WE REMEMBER

MONDAY, NOVEMBER 10, 2014

SECOND BATTLE
OF YPRES

The Second Battle of Ypres, in the spring of 1915, was the first major
engagement of Canadians in the First World War. Lt-Col. John McCrae, a
doctor from Guelph with a sister in Brandon, was at the battle.
What he saw inspired him to write poetry some famous, like In
Flanders Fields, some less so, like The Anxious Dead, featured here.
McCrae would not live out the war and died of pneumonia in 1918.

However, his words live on, inspiring people nearly a century later with
their themes of duty, honour and loss.
The battle is imagined here by artist Richard Jack, in what was the
first-ever commission of the Canadian War Memorials Fund. The original
canvas, in the collection of the Canadian War Museum, is nearly six metres
wide and nearly four metres tall.
(Brandon Sun)

The Anxious Dead

by John McCrae

O guns, fall silent till the dead men hear

Above their heads the legions pressing on:
(These fought their fight in time of bitter fear,
And died not knowing how the day had gone.)
O flashing muzzles, pause, and let them see
The coming dawn that streaks the sky afar;
Then let your mighty chorus witness be
To them, and Caesar, that we still make war.
Tell them, O guns, that we have heard their call,
That we have sworn, and will not turn aside,
That we will onward till we win or fall,
That we will keep the faith for which they died.
Bid them be patient, and some day, anon,
They shall feel earth enwrapt in silence deep;
Shall greet, in wonderment, the quiet dawn,
And in content may turn them to their sleep.

We will never forget.

This year, more than ever, the men and women of our military
are on the minds of Canadians.
On Tuesday November 11th Kelleher Ford will be closed in
honour of Remembrance Day.
We extend a heartfelt thank you to all the men and women
who served, and continue to serve, Canada in the most selfless
way possible, protecting our country and our freedom. For
your sacrifice, thank you.
John Kelleher & the team at Kelleher Ford

204-728-8554
888-850-3673
www.kelleherford.com

MONDAY, NOVEMBER 10, 2014 THE BRANDON SUN

WE REMEMBER B3

Top honour from France for local WW2 vet

BY GRAEME BRUCE

A 93-year-old Manitoban
was awarded with one of
Frances highest honours
recently, for his service during
the Second World War.
Originally from Onanole,
Gordon Holmstrom who
served in the war beginning in
1943 and was part of D-Day
was given the National
Order of the Legion of Honour
(Ordre national de la Lgion
d'honneur) by the French
Government.
The Legion of Honour was
started by Napoleon Bonaparte
in 1802 and has been awarded
to several Canadian veterans
who helped liberate France
during the war.
By decree of the President
of the French Republic, reads
the translated letter from
French ambassador Philippe
Zeller, you have been named
... to the rank of Knight of the
National Order.
Holmstrom was invited to
Ottawa to receive the award in
person, but declined to travel
due to his age. He received the
gleaming medal earlier in the
fall encased in a regal red box.
Im
really,
really
appreciative, he said while
sitting in his two-bedroom
apartment in Brandon. Many
guys could have got it, I dont
know why I was picked.
The former soldier speaks

Gordon Holmstrom, 93, was awarded the Knight of the National Order of the Legion of Honour (Ordre national de la Lgion dhonneur),
one of the highest national honours in France, for his involvement in D-Day. (Graeme Bruce/Brandon Sun)

very matter-of-factly when

recalling his days overseas.
My wife said you never see
a tear in my eye, and I dont
think I ever did, and I dont
know why, just how I was
made I guess.
Holmstrom recalled several
brushes with death which

he chalked up to good luck.

His parents in Onanole
received a telegram in Oct.
1944 informing them their son
was wounded and presumed
dead. While in Holland,
Holmstrom, looking to feed
some of his hungry men, asked
a passing allied soldier carrying

five dead chickens if there was

any extra food for his unit.
Minutes later, the soldier
had his head blown off,
Holmstrom said, still to this
day unsure of what happened
it could have been a booby
trap. It was heavy blast, I dont
know what happened.

blasted soldier, so they assumed

it was Holmstrom.
The reports of his death were
greatly exaggerated, but he did
suffer serious ear damage from
the blast, taking him away from
the front lines for the duration
of the war.
That was the second time the
Flin Flon-born man cheated
death during war. He was in
France when he saw the his
entire unit die around him
following an air burst. He
climbed under the root of a tree
while the blast left the tree
limbless.
I was the only one to
survive in my unit, he said.
He recalled that day talking
to a Canadian soldier from
British Colombia who just got
word from home he became
father. The soldier picked up
booties for his newborn
daughter before he was
informed he was going to the
front lines.
Not 10 minutes after
Holmstrom met the man, he
was dead.
Ive seen so many dead
men, Holmstrom said. Its all
part of war.
I was a terribly lucky guy,
he said luck that stuck with
him through his 33-year career
in the Hudson Bay mines in
Flin Flon, where he saw nearly
100 co-workers perish.

Soon after, two medics threw

an unconscious Holmstrom in
a jeep and took him to the
hospital and when two
corporals from his unit saw
what remained of the man
holding the five chickens, they
presumed it was Holmstrom. gbruce@brandonsun.com
His unit couldnt identify the Twitter: @grjbruce

Remembering the dead, in McCraes other poetry

BY GRANT HAMILTON

Youve heard In Flanders Fields,

of course. Its not just one of the bestknown Canadian poems, and not
just one of the best-known war
poems, it might be one of the bestknown poems, period, at least in the
English-speaking world.
Sure, many people may get tripped
up on whether the poppies blow
or grow in between those famous
crosses, row on row (they blow in the
poem, though they do both in reality,
of course), and fewer people know
the pro-war third verse than who can
recite the funereal first verse.
But its still a poem that, nearly a

century after it was first printed,

continues to ring with contemporary
feeling.
In Flanders Fields was first
published anonymously in Punch
magazine, a British weekly, in late
1915, and immediately became
incredibly popular, not just among
those in the military but also with
civilians back home.
When it eventually came to light that
military surgeon John McCrae was the
one who had penned the text, he found
himself at the centre of attention, with
many soldiers requesting handwritten
copies of the poem.
But it wasnt the only verse
McCrae penned. He was an

accomplished poet, as well as being

a doctor and Lieutenant-Colonel.
Although he died of pneumonia
in early 1918, a volume of McCraes
poetry was published posthumously
the next year. Included are a number
of seldom-read poems with similar
themes.
We reprinted one of them on the
front of this section, and two others
below.
The Anxious Dead, like its more
famous sibling, deals with themes of
loss and duty.
It, too, assumes a continuing battle
and a world in which the living bear
a responsibility to the dead.
Using allusions to classical Rome,

McCrae draws a parallel between

fighting forces across the ages.
Theres no single cause, no specific
battle or war, just devotion to those
who have lain their lives down for
their comrades.
In In Flanders Fields, the poem
ends with a warning.
If ye break faith with us who die
/ We shall not sleep, McCrae wrote.
But in The Anxious Dead, he
strikes a more hopeful tone.
The entire poem is an appeal for
guns to fall silent. Not for the war to
end, not yet, but so that the dead can
hear, can know that those still
marching havent forgotten them.
In whats almost an answer to the

The Unconquered Dead

The Warrior

. . . defeated, with great loss.

