261 The Royal Canadian Legion MANITOBA & NORTHWESTERN ONTARIO COMMAND www.mbnwo.ca THOMAS, George Stanley WWII George was born on December 12, 1916, in Neepawa, Manitoba, the eldest son of George and Beatrice (Taylor) Thomas. He worked as an electric lineman until the war broke out. Stanley graduated from Neepawa Collegiate after which he was employed with the CNR and the Neepawa Power Plant. He received many ribbons at the local track meets for racing and high jump. He played the cornet in the Neepawa Town Band and played hockey with the high school team. He enlisted in the Army with the Queen’s Own Cameron Highlanders in 1939 within days of the declaration of war and was posted overseas the following year where he served in France and Holland. In 1942, he enjoyed the distinction of leading the group that penetrated furthest inland during the ill-fated Dieppe raid. He was forced to return to the beach, by which time all the rescue ships had departed. He began swimming the Channel back to England; he and a few others were picked up before they arrived there. Ironically, his death two years later in Holland was accidental. On December 15, 1944, Sergeant George Thomas was accidentally killed by a gunshot wound on the Nijmegen Bridge. George had married Bettie Maddock in Lancashire, England on January 13, 1944. Thomas Bay (64 O/1) in Munroe Lake was named after him in 1995. He is commemorated at the Groesbeek Canadian War Cemetery in Holland. THOMAS, John “Jack” WWII Jack was born on April 27, 1920, to George and Beatrice (Taylor) in Neepawa, Manitoba. He enlisted in the Royal Canadian Air Force on July 10, 1941 in Winnipeg and worked as an aircraft mechanic at No. 16 SFT School, Hagersville, Ontario. He became the NCO of a double hangar repairing both Harvard and Anson planes that were damaged by young in-training pilots. Sergeant Jack Thomas was discharged on July 12, 1945 in Winnipeg and returned to Neepawa where he started a business, Thomas Cabinet Works, with his brother, Roy. He married Gloria Ward in 1949 and they resided in Neepawa. He was a member of The Royal Canadian Legion Neepawa Branch 23. Jack passed away on April 7, 2005 and was buried in Riverside Cemetery in Neepawa, Lot 16, Block 5, Range 26.
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