average,” he said. “But what has changed In July, Karlena was awarded the Order of St. since these children took their own lives?” George Medal, a prestigious national honour, for her He called on the Ontario government to do more to stop outstanding leadership at Camp Loon, an annual ad- the “pandemic” of Indigenous youth suicides in the Far vanced leadership training camp for Junior Rangers in Northern Ontario. North. □ Sergeant Peter Moon is the public affairs ranger for the 3rd Cana- “I spoke with her several times at Camp Loon,” Cap- dian Ranger Patrol Group at Canadian Forces Base Borden and tain McNeil said. ”She was very quiet but she had a a member of Fort York branch. Page 17 Fort York News November 2018 LARRY MILBERRY: seen private photo collections for his books. The au- thors note that the last Canadian air victory of the war WRITER, PUBLISHER, DYNAMO was likely scored by Lieutenant Harold Benjamin Old- ham of the Kingston, Ontario area who downed a By Capt. Larry D. Rose Fokker D.VII fighter on the afternoon of November No one has chronicled Canada’s aviation history--the 10, 1918. Meantime, pilot Lieutenant George Emer- legendary pilots, the iconic aircraft, the epic duels in son Dowler, of Calgary, a winner of the Distinguished the sky, the crack ups and disasters--as Larry Milber- Flying Cross medal, was killed on that same day. ry has done for almost four decades. Mr. Milberry is The victories and horrifying losses went on right to the most prolific and most honoured aviation writer in the last moments of the war. the country with his name attached as writer, co- writer or publisher, to a total of 41 books. His works have sold upwards of a quarter million copies. Larry Milberry Since his first title came out in 1979 some of Mr. Milberry’s books have gone through three, four, even five printings. Now, comes a new title Aviation in

Canada: Fighter Pilots and Observers 1915-1939 co- written with Hugh Halliday. The book arrives as Canadians mark the one hun- “The Air Cadets got me on the right track,” he said. dredth anniversary of the end of the First World War. The weekly parades and summer camps sparking a The airplane was only eight years old when the war love of aviation although curiously, he never became began. At the time there was no Canadian air force, a pilot. “It was a case of time and money,” he said. “I but still, hundreds of Canadians, many of them British never had a nickel never mind the $300 it would have -born, rushed to volunteer for the British Royal Flying taken for flying lessons.” Besides which he and a Corps or the Royal Naval Air Service. The early vol- group of friends were too busy making the rounds of unteers had to take private flying lessons and then airports and airshows to take pictures of any new air- apply to join up. craft they could find. Fighter Pilots and Observers includes a cast of Mr. Milberry became a school teacher and penned well known legends such as Billy Bishop and William two Social Studies books at the same time. Howev- Barker but also somewhat lesser known aces includ- er, in his spare time over a number of years he wrote ing Raymond Collishaw of Nanaimo, BC, who and There are other poignant stories. Hank downed fifty enemy aircraft. Then there are the twin McKeever of Listowel, Ontario was awarded the Mili- legends-- pilot Donald MacLaren and his plane, a tary Cross in November 1917 for his heroic exploits Sopwith Camel. Lieutenant MacLaren scored 54 vic- as a fighter pilot, won a bar to his medal a few weeks tories while flying a Camel, one of the most storied later (in effect a second Military Cross) and, in Febru- aircraft of the First World War. ary 1918,was awarded the Distinguished Service Or- der for further exploits. Incredibly, McKeever sur- In all about twenty-three thousand Canadians vived the war only to die in a car crash on Christmas served in the British air services during the war with day, 1919. another thirteen thousand in ground crews. The book includes hundreds of pictures of the fliers, their Mr. Milberry’s passion for aviation goes back to planes, their airfields and the aircraft manufacturing his days as a member of the Royal Canadian Air Ca- plants that sprang up in Canada. One of Mr. Milber- dets. (He still remembers his cadet number-- ry’s secrets is that for years he has haunted little 1171053). He was born in Haileybury, north of North known picture archives and dug out previously un- Bay, Ontario but spent his teen years in Toronto. Page 18 Fort York News November 2018 In a recent interview he said he joined cadets in 1955 checker and publicist. He has part time help with when he was 12. “I got my first rides at Downsview Air- graphics and proof-reading but otherwise CANAV Books port (in Toronto) in a Dakota.” The Dakota, also known is a one-man band. as the DC-3 was one of the greatest passenger and car- However, he has worked with a number of co- go aircraft ever produced. authors, including in this case Mr. Halliday, a former “The Air Cadets got me on the right track,” he said. staff member with the Department of National Defence, The weekly parades and summer camps sparking a RCAF History Section and the Canadian War Museum. love of aviation although curiously, he never became a Publishing, though, is not for the faint of heart because pilot. “It was a case of time and money,” he said. “I financing each new project is a challenge. “I don’t know never had a nickel never mind the $300 it would have how many times I have had to mortgage and re- taken for flying lessons.” Besides which he and a group mortgage my house,” Milberry said. of friends were too busy making the rounds of airports Along the way Larry Milberry was inducted into Cana- and airshows to take pictures of any new aircraft they da’s Aviation Hall of Fame in 2004 and was named an could find. honorary member of the Snowbirds, the Royal Canadian Air Force demonstration team. He has been awarded the Queen’s Golden Jubilee and Diamond Jubilee Med-

