Oshawa Times (1958-), 24 Sep 1964, p. 12

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Emergency Numbers Hospital 723-2211 Police 725-1138 Fire 725-6574 She Oshawa Gimes OSHAWA, ONTARIO, THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 24, 1964 Second Section City and district features, sports. and classified advertis- ing. REGIMENT'S REUNION HERE FRIDAY RECALLS VITAL ROLE PLAYED BY ONTARIOS IN ITALIAN CAMPAIGN Capt. Sheriff Recalls. Captain Jack Sheriff recalls that as a young corporal, he and his friends in the Ontario Regi- ment "were ail fired up at the thought of war' and almost hoped it would oo " "Prior to friends did just that, my couldn't go for family reasons, | apathy #0 I waited until the Regiment was Mobilized." An NCO's job was not an easy one, recalls Captain Sheriff, of the days in the \lack of equipment and impro- jvised accommodation. What "39 Williams Piano Factory. "Here we were, young NCOs with fuzz on our c 'ing to tell a lot of World War I vets what war was all about. Everyone lwas keen, though, in .spite of browned us ail off was the atti- tude of the general public. There was a great deal of at the start of the war. No one thought it would last long. It was just a 'flash in the pan." And so far as the civilians passing the armouries were con- cerned, WE were just a "flash in the pan' too. They used to jeer and taugh at our efforts to mount guard without uniforms and equipment." Capt. Sheriff remembers well) the Regiment EDWARD MOYLAN, Kiwanians JUNIOR ABOVE ARE CANADIAN Army photos of the Ontario Regiment in Italy during the Second World War. In top photo left -- Before Cassino, Major C. M. McLean, right, and Lieutenant J. E. Slinger prepare for the move off. Major McLean, formerly a squadron commander with the Three Rivers Regiment, join- ed the Ontarios as Second in Command, January 25, 1944. Lieutenant Slinger was an Intelligence officer, In picture second from left, two brothers who served with the Ontarios in Italy were Troopers L. J. and W. G. Coffey of Owen Sound. In picture third from left -- halt parade on their tank in Italy is performed by crew members, left to right, L.-Cpl. E. G. Burwick, Troop- er G. W. Huggins and Trooper G. L. Laughton, all members of the Ontario Regiment. In picture top right, a member of the Ontarios awaits the order to move, He is Trooper J. G. Pershau, of Ottawa. --Canadian Army Photos To Attend Convention The Kiwanis Club of Oshawa will be represented at the 1964 convention of the Ontario-Que- bec-Maritime Dist ric t of Ki- wanis International, Sept. 27-30, Geman Army would be liber- jating them from captivity. Their morale was really high --even better than our men-- and the Canadian government gave them the best of every- thing to eat. It made our mouths water to see the truckloads of food coming into the camp.' Captain Sheriff recalled a prison break one night at Espa- nola. "Someone sounded the alarm and we dashed for the Quartermaster stores where the at Ottawa, club president Frank Taylor announced today. Attending the three past a half day meeting from here will be Mr. and Mrs. Bert Coulter, Mr. and Mrs. Ray Weeks, Mr. and Mrs, Murray Sparkes, Mr. and Mrs, Stephen Saywell, Mr. and Mrs, Dick Bassett, Mr. and Mrs. Don Moore, Mr. and Mrs. Frank Taylor and Kiwanian Alex MacKay. Sessions will be held at the| Chateau Laurier Hotel. Presiding officer will be Clar- ence F. Fentiman, a member of the Kiwanis Club of Westboro, Ottawa. Fentiman, an Ottawa industrialist, is governor of the Ontario - Quebec - Maritime .si- wanis District, Representing Ki- wanis International officially at the convention will be Edward B. Moylan, Jr. of Miami, Filor- ida, president of the inter- national service organization. Moylan will be a_ principal speaker. Also on hand will be Mel. R. Osborne, a member of the Ki-| wanis Club of East York, To- ronto. Osborne is a vice-presi- dent of Kiwanis 1 .ternational. Past International President Fred G, McAlister, QC, of Lon- don Ontario, will @lso attend the convention. Hosts for the meeting will be members of the Kiwanis Club of Ottawa. Some 200 clubs, with a total membership of nearly 10,- 000, will be represented at Ot- tawa. Principal business will in- clude committee conferences, a discussion of community service and administrative plans for, the coming year, the appearance of inspirational speakers, and the election of a district governor and other officers for 1965. Moylan, who will represent Kiwanis International officially at the convention, was elected president of the organization at Los Angeles this summer. He is a 44-year veteran of Kiwanis, who: has held most of the posi- tions of leadership of his Miami club, his Florida district and of Kiwanis onal. jallowed to have ammunition. am inti for our .303 Ross rifles was kept--we weren't The Regimental Quartermaster Sergeant -- RQMS Dawes -- wouldn't issue a single round until he got an officer's signa- ture. He sat on the ammunition box and wouldn't move. It took a while to convince him there was a real emergency.' When the Regiment finished its tour of duty, it went back to Camp Borden and to armoured training. It was a happy