Not we the conquered! Not to us the blame
Of them that flee, of them that basely yield;
Nor ours the shout of victory, the fame
Of them that vanquish in a stricken field.

He wrought in poverty, the dull grey days,

But with the night his little lamp-lit room
Was bright with battle flame, or through a haze
Of smoke that stung his eyes he heard the boom
Of Bluecher's guns; he shared Almeidas scars,
And from the close-packed deck, about to die,
Looked up and saw the Birkenheads tall spars
Weave wavering lines across the Southern sky:

That day of battle in the dusty heat

We lay and heard the bullets swish and sing
Like scythes amid the over-ripened wheat,
And we the harvest of their garnering.
Some yielded, No, not we! Not we, we swear
By these our wounds; this trench upon the hill
Where all the shell-strewn earth is seamed and bare,
Was ours to keep; and lo! we have it still.
We might have yielded, even we, but death
Came for our helper; like a sudden flood
The crashing darkness fell; our painful breath
We drew with gasps amid the choking blood.
The roar fell faint and farther off, and soon
Sank to a foolish humming in our ears,
Like crickets in the long, hot afternoon
Among the wheat fields of the olden years.
Before our eyes a boundless wall of red
Shot through by sudden streaks of jagged pain!
Then a slow-gathering darkness overhead
And rest came on us like a quiet rain.
Not we the conquered! Not to us the shame,
Who hold our earthen ramparts, nor shall cease
To hold them ever; victors we, who came
In that fierce moment to our honoured peace.

Poetry from

In Flanders Fields and Other Poems

by John McCrae
1919 edition
via Project Gutenberg at gutenberg.org

challenge and worry of In Flanders

Fields, in this poem, McCraes dead
are given a promise.
Tell them That we will keep
the faith for which they died.
And in the final stanza, the dead
earn their repose thanks to those
living who remember them.
Like In Flanders Fields, this
lesser-known poem strikes the right
tone for Remembrance Day.
Sacrifice is honoured, and the living
are reminded of their ongoing duty.
This poem, too, deserves to be
remembered.
ghamilton@brandonsun.com
Twitter: @Gramiq

Or in the stifling 'tween decks, row on row,

At Aboukir, saw how the dead men lay;
Charged with the fiercest in Busacos strife,
Brave dreams are his the flickring lamp burns low
Yet couraged for the battles of the day
He goes to stand full face to face with life.

The Harvest of the Sea

The earth grows white with harvest; all day long
The sickles gleam, until the darkness weaves
Her web of silence oer the thankful song
Of reapers bringing home the golden sheaves.
The wave tops whiten on the sea fields drear,
And men go forth at haggard dawn to reap;
But ever mid the gleaners song we hear
The half-hushed sobbing of the hearts that weep.

Disarmament
One spake amid the nations, Let us cease
From darkening with strife the fair Worlds light,
We who are great in war be great in peace.
No longer let us plead the cause by might.
But from a million British graves took birth
A silent voice the million spake as one
If ye have righted all the wrongs of earth
Lay by the sword! Its work and ours is done.

Lt-Col. John McCrae was a surgeon in the Canadian army during

the First World War, and is remembered today for his poetry. (File)

The Brandon
connection
Although he was born in Guelph, there is a Brandon
connection with Lt-Col. John McCrae.
According to history researcher Christian Cassidy, McCraes
sister married a Brandon lawyer, and they lived here for about
20 years before moving to Winnipeg in the late 1920s. McCrae
did visit his sister in Manitoba.
Today, some of that local connection remains at the Royal
Canadian Artillery Museum in Shilo.
Among their collections is an original copy of the December
1915 Punch magazine with the first publication of In
Flanders Fields, as well as a printing plate featuring his handwritten submission.
Brandon Sun

B4 THE BRANDON SUN

THE FIRST WORLD WAR 100 YEARS AGO

MONDAY, NOVEMBER 10, 2014

Brandon boys trained in the shadow of Stonehenge

BY GRANT HAMILTON

The first Nov. 11 during the

Great War was just another
day. It was a Wednesday.
No one knew that, four years
later, it would be the date of the
Armistice. No one knew that,
a 100 years later, it would still
be marked, as Remembrance
Day.
So there were obviously no
ceremonies or celebrations.
The war was just getting
underway, really.

A TRIP ACROSS

Canadian soldiers, including

those from Brandon, had sailed
from the east coast in early
October.
The Brandon boys had been
mostly kept together, on the
RMS Franconia, a nearly-new
Cunard ocean liner that had
been requisitioned by the
government for the trip.
It was one of nearly three
dozen transport ships that had
sailed from Quebec down the
Saint Lawrence River to the
Gaspe Basin and out into the
Atlantic Ocean, carrying more
than 30,000 eager recruits.
Joined by 20 warships, theyd
all been painted steel grey, the
battle color of the sea
according to an eyewitness,
even to the funnels. The
same utilitarian paint also
covered over the names of each
ship, said the witness, who was
on a U.S transport about 600
k.m. from the mouth of the
Thames when the convoy

could carry some 2,700 troops,

only 314 crew were on her
when she sank, and just 12
were lost.
On her maiden military
voyage, however, there was no
menace
from
German
submarines. The biggest bout
of excitement was when a man
doing some work on a lifeboat
on a ship just ahead lost his
grip, and slipped into the sea.
Two life belts were thrown
out, and the Franconia came
to a halt, as sirens sounded and
men rushed to the side, the
Montreal correspondent wrote.
It was the work of a few
moments to launch a boat
and [the man] was drawn in,
little the worse for his
adventure.
He was laughing when
taken aboard, and chuckling in
a quiet way at having
accomplished what the sea and
the Germans were unable to
do, namely, break the
formation of the column.
But mostly, the men did their
best to quietly pass the fortnight
until landfall. They must have
smoked a lot: cigarette supplies
ran out after two days. Except,
that is, for the hoarders whod
had the foresight to stock up.
Those wily speculators did a
brisk business selling 10 smokes
for 25 cents a huge markup
from the 10 cents for 25 that
they were generally sold for.
Candies and chocolate, too,
went quickly, leaving the men
without anything sweet to help
with the nicotine cravings.