als. In what is a family affair Mr. Milberry and his two sons are all members of Branch 165. Among those at a recent book launch was retired astro- naut Colonel Chris Hadfield who has known Mr. Milberry for more than thirty years. Colonel Hadfield calls Mr. Milberry, “a Canadian aviation treasure.” He said, “No one has been more focused, passionate, tenacious and

deeply informed in writing about our country’s aircraft and aviators.” Mr. Milberry is now 75 but, like a fine vintage aircraft, looks like he will keep on going indefinitely. He bubbles about his next project, Second World War pilots. “It’s already written,” he said, “and ready to go.” □ Capt. Larry D. Rose is the author of TEN DECISIONS: Canada’s Best, Worst and Most Far-Reaching Decisions of the Second World War (Dundurn). Mr. Milberry became a school teacher and penned two Social Studies books at the same time. However, in his spare time over a number of years he wrote and edited what became his first book about flying, Aviation in Can- ada. He shopped it to a number of publishers without success but, finally, McGraw-Hill Ryerson responded and the book was released in 1979. It sold thirty-five hundred copies and went on to be re-printed four times, an amazing record for an unknown author writing in a specialty field. That success prompted him to start his own publishing company CANAV Books which continues today with Mr. Milberry the publisher-writer-editor-researcher-fact Larry and Col Chris Hadfield

Page 19

At the going down of the sun, we will remember them...

F/L Charles Harold “Chuck” Casson CD, PEng, MBA September 5, 2018 Former Messing officer Branch 165

S/Lt Reg Kowalchuk October 18, 2018

Capt Doug Scott September 7, 2018 Korean War Veteran, Poet Resident of Sunnybrook Veterans Care

Page 20 Fort York News November 2018

CANADIAN RANGERS COMPETE WITH THEIR wanted to fire one. “(Sergeant) Tom Squires of the HISTORIC .303 RIFLES FOR THE LAST TIME Australian team let me shoot with his and I let him shoot with my Lee-Enfield,” he said. By Peter Moon The Rangers had opportunities during the meet to An eight-member team of Canadian Rangers from shoot with pistols, sniper rifles, assault rifles, and Northern Ontario shot against some of the best mili- light machine guns. tary marksmen in Canada and “did well using “CAFSAC was everything I hoped it would be,” Cor- their .303 Lee-Enfield bolt-action rifles, which were poral Ayearst said. “It was a great experience. “I being used in a national shooting competition for the learned from the training we did before we got here last time,” according to their team captain. and I learned from being here. I go home a better The team competed in the two-week-long Canadian shot.” Armed Forces Small Arms Concentration (CAFSAC) (Sergeant Peter Moon is the public affairs ranger for at the historic Connaught Ranges, near Ottawa, in the 3rd Canadian Ranger Patrol Group at Canadian September. The annual competition attracted 450 Forces Base Borden.) shooters and support staff from the Canadian Armed Forces and teams from Australia, Britain, the Nether- ______lands, and the United States.

“A lot of the Rangers from across Canada were hap- Sunnybrook Volunteers py to show off their .303 Ranger rifles for the last time As most of you know, Branch 165 members volun- to members of the Canadian Armed Forces and teer at Sunnybrook Hospital as wheelchair escorts members of the teams representing other nations,” who take the residents of the veterans wing to and said Warrant Officer Ben Kirke. “It’s the last year the from the chapel for the Sunday service. rifles will be used at CAFSAC. Next year all the Rangers will be competing with the new C-19 Ranger We are always looking for new volunteers to ensure rifle.” that every veteran gets to chapel in a timely manner. If you are interested, please contact Col Jim Hubel The Lee-Enfield has been used by the Rangers since for more information on joining the group. 1947 and is in the process of being replaced by the C -19, a specially designed, .308 bolt action rifle. Our Fort York Branch volunteers include: Jim Hubel, Rene Hubel, Joyce Lloyd, Varun Nischal, Terry The Rangers allowed soldiers at the competition an Sleightholm, Michael Stevenson and Ann Unger. opportunity to fire their .303 rifles and were allowed to shoot the soldiers’ weapons. The work of our pastors, Veronica Roynon and Mary Lou MacDonald, as well as our new organist, Hy- “There was tremendous interest in our rifles from oseon Huang is much appreciated by the veterans both the Canadian troops and members of the teams and volunteers. from other countries,” said Corporal Jordan Ayearst, a Ranger and hunter from Moose Factory, a small Cree community on James Bay. “But we were as ex- cited to see their modern technology in the way of their weapons as they were to see our Lee-Enfields. A lot of them were familiar with automatic weapons but they’d never fired a bolt action rifle before.”

