Photo supplied. Private Thomas Allen fought in WW1 and in the battle of Vimy Ridge.
Have you ever taken the time to read the names on the local war memorial? There are forty-four names on the memorial, each with a story to tell. Here are three of those stories.
Private Thomas Allen
was the son of Rev. Canon W. C. Allen of Millbrook. He was an Honours graduate from Trinity College and practiced law. In July of 1916, he enlisted to fight in the First World War. He had the option to enlist as an officer, but preferred the rank of Private. In April of 1917 he fought at the Battle of Vimy Ridge, a battle which many see as Canada’s brightest moment in the war. At Vimy Ridge all of the Canadian Corps fought together for the first time, and took an objective that until that moment our allies had failed to achieve. Only a few months later in June of 1917, Allen was wounded by an enemy artillery shell. He would not recover from his wounds.
Photo supplied.
Flight Sergeant John Arundel, centre, between two comrades, was a pilot in WW11
Flight Sergeant John Arundel
was born to Samuel and Laura Arundel of Millbrook. Arundel received his pilot’s wings in September of 1941 and arrived in England in October. Usually he flew a Supermarine Walrus seaplane to do rescue missions, and was involved in many successful ones. On a July day in 1942, he and his crewmate were scrambled to fly in a Defiant, a type of interceptor aircraft, to search for a downed pilot off of the enemy-controlled French coast. Six German fighters intercepted them, shooting down Arundel’s aircraft and one of his two fighter escorts. Arundel’s aircraft stood no chance and he was never recovered from the ocean. He is memorialized at the Runnymede Air Forces Memorial in England, and on the Millbrook War Memorial.
Photo supplied.
Private Russell Gardiner fought in the Korean War in 1953.
Private Russell Gardiner
was born in Millbrook in 1930. On the 9th of November, 1951 he enlisted in the Canadian Army. At this time, Canada was a part of the United Nations intervention in the Korean War. North Korea, with assistance from China and the USSR, had invaded South Korea in June of 1950. The UN was not there for peacekeeping purposes but was instead involved in a war against communism at the start of the Cold War. Gardiner was a member of the Royal Canadian Regiment and arrived in Korea in 1952. In May of 1953, just a few months before the peace treaty was signed, Private Gardiner volunteered to accompany his platoon commander on a patrol. On their rounds, they came across a Chinese soldier who was pretending to be dead. The enemy soldier ambushed the two Canadians and Private Gardiner was buried in the UN Cemetery in Busan, Korea. He was one of the 516 Canadians to die in the Korean War.
Every name on the war memorial in Millbrook has a story. A story of bravery, sacrifice, and loss. The memorial is there so that we remember the sacrifice our community has made every time we pass it.
By Cohen Salo, Grade 12 Crestwood student and local history buff