211 The Royal Canadian Legion MANITOBA & NORTHWESTERN ONTARIO COMMAND www.mbnwo.ca SMITH, John F. WWI & WWII John was born in England and joined the Hartney Platoon 222nd Battalion and then to the 44th Battalion. He was wounded at Vimy ‘Over the top’ on two separate occasions. In World War Two, he was with the Veterans Guard of Canada. He is a Life Member of Hartney Branch #26 of The Royal Canadian Legion. SMITH, Murray S. WWII Murray was born in Transcona on July 22, 1919. He entered the services of the CNR as a call boy. He married Evelyn Edna Bales on September 1, 1937, and they had two daughters, Shelby and Sharon. His employment with CN was interrupted by World War Two when he joined the Royal Canadian Engineers Lake Superior Regiment serving in Belgium, England, Holland, Germany and France. He received the France/Germany Star, the Voluntary Service Medal, the Defence Medal, and the George VI Medal. Murray served from October 1943 to March 1946. He later became a switchman and remained at that position until illness truck him sometime in the 1970s, forcing him into an early retirement. Murray died of cancer and heart disease in 1984, at the age of 64. He had been a member of Transcona Branch #7 of The Royal Canadian Legion for 30 years. SOUTHWORTH, Chester Samuel WWII Chester was born on October 28, 1922, near Darlingford, Manitoba, to Edwin Southworth and Gladys Andrew. He joined the Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry, serving overseas from 1940-1945. Sam saw combat in Sicily, Italy, including Ortona, the Liri Valley, Gothic Line and Holland, first as a Bren Gunner and later as a Sergeant, and he was wounded three times. He married Catherine (Kit) Jackson of Crawcrook, Durham, England, in 1942. They farmed near Darlingford then moved to Morden in 1952, where he was a carpenter. As a lifelong community volunteer, Sam was a member of Morden Branch #11 for 56 years, serving as Branch President and Zone Commander, Sergeant-at-Arms of the Colour Party and organizer of youth sports for many years, and board member of Legion House One. Branch #11 awarded Sam a Life Membership for his service. Sam and Kit had three daughters. He passed away on March 12, 2001. SOPP, Albert Walter WWI Albert was born in Hayfield, Manitoba, on February 5, 1892, the fourth son of Harry and Martha (Bennett) Sopp. He enlisted in the Canadian Overseas Expeditionary Force on January 9, 1916. Before leaving for overseas, Albert left his two prized possessions, which were his horse and his rifle to his brother Ron and sister-in-law Ina. He served with the 44th Battalion, New Brunswick Regiment in Canada and France. He was killed in action on June 6, 1917, in France and is buried in the Lupugnoy Military Cemetery in Pas-de-Calais, France. Albert was awarded the Victory Medal and the British War Medal.
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