131 The Royal Canadian Legion MANITOBA & NORTHWESTERN ONTARIO COMMAND www.mbnwo.ca MAYOR, Joseph T. WWII Joseph was born in Winnipeg, Manitoba in 1923. He joined the Canadian Army on January 20, 1943 and served in Canada and the United Kingdom. He attained the rank of Sergeant and is thought to have served in the Signal Corps/Communications, as well as being a driving instructor in Canada before his discharge on April 26, 1946. Joseph was awarded the Defence Medal and the Canadian Volunteer Service Medal with Clasp. He was a Life Member of Prince Edward Legion Branch 81 for more than forty years until he passed away in 1987. McAULEY, Francis G. WWII Francis was born in Gunton, Manitoba. He joined the Royal Canadian Navy and served during World War II. Francis was a member of Selkirk Legion Branch 42 and died in 1994. McCASKILL, Neil Deveson WWII Neil was born in Gladstone, Manitoba on January 12, 1923. He joined the RCAF in the Fall of 1941 and became an aero-engine mechanic, which served him well in later life, as he could fix anything on his farm. He arrived in Bournemouth, England in the Spring of 1943 and was posted with the 434 Bomber Squadron at Croft, England for the duration of the war. Neil volunteered for service in the Pacific but was not called to go. He enrolled in a diploma course in agriculture in the Fall of 1945 and graduated in 1947. After meeting Lillian Lawrence at a Fort Rouge Legion dance, they married on October 30, 1948 and they farmed and raised four children. After retiring from farming, Neil and his wife took up square dancing but by 2002, his Parkinson symptoms were becoming worse. Neil was a member of Gladstone Legion Branch 110 before he passed away on August 29, 2007 and he is buried in the Gladstone Cemetery. McBURNEY, David E. “Dave” WWII Dave was born in 1920 in Souris, Manitoba. He joined the Army on August 28, 1941 and trained in Portage la Prairie and Fort Osborne in Winnipeg. On December 13, 1941, he joined the Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry, a Regiment of the 2nd Infantry Brigade of the 1st Canadian Infantry Division. His trades were in motor mechanics and radio but he also served as a Battalion Orderly Room Runner. From January 1943, he served in England, Africa, and on Italy’s front lines. On October 19, 1944, while running and carrying heavy radio equipment at the Savio River near Rimini, Dave was shot in both thighs. He underwent surgery and was hospitalized in southern Italy, where he recovered over the next few months. Discharged early in 1945, he returned to Souris. Dave received the 1939-45 Star, the Italy Star, the Defence Medal, the Canadian Volunteer Service Medal with Clasp, and the War Medal 1939-45. Dave was a member of Souris Legion Branch 60 for thirty-nine years before he died in 2004.
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy MTM0NTk1OA==