It is 11 minutes after 11 a.m. on Remembrance Day. In front of the Coniston cenotaph, Roger Spencer stands holding a tiny bottle that is set to be placed in the freshly dug hole at its base. The bottle, a time capsule of sorts, holds the memories of 14,000 soldiers from the 3rd Canadian Infantry Division and the 2nd Canadian Armoured Brigade who stormed Juno Beach 80 years ago this past summer.
Among the soldiers that day was Roger’s brother, Wilbert Spencer, (who had enlisted in the Army at 17 years old), and this amber vessel filled with sand from Juno Beach will serve as an eternal memorial to those who died.
Before continuing, I would like to take this opportunity to thank all of those who shared stories and photos of family members or people they knew of who served our country with distinction at some point over the last 125 years. It is through your memories and the gift of sharing that they will live on in perpetuity.
Reader Wayne Hugli shared with us the story (and a photo) of his father, Jim. When Jim Hugli was a child, his family lived upstairs at the CPR Station in Coniston where his father, Paul Hugli, was the station manager.
When Hugli finished his schooling, he began working for INCO in the Coniston Smelter. In March 1942 as the Second World War entered its midway point, he travelled to North Bay to enlist in the armed forces.
From there, Hugli began training with the Royal Canadian Air Force in Newfoundland. Upon completion, he travelled to Burma (now Myanmar) where he served with the Burma Squadron. Following his discharge four years later, in March 1946, he was awarded the Burma Star for operational service during the Burma campaign against the Imperial Japanese Army.
Upon his return to Canada, Hugli returned to INCO as an electrician, first in Coniston and later at the Nickel Refinery in Copper Cliff. He became an active member of the Coniston Branch of the Royal Canadian Legion and served as its Poppy Committee Chair. He passed away at the young age of 67, in March 1989.
Reader Margaret Richer shared the story of her father’s life and war experiences.
Felix Joseph Sawyer was born in Coniston, and raised in Capreol. At the outset of the Second World War, he enlisted at 17 years of age with his parents’ blessing. He served overseas with the Royal Canadian Navy as a first-class stoker aboard the HMS Puncher.
Sailing from Esquimalt, B.C., his vessel travelled around the continent to Norfolk, Virginia. From there, they headed out to Casablanca, Morocco, with a cargo of 40 US Air Force aircraft, before returning to the East Coast to load more aircraft headed for the U.K.
Following VE-Day, their ship was used over several months for aircraft deck landing training before being partially converted to serve as a troop carrier, employed for the remainder of the year repatriating Canadian troops from Britain.
After the War, Sawyer was a member of the Royal Canadian Legion Branch in Capreol for more than 50 years. He passed away in February 2004.
A follower of the Sudbury Then and Now Facebook page shared with us the story of
Vi Milstead. Born in Toronto in 1919, Milstead went on to become one of the elite few Canadian women who served with the Air Transport Auxiliary (ATA) during the Second World War.
She flew 47 types of aircraft, including fighters and bombers, from their factories to the airfields. Milstead was considered “a natural pilot” by those who knew her.
By the end of the war, she had become the longest serving Canadian female pilot with the ATA, achieving its highest rank and flying more hours than any other female pilot. This led her to Sudbury in 1947, where she began work for Nickel Belt Airways.
Here, Milstead became one of Canada’s first female bush pilots. In this capacity, she flew bush planes such as the Fairchild Husky, taking prospectors, miners, lumber personnel, hunters and fishermen in and out of camps across Northern Ontario.
In 2004, she was inducted into the Order of Canada. This was followed, in 2010, with her induction as a Member of Canada’s Aviation Hall of Fame.
Another follower of the Facebook page shared with us the story of Northern Ontario’s only Victoria Cross recipient, who worked in Sudbury for a time prior to enlistment.
First World War veteran Sergeant William Merrifield was born in the U.K. and, struggling to find work, sought new opportunities abroad. He emigrated to Canada, living first in Ottawa before moving on to Sudbury. Here, he found work as a fireman with the Canadian Pacific Railway.
In September 1914, Merrifield enlisted in the Canadian Army. He sailed for England and after a period of training the unit landed in France in February 1915.
Merrifield’s first experience in combat was during the Second Battle of Ypres in April 1915, during which his battalion suffered 543 casualties (this was the same battle that also cost the lives of three of the local men profiled in our previous column).
In 1917, Merrifield took part in the Battle of Passchendaele where he was awarded the Military Medal for his gallantry during the final days of that awful campaign. For his actions during the Battle of Canal du Nord during the final 100 days of the War, Merrifield was awarded the Victoria Cross.
The citation reads: “For most conspicuous bravery and devotion to duty during the attack near Abancourt on the 1st October, 1918. When his men were held up by an intense fire from two machine-gun emplacements, he attacked them both single-handed. Dashing from shell-hole to shell-hole he killed the occupants of the first post, and, although wounded, continued to attack the second post, and with a bomb killed the occupants. He refused to be evacuated, and led his platoon until again severely wounded. Sgt. Merrifield has served with exceptional distinction on many former occasions, and throughout the action of the 1st October showed the highest qualities of valour and leadership.”
Following his demobilization in April 1919, Merrifield returned to civilian life where he took a job with the Algoma Central Railway in Sault Ste Marie. As the next war was dawning, Merrifield suffered a stroke and later died in hospital in August 1943.
On a past post at Sudbury Then and Now, Sheila Lafleur wrote about two members of the military from early in the last century, with ties to both her and Sudbury.
