237 www.on.legion.ca ONTARIO COMMAND KERR, Alexander “Alex” Alex was born in Glasgow, Scotland on August 21, 1920. He was already a member of the British Army when World War II broke out in 1939 and was part of the British Expeditionary Force in 1940 that had to be evacuated from the beaches of Dunkirk. He spent six more years with the British Army, serving in Britain, France and Asia. Alex’s four brothers also served in the Armed Forces – two of them, Ollie and Bobby, were killed in action. Alex immigrated to Ontario in 1946 and was a member of Pickering Legion Branch 606 from 1986 until his death on January 17, 1991. KILBY, Michael Joseph “Mike” Michael was born in Eganville, Ontario on February 14, 1896. He served as a Gunner in a Field Artillery Battery of the Canadian Expeditionary Force from January 5, 1918 to December 7, 1918. He served with the 1st Eastern Ontario Regiment in Canada during World War I. During that time he was injured, treated and returned to duty. After being discharged, Mike returned home to the Ottawa Valley. Soon after, he met and married Rose Fournier who was visiting from Quyon, Quebec. Rose bore twelve children, five boys and seven girls. As the family grew in size, they moved to the family farm and helped Mike’s brother. Michael went to work for the Canadian Pacific Railway as a cook. He was travelling on passenger train #550 to report for work in Ottawa when it was involved in the 1942 Almonte Train Wreck. Mike lost his left leg, his left eye, and spent many months in hospital. He returned to the family farm and remained there until his passing on September 6, 1953. KERR (GREER), Helen Louise Helen was born in Saskatchewan on August 2, 1919. She graduated to become a Registered Nurse in 1942 and entered the Canadian Army Medical Corps as a Lieutenant Nursing Sister on January 4, 1944. After serving at a London, Ontario military hospital for four months, she was posted to #21 Canadian General Hospital and shipped overseas to England and then onto France, landing in Dieppe October 4, 1944. She was briefly posted to #21 Hospital, which was set up at Mesnieres en Bray, then moved to St. Omer on January 10, 1945 to look after wounded and sick Allied Service men. Helen returned to England in March 1945 to work at Basingstoke Neurological and Plastic Surgery Hospital where she nursed paraplegic and quadriplegic servicemen, many recovering from brain surgery. She obtained two weeks leave in April and married Alex Kerr in Glasgow, Scotland on April 12. When Basingstoke closed in July 1945, Helen was transferred to #11 at Taplow, which also closed, in December 1945. She moved to #22 at Bramshot, the last Canadian Hospital active in England. On May 30, 1946, Helen obtained her discharge and moved to Ontario with Alex. Helen has been a member of Pickering Legion Branch 606 since 1986.
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