71 The Royal Canadian Legion MANITOBA & NORTHWESTERN ONTARIO COMMAND www.mbnwo.ca BRAGG, Leslie Grant WWII Leslie was born in Gainsborough, Saskatchewan on April 8, 1913. He enlisted in the Army in Regina on September 5, 1941 and served with the RCCS Signals in the United Kingdom and northwest Europe. Captain Leslie Bragg was discharged in Winnipeg on November 29, 1945. He received the 1939-1945 Medal, France and Germany Star, Defence Medal and Canadian Volunteer Service Medal and Clasp. He and his wife Jean had two children, Gordon and Kenneth. He had been a member of The Royal Canadian Legion Flin Flon Branch 73. BRAY, Frederick “Fred” WWI Fred was born on October 4, 1888, to Edmund and Eliza Bray in Stoke Lacey, Herefordshire, England. The family came to Canada in 1912 and took up farming in Neepawa, Manitoba. He worked as a teamster and a farmer. Fred enlisted in August 1915 and was sent overseas to England in February 1916. From there, he was sent to France in July of that same year. He served as a driver for the field ambulance (CFA). Fred was discharged in March 1919 and returned to Canada. As a returning veteran, he and 35 other returned soldiers received land at Whitewood, Saskatchewan. In 1938, he married Edna (Jean) Murray. They remained in Saskatchewan until 1945 when they sold out and returned to Arden, Manitoba. Fred worked various jobs in Arden until 1959 when they purchased the Forman store. Fred and Jean operated Brays General Store for the next fourteen years. He was a member of The Royal Canadian Legion Arden Branch 144. Frederick passed away on September 18, 1967 and is buried in Riverside Cemetery in Neepawa, Manitoba. BRIESE, Ernest Charles “Ernie” WWII Ernie was born on July 6, 1925, to Julius and Rose Briese in Neepawa, Manitoba. He received his education at Dumfries School and Neepawa Collegiate. He joined the Royal Canadian Air Force on February 25, 1944. He spent some time at the Manning Depot in Edmonton and later the I.T.S. in Saskatoon where he graduated. He was also in training at Mont Joli, Quebec, where he took a refresher course. Sergeant Ernest Briese was discharged on August 14, 1945 when the war ended and returned home to Neepawa. Ernie worked at Rutledge’s Garage and for the Montgomerys on their farm until 1948 when he began working for Anglo Oils in Neepawa. He continued there until 1980. Ernie married his wife, Audrey Chisholm, in 1949. Ernie was a seventy-year member of The Royal Canadian Legion Neepawa Branch 23. He passed away on February 15, 2013, in Minnedosa and is buried in Riverside Cemetery in Neepawa.
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