day when the Regiment was issued 10 World War I Renault tanks --purchased from the U.S. gov- ernment fofthe price of scrap. Ninety percent of the time was it did give drivers and mech- anics in the Regiment some- thing to work with. | "How the Armoured Fighting Vehicle Centre actually got the |Renaults is not actually clear," |recalis Colonel Johnston. "But I am sure Colonel Frank Worth- ington, Commander of the AF'V Centre was the one who initiated obtaining: them. He spotted them gathering rust at the U-S. Army Proving Grounds at Aberdeen, Maryland, - and being a man who did things first and asked questions after- wards, put the wheels in motion to get them, They weren't much good as a fighting vehicle but they did rejuvenate a lot of in- terest and enthusiasm. After all, if you haven't got a single thing to train with -- you can train with wheelbarrows if you have to." Regimental Sergeant Major Jacky. Barker remembers - that the arrival of the 1918 Renaults \did a lot to interest the young men who had joined the army to become tank crewmen. 'We didn't feel so bad about the| Renaults when we arrived in} Italy,"" RMS Barker recalls, spent keeping them running but|i, Ladies Lose. | Bowling Test The Oshawa Cunran Carton Ladies' bowling team lost their opening game in the Toronto City Majors League last week by a 2-1 decision. The Printing Marts took the opener 1,093-907, lost the second 1,130-1,102 and captured third) 1,103-875, High for the Carton girls. was Helen Trot with 676 (318. Mavis Taylor had 592 (226, 209), Janet Peel 546 (227), Joan Rogers 437 (216) for 25 frames, Millie Bilida 271 for 12 frames and Lou Himes 390 (215) for 23 frames. CHAIRMAN It was announced today that Mr. D. M. Alloway, Executive Vice-President of General Printers Limited will act as General Chairman of the An- nual Red Feather IMustration Contest. General Printers have donated two trophies for the Junior and Senior winners. Judging for the contest will take place October 9, 1964. There will be approximately 250 entries from pupils of secondary schools throughout Oshawa. CELEBRATING BIRTHDAYS Congratulations and best wishes to the following resi- dents of Oshawa and dis- trict who is celebrating his "some of the first Italian tanks we saw knocked out were the same vintage as the Renaults| --the very ones we had jee red| at in Canada," birthday today. Randy Begg, dere avenue. Phone 723-3474. 1216 Belve- "Mobilize -- Acknowledge, Message Started It All When members of the Ontario Regiment Association begin the festivities of their 1964 Re-Union ion Friday, September 25, they'll be celebrating the 25th Anniver- sary of the mobilization of the Ontario Regiment for active ser- vice. It was 4.15 pia on the after- noon of Fritay, September Ist, 1939 when the message "Mobil- ize -- Stop Acknowledge" came from Military District No. 2 to Lieutenant Colonel E. D. Pearson, Commanding Offi- cer of the Regiment. Within four hours he had the Regiment's officers assembled for briefing and the Regimental Sergeant Major on his way to Toronto for 'mobilization orders and the necessary forms. All through the month of Aug- ust, the Canadian public had found it increasingly difficult to maintain its wistful faith in Brit ish Prime Minister Chamber- jain's words, "Peace in Our Times". This public illusion, so sharply shattered by Germany's invasion of Poland, had already been dispelled for the Ontario's who had been alerted for mobil- ization since Aug. 29, as were many Non-Permanent Militia Regiments in Canada. How did wives and families of men of the Ontario Regiment re- spond to the thought of war and mobilization? "Generally, we were ail ready for it,"" said Mur- ray Johnston, at that time a Captain and second in command of "C" Squadron. "What was astounding was the fact that war hadn't come sooner, By the ag mobilization did come to the Regiment, its members had prepared themselves for it as best they could -- those who 'could go on active service and those who could not. SERVED BEFORE "A large number of men of the Regiment had served in World War One and im spite of their willingness or physical condition, were over-age. The Armoured Corps had unusually stiff entrance standards right at the start of war," continued Colonel Johnston. "This knocked a lot of good militiamen out of the Regiment on mobilization) 9@0in, and turned a lot of recruits from the door, Many o fthese men later enlisted in infantry and artillery units where enrol- ment standards were lower." When the mobilization orders were received, the Ontario Regi- ment was at considerable less than authorized strength. Al- though it had been officially designated a tank regiment since 1936, it had no tanks and little other equipment with which to arouse the interest and imagination of the younger men of Oshawa and district. "Then thee' no one in Canada really knew too a including the Regular Army -- about tanks and how they should be employ- ed. Tanks and tank regiments were an unknown quantity, and their use was yet to be estab- lished in battle. At least, we in the Ontario Regiment had tihe right idea: The two Regular Anmy cavalry regiments -- the Lord Strathcona