417 www.on.legion.ca ONTARIO COMMAND STAHLE, Theodore Constantine “Theo” Theo was born on February 13, 1894 in Waterloo County, Ontario. He was one of thousands of Canadian men who were conscripted late in World War I. A 23-yearold plumber, Theo found himself enrolled in the Army on January 8, 1918 certainly one of the very first men to be called up by the government of the day. On February 22, 1918, he boarded the SS Cretic, a small White Star Liner, headed to Britain. Upon arrival in Britain on March 4, 1918, some generous soul must have taken pity on the youth and he found himself transferred to the Canadian Forestry Corps and shipped off to the Highlands of Scotland. He spent the remainder of the war there cutting trees to be turned into lumber for the war effort on the mainland. After the Armistice, Theo had to wait a long time to return to Canada. He was finally shipped home and eventually discharged on July 11, 1919. For his service, he was awarded the British War Medal. Theo has been a member of The Royal Canadian Legion Fred Gies Branch 50. STECHO, Harold Albert Harold was born in Kitchener, Ontario on February 11, 1920 to John and Johanna (Scharmacher). Harold had four siblings. He joined the Army during World War II on December 4, 1941 under the Natural Resource Mobilization Act. He was transferred to the Air Force Construction and Maintenance Unit 1 - Vancouver. He worked with the US forces as a Lumberjack (Tree Topper) and then as an electrician to run the power lines for the defensive air strips along the shores of Canada and Alaska. He returned home on his first leave and married Anna Helen Keller on May 16, 1942. She followed him back and they built a cabin in the bush near Whitehorse. Flight Sgt. Stecho received an honourable discharge in September 1946 and then helped raise three children. Harold established a successful electrical business (Stecho Electric) in the Kitchener-Waterloo region, which was turned over to their son, Wayne upon Harold’s retirement. Harold passed away on February 19, 2005 and is buried in Park Wood Cemetery in Waterloo. Just prior to writing this entry, Anna celebrated her 100th birthday at The Royal Canadian Legion Branch 530 in Waterloo, where her son Wayne is a proud Associate Member. STARKISS, Samuel George Samuel was born in Hertford, England on January 22, 1892. Samuel was an English farm laborer in Springford near Tillsonburg and married a local girl. Samuel enlisted on May 15, 1916, service unit CEF Oxford’s Own 168th Battalion. About the time Samuel went overseas his wife went to England to live with his parents. This practice of wives to move abroad was discouraged by the government which felt the wives would be a burden to the war effort. Samuel passed on May 3, 1917 at the Battle of Arras in France.
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy MTM0NTk1OA==