century, because it was just

such a huge deserted area, but
nothing on the scale it
witnessed in the First World
War, said British Heritages
senior historian Paul Pattison,
in a short film produced for the
BBC.
There were hundreds of
thousands of men in South
Wiltshire in the four war years
1914-1918. It was one of the
biggest training areas in the
world, and certainly the biggest
in England.
The vast tract of land on had
been purchased by the British
Ministry of Defence in 1897,
and it was right adjacent to
Stonehenge.
Canadian troops were
among those who marched
and trained in the shadow of
the Neolithic stone monument.
At the time, Stonehenge was
on private property, owned by
a baronet. But when the
familys heir was killed in
action in 1915, they put it up
for auction.
Its said that the buyer, Sir
Cecil Chubbs, made his bid on
the historic site on a whim, and
intended it as a gift for his wife.
Its also said that she was none
too pleased with the purchase.
Hed dropped 6,600 on the
worlds biggest fixer-upper
about the equivalent of
$675,000 Canadian today.
Three years later, Chubbs
gifted Stonehenge to the British
government, with stipulations
that the entrance fee never be
increased to more than a

The RMS Franconia, a Cunard ocean liner, had been on the seas just three years when she was pressed
into service to carr troops. Men from Brandon took this ship across the Atlantic as part of the first contingent of the Canadian Expeditionary Force. (Detroit Publishing Company)

steamed past.
The line of transports, with
warships on each side for
protection, stretched for miles:
A line so long that it laid the
smudge of smoke against the
sky as far as sailors could see
to the east and west on what
was a clear and brilliantly
sunny day.
According
to
a
correspondent from the
Montreal Gazette who was
embedded with the troops on
the Franconia, it had been a
relatively uneventful voyage. To
keep the convoy together, they
had all had to travel at the
speed of the slowest ship and
that meant quite a bit of goodnatured ribbing on the
wireless.
At 10 knots, the trip took two
weeks and calm seas meant
there was no serious
seasickness. Instead, the
soldiers were kept active with
extra training.
The men are in great
shape, wrote the Gazette
reporter. By six a.m. they are
out on deck marching at the
double to the tune of Tipperary
or some other ditty which
makes up in liveliness what it
lacks in point of diction and
melody.
Bagpipes accompanied the
men as they marched and sang.
Sometimes, according to the
correspondent, they lined up in
formation. Other times, they
played games.
On board with the Brandon
boys were soldiers pets
including a bear, possibly
Winnie, and a monkey.
The trans-Atlantic trip wasnt
the last time that the Franconia
would be used to haul soldiers.
In 1915, it would be
permanently commandeered
by the British and deployed to
the Mediterranean for troop
transport. It was there, on Oct.
4, 1916, that she was torpedoed
by the german submarine
UB47, and sunk, about 300
kilometres east of Malta.
Although the Franconia

LANDFALL IN BRITAIN

When they landed, near

midnight in Plymouth, it was
without any pomp or
circumstance.
A few songs were sung as the
troops marched off the
transports and onto a series of
transport trains, but observers
in Britain were said to be
disappointed
that
the
Canadians didnt look more
exotic.
The greatest contrast
between [the English] and the
Canadians is the difference in
physique, wrote a Plymouth
correspondent
for
the
Canadian Associated Press,
the Canadians being on an
average much larger and
stronger looking than the
English.
One Canadian who didnt
impress that writer was his
competitor, the Montreal
newsboy whod come along
on the trip with the troops.
Calling him a stowaway who
was almost lost in the folds of
an army coat, the Plymouth
writer nonetheless noted
approvingly
that
the
Montrealer was gamely
struggling to learn the bugle,
with hopes of thus making it to
the front.
Once on trains so full they
had to be pulled with traction
engines the troops were
taken 200 k.m. to Salisbury,
and then another 25-30 k.m. to
waiting camps set up for them
on Salisbury Plain.
The camps were described as
comfortable, with woodenfloored tents and straw-filled
mattresses. But troops had to
get used to the rainy English
weather.

IN THE SHADOW
OF STONEHENGE

shilling (an adult walk-up ticket

is now 13.90, or about $25)
and that locals be granted free
access forever (still in force,
although they are now limited
in the number of friends who
can accompany them).
In 1914, however, tourist
development of the monument
was nothing like it is now.
Brandon soldiers on their
training marches would have
seen a monument much less
restored than visitors do today.
Many of the stones were
propped up with huge posts
despite which, one of the
upright stones and its lintel had
toppled in 1900, although it
had been re-erected a year later.
The stones proved popular!
Before the war they were open
for the public for a small fee,
and that fee was reduced
during the war, so that soldiers
could go and visit and lots
of them did, Pattison told the

Men from the 10th Battalion, Canadian Expeditionary Force, march past Stonehenge during training
for the First World War. The massive fields of Salisbury Plain, described as Canada-like in their terrain
but not so much in their weather, were turned into an enormous training camp between 191418.
(Library and Archives Canada)

BBC.
And
actually
Stonehenge
becomes
something of a symbol for
them, something that is
distinctly British and that is
ancient, which they could hold
on to.

AN EXPENSIVE RIDE

Few of the Brandon

contingent had actually been
born in Canada. For many of
the men, signing up for war
also gave them a chance ftovisit
with friends and family at
home.
However, the vastness of the
plains, and the camps distance
from Salisbury itself, meant
some couldnt afford it.
One officer complained that
a return trip ran as much as
$25. A reporter said that it had
cost him $10 for a return trip,
including a stop of a couple of
hours. That would be the
equivalent of more than $200
today. The officer was out the
equivalent of nearly $525.
Aside from family visits,
there were several supplies that
soliders couldnt get in camp
that could only be obtained in
Salisbury.
Along with sweets and
patent medicines to deal
with coughs and colds, for the
first few weeks, the city of
Salisbury was the only place
where soldiers could get a
drink.
The citys three pubs were
crammed full at least until
the camp director bowed to the
obvious and allowed beer sales
at canteens on site.
The decision was greeted
with cheers.