Horse and the Royal Canadian Dragoons -- were preparing for war with horses and lances!" By the end of September, the} Regiment had been recruited to 594 all nanks. The next problem was to provide these men with a place to sheep. The Williams' Piano Co. factory, a long three- liam street, now occupied by the Coulter Manufacturing Co., was requisitioned as. a bamnracks. While it was being prepared for occupancy, the men were biilet- ted in private homes. "At least it was dry," said Colonel John- ston, comparing the piano fac- tory to later billets occupied by the Ontario's. Some members of {tine Regiment had less compli- memary things to say about storey brick structure on Wil-|! first introduction to army bar- racks. '"'One of our Regimental "scroungers" -- a man by the name of "Boxcar" Murphy, to stay up at night cooking steaks and chickens he had ob- tained by various means over one of the wood stoves used to heat the place,' recalls Ser- geant Tommy Gilbert, then a Trooper recruit. 'He kept the place smelling like a Chinese cookhouse." Other ingenious members of the Regiment de- vised a.svstem of outside rope- elevators to gain access and exit after lights out -- a system that nearly proved fatal for "'visi- tors"' on several occasions, OTHER BILLETS Not all members of the Regi- ment were billetted in the Wil- liams Factory. Many were in- stalled in private homes. Getting the men on parade for guards and training might have pre- sented a particular problem as they were all over the city. Regimental Sergeant Major Jack Barker, then a Squadron Sengeant Major of "C" Squad- ron, recalls that a good system was set up and training was con- fined chiefly at the start to route marches and some weapons in- struction. The problem of keep- ing the men out of local taverns after training hours was over- come by hockey, soccer and boxing tournaments and 'the showing of special movies at local theatres. The establish- 'ment of a Regimental '"dry" canteen on King street west near Woolworth's department store did much to give the men "a home away from home". This was run by the officers' and NCO'swives . Imagine coming to work and being told that thene was no tools to do the job and that you would have to improvise. This is exactly what faced ex-Militia NCOs and officens whose job it would be to train members of the Regiment for the next eight months, And 'it wasn't only a lack of equipment. "We had no uniforms for the men at first. Those who had been in the Militia had their pre-war uni- forms, but we had to issue arm- bands to the new necruits," 'said; pg Johnston. 'I remember with Seound to ail the various shoe repair shops in Oshawa, buying up shoes that hadn't been call- ed for, so that the men would) as have footwear to drill in." Cap- tain Jack Sheriff, who had be- come a sergeant soon after mobilization remembers the World War One uniforms that were finally issued. 'Two men 'could fit in a gneatcoat, but my troop was the best dressed in the Regiment. We went to my dad's tailor shop and had aill the greatcoats, tunics and trousers properly tailored free of charge, of course," TANK FORMATIONS another officer) t gun under officers and NCOs who had qualified as instructors during the Regiment's miiitia used| days. The instructor's was stretched and strained . to the breaking point in the early days of World War II. There were few instructors with actual tank experience. From Oshawa busi came derelict car and truck motors for mchan- ical training and from General] Motors of Canada came a light truck and a stripped motor for driving and maintenance train- ing. A few infantry-pattern .303 Vickers Machineguns were forthcoming, although the ma- chineguns actually used by the Regiment's gunners in action were .30 Brownings. In spite of the lack of equip- ment, the early days spent in garrison in Oshawa were valu- able, for it enabled members of the Regiment to learn thorough- ly the basic rudiments of sol- diering. Later they could con- centrate fully on being highly- trained tank crewmen. Much tribute is due to those over-age yet thoroughly - trained World War One NCOs who made the job of basic training run like clockwork. Regimental Sergeant Major Jack Barker remembered the "tank" formations demon-|' strated at Alexandra Park -- performed with civilian auto- mobiles and many a tank driver learned to "double clutch" using a piece of stick stuck in the ground. Neediess to say, inter- est picked up when in Novem- ber, the fimst group of eight offi- cers and 50 men went to the Armoured Fighting Vehicle School et Camp Borden on an introductory course. Other groups followed throughout the winter, making use of the limit- ed equipment at the birthplace of Canadian tank warfare. SGT. HIDER Attached to the Ontario's in Oshawa was a Sergeant Major Hider, from the AF'V School at Camp Borden. It was his job to ensure that a similar level of training and instruction was maintained by the Regiment to that being performed at Camp Borden. The groups of officers there under- went intensive training in tank subjects both as crewmen and instructors. The staff of the Armoured --e Vehicle School at Camp Borden shared