LEST WE FORGET 155 LENTON, Wilfrid Drummond WWII Wilfrid Drummond Lenton was born in Fayetteville, Arkansas, USA on August 23, 1907, and moved with his parents and sister Ethel to Saskatchewan in 1910. He joined the Saskatoon Light Infantry with his brother Richard on September 17, 1939 and served overseas during World War II. Irene Maria Victoria Lane, daughter of Victor Lane and Maria Sophia Maghdelena Meersman, was born on February 5, 1920 in Loverna, Saskatchewan, but moved to Belgium with her family in 1931. At the outbreak of World War II, the family was forced to flee to England to escape the Nazi rule. While in England, Irene took a job building Blenheim bombers. Her job was to install the windows and radio antennae. Irene quit that job when she married her Canadian Army sergeant. Wilfrid and Irene met in Medstead and Wilfrid started courting her in England when he stopped to visit the Lane family who were friends when they all lived in Saskatchewan. Wilfrid and Irene were married in Shrewsbury, Shropshire on December 16, 1942. Irene returned to Canada as a war bride, bringing their first-born daughter with her. They rejoined Wilfrid in North Battleford and they began their life together, living in various places in Saskatchewan throughout the years. Wilfrid and Irene had five children: Cecilia Elianne (December 10, 1943), Michael Roy (November 26, 1946), Shirley Anne (December 2, 1954), Darrell Wayne (May 17, 1956), and Virgil Lynne (December 17, 1958). Wilfrid had several occupations throughout his lifetime. He was a policeman in North Battleford and Meadow Lake, had a milk route, worked for the timber board in Meadow Lake, was an agent for the Federal Department of Indian Affairs (1954-1973) in Big River, Fort la Corne (near Prince Albert), Red Pheasant (near Battleford), retiring from Wynyard. He also worked as an insurance salesman and a night watchman at Clear Lake Sawmills in Prince George. Wilfrid liked to read and play cribbage, whist, chess, doing crossword puzzles, marking kites from newspapers and willows every spring and watching the soaps. He was a good Christian, always supporting his church and staunchly supported The Royal Canadian Legion. Irene was a homemaker most of her life. She enjoyed reading, sewing, ceramics, and other crafts. She had several dogs over the years and at one time had a huge collection of elephants. She had a keen sense of humour and cared deeply for her family. Wilfrid and Irene parted in 1970, after 28 years of marriage. Wilfrid moved to Prince George, BC where he met a lady named Mary. They were married in 1982 and made their home in Grand Forks. LEWIS, Barnard “Barney” WWI Barney was born in 1895 and came to Birch Hills from Chicago in 1907 to join his uncle Barnard Saunders who was homesteading in the Fisher district northwest of Birch Hills. The Lewis and Saunders families had originally come fromWales. Barney enlisted in World War I and came back to farm. He married Louise Orton in 1924, and they raised a family of five children on the farm. Barney passed away in 1977, and Louise passed away in 1979.
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