THE NEWS AT HOME

Meanwhile,
back
in
Brandon, war news continued
to dominate the front pages of
the Brandon Daily Sun.
But war notes began to take
on a personal tone, as well.
In late October, a small item
noted that a former Brandonite
once a bank manager, with
a large number of friends still
in the city had ended up in
India, and had joined the Ninth
Ghurkas. Now, it was reported,
he was at the front.
Just one column over, on the
same day, another note brought
news of perhaps the first local
link to a prisoner of war.
Few details were given, but
it was said that G.F. Oglesby,
whose brother lived on First

Street, had been taken prisoner

by the Germans while in
charge of an African station for
a British firm.
Elsewhere in the city, signups
were being taken for an
expected second contingent of
soliders once again, many
showed up. They trained
repeatedly, with marches and
sham battles at the municipal
golf course, while waiting for
official word calling them up.
They left with much less
fanfare in early November.
Women had pitched in to
knit gloves and scarves for the
soldiers, to collect money for
the patriotic fund, and to
organize toys and other
Christmas gifts for children
whose fathers were away.
The general business of the
city continued, with aldermen
and the mayor at odds over
things like bureaucrats salaries
and consultants reports.
Drunks and thieves made
their regular procession
through the police court but
there were notably fewer
vagrants.
War news ebbed and flowed
with the battles, although
judging by the headlines it was
almost entirely good news for
the British and terrible reversals
for the Germans.
In reality, of course,
thousands were being killed in
near-stalemates like the First
Battle of Ypres.
By coincidence, the headlines
on that first Nov. 11, a century
ago, struck a hopeful note.
Proposals of peace, read
the banner text across the front
page.
It wasnt to be, of course. But
as it turned out, Nov. 11 did
prove a notable day in local war
news.
Not only did the Brandon
Daily Sun feature a large profile
on Canada at war, and what
that meant to Brandon a
feature whose style wouldnt
have been out of place in future
Remembrance Day editions
but it was the day that a large
packet of letters arrived,
including some news of a
somewhat sobering nature.
Fireman George Watson, a
Scot by birth, had been one of
the first to leave Brandon for
the war, departing on Aug. 18
and heading back to his native
land to rejoin the Gordon
Highlands, a unit hed been
part of before.

While fighting in France in

mid-October, hed been
wounded in the foot. News had
reached Brandon later that
month of what was perhaps the
first local fellow whod been
injured in battle, but details had
been slim.
On Nov. 11, 1914, however,
nearly a month after his injury,
a letter to the fire chief arrived
back in Brandon from fireman
Watson.
Now that he was in hospital,
at the Royal Infirmary in
Edinburgh, he wrote, he was
able to tell the tale a little more
freely.
The fight, at Bthune, in
northern France near the
border with Belgium, had
lasted three days, the letter said,
and Watson had been
wounded on the afternoon of
the last day.
I went through six battles
and I was beginning to think
they could not hit me but I
found my mistake, Watson
wrote. A piece of shell had
gone through his left foot, and
hed had to lay still for hours,
until he could be evacuated in
the dark, lest the Germans fire
on those trying to help him.
Once back from the firing
line, he wrote that hed been
quickly taken back to Scotland.
He also noted how lucky
hed been.
It is a bit rough in France,
and the Gordons get it badly,
he wrote. After the battle of
Cambrai out of out of eleven
hundred next morning one
hundred and seventy answered
their names
A sergeant of our own lot
got hit in the shoulder just over
from me and when they went
for him after dark they found
him pinned up against a tree
with his bayonet through him.
It was news that maybe
should have been sent right
back to Britain. Also in the
mailbag that day were letters
from almost every man that
went from Brandon, who
were still training in Salisbury.
The boys are having the
time of their lives, reported the
Sun. In practically every letter,
however, is a reference to the
anxiety to get to the scene of
conflict.
They were just months away.
ghamilton@brandonsun.com
Twitter: @Gramiq

Canadians were joining

troops from other British
territories at the huge camp.
Salisbury Plain had been
used by the military actually This large feature package ran in the Brandon Daily Sun on Nov. 11 in 1914 before anyone could have known the significance of that
since the end of the 19th date. Coincidentally, it happens to be an appropriate summing up of the Canadian war response: of duty, honour and sacrifice. (File)

MONDAY, NOVEMBER 10, 2014

THE FIRST WORLD WAR 100 YEARS AGO

THE BRANDON SUN B5

Dauphin-born William (Billy) Barker poses with an airplane in this undated photo. The First World War ace and recipient of the
Victoria Cross was an early pioneer of aerial battle tactics during the war. Hed taken up flying to get out of the trenches, having
signed up as a calvaryman but finding little use for horses on the battlefields of Europe. (File)
ABOVE AND BELOW, INSET TO ARTICLE: These front-page clippings from the Brandon Daily Sun in October 1914 are typical of
several articles about the unexplained flying ship that coursed about
the city multiple times in the early mornings and late evenings. The
sightings were often given write-ups in the newspaper, quoting credible witnesses, but the owner or flyer of the aircraft was never tracked
lights or late evening ones.
down (Manitobia.ca/Brandon Sun)

1914s mysterious aeroplane

BY GRANT HAMILTON

It had been less than a dozen

years since brother Orville and
Wilbur Wright had made the
first powered flight, and it had
taken years more for the Ohio
bicycle manufacturers to
establish their legitimacy and to
perfect their machines.
So in 1914, although biplanes
and
monoplanes
were
beginning to make some stir in
military circles, especially for
forward observation, most
airships were still of the
unpowered variety mainly
the hydrogen-filled blimps that
were, even generically, then
called Zeppelins.
But there were powered
planes in the air. And Brandon
Daily Sun readers would have
read of the first attempts of
anti-aircraft attacks on powered
planes in early fall of 1914.
A couple of years earlier, in
1912, demonstrations of the
first-ever powered airplane
flight in Westman had thrilled
visitors to the Interprovincial
Fair with twice-daily flights.
And within a couple of years,
pretty much everyone would
know of the exploits of
Dauphin flying ace Billy Barker.

But at the time, a plane was

buzzing around Brandon, and
no one seemed to know
anything about it. It was frontpage news several times, over
the course of more than six
weeks. Reports regularly
quoted eyewitnesses and gave
detailed itineraries of the
aeroplane as it veered back
and forth around the city
and at least as far afield as
Kemnay.
From his verandah, Dr. A.
McFadden,
then
superintendent of the Hospital
for the Insane on the North
Hill, told of a bright light with
a distinct engine noise
approaching from the south
along First Street.
When it reached the CPR
bridge over the Assiniboine
River, the Daily Sun reported,
the doctor heard a shot fired
from that vicinity and noticed
the machine take an upward
sweep.
Another doctor, living in the
east
end,
corroborated
McFaddens story, and said he
was so close he could see a
mans figure guiding the
machine.
Readers poured into the
paper with similar stories.

