115 www.on.legion.ca CUMMINGS, Howard Arthur Howard was born in Maryborough Township, Ontario on May 8, 1919. He was a “rugged looking man of 26, with a frank, cooperative manner. He has definite hopes for the future and is eager for all information, that might assist his ambition to own a farm.” - Veterans Affairs, London, February 1946. In October 1940, 21-year-old Howard volunteered for the Canadian Militia. He was fully enlisted within six months. He was assigned to the logistical unit of the 8th Canadian Infantry Brigade. The 8CIB trained for operation Overlord until D-Day on June 6, 1944. Howard was part of the second wave of Canadians that landed on Juno Beach two weeks later. He drove ammunition to the front lines during the Battle of Normandy, Battle of the Scheldt, Battle of the Rhineland, and the Liberation of the Netherlands. After the Germans surrendered in May 1945, Howard’s role was evacuating concentration camp survivors and humanitarian aid to the Dutch. Howard was a private and never accepted a promotion as he did not want to order anyone to death. Howard was discharged on December 22, 1945, and returned home in 1946, unable to drive a tractor as the PTSD of the war remained. War stories are few as “there is nothing good to say about it”. He bought the family farm in 1953. He was a member of The Royal Canadian Legion in Listowel. Howard passed away on January 29, 1974. CUNLIFFE, Hugh Hugh was born on October 23, 1883, in Clayton Le Moors, Lancashire, England. He emigrated with his extended family in the early 1900s. Hugh and his wife, Catherine Jane Wainman, settled in Hamilton, Ontario where Hugh worked as a bricklayer and they raised three children. In 1915, Hugh enlisted with the Canadian Overseas Expeditionary Force. He served with the 86th Machine Gun Battalion in England and France during World War I. Meanwhile, his wife worked in a munitions factory during the war. Hugh was released from active service for medical reasons in 1917. He spent seven weeks in hospital with trench fever and also sustained some injuries in the field, gunshot wounds to the shoulder, buttocks, and thigh, exposure to gas which led to some recurring eye issues and headaches, and hearing issues from an explosion. In time, Hugh made a good recovery and continued to live and work in the Hamilton area, passing away on November 23, 1947. We Will Remember Them Ontario Command
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