whatever they had with tthe Ontariio's and a chose liaison was maintained at all times. Lt. Col. Frank Worthington, who commanded the School, had de- vised a method of aptitude test- ing for job designation that saved a lot of time and enabled the Regiment to get men into tthe proper tank crew slots with a minimum of dlay. When equipment did arrive for train- ing, the men were ready to start using it to best advantage. Elementary training was be- Grace Lutheran Church, Osh- jawa, will celebrate a_ special Mission Festival on Sunday, Sept. 27 The day will feature a ispecial service at 11.00 a.m. A lcongregational Pot Luck supper lat 6.00 p.m. and a special in- 1rmal "Mission service at 7.15 m, Special. guest speaker at all functions will be the Rev. Rich- and J. Neuhaus, pastor of St. John the Evangelist Lutheran Church in Brooklyn, New York. Rev. Neuhaus was born in Pembroke and served a pastor- ate 'in Massena, New York, before going to Brooklyn, His present parish is located in the Bedford - Stuvesant area of Brooklyn and is macially inte- Church Plans For Mission grated. He will stress especially the church's work in bringing the Gospel to the metropolitan "Inner City." Rev. Nauhaus is a noted pastor, lecturer, and author. He is the editor of Una Sancta magazine dedicated to) Church Renewal in a 'Word Fase Sacrament". ministry to all e Mrs. Victor Hartwig and Mrs. Robert Baier will convene: the congregational supper, and the host pastor, The Rev. Philip Fiess, will direct the day's activities. At the evening informal serv- ice Pastor Neuhaus will answer questions. and discuss the church's role, place, and stra- tegy in the field of "Inner City JOANNE KOLYNKO ROGER BERGMANN Auditorium Students Win U. Scholarships 48% Ready Civic Auditerium architect Peter Allward said Wednesday he is pleased with ya on the project, which he described as 'about 48 per cent complete." But he called the steel work 'Rough and dirty" and he took a wait-and-see attitude on the finished steel-erection date guess of Oct. 5. Original completion date was Sept. 1 this year: Some months ago the date was pushed back to Oct. 1. Since then, further revisions have placed the finish- ing date at Nov. 1 and Dec. 1. Steel erection has been delay- ed because of fabrication error and damage to the trusses which will carry the roof deck. The Auditorium board directors has ruled that the Open House be held only after every phase of the building is completed. Last night arena manager Bill Kurelo estimated it would take two weeks to "work the bugs out" of the ice-making equipment. The pour for the floor's top To Hold Meet Association will be meeting on 27th, at St. slab is scheduled for Oct. = elect It will take about 8 days to set |--unless early set concrete is ae This would cut the time approximately one< half. Brine can't be pumped through the pipes until the floor has set. This means the end of November (the middle with early set) before the ice-making equipment can even be tested. Mr. Kurelo said yesterday the UAW hockey league and two other industrial leagues have booked ice-time elsewhere because he is unable to offer definite. playing dates. three alone represent 16 hours epr week of hockey and_ice- time. PLAN DANCE Kingside Park Neighborhood Association will hold a dance at} Oshawa Airport on Saturday, September 26th at 9 p.m. A wel- come is extended to all area residents. second : ' Darlaston; secretary, Sylvia De- Hart; treasurer, Eve Eyman: directors, Wm. Angus end Harold Linton. Johi DéHart; Mrs, Eyman and Martin Darlaston have served on the L.V.R.A. since it was first formed. The L.V.R.A. was partly re- for These) the ince the formation Association, there has been a marked improvement in the area ,including vacant lots be- ing built on, storm sewers con- structed, building by-laws tight- ened on construction shacks. It is the desire of the execu- tive that a packed house will be on hand Sunday. night. BROOK TROUT WEIGHS 1] POUNDS, THREE OUNCES International champion fish- erman of industry is 33-year- old John Sharp, a mainten- ance department employee at General Motors of Canada in Oshawa. John caught this 1l- Ib., 3-0z. brook trout in a small lake east of Sudbury, Ont, World's record for brook trout stands at 14 Ibs., 8 ozs. He used spinning equipment and an eight-lb. test line bait- and Race Relations." ed with a minnow. The fish is , 30%, inches long and 19 inches around the girth. Joha entered his catch in a contest sponsored by the National In- dustrial Recreation Associa- tion, of which GM's Employ- ee Recreation Council 1s a member, Entries are award- ed points based on the 1963 World's Record for the parti- cular type of fish entered, in some 35 fresh and salt water categories. Out of the 1,000 , points' established for the brook trout world record of 14 Ibs., 8 ozs., John received 771 points for his fish, win- ning him the 'International Champion Fisherman" title for 1964. As well as the title, and gifts of fishing equipment, John leaves today for an all-expense paid sports- man's weékend on North Manitou Island in Lake Wichi- gan, ~(GM_ Photo) f

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