LEST WE FORGET 151 DAVIS, Robert James WWII Robert was born in Naicam, Saskatchewan in 1925. He enlisted in the Royal Canadian Air Force and served with 420 Squadron in Canada and overseas in England during World War II. He was a member of The Royal Canadian Legion Branch 306 in Leroy, Saskatchewan for eighteen years and was the first President. Robert passed away in 1964. DICKINSON, Ranselear John “Ran” WWI Ranselear John Dickinson was born on July 9, 1898, in Afton, Minnesota, the son of Grant and Emma Dickinson. Ranselear, more commonly known as Ran or RJ, arrived in Canada with his family and a box car of belongings in 1907, settling first in the Yellow Grass area. He enlisted on December 31, 1917, at the age of nineteen, and saw action in France with the 28th Battalion. On October 11, 1918, he suffered a severe gunshot wound to his right arm during the Battle of Cambrai. A series of operations followed to remove bone splints. After a total service of one year and ten months, Ranselear received a medical discharge in Regina on December 11, 1919. He met his wife-to-be Beatrice Maude Homewood while he convalesced at the Ross Military Hospital in Moose Jaw. They were married in September 1921. Ran and Beatrice had three children: John, Roy, and Carole. Having learned telegraphy in the army, he gained employment with the CPR after his discharge. His first job was in Conquest as an assistant station agent. As railway men did in the day, he worked in many communities, returning to a permanent position in Conquest in 1941. At one point, Ranselear described Conquest as “seeming more like home than any other place I worked.” In the fall of 1948, the family moved to Outlook where they lived until Ranselear retired in 1962. While in Conquest and Outlook, Ran and Beatrice were active in their community. His involvement included the United Church, the Royal Canadian Legion and the Masonic Lodge. He also served on the Outlook Town Council and the local school board. To escape prairie winters, the couple moved to Vancouver in the mid-1960’s. Ran Dickinson died on January 25, 1988 and is buried in Valley View Memorial Gardens in Surrey, BC.
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