Volume 22 www.legionnl.com 13 Newfoundland Labrador Command continued... When we first visit Ada (Neville) and Randy Bradbury at their home in Upper Island Cove, Conception Bay one is immediately struck by the spectacular view. From high on the hillside the bay is spread out before them. There is the cavalcade of icebergs that dot the bay in spring. Whales during the summer months. Sunrises over the distant hills of the northeast Avalon. The bay’s panorama triggers something deeper for Ada, because before her is the natural canvas of her family’s life history. Bell Island looms to the east with its history of mining. To the North one sails to Labrador and eventually Black Tickle, where generations of Nevilles fished. And to the south, lie the communities of North River and Bay Roberts where Nevilles lived, worked or sailed to distant lands. It’s a lot to contemplate watching a sunrise over an early morning cup of coffee. This is a story about one Newfoundland family’s relationship with the sea and their country. It started many generations ago in England but our story begins in North River, Conception Bay in the early 20th Century. Ada’s grandparents, Richard and Grace (Reid) Neville lived a typical hard-working life of the kind most Newfoundlanders experienced in the 1920’s. Richard pursued the Labrador fishery each spring in Black Tickle. He also worked in the Bell Island iron ore mines. Eventually there were seven strong energetic boys to raise. Tragedy struck in 1932 when Grace died in childbirth. With the help of a grandmother and other family members to raise the boys, Richard went further afield for work. He shipped out to the “Boston states” where he joined hundreds of other Newfoundlanders to build the skyscrapers and subways of Boston and New York during the Depression years. The 1930’s also saw the gathering of the clouds of war in Europe and Asia. The ugly shades of nationalism and fascism were being raised by the likes of Hitler, Mussolini, and the warlords of Japan. By 1939, WWII had begun in earnest and the Neville boys were eager to answer the call to defend freedom and democracy, to serve King and Country..…and maybe have some adventures along the way. After all, according to family lore, Nevilles fought in the English civil wars of the 1500’s called the War of the Roses. They were warriors, always ready for a challenge. The oldest, Ron, did stay home because he worked as a miner on Bell Island, work essential to the war effort. That was made especially clear when four ships were torpedoed off Bell Island in 1942 by German submarines. The sea was to prove more dangerous yet. Hardened and skilled by their years fishing out of Black Tickle the next two boys, Billy and Art, signed up for the Royal Navy. They were among the First Contingent of 200 men who were immediately sent to England for training in 1939. Billy became a naval gunner on the Canadian National Steamships liner the RMS Lady Hawkins. Commandeered as a troopship she was on her way to the Caribbean when she was torpedoed by U-66 off the Carolinas in January, 1942. Over 250 lives were lost including William Neville who was declared “missing while on passage”. More tragedy both for the war effort and the Neville family was to follow. Arthur was an able seaman on the aircraft carrier HMS Avenger while she was escorting ships, men and supplies for the Allied invasion of North Africa (Operation Torch). She was torpedoed off Gibraltar in November 1942 by U-155. The big ship blew up and sank within minutes with the loss of over 500 sailors including 31 Newfoundlanders. There were only 12 survivors. Arthur Neville was one those Newfoundlanders lost with “no further trace”. His war records list him as “missing presumed killed; 15/11/42”. Both Billy’s and Art’s names are enshrined on the Chatham Naval Memorial in Kent, England dedicated to Royal Navy personnel lost at sea during the First and Second World Wars. Service & Sacrifice: A Family’s Story
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