189 The Royal Canadian Legion MANITOBA & NORTHWESTERN ONTARIO COMMAND www.mbnwo.ca ROSS, Clayton L. WWII Clayton was born in Portage la Prairie, MB in 1924. He served as a Signalman in the Royal Canadian Naval Volunteer Reserve from 1940 until 1945. He served on three ships, the Q063, the Sault-Ste-Marie, and the Kamsack. These ships were escorts for convoys in the North Atlantic during the Battle of the North Atlantic. The high seas, waves and ice cold were a real scary experience for a young 18-year-old prairie boy and the German U-boats also were a danger. Clayton once commented that “it was not true about a girl in every port. And they did not tell you about the waves, snow, ice, and rough seas in the North Atlantic Ocean.” Clayton has been a member of Crescent Beach Legion Branch 240 for over thirty-seven years. ROSS, Sherman L. WWI Sherman was born in Arbroath, Manitoba in 1894. He joined the Canadian Infantry and served in Canada, England, and France with the 19th Battalion, Manitoba Regiment, Seaforth Highlanders, and the 52nd Battalion. He was awarded the British War Medal, as well as three service medals. After he returned from WWI in 1919, Sherman worked for his father on the farm and other farms in the area around Treherne, Arbroath and Rosendal for a few years. He was later hired as an attendant at the Manitoba Mental Health Institution at Portage la Prairie, where he worked until he retired in 1957. A well known fiddle player and step dancer, he won contests in both events and also played at old time dances in the rural Portage area. Sherman moved to Winnipeg in 1965 and died there in 1975. He was a member of the Portage la Prairie Legion Branch 65. RUSSELL (nee FROLICH), Laura WWII Laura was born in Steinbach, Manitoba on July 24, 1914. She joined the Royal Canadian Naval Service in Saskatchewan in August 1943 and was sent to HMCS Galt Ontario. Wrens occupied 20 roles previously held by men in the Navy and were also expected to be glamorous. New recruits met with a beauty expert to ensure that they were as well turned out as possible. Laura saw a lot of Canada during the war, which kept her from worrying too much about her husband Lyle and her two brothers serving overseas. She was in Ottawa when the war ended and remembers that “the whole town was hooting and hollering.” She received the Defence Medal, the Service Medal and the Jubilee Medal. Laura raised her three children, coached boys’ and girls’ hockey, and served over 60 years for The Legion’s Ladies Auxiliary. She has been a Life Member of Atikokan Legion Branch 145 for over sixty-five years. RUSSELL, Charles A. WWII Charles enlisted in the Royal Canadian Air Force in Winnipeg in November 1941 and he was discharged there in October 1945. He served in England with Squadrons 619 and 83, 1661 Canadian Unit. Flight Officer Russell received the Distinguished Flying Cross. He has been a member of Russell Legion Branch 159.
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