175 The Royal Canadian Legion MANITOBA & NORTHWESTERN ONTARIO COMMAND www.mbnwo.ca SINCLAIR, Melford Clarence WWII Melford enlisted in the Canadian Armoured Corps (Royal Canadian Artillery) in Winnipeg, Manitoba on June 23, 1942. He served in Canada, the United Kingdom and Continental Europe during World War II. He was discharged on March 18, 1946, on demobilization under routine order. He was awarded the following medals: 1939-1945 Star, France and Germany Star, and Canadian Volunteer Service Medal and Clasp. Other active Army Service was NRMA from January 9, 1941 to February 8, 1941. He resided with his family on the Peguis Indian Reserve and was a Life Member of The Royal Canadian Legion Hodgson Branch 158. SINCLAIR, Stanley WWII Three Sinclair brothers served in World War II and all were overseas. They were Stanley, Wallace and George, sons of Kate and George Sinclair. Stanley enlisted in May 1942 and took basic training in Portage la Prairie for about three months. He was sent to Valcartier, Quebec for about two weeks and went overseas in September 1942 on the ship Athlone, in a big convoy. He landed in Liverpool, England then was sent to Braemore, Scotland for about two years. He was then transferred to the American and British Engineer Corps. At Dover, England, they built extensions to the rail lines so they could load special locomotives on the ships. These had to be built so that they would run on the continental European rail lines as they were a different gauge. They worked for 21 days under heavy artillery fire from the Germans. They flew from France which was about 22 miles away. When the shells would land on shore, they would make craters as large as a small house. They worked there until the invasion of France. When the Allies got a foothold in France, they moved further into France and went through Belgium, Holland and Germany, mostly working on, making, and repairing bridges. They were also cutting logs with which to build the bridges. These were cut from the Reichswald Forest. They were in Dusseldorf, Germany when the war ended. They went on a tour of Berlin twice. The Russians did not want them to get friendly with the people of Eastern Berlin. Stanley went to see the place where Hitler lived and died. He was in the occupation force until January 1946 in Dusseldorf, Hanover, and Hamburg. He came home on the Queen Elizabeth ship and got to Winnipeg on the last week of January 1946. It was bitterly cold, a big change from England. He was discharged at the end of February 1946 and resided in Winnipeg.
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