Nova Scotia/Nunavut Command of The Royal Canadian Legion www.ns.legion.ca 47 continued ... NORTH STAFFORDSHIRE REGIMENT (NStaffsR) Carl Robert Coulstring was born in Halifax on 24April 1917 toArthur Alexander and Minnie May (Zinck) Coulstring. Carl’s father was a regular force sapper in the Royal Canadian Engineers. Carl enlisted in the North Staffordshire Regiment in the spring of 1939. After being evacuated from Dunkirk he was transferred to the 8th Battalion of the Cheshire Regiment - a ‘home defence’ unit. Private Carl Robert Coulstring was killed 12 March 1941 during a Luftwaffe bombing raid on Merseyside. Twenty-three-year-old Coulstring was in 'C' Company Headquarters in Wallasey when it was destroyed by enemy bombs. Carl Robert Coulstring is buried in the Birkenhead (Landican) Cemetery in grave 6H3. 1st Battalion/MANCHESTER REGIMENT (1/Mancs) Walter O’Hara enlisted in the British Army on 24 February 1938; becoming the first recruit of the ‘100.’ He was born in Halifax on 12 December 1917 to Nora O’Hara. His mother died in 1929 and he was placed in the care of St. Patrick’s Boys’ Home. After training Walter was posted to 1st Battalion Manchester Regiment (M.G.) just in time to travel to Singapore, with his battalion, as part of the 2nd Malaya Infantry Brigade. Private Walter O’Hara was assigned to 16 Platoon as a machine gunner. Soldiers of the Imperial Japanese Army (IJA) invaded Singapore in early February 1942. After a bitter defense, the garrison surrendered on 15 February. About 80,000 British and Commonwealth troops became POWs of the IJA. Private O’Hara was imprisoned in Singapore until January 1943 – at which time he was sent to work on the Burma-Thailand Railway. Walter survived the horror of the ‘death railway’ and was returned to Singapore in July 1944. He was liberated in September 1945 and returned to England. Walter married Emily Higham on 13 December 1945 in Collyhurst, Manchester (her two brothers had served with Walter throughout the war) Walter and Emily moved to Canada in 1946. In 1950 he enlisted in the Royal Canadian Artillery for service in Korea. He served in Korea with the 2nd Field Regiment, Royal Canadian Horse Artillery. Walter served 32 years in the armies of Canada and England. Walter O’Hara died on 5 April 1996, at age 78, and is buried in the Forest Hill Cemetery, Fredericton, New Brunswick. 2nd Battalion/ MANCHESTER REGIMENT (2/Mancs) This battalion arrived in France on 23 September 1939. 2/Mancs were the divisional machine gun battalion of the 2nd British Division. Companies of 2/Mancs were attached to the 4th, 5th, and 6th Brigades of the division. In November 2012 a memorial plaque honouring the Halifax 100 was installed on the gate of Ladysmith Barracks Ashton-under-Lyne, England. ‘The Snowballers’ In January 1940 at least eight of the Canadian 2/Mancs; Arnold Carver and Gerald Crouse of Italy Cross; Norm Eisener of Dartmouth; Don Morrison, Jack Foster, G Neville and Ted Vere-Holloway of Halifax; Ric Serrick of Jollimore, and G. Neville of Ottawa, volunteered for a new unit being created that required experienced skiers. According to Don Morrison the boredom of trench life in the front lines in France, compounded by being one of the coldest winters in recent memory, motivated the men for the new challenge. continued ...
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