85 The Royal Canadian Legion MANITOBA & NORTHWESTERN ONTARIO COMMAND www.mbnwo.ca CASPER (KASPRICK), Leo John WWII Leo was born on February 6, 1905, to John and Mary (Meshuga) Kasprick and educated in Elk Ranch, Manitoba. He was one of eighteen siblings. Leo joined the 1st Battalion of the Winnipeg Grenadiers in September 1939. After serving in Jamaica, he and his regiment proceeded to Hong Kong. He was taken prisoner and sent to Mt. Austin Barracks and then later transferred to Sham Shui Po Camp. Leo was also in hospital for a large amount of the three years he was held prisoner of war. He had diphtheria three times. Private Leo Casper was discharged in Winnipeg on February 9, 1945. When the war was over, he returned to the Neepawa area and worked as a trucker. He was a member of The Royal Canadian Legion Neepawa Branch 23 for 23 years from 1946 to 1969. Leo passed away on August 8, 1969 and is buried in Riverside Cemetery in Neepawa. CATHCART, Bryan David WWII Bryan was born on May 12, 1923, to Arnold and Myrtle (Goggin) Cathcart in Portage la Prairie, Manitoba. He enlisted in the Royal Canadian Air Force and flew Lancaster Bombers overseas duringWorldWar II.Warrant Officer Bryan Cathcart also spent some time instructing navigators in England in 1944. Bryan married Yvonne Leask in Gladstone, Manitoba and spent a lot of his life working in sales. They lived in Winnipeg and later moved to Victoria, British Columbia. Bryan passed away in Victoria on July 30, 1982. He was buried in the Royal Oak Burial Park and Crematorium in Victoria, BC. CHEETHAM, John WWI John was born on February 8, 1899, in Belmont, Manitoba to Edwin and Catherine Cheetham. On April 16, 1916, at the age of seventeen, he enlisted in the Canadian Overseas Expeditionary Force in Neepawa, Manitoba. He was transferred to the 14th Reserve in England and was afterwards sent to France with the 78th Battalion. John sailed from Halifax, Nova Scotia on the SS Olympic on December 13, 1916, arriving in England on December 26 of that year. The Battle of Passchendaele was his first big battle, and the last seen of him; he and a comrade were wounded and had started for a dressing station. It is supposed that they were buried by a shell. He was reported missing and presumed dead on October 30, 1917. Private Cheetham was laid to rest at Menin Gate (Ypres Memorial), Belgium.
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