2011 Convention – Penticton, BC - Legion

www.legionbcyukon.ca
Brownsey, Reginald George (Reg)
Reg was born in Duncan, BC in 1923. He joined the Army in June 1941 while still
six months underage. He served in the Bay Street Armouries in Victoria and at Otter
Point in Sooke and went to Camp Vernon, BC for basic training. Reg then attended
Vancouver Tech to become a machinist, graduating in the top one-third of his class,
before going to Esquimalt to be an armourer. Reg repaired, modified, and inspected
weapons with the 13 th Infantry Brigade in Nanaimo, BC and then went overseas with
the St. John’s Fusiliers in 1945. He repaired weaponry, trained recruits and then
returned to Camp Borden in Ontario to work at the Canadian Army Overseas #1
Base Workshop. His final posting was near Aldershot, England where he helped
repair up to 2000 rifles a day to ship back to Canada. He says that while he was there,
food was in short supply and he greatly appreciated the kindness and generosity of
the Salvation Army. Reg was discharged on January 6, 1946. He has been a Legion
Member for fifty-nine years and is still active with Branch #53, Cowichan.
BRITISH COLUMBIA / YUKON COMMAND
Brown, James Lemin
James enlisted in the Royal Canadian Air Force in Edmonton, Alberta on
August 3, 1943. After training at Manning Depot in Edmonton, he was sent
east to take further training at #10 Bombing and Gunnery School in Mount
Pleasant, P.E.I. After graduation, he was sent to England to take more
training at the Operational Training Unit (O.T.U.). James was then posted to
626 Squadron One Group (RAF) at Wickenby, England. He says he
“completed 33 trips as the tail-gunner by good luck and good training.” He
was discharged on September 18, 1945. James is a member of Legion
Branch #24 in Cranbrook, BC.
Burrows, Robert H. (Bob)
Bob was born on September 22, 1923 in Edmonton, Alberta. He moved to Victoria and
enlisted in the 27 th AAC Regiment, 13 th Battery at the Bay Street Armouries in
Victoria when he was 18. He went to Brandon, MB for a course on 25 lb. artillery, then
to Kingston, ON as a Signalman/Radio Operator before going to Shilo, MB and in
1943, to England. Bob trained in Borden, England before landing in the Bay of Naples
in Italy where he saw action with the 2 nd Field Regiment, 10 th Battery and as a
Forward Observation Officer with the 48 th Highlanders Infantry. He was responsible
for mapping coordinates when firepower was needed and doing reconnaissance work,
including from church towers. Bob left Italy for Marseille, France and after a short
leave in Belgium, went to Holland and Apeldoorn and Deventer, the site of the last
major action for the Canadian Army. Bob had been a member of the Legion Public
Service Branch #127 in Victoria, BC for thirty years before he passed away in 2010.
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