57 www.on.legion.ca BEST, Ernest Charles Ernest was born in Windsor, Ontario on June 29, 1926. In 1943, Ernest joined the Canadian Army (Regular Force) at the age of seventeen. His basic training was at Ipperwash, Ontario. He was deployed to London, England where he served during the Blitz. After his release in 1945, he returned to Windsor where he went to work at a steel factory. After that, Ernest went to work for the Hiram Walker Company. One of Ernest’s favourite sports was boxing. He coached boxing at Walkersville Collegiate in Windsor. He and his wife raised six children together. Ernest passed away on January 3, 2007. He was a proud member of The Royal Canadian Legion Branch 255. BEST, Gary Leo Gary was born in Windsor, Ontario on November 21, 1950. He joined the Army (Reserve Force) with the Windsor Regiment on June 8, 1967, at the age of seventeen. His basic training was in Windsor and Petawawa, Ontario and then on to Cedar Springs. He was stationed in Windsor and served for two years. After his release on January 16, 1969, Gary went to work doing different jobs until 1973 when he started working for the Post Office. Gary retired in 2007. Today, Gary helps out as a Care Giver and does odd jobs to keep busy. He also enjoys the outdoors spending time on his boat and fishing. Gary is also a proud nine-year member of The Royal Canadian Legion Branch 255. BIENIAWSKI, Stanley Zbignlew Stanley (Zbignlew) Bieniawski was born in Wieniawa, eastern part of Poland on March 25, 1926. In 1940, Stanley and his family were rounded up by the Soviet invaders when Poland was divided between Germany and the Soviet Union, and they were imprisoned in a labour camp in Siberia. In 1941, after the German invasion of the USSR, the Bieniawski family was released and made their way south where Stanley joined the Polish Army Cadets, eventually finding himself in Iran. Through the living hell of uncertainty, Stanley enlisted in the Polish Air Force in England where his family later joined him. Once in England, he joined the RAF as an aircraft technician, supporting bomber command and eventually training as an air gunner on Lancaster Bombers. At war’s end, Stanley met Marysia (Mary) Kunicka, got married in 1949, and immigrated to Canada in 1955. He found work with de Havilland in Toronto and in the 1960s obtained his private pilot’s license. Stanley was a member of the RCAF Association’s 441 (Huronia) Wing in Barrie, Ontario. He passed away on May 12, 2023. We Will Remember Them Ontario Command
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