Often, the plane was reported

to be carrying a light and
moving quickly. Sometimes, it
disappeared quickly, leaving
only perplexed Brandonites
behind.
The first apparent report of
the flying machine was Aug.
18, 1914, when an early-rising
baker spotted the ship around
3:30 a.m.
Some speculated that it was
the work of an advertiser, but
if so it was not a very effective
one, since by mid-November
that year, the mysterious
airship was a semi-regular
feature of the Brandon Daily
Sun but readers were no
closer to learning where it was
from, where it was going, or
who was piloting it.
After that, news reports
began to peter out.
A man living at Patmores
nurseries on 18th Street North
saw it in mid-January 1915,
and his tale was backed up by
other witnesses.
There seemed to be no
reports the rest of the year,
except perhaps an unrelated
one, in November 1915.

At 5 a.m. a few mornings

later, people living near the
corner of Sixth Street and
College Avenue said that an
aeroplane had made a very
low pass over the city.
One man named Taylor is
reported to have got his gun to
fire at the machine but it passed
out of range too quickly, the
paper reported.
The pilot seems to have been ghamilton@brandonsun.com
fond of either early-morning Twitter: @Gramiq

www.commissionaires.mb.ca

TO OUR VETERANS, THANK YOU

Commissionaires Manitoba. Employing veterans since 1938.

Cliff Cullen

Reg Helwer

Doyle Piwniuk

MLA Spruce Woods

MLA Brandon West

MLA Arthur-Virden

Glenboro, MB R0K 0X0

204-827-3956
cliff.cullen@leg.gov.mb.ca

Brandon, MB R7A 5A3

204-728-2410
reg.helwer@leg.gov.mb.ca

Virden, MB R0M 2C0

204-748-6443
doyle.piwniuk@leg.gov.mb.ca

Honouring
Veterans
Your Members
of the
Manitoba
Legislature

Leanne Rowat

Stu Briese

MLA Riding Mountain

MLA Agassiz

Minnedosa, MB R0J 1E0

204-867-2297
leanne.rowat@leg.gov.mb.ca

Neepawa, MB R0J 1H0

204-476-3736
stuart.briese@leg.gov.mb.ca

THANK YOU
FOR YOUR
SERVICE AND SACRIFICE.

Honouring our heroes

from the past and present

BRANDON
Medical Centre Pharmacy
146-6th St.
Super Thrifty Pharmacy
1100 Richmond Ave.
Home Health Care Pharmacy
3000 Victoria Ave.
Melita
Dauphin
Morris
Rivers
Hamiota
Virden
The Pas Ste. Rose du Lac
Selkirk
Rocanville, SK

Colleen Wiebe, B.Sc., M.Sc.

Clinical Audiologist
42 McTavish Avenue East
1st Street Plaza Brandon, MB

204-727-HEAR [4327]
Toll-Free 1-888-720-4327
204-727-0694

Lest We
Forget

www.brockiedonovan.com

Specializing in Heavy Duty

Equipment Radiators

IMAGINE. DESIGN. EXPERIENCE.

KITCHENS, BATHROOMS, CUSTOM CABINETS & DESIGN

204-728-3100

204.727.1016 | BRANDON, MB
info@infinitykitchenandbath.ca

REMEMBRANCE DAY
NOVEMBER 11

MAPLE LEAF

www.infinitykitchenandbath.ca

SHOWROOM

1602 Parker Blvd

65TH ST. E.
(4 KM)

The Poppy Campaign

Donations made to our Brandon
Community from the proceeds of the
Poppy and Wreath Campaign:

Tuesday Service
10:40 A.M.
Westman Communications Place

$1,700.00

Valleyview Personal Care Home

$4,899.00

St. John Ambulance

$1,995.00

Prairie Mountain Health

$5,088.00

Fairview Home

$2,200.00

Dinsdale Personal Care Home

in the Keystone Centre

$2,300.00

Brandon Fire Department

$5,000.00

Bursary (2)

Service conducted by
Comrade Garry Andrew, Poppy Chairman,
assisted by Sgt. at Arms Maureen Farrant.

TOTAL ..................................................

Garry Andrew, R.C.L. #3, and Veteran Roy Pierunek, R.C.L. #247, made a presentation
from the Joint Poppy Fund to Barbara Blake and Fred Saunders of Brandon Civic Senior
Citizens (Prairie Oasis) in the amount of $1,000.00 to assist veterans. Also taking part
in the presentation was Veteran Darcy Plante.

$754.34

Rideau Park Personal Care

$1,000.00 ea

Poppy funds can be used for low-rental housing

and care facilities for elderly or disabled
persons and their dependents, community
medical appliances and medical research, day
care centres, meals-on-wheels, transportation
and related services for veterans, their
dependents and the aged.

The poppy is our emblem of supreme sacrifice; it

is the symbol of Remebrance. When you wear a
poppy or display a wreath you honour the war
dead and help ex-service personnel and their
dependents. Assistance may include food,
shelter or medical attention for them or their
families. Also, bursaries are granted to children
and grandchildren of ex-service personnel.

Visit our website at www.legion.ca

25,936.34

All money raised in Brandon stays in Brandon!

These donations were for various pieces of medical
equipment such as patient lifts, oxygen monitors,
stretchers, vital sign monitors, etc. All are designed to aid
in the comfort and well being of our Veterans in the
various Health Care facilities throughout the city.

Guest Speaker Lt. Col. S.D. Stephen Joudrey

Base Commander CFB Shilo

10 Victoria Ave. E., Brandon

ALL MONEY COLLECTED

IN THE COMMUNITY
STAYS IN THE COMMUNITY.

Brandon Civic Senior Citizens Inc. $1,000.00

Hillcrest Place

Call today to
book a tour.

204-571-6000

RICHMOND AVE. E.

Cleaning, Repairing or Replacing

Radiators, Oil Coolers, Gas Tanks
& Heaters

We acknowledge the
contributions of our
Canadian Military
and Veterans

Thank you to all our veterans

for their service past
and present.

We remember,
and salute all of
those who fought
and worked for
freedom.

Full Automotive Service

827 18th Street 204-727-5823

www.greatcanadianoilchange.com

Visit us at www.superthrifty.com

www.brandonadvancedhearing.com

Government Safety Inspection

Lest We
Forget

Rayna Poirier, Recreation Manager of Hillcrst Place received a cheque for $1,700.00
for the purchase of two Oxygen Concentrators. Making the presentation are Garry
Andrew, R.C.L. #3 and Veteran Roy Pierunek, R.C.L. #247 on behalf of the Joint Poppy
Fund. Looking on is Veteran Nick Shadlock.

We Remember

204-729-9042
Brandon General Museum & Archives, Inc.
19 9th Street, Brandon

In Remembrance

A Salute to Veterans
and to all Armed Forces
serving everywhere
in the world.

