LEST WE FORGET 357 WIDDICOMBE, Clifford John “Jack” WWII Jack was born on May 2, 1921, the ninth child (seventh son) of eleven children born to John and JuneWiddicombe.The family ran a farm just north of Foxwarren, Manitoba growing grain and raising poultry and livestock. In his teens, he belonged to the Boys’ and Girls’ club where they learned to judge livestock and in 1939 won the provincials.Their trip to the Royal Winter Fair to compete in the Dominion finals was cancelled due to the outbreak of the war. While studying in the agriculture program at the University of Manitoba, he joined the Officers’ Training Corps and finally, in 1942, left university to join the air force. He ultimately became a Flight Lieutenant and bomber pilot with the Lancaster crew of VR N KB857 No. 419 Moose Squadron. He was written up in the Legion Magazine in 2018. He flew home to Gander, Newfoundland in June 1945 and volunteered for the Pacific Campaign but that was short lived because of the atomic bomb. By midSeptember, he was home and running a combine. In 1947, through the Veteran’s Land Act, Jack purchased the family farm and married his sweetheart, Florence Peterson.They ran a mixed farm for a while but were shortly exclusively grain farmers, gradually adding to their land holdings as the years went on. Jack was particularly proud of his registered wheat, always striving for a higher yield. T.M.W. Farms was a company that Jack, Ken Tibbatts, and Allan Murray formed to build a feedlot in 1968. For four years, they fed cattle the number one wheat no one wanted to buy. Luckily, times improved. In the winter, Jack was the snowplow operator. For over twenty years, he was a director and sometimes president of the Foxwarren branch of the Manitoba Pool Elevators. Then, in the mid-nineties, they retired to Russell, Manitoba. As a boy, Jack developed a lifelong interest in sports, particularly ball and hockey. That continued into his adult years, and he eventually became a hockey coach and an accredited referee for the Manitoba Amateur Hockey Association. He was the secretary for the Foxwarren Athletic Association and was heavily involved with the building and upkeep of the rink. He also took up curling. In the summer, he still played ball. After Jack retired, he took up golfing and started competing in the Manitoba 55+ and Canadian 55+ Games winning medals nearly every year. Currently, Jack, a long-time member of The Royal Canadian Legion, gives talks to the local schools on Remembrance Day. He is still living in his own home with his wife, continues to golf and has entered the Manitoba “Virtual” 55+ Games. WIENS, Edwin WWII Edwin was born in 1919 in Herbert, Saskatchewan. He enlisted with the Army on March 6, 1942 and served with the King’s Own Rifles of Canada, South Saskatchewan Regiment in Canada, the United Kingdom and Continental Europe. At Falaise Gap in France, he was one of five survivors of about three hundred killed. He was wounded and received an honourable discharge on Compassionate Grounds on July 20, 1945. He received the Canadian Volunteer Service Medal and Clasp. He was an active member of The Royal Canadian Legion for 47 years at Tompkins Branch 140 and at Branch 43 in Pincher Creek, AB. Edwin passed away in 1991.
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