251 The Royal Canadian Legion MANITOBA & NORTHWESTERN ONTARIO COMMAND www.mbnwo.ca SIRETT, Ebenezer Tom WWI Ebenezer was born on September 25, 1881, to William and Margaret (Symington) Sirett in Muskoka, Ontario. He became a lawyer before enlisting in the Army and joining the 196th Battalion of the Canadian Machine Gun Corps on March 23, 1916 in Winnipeg. He served overseas in France and Belgium with the 1st Canadian Mounted Rifles. Corporal Ebenezer Sirett was awarded the Croix de Guerre in Belgium for rescuing his wounded companions, even after he, himself, was wounded. Ebenezer received his discharge on February 24, 1919, returned home, and married Winnifred Thompson on August 6, 1919. Tragically, he died on August 17, 1919 just days after his marriage. He supposedly had drowned while swimming at Clear Lake. It was later determined to have been due to a lung collapse attributed to severe gas exposure during the war. Ebenezer was buried at Riverside Cemetery in Neepawa. SKIBINSKI, Matthew “Matt” WWII Matt was born on November 5, 1923, to Mike and Isabel Skibinski in Foam Lake, Saskatchewan. He came to the Eden, Manitoba area in 1940, at the age of sixteen and began working for Elgin McGorman on his farm in Eden. Matt enlisted in the Canadian Army in 1940, at the age of seventeen, and was stationed at Fort Osborne, Fort Garry, Shilo, Portage, Calgary, and Harrison, British Columbia.While stationed at A16 BCT Calgary, he worked as an instructor for sharp-shooters. He was discharged in 1945, receiving the Canadian Volunteer Service Medal, War Medal 1939-1945, and a Good Conduct Medal. He then returned to Winnipeg where he got his mechanics license and began working in a garage. He married his wife, Margaret Pierson, in August 1947 and in April 1949, they purchased the Eden Garage and moved back home. After Margaret passed away in 1984, he married Audrey Denoon. Matt passed away on February 13, 2006 and was buried at Riverside Cemetery in Neepawa. SMART, David M. BOERWAR David was born in Rafford, Moray, Scotland in 1880. He enlisted in the Army and served with the Royal Canadian Dragoons in South Africa during the Boer War. He received the Queen’s Medal with four Clasps: Johannesburg, Diamond Hill, Cape Colony and Orange Free State. He married Agnes Gerver and raised four boys and nine girls on a farm in Rathwell, Manitoba. He was a twenty-year member of The Royal Canadian Legion Rathwell Branch 177. David passed away in 1966.
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