Lest We Forget

Unit 10 99 18th St. Brandon

204-763-8998

www.westmanaerial.com

Were All About Community

Lest We Forget
Thank You to all Canadians,
Young and Old, Near and Far,
who protect our country, and the
freedom of others, around the world.
We honour and remember you.

Westmans First Choice for Personalized

& Professional Home Health Care
Home Care
Respite Care
Nursing Services
Housekeeping/Laundry
Bathing Assistance
Medical Distribution
And Much More

24 Hours A Day, 365 Days A Year

Lest We Forget

204 725 0245

People You Can Trust Caring For People You Love

Lest We Forget
620 A Richmond Ave. East, Brandon
204-727-0733 www.overlandwaste.ca

Commercial/Industrial Collection
Residential Collection
Roll-Off Containers Recycling Pick-Up

WEST END

Fences
Decks
Interlock Patio
Walkway
Driveways
Sod & Grading
and much more

3409 Victoria Avenue

Brandon, MB 204-727-3431
204-720-2142 imagebrandon@gmail.com

Lest We Forget

Our deepest
gratitude
for all the
sacrifices made

Lest We Forget
204.571.4111

848 18th Street 727.3263 www.brandonphoto.com

30518th Street North, Brandon

FOR FAST RELIABLE SAME DAY

SERVICE CALL

204-727-6556

In Flanders fields the poppies blows

Between the crosses, row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.

3130 Victoria Ave. Brandon, MB

(204) 728-5775 1-800-852-2709

We Shall
Not
Forget

We remember those
who fought and continue to fight
for our freedom.
ELECTRICAL MAINTENANCE
RESIDENTIAL COTTAGES RENOVATIONS
NO JOB IS
TOO SMALL

2626 Victoria Avenue, Brandon, MB

NOW SERVING RURAL MANITOBA

www.gianttiger.com

Canad Inns
Destination
Centre
Brandon
1125 18 Street
canadinns.com 204-727-1422
th

21 Main Street North | Melita, MB

204-522-3361 | www.redpathfuneralhome.com

Saluting our
Canadian
Soldiers and
remembering
those who
fought

1655 18th Street, Brandon

(204) 728-5801
J. Grant Wallace Ltd.
Light Medium
& Heavy Towing
..........
Local & Long
Distance Hauling

We remember and thank

all those who have served.

304 Pacific Ave., Brandon

204-728-0033 www.gvac.ca
HOURS:
Mon. & Fri., 7:30 am 5 pm;
Tues., Wed. & Thurs.y, 7:30 am 8 pm;
Saturday, 9 am 5 pm

Our freedom that they fought for

is their monument today.
We will never forget
their sacrifice.

LOCK OUTS TIRE CHANGES

FUEL DELIVERIES BOOSTING

Brandon Branch
811-18th Street North
(204) 729-3400

www.acceltowing.ca

(204) 728-2580 1-888-728-2580

24
HOURS

Thanks, We Appreciate Your Business!

Lest
we
forget
CUSTOM STEEL, STAINLESS STEEL
& ALUMINUM FABRICATION

Quenching peoples thirst one bottle

at a time, and esuring the purest
water possible!

Toll Free 1-866-768-4847 | 204-729-8844

1040 26th Street, Brandon | bluemoonwaterinc.com
Mon. Fri. 9 5:30; Sat. 10 4

BRANDON SOUTH
B 1645 18th Street
Brandon, MB 204-726-5255

Brandon
Cleaners

Stock Stainless Steel Aluminum and Steel

Angle, Plate, Square & Round Tubing
Flat Bar Expanded Metal & Sheets

349 9th Street

204-571-3033

1110 McGregor Ave. 726-8081

In Remembrance
Brandon Sewing Centre
821 Princess Ave., Brandon
204-727-2752

MONDAY, NOVEMBER 10, 2014

THE SECOND WORLD WAR 75 YEARS AGO

THE BRANDON SUN B9

Peril of repeated war not lost on locals

BY GRANT HAMILTON

In 1939, Remembrance Day

was cancelled.
Not in Brandon, but in
London, where the gathering
of large crowds was deemed
to be too risky, too tempting a
target for Germany.
But the decision drove home
to Brandon residents the
seriousness of the situation in
Europe.
Unlike a quarter-century
earlier, the ramp-up to the
Second World War had been
slow in Brandon, almost
sedate.
Certainly, there were civic
discussions about getting the
city ready for war. There were
many who still remembered
what would be needed, and
the city knew that it would
have to provide for masses of
soldiers.
Artillerymen were already
moving into one downtown
block, and the city bought
another to house the legion.
Meanwhile, with eyes on
plans that were being floated
to train Allied flyers at bases
in Canada and Australia, city
aldermen were trying to secure
the Brandon airport in their
own hands.
Mostly, news 75 years ago in
Brandon revolved around
exactly that sort of municipal
minutiae.
If it werent for the air
training plan, the city was still
going to pursue federal money
to expand its terminal and the
flying field a brand-new
national airline, Trans-Canada
Air Lines, had just been
launched.
They were flying 10passenger Lockheed 14s and
they had 15 of them, linking
most of the nation together in
a line from Montreal to
Vancouver, a trip that took 17
hours, with stops in Toronto,
North Bay, Kapuskasing,
Winnipeg, Regina and
Lethbridge.
The plan was for feeder
lines connecting Calgary to
Lethbridge and Ottawa to
Toronto and Brandon
wanted to be a stop on the Flin
Flon feeder line to Winnipeg.
But Brandons city fathers
also wanted to spend money
on upgraded Assiniboine
River dams including one
near Third Street to help create
a beach at First Street.
Fears that the city would be
liable for any future floods (the
back-to-back floods of 1922
and 23 were still relatively fresh
in peoples minds) put that
scheme on the back burner.
Not put to the side at
least, until winter forced them
to were the extensive road
works being done through the
city and in the region.
Rosser Avenue had been
completely redone, and
hardsurfacing was being
completed on Highway 10
nearly to Riding Mountain
and on Highway 1 west of
Brandon.
It was said that Brandon
would soon be the home of a
regional office for the
Manitoba Good Roads
Association.
The city and businessmen
were united in pressing for
more, faster, better roads next
year, and they said the war
would only make it more
necessary as fewer people
would be taking vacations to
Europe, theyd be looking
closer to home.
Riding Mountain was
already coming off a recordsetting year 122,880 visitors
and improvements were
planned for the golf course
and for Lake Audy.
Not everything was rosy.
There were still concerns
about city finances, but there
was a building boom, and the
books were gradually getting
better after the worst of the
1930s.
A municipal election was
coming later in the month,
with voters to get five ballots
one for mayor, andother for
alderman and three for school
board candidates. At least two
people were planning to run
for mayor.
The city was in a position to

LEFT: On Remembrance Day

1939, there was no doubt that
the promises of 1918 hadnt
been able to be fulfilled.
This feature graphically drew
parallels and contrasts between
the end of the Great War, when
people vowed it will never, it
must never, happen again,
and the current conflict.

