219 The Royal Canadian Legion MANITOBA & NORTHWESTERN ONTARIO COMMAND www.mbnwo.ca SKINNER (GRAY), Margaret WWII Margaret enlisted in April 1942 in the newly formed RCAF Women’s Division as a Nursing Assistant because it was the right thing to do. She also had two brothers and a sister who joined at the same time. She said it was very hard on her parents who were ordinary farmers and could not believe this was happening. Although one brother was wounded twice, he came home. In spite of all of this, she said it was one of the highlights of her life and if she had the same choice, she would do it all again. Margaret was serving in the Air Force as Leading Aircrasftswoman during World War II and was decorated with the War Medal. Margaret went on to complete her nursing courses after the war. SLATER, Alex WWII Alex, the youngest son of the late Mr. and Mrs. W. J. Slater, was born in Middlechurch, Manitoba on June 26, 1912. They later farmed at Baldur. Alex enlisted on September 11, 1939 with the PPCLI, training briefly before going overseas on December 17 that year and serving throughout the war. While in England, Alex won the light-heavy weight boxing championship for the Army, defeated the Air Force champ but lost out to the Navy. Alex and his wife resided in Winnipeg. SLATER, Mike WWII Mike was born in 1924 in Benito, Manitoba where his parents owned a farm. He joined the PPCLI in early 1944 and then volunteered for the elite 1st Canadian Parachute Battalion (1 Can Para). He completed his parachute training in December 1944 at the Canadian Parachute Training Wing in Shilo, MB. He joined 1 Can Para in England where it had retuned following participation in the D-Day airborne operations. He then deployed with the battalion to take part in the Battle of the Bulge in Belgium and the Ardennes in January/February 1944. One Can Para was the only Canadian unit to see action in the Ardennes during World War II. Mike then deployed with 1 Can Para to Holland where the Battalion took part in operations to liberate Holland and prepare for the crossing of the Rhine River into Germany in March 1945. Mike parachuted into Germany on Operation “Varsity” near the town of Wesel. He fought with the Battalion all the way to the city of Wismar helping defeat Germany’s famous 1st German Parachute Corps. After linking up with the Russian Army and a day or two celebrating armistice, Mike redeployed to England in May 1945 and returned to civilian life in Canada in June 1945. Mike has been a Member of the Henderson Highway Legion Branch 215 for thirty years.
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