2016 Volume 17 No. 3 Fall
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Historic Gloucester Newsletter of the GLOUCESTER HISTORICAL SOCIETY www.gloucesterhistory.com Vol. 17, No. 3 Fall 2016 RAF 18 Squadron Blenheim Crew, Summer 1941. Lawrence Larson, Scotland; Geoffrey Robinson, England; and James Woodburn, Canada Historical Gloucester - 2 - Vol 17, N0 3, 2016 Contents From the President’s Desk……………………………………........................ Glenn Clark 3 A Tribute to Our RAF Blenheim Crew……………...………….. David Mowat and John Ogilvie 4 Rideau Hall - A Brief History………………………………………………… 7 Membership Form……………………………………………….................... 10 THE GLOUCESTER HISTORICAL SOCIETY WOULD LIKE TO ANNOUNCE THAT ITS HISTORY ROOM WILL BE OPEN TO THE PUBLIC DURING THE WINTER MONTHS BY APPOINTMENT ONLY. LOCATION: 4550B BANK STREET (ENTRANCE ON LEITRIM ROAD) FOR MORE INFORMATON OR TO MAKE AN APPOINTMENT Contact Mary Boyd at 613-521-2082 or [email protected] Cover Photo: The cover photo shows the three-man Blenheim Bomber crew in 1941. Shown are Lawrence Larson from Scotland; Geoffrey Robinson from England and James Woodburn, a native of the Township of Gloucester, Canada. Photo: David Mowat Historic Gloucester is published by The Gloucester Historical Society. It is intended as a Newsletter to members of the Society to provide interesting articles on Gloucester’s past and to keep them informed of new acquisitions by the Museum, publications available, upcoming events and other items of general interest. Comments and suggestions regarding the Newsletter are always welcome. Gloucester Historical Society gratefully acknowledges the financial support of the City of Ottawa. Historic Gloucester - 3 - Vol 17, No 2, 2016 President’s Report By Glenn Clark We are approaching a very important year in the history of our country, our sesquicentennial. The Gloucester Historical Society is getting involved with the celebration by organizing a writing contest titled “Life in Gloucester 1867-2017” for Grade 8 students to correspond with their Canadian history curriculum. Thirty-one schools have been contacted. The contest can be part of a class project or we will accept individual entries. A wide range of topics may be written about from sports to politics to community to genealogy as long as it has something to do with Gloucester within its original boundaries. A total of $600 in prize money is being offered. The deadline for submissions is April 30, 2017. For more details, go to our website www.gloucesterhistory.com . There has been another interesting development with thanks to Wasim Baobaid. Again, if you go to our website, our 2016 annual meeting speaker has been video recorded. Now you can learn about the Glouces- ter connection to the Klondyke gold rush of 1898. More importantly, we now have an opportunity to video and record oral histories. As a test. we have recorded Mary Boyd discussing her memories of Carlsbad Springs. It will be interesting to see where this leads us. Do you know someone who has an interesting story to tell? Let us know. A video history could be a wonderful legacy to leave to your families and to our com- Board of Directors 2015-2016 President and Directors: Bob Kemp Webmaster: Glenn Clark Aline Mageau Vice-President: Russell Johnston John Wiebe Past President: Mary Boyd Treasurer: Laurel Sherrer Membership: Shirley McCooeye Secretary and Newsletter Editor: Joan Scott For more information about books for sale by Gloucester Historical Society and for a complete list of all our publications, please visit our website at www.gloucesterhistory.com This website also contains a wealth of information about Gloucester and its people. You are cordially invited to our Annual General Meeting which will be held in April 2017 at a time and place to be announced later. Historical Gloucester - 4 - Vol 16, No 3, 2016 alive. She reasoned that if his plane went down in A TRIBUTE TO OUR RAF the Mediterranean Sea, it was warm and James was BLENHEIM CREW a good swimmer - learnt at nearby Green's Creek. David Mowat However, it was almost 60 years later before we learnt the real truth of what actually happened to (From a Gloucester Historical Society and Wood- James and his crew while on a bombing raid in burn Family Gathering, at the Earl Libya. Armstrong Arena, Ottawa, Remembrance Sunday, November 13, 2011) Seventy years ago this past October 26th, I vividly recall rushing with my sister Heather to the front door of the Woodburn homestead on the old Cyrville road and Grandma welcoming us. The Woodburn family in the Ottawa area were gathering to mourn the news that James was “missing and pre- sumed killed in action” while stationed in Malta. Earlier that day, Uncle Harry telephoned to inform his sister Jean at Nobel, near Parry Sound. At the time, Aunt Jean was