47 The Royal Canadian Legion MANITOBA & NORTHWESTERN ONTARIO COMMAND www.mbnwo.ca BEDARD, Dollard J. WWII Dollard joined the Navy in February 1943 at Chippewa Barracks in Winnipeg. He didn’t start training until the beginning of May and trained for six weeks in Winnipeg. From Winnipeg he went to Esquimalt, British Columbia, for another six weeks, then on to St. John’s, Newfoundland. During this time he had two weeks leave. At St. John’s, they had guard duty until they were assigned to a ship. He got his ship, HMCS Brandon, sometime in January 1944. The Brandon was a Corvette. It carried depth charges to use against enemy submarines and it escorted convoys across the Atlantic. He served escort duty on the Brandon, in the North Atlantic, for about eighteen months. At one time, on one of the early escorts, they left St. John’s in a convoy of 180 cargo ships. When they got to the United Kingdom there were only about sixty ships left. Every night they would lose some ships. Usually, in the convoy, there would be five Corvettes (warships) and one Destroyer to escort supply ships; to protect these cargo ships from enemy submarines. The ships they escorted would be gathered from the triangle, three cities: New York, Halifax and St. John’s. It would take about fifteen days, and then they’d go into London for new supplies. They seldom had to escort on their way back to Canada. The worst action he saw was once, after escort duty in the North Atlantic, they were called to the Gulf of St. Lawrence. As they had been on escort duty they weren’t anxious to look for submarines there. When there, there was a mix-up of identification and the RCAF fired on them. Thankfully this was straightened out before it was too late. When HMCS Brandon went into Liverpool, Nova Scotia for a refit, they had two weeks leave. When he came back, he joined HMCS Tulsenberg. He served about two months, or two more crossings of the North Atlantic. While they were at sea the war ended. He volunteered to go to the Pacific conflict. When they came back to Canada for leave, the war in the Pacific ended. He made twenty-two crossings of the Atlantic. Every time they crossed they lost some ships. Early in the war they lost more ships, but as the war progressed their losses lessened. He returned to Halifax, went back to Winnipeg, and he received his discharge in November 1945. He received the 1939-1945 Star and the Canadian Volunteer Service Medal. BEDARD, Gerry WWII Gerry joined the PPCLI in 1939. He was sent to England. The picture below was taken somewhere in England. The members of this Winnipeg battery downed this Nazi raider which flew over them. It is rumoured that Gerry himself shot this plane down while in a trench. He was shooting at it with a machine gun and a bullet finally pierced the windshield killing the pilot. Being resourceful, two members show the piece of plane they used for a table top. Gerry is shown on the right. He also sent a piece of the Nazi pilot’s parachute home to his mother. He served for about two years before becoming ill having to be discharged. He returned to Canada in 1942. He lived in Winnipeg, Manitoba, and Kenora, Ontario. Gerry died in Winnipeg.
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy MTM0NTk1OA==