99 The Royal Canadian Legion MANITOBA & NORTHWESTERN ONTARIO COMMAND www.mbnwo.ca FOLLETT, Reginald Leslie Sprake “Reg” WWII Reg was born in Winkler, MB on July 15, 1924 to Reginald and Lavina Follett. He joined the RCAF when he was 17 and trained in Saskatoon and Prince Albert. In 1942, Reg was posted to a RAF Advanced Flying Unit in England to train on fighter planes. He was then posted to RAF 567 Squadron to fly aircraft providing cover for destroyers in the English Channel. He was then transferred to RCAF 414 Fighter Reconnaissance Squadron and then to RCAF 411 Fighter Bomber Squadron where he flew Spitfires in France and Germany until November 1945. Reg recounted one incident when he was flying in a four-fighter section along the coast of France where they were engaged by anti-aircraft guns. Reg’s spitfire sustained hits and had a large hole in the underside but he was able to make it across the channel to crash land at an airfield in England because his landing gear malfunctioned. He re-injured a previously broken leg but he was back flying within three months. Reg returned to Killarney in 1945 upon release from the RCAF, and moved to Winnipeg in 1949 where he obtained his Law Degree from the University of Winnipeg in 1953. Reg passed away on March 27, 2014. He was a Life Member of Henderson Highway Legion Branch 215 with 69 years of service. FORBES, Garry WWII Garry was born in Winnipeg in 1921. He enlisted in the Navy at HMCS Griffon at age eighteen. He served onboard HMCS Griffon from August 1941 to December 1941; HMCS Naden from December 1941 to April 1942; HMCS Stadacona from April 1942 to April 1943; HMCS Cornwallis, Stadacona and Camrose from May to December 1942 where he did midocean escort to Londonderry, WLEF, invasion of North Africa and convoy escort between Britain and the Mediterranean. From there, he served onboard HMCS Niobe-Scotland from December 1942 to February 1943 and on HMCS St. Croix from February to September 1943 doing escort on the “Newfie Derry” run, support group in the Bay of Biscay, where she was torpedoed on September 20, 1943. He was lost at sea on September 20, 1943 and passed away. Eighty-one men were rescued by HMS Itchen but only one survived the Itchen’s torpedoing two days later. One-hundred-forty-six of St. Croix’s 147 man crew were lost. FORSYTHE, Harry Clark WWII Harry was born in High Bluff, Manitoba. He joined the Royal Air Force on February 17, 1941. He started training at the Northern Polytechnic in Stanmore, United Kingdom on June 9, 1941. Harry then reported to #2 Radio School in Yatesbury, Wiltshire, UK on October 16, 1941 where he was trained as an airborne wireless operator. He served in England, Calcutta, and Bombay, India during World War II. He earned the rank of T/Corporal on January 11, 1943. Harry was discharged on May 8, 1946. He was awarded the Defence Medal, and Maple Leaf Emblem.
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