bathing her first born, James Woodburn Dean. In an agonizing flash, Jean re- called that her mother lost a brother, Hughie Blair , in WWI, now she lost a brother in WWII, and was she raising one more child for the same fate? Fortu- nately, there was no WWIII and our generation was not tempted or required to go to war. In a little town in Yorkshire, England, at the home of Geoffrey Robinson, the gunner in James's RAF three-man Blenheim Bomber crew, the fateful telegram arrived during breakfast on October 27th. Over 71 years ago on October 4, The response in that household was typical of the 1940, I clearly recall the night our barn on the Meri- British resolve and determination during wartime. vale Road burnt, and also Uncle James visiting a Following the initial grief, Mr. Robinson declared week or two later. I can't recall his face. However, that everyone must go about his or her duties as usu- while playing on the floor, I can still see his black al. Geoff, the eldest child, was age 20 when he was shoes and uniform pant leg as he sat in a chair by killed, and his mother was to celebrate her 42nd the kitchen east door. And I vividly recall Heather birthday the next day. For over a year afterwards, and I showing him around the barn ruins, still smol- every time the telephone rang or the doorbell sound- dering. Older sister Elinor also recalls that visit and ed, the Robinson family was sure it was Geoffrey how handsome he was in his RCAF uniform. who had come home. Finally, the Air Ministry ad- mitted that the whole crew had been killed instantly. On December 3, 1942, Mother and Uncle Harry accompanied Grandma Woodburn for the cer- In the little town of Peebles, Scotland, at the emony at Government House when James's Distin- home of the crew's navigator Larry Lawson, we can guished Flying Medal was awarded posthumously only surmise the horrific sadness at loosing an only by the Governor General. Mother recalled that it son. So far we have not been successful in contact- was a lovely ceremony. However, the Merivale ing any relatives or neighbours. However, we plan Road was plugged with snow that blistery morning to donate our book to the local British Legion and and Dad had to take Mother, dressed with her hat, the town library - and some contact may still devel- scarf and finest, to town in the horse and cutter. Ear- op. lier, in a September 1941 letter to his parents, James wished that they could accompany him to Bucking- Grandma Woodburn was a great optimist ham Palace when the King would present the DFM and held hope for many months that James was still to him. Historic al Gloucester - 5 - Vol 17, No 3, 2016 A couple of years after the war, I recall go- very handsome - the girls must have adored him. His ing with Mother to the Peace Tower, Parliament RCAF recruiting interview report described him as Buildings to view James's name listed on page 48 in healthy, rugged, tall and refined; his dress tasteful, the Book of Remembrance - possibly the first time it conservative, clean, neat and smart. His intelligence appeared as one page turns every day. was assessed as quick, organized, accurate and his personality confident, mature and pleasant. Uncle In 1963, I was appointed to the faculty of the Homer Dean assessed James as a cool, restrained Ontario Agricultural College, James's Alma mater. and reasoning individual. Elinor remembers him as James graduated in 1937. The portrait of James and being soft spoken and gentle, like others in the fami- one other graduate, in RCAF uniform, hung for ly. University and RCAF in-training records show many years in the basement of War Memorial Hall that he was not an involved, upfront, leader type. on the University of Guelph campus. Once when Thus, his personality appears to have been more like Mother came to visit us in Guelph, she went over to his mother than his father who was a community view his photo but it was down. She promptly raised leader. Cain with university officials whereupon it shortly reappeared. Good for Mother! On another occasion Nevertheless, James certainly had a mind of when Uncle Paul and his sister-in-law Aunt Gwen his own and a strong sense of justice that sometimes came to visit us, I took them over to the campus. got him into hot water with superiors both at univer- When Paul saw James's portrait he shed a tear. Paul sity and while training in the RCAF. He apparently adored and looked up to his next older brother. A struck an officer while training at Fort Macleod, be- few months ago when I was checking on Jamie’s cause the officer acted “unjustly”. However, he still academic record in the university archives, I noticed got his wings and on schedule - maybe because they with surprise and delight James's large portrait in a were desperately short of pilots early in the war.