The first, Thomas Francis Tyacke, was born in the U.K. And, prior to the First World War, he was sent to the semi-private Stoke Public School, which specialized in preparing boys for naval dockyard apprenticeships.
Tyacke then moved on to shipwright work prior to joining the navy. As a lieutenant, he served the Royal Navy with distinction during the Great War. In 1920, he immigrated to Canada and settled in Sudbury, next door to the man who would be his father-in-Law (and Sheila Lafleur’s great grandfather) on Cartier Avenue.
As he remained on the British navy's reserve list, Tyacke was called into action again at the outset of the Second World War, serving as a lieutenant shipwright attached to Canadian naval headquarters in Halifax. Upon the end of his time serving during his second World War, Tyacke returned to Sudbury where he worked as a Canadian customs officer for 24 years.
The other person Lafleur tipped us to is William George Wills, also born in the U.K. and coming to Canada in the early years of the 20th century.
He was remembered as being “a quiet, pipe-smoking gentleman.” Wills enlisted in the army here in Sudbury in June 1916 and trained at Camp Borden. He was shipped overseas in 1917 and served in France and Belgium as a motorcycle machine gunner.
At one point, he was wounded in battle and records show that he suffered the effects of mustard gas exposure. He was discharged in 1919 and upon his return he preferred not to speak about his wartime experiences.
That being said, one interesting story was passed down, and goes as follows: “He was on foot and a bullet struck him in the chest where he had a pocket with a Bible in it and the bullet didn't penetrate. William figured that it must have come from a distance. As the rifles were only single shot, and knowing that the shooter would have to reload, William took off at a run and counted how long it took to reload and aim. He then fell to the ground as the next bullets whistled by. He repeated this maneuver a few more times, thereby making his escape to safety."
One final member of the Facebook group who uses the handle “TY”, shared a commendation for bravery received by his grandfather during the Second World War.
Corporal Thomas Davidson had joined the army at 17 and was 22 years old on the date of the commendation. For this, he received the Military Medal for bravery.
The commendation reads as follows: “Despite heavy enemy fire of every description and the constant threat of enemy sniping, Corporal DAVIDSON went from post to post, assisting in the consolidation. When ammunition for the PIAT in one position got dangerously low, Corporal DAVIDSON and Corporal (name scratched out) volunteered to get some from a post in another building, which at present was occupied by the enemy.
“To reach the building it was necessary to cross a piece of open ground which was swept by enemy fire from both flanks … the dauntless pair raced across the open ground throwing a grenade into the building as they neared it. The grenade killed the enemy paratroops. They succeeded in bringing back the sorely needed ammunition and Corporal DAVIDSON used it with such effect that a troublesome enemy post … was silenced.
“When a Bren gunner became a casualty, Corporal DAVIDSON manned his weapon and on one occasion thwarted an attempt on the part of the enemy paratroops to reoccupy the position … . On yet another occasion Corporal DAVIDSON assisted in evacuating casualties across open ground in the face of heavy enemy fire. His bravery and resourcefulness throughout the action were an inspiration to all ranks and was directly responsible for the Company being able to hold the position until the Company were relieved approximately fifteen hours later.”
Finally, as the maternal side of my family has its own experiences with wartime service, I would like to take the time to share their story as well.
My great-grandparents, Daniel and Lena Forestell, had 11 children (nine boys and two girls). During the Second World War, five of their sons joined the air force, with only two surviving.
As my Uncle Francis, an airforce radar mechanic in North Africa and Italy, once said, “It was supposed to be for patriotic reasons, but most of us joined for the adventure.”
His surviving brother, Jim, was stationed in Newfoundland, and would fly cover missions of 10-12 hours for the convoys crossing the North Atlantic. When he wasn't working the radio, he'd man the big .50 calibre Browning machine guns that the air force used.
The first to perish was their brother, Daniel, a wireless operator and gunner, in April 1943. Prior to his death, he had already been hurt twice. The first injury resulted from going down in the English Channel, along with two others in the plane, and he was the only one to get out.
In another crash, he injured his leg badly enough to need a cane to get around. But they patched him up, got him ready and he was posted to another squadron. He eventually went down in the North Sea and his body was never found.
A second brother, Thomas, was killed while flying during a training exercise in southern Ontario, in March 1944.
The third brother, Robert, was also a pilot. In his final mission, he was flying over the French coast to attack German ships. When the enemy vessels responded with anti-aircraft artillery, the plane was hit and went down close to shore. Some people from the small French town of Barbatre retrieved the bodies (the other was his navigator), and buried them in their cemetery.
After his family had lost a third son, Jim was sent from Newfoundland to Ottawa and given a desk job while Francis was found (imagine a real life version of “Saving Private Ryan”) and taken out of harm’s way as well. The Forestell family is among the few that had three members killed during the war.
In closing, dear readers, I leave you with the words of my great grandmother, Lena Forestell (known as “Granny” to everyone she knew), who once said sadly but without bitterness (and with 30 years of reflection), “It was hard when our sons' friends came home after the war and we'd see them walking up the street. But children are gifts, not possessions. God let us have them for awhile."
And, if I might add, our memories of Remembrance (like those shared above) are also gifts to be cherished and passed down so that we shall never forget. Until next time.
Jason Marcon is a writer and history enthusiast in Greater Sudbury. He runs the Coniston Historical Group and the Sudbury Then and Now Facebook page. Memory Lane is made possible by our Community Leaders Program.