He had read about the Steyr AUG assault rifle used by the Australian Defence Force and had always Page 21 Fort York News November 2018

Ranger Cindy Suganequeb of Webequie, right, shoots with other Canadian

Rangers and soldiers.

Cindy

Donny

Master Corporal Donny Sutherland of Constance Lake runs from one firing position to another in a competition. Page 22

Jordan

Corporal Jordan Ayearst of Moose Factory fires his .303 bolt action rifle.

Page 23 Once indentified, signs reading “Jewish Undertaking” were ordered into the windows of Jewish owned Channel Islands WW 11 shops. This did little to dissuade the local population By Col Gil Taylor but kept the indoctrinated soldiers of the Third Reich away. Eventually these businesses were turned over hen it comes to war stories, some people tend to non-Jews with no compensation. On Jersey, after W to play down the German occupation of the the war, the Islanders returned these enterprises to Channel Islands in the belief that they didn’t have it the rightful owners wherever possible. so bad. Of course everything is relative and in reality, bad or worse, life in the Islands was no bed of roses. As the occupation years dragged on the Jewish regis- try was put to even more sinister use when numbers It began in May of 1940. Although Churchill was re- of Jews were deported and by most accounts killed in luctant to give up the Islands the Navy overruled him the Holocaust. And in a show of force, the Germans and on 17 June the demilitarization notice was built four concentration camps, the only ones on Brit- served. The residents had until 10 the next morning ish territory, on the Isle of Alderney. to register for evacuation and by the final count in Jer- sey alone, 23,063 souls had signed up to leave their Not content with persecuting just Islanders, the Nazis homes with only what they could carry and a limit of imported nearly 5000 slave labourers including Poles, £25 in their pockets. As the rescue ships pulled away Russian prisoners of war, Frenchmen and Spaniards from St. Helier, the pier was left with hundreds of to build a work of engineering genius, the under- abandoned cars and the Blue Cross was faced with ground war tunnels. The kilometer long tunnels, dug the task of putting down over 6000 dogs and cats. 50 metres under a hillside, could accommodate a full Division of soldiers and were eventually converted to

an underground hospital.

The persecution of Channel Island Jews was just the

beginning. It would not be long before Nazi Germa- It took little time for the Germans to demonstrate their ny, on direct orders from Adolf Hitler, deported 2300 intentions for the Islands and on the 28th of June 1940 Islanders of British birth in retaliation for internment of an air raid over St Helier Harbour, on Jersey, killed German citizens in Persia by the UK Government. twenty people and injured many more. Then the sol- Some of these deportees simply disappeared in the diers began to arrive and by December of ’41 11,500 Wehrmacht extermination camps. German troops called Jersey home, one invading sol- Although a hollow local government was allowed to dier for every four Islanders. exist it was nothing more than a sham. The heads of Right from the start Nazi leadership enforced their evil island governments, the Bailiffs, made little or no ways and on the 21st of November all Jews were or comment on the victimization and even aided the de- dered to register. This was routine under any Ger- portation of native Islanders and Jews. But when man administration but a chilling shock to the inde- Freemasons were rounded up on Guernsey, the Bail- pendent minded Islanders. iff there, one Alexander Coutanche, protested loudly about their persecution. With no small touch of irony, Fort York News November 2018 However the occupation was not without resistance in spite of heavy punishment, including execution, for Page 24 Fort York News November 2018 the Bailiffs of Guernsey and Jersey both received knighthoods from the Sovereign after the war. Young, escaped Russian slave labourer, Feodor Bur- yi, hid for some 20 months. In 1944 an anonymous neighbour reported her to the Germans who sent her straight to Ravensbruck concentration camp where she was finally put to death in the gas chambers in

1945.

Post D Day, when St. Malo France surrendered, the Islands supply lines were cut and Islanders and Ger- mans alike, faced starvation and hardship for ten months before the invaders signed an unconditional surrender. Liberation finally began when HMS Bull- dog arrived in Guernsey on 8 May 1945.

78 years on the occupation is but a mere echo of Na- zi jackboots. Nonetheless the persecution of the Channel Islands is, clearly, one of those things that must never be forgotten.

This article first appeared in the Toronto Sun.