LEST WE FORGET 113 CORBETT, Merlin WWII Merlin Corbett was born on March 10, 1916. He married Geraldine Nay in 1939. Merlin joined the Canadian Army in 1942 and after receiving his discharge in 1946, they moved from the Forgan area of Saskatchewan to Macrorie, Saskatchewan where he managed the Lumberyard. CREE, William WWI William Cree was born in Edinburgh, Scotland on October 16, 1889 or 1890, to William and Agnes Cree. Before emigrating to Canada, William served four years with the Scottish Territorials. He was farming near Bounty, Saskatchewan when he enlisted in Moose Jaw on July 13, 1916 and embarked from Halifax for England on September 13, 1917. He served at the front in France where he received a Good Conduct Badge. In total, he served for two years and 131 days with the 229th Battalion, seeing action at Vimy Ridge and Ardens.While on leave, he met his wife Annie in London, England. William Cree boarded a ship to return home to Canada on March 29, 1919 and was demobilized on April 10, 1919. At the end of the war, William and Annie settled near Biggar, Saskatchewan and later moved to the Bounty area. Amazingly, despite a childhood congenital condition that left him blind in his right eye, he served Canada. One of William and Annie’s children, a son named James Wilbert Cree, served in the Royal Canadian Navy in Korea. William Cree passed away on January 26, 1954. He is buried in the Fertile Valley Cemetery, near Bounty. CREE, James Wilbert KOREANWAR James Wilbert Cree was born on July 11, 1930, in Rosetown, Saskatchewan. His parents, William and Annie (Monk) came to Canada from Scotland in the early 1900’s. William served in World War I. James joined the Royal Canadian Navy on October 13, 1949 and served aboard the HMCS Athabaskanfor three years during the Korean conflict. Following his discharge from the RCN, James joined the Royal Canadian Air Force where he served for over 25 years, being stationed at Trenton, Ontario for part of that time. On April 25, 1970, James received a year-long posting to India and Pakistan with the United Nations Military Observation Group. Mail and telephone service were so poor that he was basically out of touch with his family the entire time. He and his wife Florence Marie (Michel) had four children: Michael, John, Ron and Dianne. After retiring from the RCAF in 1975, James worked for the City of North Bay for thirteen years. After his retirement, he and Florence continued to live in North Bay, where he passed away on June 23, 2007.
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