351 www.on.legion.ca ONTARIO COMMAND MIDDLEBROOKS, John H. John was born in Gravenhurst, Ontario on October 2, 1924. He joined the Army shortly after his 18th birthday. He served with the 4th Anti-Tank Artillery Regiment: 5th Cdn. Armoured in the Italian Campaign during World War II. His Regiment landed in Naples and fought their way north to the Po River. They were preparing to leave for Holland when John sustained an accidental gunshot wound to his leg and was taken south to a hospital in Naples. He awaited transport to England. At the time, British cities were being bombarded by German V-2 rocket bombs. Upon arriving in London, John remembers the fright of hearing these rockets for the first time and wondering at the irony of surviving the war in Italy only to be bombed while in hospital in England. He was a member of the Harry Wray Legion Branch 302 for 65 years. John passed away on July 4, 2012. MIERSCH, Fred Fred was born in Owen Sound, Ontario on June 4, 1909. He enlisted in the Army in November of 1939 with the Royal Canadian Engineers. Fred trained in Canada for six months and then was posted in England during the Blitz. He was sent to the East Coast guarding the English Channel during the Dieppe raid, then on to Belgium and to Holland where he was slightly wounded. After a short time in hospital, he was sent back to the lines in Germany where he was seriously wounded and taken prisoner for about three months. Fred was then liberated by the English; the war being over was flown to England and spent some time in hospital there. He was then sent back to Canada where he was stationed in London, Ontario until he was discharged in 1945. He was a member of Memorial Branch 6 in Owen Sound. Fred passed away on August 4, 1997. MIDDLETON, Elmer Lawrence “Gibb” Elmer was born in Orono, Ontario on March 21, 1921. He enlisted in the Army on April 15, 1941 and served as a Gunner with the 7th Canadian Medium Regiment R.C.A. He served in Canada, the United Kingdom and Continental Europe until his discharge on January 5, 1946. On March 24, 1944, he received wounds in his leg and head from splinters and shrapnel fragments from artillery shell from a Gun A-2. After the war, Gibb returned home to his family in Orono. He later moved to Oshawa and married Lenora Wood where they raised a family. He worked as a truck driver for Canada Dry, Robert Simpson and later with The Durham Board of Education as a Custodian until his retirement. Gibb was an avid Euchre player and enjoyed watching baseball and hockey. As a result of the war, arthritis set in and progressed throughout his body leaving him in and out of Sunnybrook Veterans Hospital. He was a very proud Canadian who served his country well. For his service, he was awarded the 1939-45 Star, France and Germany Star, Defence Medal and Canadian Volunteer Service Medal and Clasp. Elmer was a member the Canadian Corp Oshawa for more than forty years before he passed away on June 14, 1987.
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy MTM0NTk1OA==