BELOW LEFT: There was no

doubt that the Nazi regime was
worth going to war to stop.
Graphic details contained in a
British white paper made the
horrors of concentration camps
clear.

(Brandon Daily Sun Files)

World knew already

of Nazi horrors
BY GRANT HAMILTON

If all you knew of the

Second World War came from
Hollywood, you might be
under the impression that
Allied soliders were shocked,
in 1945, to uncover the depths
of
depravity
in
Axis
concentration camps.
It does make for a good
ending. By the end of a twohour war film, generally there
have been hundreds of deaths,
with dozens in close-up. It is
good to remind the audience
that the soldiers they were
cheering for were killing
because they had to.
Filming their reactions as

one of shock drives home the

emotional point, as well,
visually reinforcing the horror
of the Holocaust.
And probably many of those
liberating troops tuly were
shocked, to see and to hear,
to touch, even to smell the
actual physical horrors of
places like Dachau and
Buchenwald.
But not everyone was
surprised.
Details of the Nazi
concentration camps were
filtering out into the press, even
in Brandon, as early as
November 1939.
The atrocities were covered
in a British white paper, and
some of them were printed in
the Brandon Daily Sun.
Certain things that are
common knowledge now, like
the sheer scale of the attempted
genocide, werent clear. But the
cruelty was.
Calling the Nazi regime
reminiscent of the darkest
ages of the history of man, the
story in the Sun detailed
random floggings, lootings and
public beatings of Jews, along
with
other
fiendish
manifestations of sadism.
Jews werent allowed to be
sick only dead and

couldnt even lie on their backs,

only their sides.
The document was almost
kept secret, its contents deemed
so repugnant that it was
feared they would serve only to
inspire hatred. They were
released, though, to counteract
unscrupulous propaganda.
It told of prisoners in
concentration camps being
tightly bound to a tree trunk in
a hugging position as
punishment so tight that
they could barely move, yet
forced to shuffle around and
around, with guards kicking at
their ankles if they moved too
slowly.
Another version of tree
binding was often fatal.
Prisoners would be bound face
out, with their arms pulled
back around the trunk and tied
together. Thighs and feet would
also be tied, tight enough to cut
off circulation, and prisoners
would be left hanging there for
hours.
Many, the report said,
ended their sufferings by
pretending to attempt to escape
in order to be shot down.
ghamilton@brandonsun.com
Twitter: @Gramiq

ABOVE: Poppies were sold on

just a single day in Brandon
back in 1939, a Saturday that
was exactly a week before
Remembrance Day.
That year was a banner year for
local poppy sales, with Brandonites giving more than ever
to the collectors.
NEAR RIGHT: In the early
months of the Second World
War, the Red Cross was trying
to raise $3 million, for hospitals, medical equipment,
ambulances, food and comfort,
and other war relief.
FAR RIGHT: A simple cross,
some quotes from In Flanders
Fields, and plenty of poppies
this Remembrance Day ad
would almost be at home if
printed today.

(Brandon Daily Sun Files)

open its public library for the

first time there were 2,000
volumes in a room at City
Hall, and theyd be available
to borrow at no charge every
afternoon and evening except
Sunday.
Meanwhile, despite the war,
and despite rumours, planning
for the Winter Fair was well
underway. It wouldnt be
cancelled, no matter what the
other paper reported, said
the Sun. It would just be
trimmed back a little bit, since
some of its space would be
needed by the military.

More military concerns

came to the forefront again for
Nov. 11.
Poppy Day a week prior
to Remembrance Day itself
was the best-ever in Brandon,
as news of the war tugged
Brandon
hearts
and
pocketbooks.
Schools observed their
remembrance ceremonies on
Friday, Nov. 10, with the rest
of the city coming together on
Saturday.
Like this year, there was
discussion in 1939 about how
much of a holiday it should be,

but in the end, stores in

Brandon were allowed to open
for a half day.
Too much: The holiday
should be more of a holy
day, opined the editorialists
of the Sun.
Some others, however,
questioned
whether
Remembrance Day should
continue at all, given that the
post-war peace that was
supposed to be honoured had
failed.
But in the end, Nov. 11 was
marked with gusto.
With newly signed-up

soliders joining Great War

veterans in uniform, the
crowds were larger than ever
before in Brandon.
The auditorium was far too
small to accommodate the
citizens who wanted to
attend, the Sun reported, but
they wrote of the scene.
A large graned scene of
France, battle-scarred by
showing a profusion of
poppies growing in the
foreground, provided the main
setting. A flag at hald-mast
droped until the Reveille was
sounded, when it went to the

top and flutter in the breeze.

During the two minutes of
silence, poppies fell from
above, while for the sounding
of both the Last Post and
Reveille, the figure of the
bugler could be seen through
the entire background under a
most effective lighting plan.
Attendees were solemnly
reminded to put right what is
wrong in (their) own lives and
so help free our country from
greed, fear and hate.
ghamilton@brandonsun.com
Twitter: @Gramiq

B10 THE BRANDON SUN

THE SECOND WORLD WAR 75 YEARS AGO

MONDAY, NOVEMBER 10, 2014

TESTING PREDICTIONS
The stars seemed clear: 1940 would not go well for Germany. Add in the planets, and things didnt look so good for Mussolini, ether. According to the stargazers at Old Moores Almanac, the war would look
pretty bad for a spell around June 21, 1940, but all would go right after that and the international danger should improve. It wouldnt improve for dictators, though at least one was predicted to lose
their power, and Mussolinis horoscope suggested it would be him. Needless to say, the war predictions turned out off.
Also poorly predicted was the 1940 Canadian federal election. The stars said William Lyon Mackenzie King would go down in defeat, and a new Conservative government would bring in pay boosts for the
working girl. Instead, Mackenzie King went on victory in 1940, 1945, and his Liberals won two additional terms after that before the Conservatives got in. (Brandon Daily Sun files)

Waging the war on Public Enemy No. 1 Fire?

