LEST WE FORGET 79 CHAPMAN, Robert Henry My wonderful father, Robert Henry Chapman, was born in Osmotherley, England, on March 15, 1914. His mother’s name was Emma and his father’s was George Chapman. Emma and George already had a fouryear-old girl named Elizabeth. They went on to have two more babies. George Jr. was born in 1916.When Emma was pregnant with her fourth child, World War I broke out. Emma gave birth to a baby girl, Nora, while her husband was fighting for their peace and liberty. He never did get to see his new daughter. Sadly, he was killed while marching with his troop along a gravel road in France. He stepped on a land mine that was hidden by the enemy under the gravel on the road. Emma was left to raise her four children alone. She taught them at a very young age why their father risked and gave his life for them – for England. When Robert was fourteen years old, two Canadian men came to his school in Northumberland, England, to promote farming opportunities in Saskatchewan. The speakers described it as a beautiful country with majestic Rocky Mountains and miles and miles of prairie lands ready to be farmed, they were told that they could get land if they were willing to go to Canada and work the land. Robert and two buddies boarded a ship bound for Canada as soon as they turned fifteen. The boys arrived in Halifax, at Pier 21, from there they boarded a bus. It stopped at Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan. The year was 1929, when the boys were told they had arrived, they looked about and saw dirt blowing so thick they couldn’t see in front of them. Where were the golden prairies they were told about? The Dirty Thirties were blowing their way in. Robert’s two buddies felt deceived and were returning home. Fortunately, Bob had an uncle, Walter Coates, who took him to Macrorie, Saskatchewan, to help on the farm, where he worked for about ten years. His plan was to work on his uncle’s farm and eventually get a piece of land of his own. Then, World War II broke out. Robert, like his father, felt it was his duty to defend his country’s peace. He went to Saskatoon and signed up as a soldier to train at the Dundurn Military Camp. He soon became a machine gun instructor and a Sergeant. Robert Henry Chapman signed up with the Saskatoon Light Infantry. He packed a wee bible into his army uniform and carried it all through the war. Robert prayed for, and with, individual men in his troop. He also carried a harmonica. He led the soldiers in hymns when they needed comfort and strength. He played fun songs when they needed to relax and laugh. While on the Island of Sicily, his battalion received orders to march into Italy northward. Italy’s leader, Mussolini, needed the help of the Canadians and Americans who were nearby. Mussolini had been fighting off the Nazi soldiers for months. The plan was that the Canadian soldiers would camp in the valley just south and below an old castle on a mountain nearby. Sadly, the Italian leader, Mussolini had just surrendered to the German Nazis. The Canadian soldiers didn’t know it, but the German enemy soldiers had been setting up their machine guns to prepare for a sudden attack on the men sleeping down in the valley below them. The poor Canadian and American boys were asleep when the sound of machine guns awakened them at 4:00 a.m. Robert and Harold Ashley, a comrade in the tent, ran for cover in the grape vines nearby. Robert and his friend hid and kept still and quiet for three days. Eventually Robert and his buddy met up with their army’s tanks. It was an event that shook Robert Chapman to his core. He and Harold became friends for life. All of those soldiers who were killed in that attack were buried right in that very valley where they died. Many tombstones said, “Died at age 20”. Many boys were from Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. A most amazing thing happened when the troupes were liberating Holland! It was near the end of the war when Robert arrived there. The Canadians fought valiantly to liberate the Netherlands and free the Dutch people. The Continued on Page 81
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