Showing 286 results

William F. Thompson was born November 10, 1931 to Canadian parents living in Detroit Michigan USA. When his father lost his job due to the depression the family moved back to Ontario, to farm in the southern Georgian Bay area. With the outbreak of the Korean War in June 1950 he enlisted in the regular army for a three year term. When Private Thompson completed basic training at Camp Borden he was given a choice of the three airborne regiments, the Royal Canadian Regiment, the PPCLI or the Royal 22nd Regiment. He opted for the Patricias, went to Currie Barracks in Calgary and was assigned to the First Battalion, A Company where he remained until his release from the army. Training continued through the winter of 1950-1951 in Calgary and Vernon BC. In the spring Thompson went to Camp Rivers and Camp Shilo in Manitoba for jump training and was awarded the Canadian Parachute Badge on June 20, 1951. He returned to Currie Barracks in Calgary and continued with more training until in September 1951, following embarkation leave, he embarked for Korea with the Battalion from Seattle Washington. In October 1951 the First Battalion took over the Second Battalion's position on the front line in Korea. After a year in Korea, the First Battalion was relieved by the Third Battalion in the fall of 1952. The hostilities continued until the cease-fire on July 27, 1953. Thompson stayed in the army until completion of his three year term on August 3, 1953 during which time he did some more training, including two more jumps. Upon his release he was awarded the Korea Medal and the United Nations Service Medal for Korea. 39 years later, on June 5, 1992, he was awarded the Canadian Volunteer Medal for Korea. After his release from the army in August 1953, William Thompson was employed with Ontario Hydro and eventually became a Journeyman lineman. He returned to Michigan and worked for the power company there until retirement in 1993. Since retirement, he joined the Korea Veterans Association, Unit 23, Brampton Ontario.

F40175596 MCpl Phillip Michael Tobicoe, 1964?- , was a member of the Mississauga First Nation. He served in Cyprus with the 1st Battalion, Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry in 1991. In 1993-1994 he was deployed with the 2nd Battalion PPCLI Battle Group in Croatia, and experienced the intense conflict at Medak Pocket. He experienced health problems apparently as a result of exposure to hazardous substances in Croatia. He worked at the PPCLI Regimental Museum and Archives from 1997 until about 2002.

Norman David Torpe, 1919-2000, was one of the original 250 Canadian volunteers selected for the First Special Service Force, a joint American-Canadian unit known as the "Devil's Brigade". Only 72 of the 250 passed the initial exams and only 18 completed training. He deployed with the Force to the Aleutian Islands in early 1943 and to Italy in November 1943. He was wounded at the Anzio bridgehead in the spring of 1944 and lost one eye which ended his military career. Following the war Norman was a forest ranger and then farmed in Clive, Tofield, and Daysland, Alberta. He marred Violet Haroldson. He passed away in Camrose, Alberta on 2 March 2000.

Lloyd Tucker was a sergeant in the 48th Highlanders of Canada. In 2000 he was a volunteer with the 48th Highlanders Museum in Toronto.

Tom James Turnbull was born in July 1871 in Hartlepool, Durham, England. In 1894 he enlisted in the Argyle and Sutherland Highlanders. He served in the South African War, and was wounded at the battle of Paardeberg. In 1904, as a Sergeant, he transferred to the Royal Inniskillen Fusiliers, and saw service in Cairo, Egypt. He was promoted to Drum Major and to Regimental Sergeant-Major. In 1920 he emigrated to Canada and was appointed Regimental Sergeant-Major of Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry (PPCLI) in Winnipeg. He retired in 1934, intending to settle in his childhood home of Tunbridge Wells, England, but instead returned to Winnipeg in 1935. In 1900 he married Mary Norris Hamilton, and they had 7 children, Mary Margaret "Molly", Jeannie Hamilton, Tom James, Alice Hamilton, Dorothy Rowell, Mabel, and Robert. He died in Winnipeg in 1954.

Boyd Waddell, 1920-1998, was born and raised in Swift Current, Saskatchewan. He began an apprenticeship in photography in 1937 at the Swift Current Advocate and Sun. In 1940 he joined the Royal Canadian Air Force as an aerial photographer, spending most of his time at Goose Bay, Labrador and Suffield, Alberta. He married Freda Crum, 1917-2009, of Calgary at Suffield. On his discharge Waddell worked for the Alberta Government Publicity Bureau and McDermid Studios in Edmonton. The Waddells then operated the Pauline Photo Studio at Brooks, Alberta. In 1950 they moved to Calgary where Waddell joined the Department of Veterans Affairs as a medical photographer at the Colonel Belcher Hospital. He also freelanced extensively, showing his work in several major exhibitions, including images from several trips to the Canadian Arctic. Waddell received an Alberta Achievement Award in 1980. He was a member of the Biological Photographic Association and was a founder of the Alberta Medical and Biological Photographic Association. He was also a member and director of the McDougall Stoney Mission Society and did photography for the organization. He was a trustee and chairman of the Last Post Fund and the Veterans Field of Honor. He and his wife Freda had two children, Brent and Wendy (Sorensen).

Born in 1858, Charles Alexander Wake was a career soldier, joining the York and Lancaster Regiment in 1876 at the age of 18. He received the Distinguished Conduct Medal from Queen Victoria for bravery during the Battle of El Teb in Egypt in 1884 for defending himself single-handedly against 4 Soudanese attackers. He retired from the British Army with 33 years service and immigrated to Canada in 1910. Here he became a member of the Governor General's Foot Guard and enlisted with the Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry in August 1914. He was commissioned as a Lieutenant and appointed the first Regimental Quartermaster. He was Struck Off Strength 24 March 1915 and then joined the 133 Battalion, serving with that Regiment as a Captain from 1916 to 1918. Following the First War he was appointed Quartermaster in the Canadian Army Medical Corps at Spadina Hospital, College Hospital and General Hospital in Toronto, Ontario. In January 1920 he was discharged as medically unfit at the age of 62. He passed away 19 March 1941 at the age of 83.