Willow ridge News - Willow Ridge Community Association

Seniors’
Stories
My father and my Uncle Jimmy served in the Merchant Navy during WWII and
hMS hood in Battle
did the Murmansk suicide run to Russia with supplies and food for the Russian
people. The waters were infested with German U-boats trying to stop these runs
and resulted in the largest number of human lives lost in the Merchant Navy. My
Uncle Alec served on the most famous battleship in the Royal Navy; the hMS
hood, during WWII. The Hood was brought in for refuelling and repairs and Uncle
Alec was transferred to another ship. The Hood was later sunk by the Bismarck,
and there were only three survivors. My Uncle lost many friends that day. After the
Bismarck sank the Hood, Churchill and all of Britain said “SINK THE BISMARCK”.
The mighty Royal Navy put every ship available to sea to destroy the Bismarck. My
Uncle Richard served with the Seaforth Highlanders during WWII and was wounded
in Sicily. Doctors wanted to amputate his leg and he refused to allow them to do so. He is still walking on the same leg today. My
oldest son Brian served 12 years in the Royal Navy. He served on several ships, one of which was a nuclear sub, and spent three
months under the Arctic ice. ~ Robert
was born November, 1928 in Czechoslovakia but in 1938 Hitler changed the name of my area to Sudetenland. The war with
I Germany was on and when the war was over things were very tense in my area and in 1948 at night, with my sweetheart on my
shoulders I waded across the waist deep river into West Germany. That 8 minute walk in the water was very scary. It meant death
if we were caught.
June 10, 1953 we were married in West Germany then came by ship to Canada landing in Quebec. What a dreadful trip. On that
boat I was sick for nine days and went down to 90 pounds. We took a train across Canada to Medicine Hat then another train to
Lethbridge, settling near Lethbridge where for three years I worked on a sugar beet farm.
Coal Mine in Drumheller
We then moved to the Yukon where I did hard rock mining
for silver. Then back to Alberta where I worked in the
Drumheller coal mines. They had about 100 men working
in the mines. The mine had a shaft with a cage that took you
down into the mine. The cage took only 8 men down or up at
a time. I did this underground mining during the winter, and
then we moved on to Calgary where I spent 35 years with
Consolidated Concrete.
We became Canadian citizens and 20 years after coming to Canada I went back to East Germany where I was now allowed in and
out as I was a Canadian. I was happy to be able to visit relatives who are now all gone.
We have been married for 59 years and it is sad that I had to put my darling into a Nursing Home, where I visit most days and then
sometimes go on to play bingo at Grey Eagle. The nights are very lonely as we have no children, having lost our only child through a
miscarriage. The friendly bingo players and volunteers help ease my lonely burden. ~ Ewarld Peeterschick
PS: Ewarld’s wife passed away a week before this went to print.
Pg. 12 November 2012 Thank you for supporting your community association and your local businesses!