319 www.on.legion.ca ONTARIO COMMAND PUDDICOMBE, John Balkwill John was born on June 28, 1891, in New Hamburg, Ontario, to Robert and Jane (Collum), along with nine siblings: Mary, William, Fanny, Ellen, Nellie, Robert, Alexander, Brook and Florence. Prior to World War I, John was working as a salesman (hardware). In 1915, he enlisted in the Army (Regular Force) with the Flying Corps, but was rejected as being physically unfit for infantry work overseas. In 1917, he was conscripted and was placed in Category “B” Ordnance Corps, trained at Exhibition Camp in Toronto and assigned to guard duty at Kapuskasing Internment Camp where over 800 prisoners with Alien Nationalities were quartered. When the war was over, some prisoners preferred to stay in Canada, the ones who wanted to go back to their countries were escorted by Sergeant John to the waiting ships in Halifax. He was discharged on January 26, 1920. He married Clara (Henry) in 1922. John passed away in 1951 and is laid to rest in the Fifty Cemetery in Winona, Hamilton Region. He is remembered by cousins Robert and Gwen Tye. QUINLAN, Maurice James Maurice was born in Belleville, Ontario on July 3, 1917, to Edward Thomas and Ellen Kathleen Quinlan, along with three sisters, Kathleen, Helen and Margaret and three brothers, Thomas, William and Jack. After moving to Toronto, he attended St. Clares Separate School, De La Salle College, Oaklands and Vaughan Road Collegiates. He married Eleanor Myrtle (Potts) in 1941 and was a member of St. Clare’s Roman Catholic Church. At the time, he was employed at General Steel Wares as an enameller. Maurice served with the Queen’s Own Militia from July 1940 until he transferred to active service on May 21, 1942 with the Queen’s Own Rifles of Canada, R.C.I.C. 1st Battalion where he was promoted to Acting Corporal during training at Camp Niagara and Camp Debert in Nova Scotia with the 3rd Battalion QOR. He was in France with the 1st Battalion, landed with the second wave on Juno Beach on D-Day, June 6, 1944, and was killed in action on June 11, 1944. He was buried in Beny-sur-Mer Canadian War Cemetery in Calvados, France. Corporal Maurice James Quinlan is commemorated on page 442 of the SecondWorldWar Book of Remembrance on Parliament Hill in Ottawa. RAYMOND, Joseph Colin “Con” Con was born in Timmins, Ontario on August 26, 1937. He joined the Army on December 11, 1953, and was honourably discharged on January 10, 1959. He was posted to Egypt for one year in 1957 where they supplied communications for the United Nations. It was quite an experience, but he really enjoyed the work with Morse code. In 1957, while still with the Royal Canadian Signal Corps 1st Division as a Radio Operator, Con joined The Royal Canadian Legion at Branch 287, where he is still a member after 68 years. He was on the boxing team and won the All-Ontario fly weight championship in 1954. After leaving the Army, he took an apprenticeship course in electrical and worked as a Journeyman Electrician until 2003 when he retired from work. He has attended Zone and District Conventions, at various positions, since 1998. He also attended three provincial Conventions and one Dominion Convention. He was elected to the Executive Committee in 1996 and is still on the Executive Committee. He was elected 2nd Vice 1997-1998, 1st Vice 1998-2000, Branch President 2000-2004, Deputy Zone Commander 2003-2005, Zone Commander 2005-2009, Deputy District Commander 2009-2011, District Commander 2011-2013, and District Treasurer 2014-2019. He is now only involved with Branch 287 executive.
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