BY GRANT HAMILTON

Hitlers armies may have

been steamrolling across
Europe, but the Brandon Board
of Trade knew who the real
enemy was in the fall of 1939.
And they pulled out all the
stops to whip up public
sentiment to win the battle
against fire.
Yes, fire.
While Fire Prevention Week
may be a relatively sedate affair
these days, with reminders to
change your smoke detector
batteries and to not leave
candles burning unattended,
the same campaign 75 years
ago was waged with no holds
barred.
In the pages of the Brandon
Daily Sun, ad after terrifying
ad portrayed fire itself as a
Lucifer-like figure, ready at any
moment to consume your
home and also probably your
loved ones.
The crusade may have
peaked during early October,
during Fire Prevention Week
itself, but the public notices
were stretched out much
longer.
Along with the graphic
advertising, columns of text
were devoted to the horrors of
fire.
Twenty-five lives were lost
by fire in Manitoba the year
before, according to bureau of
labour statistics and the
blazes cost more than $1
million in damages. Thats the
equivalent of $22 million today.
This year special
emphasis is being placed on the
inspection of dwellings,
editorialized the paper, and
you may expect a visit from
local firemen.
Several groups in particular

were singled out for notice as

fire hazards including those
who were attempting some
home dry-cleaning.
Gasoline should never be
used in the house for dry
cleaning purposes, the paper
warned. Even the very act of
cleaning clothes in gasoline
develops static electricity which
is liable to set off the fumes
without warning. This has
often happened too when
floors are cleaned with
gasoline.
Also cited for censure were
people who didnt clear rubbish
out of their closets, and the
sublime indifference of
smokers.

Smoking was a particular

worry since women were
starting to take up the habit.
The question arises, are
women more careless than
men in the matter of
smoking? the paper asked.
Unfortunately, there are no
statistics to enlighten us on that
score.
There were some statistics
that showed careless smoking
was responsible for more fires
than anything else in Canada
a more than fourfold
increase over the past decade.
Perhaps the scary drawings
were needed.
ghamilton@brandonsun.com
Twitter: @Gramiq

A series of frightening ads ran

in late 1939 for Fire Prevention
Week, coupled with plenty of
scary statistics in associated
articles.
Despite the raging war in
Europe a war that Brandon
knew it would be joining very
soon the ad campaign stuck
with identifying carelessness
causing fires as Your Worst
Enemy.

(Brandon Daily Sun Files)

MONDAY, NOVEMBER 10, 2014

THE SECOND WORLD WAR 75 YEARS AGO

CKX aired
services on
the radio

How
much
would
WW2
troops
earn?
In early November 1939, the
Brandon Daily Sun printed pay
scales for active soldiers about
to head to the Second World
War noting that it was
higher than it had been in the
Great War.
Here is what soldiers earned
per day, in that early winter of
1939, along with what the
equivalent amounts would be
in 2014, based on the Bank of
Canadas online Inflation
Calculator.

THE BRANDON SUN B11

New uniforms were unveiled for the new war, with Canadian officers told to mothball their dress
uniforms, and enlisted men informed theyd get new battle rompers. A notable difference was the
disappearance of the puttees (lower leg wraps) but the new uniforms were also said to be more comfortable overall. The only exception to the new dress? Kilted regiments. This handout photo appeared
in a late October 1939 edition of the Brandon Daily Sun. (File)

Rank
1939 rate equivalent today
Lieutenant-Colonel ......................$10.00.....................$165.50
Major ...........................................$7.75.....................$128.25
Captain.........................................$6.50.....................$107.50
Lieutenant ....................................$5.00.......................$82.75
Regimental sergeant-major .............$4.20.......................$69.50
All other warrant officers,
Class 1 ..........................................$3.90.......................$64.50
Regimental quarter-master-sergeant,
staff quartermaster-sergeant,
quartermaster-sergeant ...................$3.10.......................$51.50
Squadron, battery or
company sergeant-major.................$3.00 ...........................$50
Squadron, battery or company
quartermaster sergeant ...................$2.50.......................$41.50
Staff sergeant, sergeant ..................$2.20.......................$36.50
Lance-sergeant...............................$1.90.......................$31.50
Corporal or bombardier..................$1.70 ...........................$28
Lance-corporal or
lance-bombardier ...........................$1.50 ...........................$25
Trooper, sapper, gunner, driver, private,
trumpeter, bugler or drummer.........$1.30.......................$21.50

With commercially available

television years away CKXTV would first go on the air in
Brandon in early 1955
newshounds in Brandon had to
choose between their eyes and
their ears.
Along with newsprint, there
were several AM radio stations
for listeners to choose from.
Lists of radio programming
were printed in the Brandon
Daily Sun, much like TV guide
grids are printed today.
People could choose between
CKX, at 1120 on the dial, CBK
(a CBC affiliate) at 540, and
KFYR, at neighbouring 550.
Local CKX broadcast the
Remembrance Day service in
1939. Here, at right, is what
else was on the radio waves
that day.
Brandon Sun

These rates didnt include monthly allowances for dependents,

nor any payments for the soldiers food or clothing. A soldier
with dependents had to issue at least 15 days salary a month to
them.
Rank
1939 rate equivalent today
Above major.....................................$60 .........................$995
Major ..............................................$55 .........................$910
Captain ...........................................$50 .........................$830
Lieutenant .......................................$45 .........................$745
Warrant officer, Class 1.....................$40 .........................$660
All other ranks..................................$35 .........................$580

Having children also brought an additional payment of $12 a

month (the equivalent of about $200 today).
Officers were given $150 for clothing upon their appointment
to active service, a one-time payment worth about $2,500 today.
Enlisted men were issued uniforms.
Anyone not receiving rations was entitled to 50 cents a day
(worth $8.25 today) and officers who werent living in camp
could earn $1.70 (a little more than $28) to afford room and
board. Non-officers were entitled to 85 cents (a little more than
$14).
Pay was issued in cash on the
Special services, including medical and dental officers of some
15th and last day of the month.
ranks, earned more:
Rank
1939 rate equivalent today
Lieutenant-Colonel ......................$11.00 .........................$180 Brandon Sun
Major ...........................................$9.25 .........................$155
Captain.........................................$7.50 .........................$125
Lieutenant ....................................$5.00 ...........................$83

Lest We Forget
We honour and respect our
fallen soldiers who gave their lives
for our freedom.
In Remembrance,
Mayor and Councillors
City of Brandon

WWII Air Museum

& Memorial

Open House
TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 11
1:00 4:00 p.m.

2:00 p.m. 10 minute presentation "Are Monuments Important?

and a showing of the 45 minute WCGTV video of our
September 10th memorial unveiling.

Hanger #1, Brandon Airport

204-727-2444
airmuseum.ca | airmuseum@inetlink.ca

We Will Not Forget

HERITAGE CO-OP
with locations in Minnedosa,
Brandon, Wawanesa, Erickson
& Sandy Lake

To the men and women

currently serving in
Canadas Armed Forces
and to our Veterans,
thank you for your sacrifices.
Glen Kirkland
Team Kirkland
Royal LePage