203 The Royal Canadian Legion MANITOBA & NORTHWESTERN ONTARIO COMMAND www.mbnwo.ca SEARLE, Clayton Bruce WWII Clayton was born in Rapid City, Manitoba in 1922. When he joined the army on July 9, 1940, in Brandon, the M.O. who gave him his medical was Dr. I. K. Gilhuly, the same doctor who brought him into the world. He was working at many jobs when he enlisted. The 70th Battery was one of the three regiments that made up the 16th Field Regiment. The C.O. was Lieut. Col. Cormack. His first posting was to Camp Shilo for about a year for his basic training. He took more training in Debert, NS on eighteen pounder guns. In the fall of 1942, August 8, he was drafted overseas. From Halifax, the ship he went over on was the Capetown Castle, which was a luxurious liner converted into a troop ship. There were twelve ships in their convoy. They docked in Liverpool after seven days at sea. There were no problems on the trip. After they got off the ship, they took a train to southern England, to a place called Colchester, near Clacton-on-Sea, and were there only a short time before going to Pippingworth Park. In February 1942, in Debert, the 16th Field Regiment was transferred to comprise the 8th Light Anti-Aircraft Regiment, using the 40mm Bofors anti-aircraft guns. Fred Haywood was in their outfit. Their job in England was watching for V-1 bombs and shooting them down. The V-1’s were launched from Germany. On July 16, 1944, the advance party of the 4th Canadian Armoured Division embarked for France. Then on July 27, their regiment followed. They landed at Courseulles-sur-Mer. From then on, they worked their way up through France, Belgium, Holland and into Germany. When he was at Ghent, in Holland, Clayton came down with jaundice and was in hospital for about 2.5 months, from January to March 1945. On discharge from hospital, he was placed in rehab, and was later claimed by another armoured rocket unit as a replacement. Clayton signed up for service in the Far East in the spring of 1945 and got back to Brandon. The Japanese war ended while he was on leave. He got his discharge on October 25, 1945, in Winnipeg, with the rank of gunner. He received the Canadian Volunteer Service Medal and Clasp, Defence Medal, 1939-1945 Star, France and Germany Star and War Medal 1939-1945. After discharge, he took a year of doing nothing and then entered barber college in Regina. Following completion of his course, he returned to Brandon and served his apprenticeship with his brother-in-law. He spent two years in Clear Lake working on the golf course and barbering in the evenings. In 1948, he married Gladys Lorraine Baker of Onanole, who worked in Woolworth’s store in Brandon. Then in 1951, they moved to Minnedosa where he barbered until 1968. He then took the job of Manager of the Minnedosa Golf Course. He painted with Len Erickson for one summer first and then started at the golf course. In winter, he was assistant ice maker in the Minnedosa Arena for eighteen years, in both places. He and Lorraine had one son, Rick, and one daughter, Judy. Clayton returned to Europe on a veteran’s tour in 2008 and belonged to the Army Reserve for many years. He was an active member of The Royal Canadian Legion and was also a member of the United Church and founding member of the AOTS Christian Men’s Club in Minnedosa. Clayton passed away on June 4, 2016, at the age of 93.
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