A prayer for a brave Canadian is reprinted on Page 13 ... - Royal ...

Spring 2010T H E O F F I C I A L P U B L I C A T I O N O FN O V A S C O T I A / N U N A V U T C O M M A N D9Memories of war - the lost paybookBy Charles CornwellSubmitted by PatriciaStoneBranch 31 PROIn the spring of 1944,I was serving on boardH.M.S. ULVA, a minesweepingtrawler. Ourflotilla entered Dartmouth(England) harbour <strong>for</strong>some shore leave. My twoshipmates and I caughta ride on the D. S. boat.Once ashore we took abus to Torquay. To cuta long story short, wem<strong>is</strong>sed the last bus backso we started to walk.After a couple of miles,we saw a couple of bikesoutside a pub so we borrowedthem. We arrivedback in Dartmouth wellpast midnight and headed<strong>for</strong> our ship.After an hour we sawa tug alongside a dock.Seeing no one around,we took the dinghy but itcame with just one oar soI had to skull it.Our flotilla wasmoored midstream andwhen we arrived we werechallenged by a quartermasteron a Royal Navydestroyer, who was nothappy with our reply tohim which was “Hardships.”After boarding ourship we let the dinghy gowith the tide.Our flotilla left the harbourat dawn <strong>for</strong> anotherday of sweeping. As wewere coal burners, thatnight, our flotilla enteredPortland Harbour to takeon coal. On our return toDartmouth, we waited tomoor up in midstream. Anaval D. S. boat lay off ofour port side. As soon aswe were secured, a captainrequested to board. Aftera few words with ourskipper, the third officerCharles F. Cornwellsummoned me to reportto our captain’s cabinon the double with mypaybook.After searching mylocker I could not find thepaybook. I reported th<strong>is</strong>to the captain explainingthat I had lost it.The captain started toquestion me about the lasttime I had used it. I saidit must have been the daywhen we went to Torquay.The captain thenopened h<strong>is</strong> briefcase andtook out a paybook. Heasked what the contentswere of my paybook.I told him there was aten shilling note and acondom. He flipped thepaybook open and I sawit was my paybook andeverything was inside.The captain then askedme to explain how mypaybook was found in anabandoned dinghy in theEngl<strong>is</strong>h Channel. I thenhad to tell him how wegot back to Dartmouthand had no way to contactour ship so we borrowedthe dinghy. After he gaveme a lecture on my carelessness,he said he wouldleave my pun<strong>is</strong>hment tomy captain. He d<strong>is</strong>m<strong>is</strong>sedme while the two captainsconferred.I went below to ourmess deck. As a cockyteenager, I wondered whyall the fuss over a dinghy.A few weeks laterI found out why. Ourflotilla hooked up anti-aircraftballoons and left theharbour at action station.Our position was near thesection of barges holdingthe Mullberry Harbour.When the dawn came upit was the most beautifulsight of ships of all sizesfrom the battleships downto the smallest M.T.Bs.After the Air Force andbattleships had fin<strong>is</strong>hedtheir bombardment ofthe beach and landing, wewere to move in. Our shipdropped anchor south ofthe landing area.Shortly after a civilianlaunch manned byAmericans requested totie up and no sooner afterthey had tied up they werepicked up by small landingcraft.Sometime later ourcaptain told us our orderswere to return to convoyduties and to weighanchor. That <strong>is</strong> whenwe d<strong>is</strong>covered there wasnobody on the launch. Wehad to rig up an anchor<strong>for</strong> the launch.For 60 years I wonderedwho those Americanswere but after seeingthe movie “Saving PrivateRyan” could those Americansfrom the launch havebeen that special unit?Com<strong>for</strong>t Bags <strong>for</strong> Camp HillNunavut D<strong>is</strong>trict “G”branches have donated$1000 to the Camp HillCom<strong>for</strong>t Fund to supply30 Veterans Com<strong>for</strong>tBags <strong>for</strong> the Camp Hillveteran’s spouses.The Com<strong>for</strong>t Bags areavailable on each unit <strong>for</strong>the veteran’s spouse use ifhe or she has to stay overnightwhen the veteran <strong>is</strong>gravely ill. Each kit has ablanket, towel, facecloth,tooth brush and toothpaste, soap and container,hairbrush and comb,.kleenex.Each kit can be replen<strong>is</strong>hedafter use. The com<strong>for</strong>tfund also suppliedcots available to be used<strong>for</strong> overnight stays.The veterans thank thebranches from Nunavut,D<strong>is</strong>trict “G”, Iqaluit andRankin Inlet.D<strong>is</strong>trict G Commander John Graham (right)and D<strong>is</strong>trict F Commander Tom Waters, CampHill Legion Representative are showing NovaScotia/Nunavut Executive Council what eachCom<strong>for</strong>t Bag looks like.Poster and essay winnersWinners of the 2009 NS/NU Command Royal <strong>Canadian</strong> Legion RemembranceDay Literacy Poster and Essay Contest included: (l to r) OliviaMay Armsworthy, Brooke Ronna Robinson, NS/NU Zone Commander AlanFahey, Jamie Leigh Webb and Marla McNutt. M<strong>is</strong>sing <strong>is</strong> Haley Ann Julien.Winners advance to the provincial competition through the Dominion Commandin Ottawa.