Cantley 1889 Articles
The following article first appeared in The Echo of Cantley Volume 23 no 5, November 2011. This article is made available for the enjoyment of others with the express permission of the Echo of Cantley.
For King and Country: 1939 - 1945 (part 1)
by Mary Holmes
Many young men and two young women from the Cantley area answered their country's call to service during World War II. In this first of two articles, Mary Holmes, who is from one of Cantley's longstanding families and is on the Board of Cantley 1889, reminds us about some of our veterans as we remember all our fallen on Remembrance Day. The second article will appear in the December issue of the Echo.
Lance Corporal Lawrence McGarry, of the Stormont, Dundas and Glengarry Highlanders, R.C.I.C., was the youngest son of James McGarry and Abigail McKittrick. He enlisted in August 1940 and arrived overseas in December 1943. Lawrence saw service in England, France, Belgium, Holland and Germany and was wounded twice. He was killed at the age of 25 on April 7, 1945 and is buried in the Holten Canadian War Cemetery in the Netherlands. The McGarry farm was in the area to the west of the Edelweiss Ski Hills, an area that is inside the boundaries of St. Elizabeth parish in Cantley.
Thomas Holmes and his second wife, Elizabeth Moore, saw two of their sons off to war, Martin and Cletus, as well as Charles, one of Thomas' sons with his late first wife, Ginny Mullen. However, only Cpl. Martin and Pte. Charles returned home. Sergeant Air Gunner Cletus of the Royal Canadian Air Force was killed in air operations over Germany on August 24, 1943 at the age of 21. He had been on operations since arriving overseas in March 1943. He was a graduate of No. 3 Bombing and Gunnery School at Macdonald, Manitoba. Cletus is buried in the Berlin 1939 - 1945 War Cemetery.
William Barton and Martha Wilson in the Wilson's Corners area had two of their sons leave home to serve, George and Norman. Norman was a private in the Canadian Forestry Corps. Both returned home. Norman married and his three sons all served in the Korean War. In a sad twist of fate, their brother, Percy, who stayed at home, was killed in a car accident in Hull while George and Norman were away.
Eldon Storey left his family home on Ch. Storey, never to return. He was the son of George Storey and Marion Maxwell. Eldon was a gunner in the Royal Canadian Artillery, 12 Field Regiment, and was killed on September 6, 1944 at the age of 22. He is buried in Calais Canadian War Cemetery (Leubringhen), Pas de Calais, France.
Thomas Floyd had the good fortune to be taken in and raised by Archie Barton and Ethel Thompson (in the area of Ch. Saint-Andrew) when he was a young boy. Thomas served in the War as did his brother, Albert Floyd, who was raised elsewhere. Albert was a Private in the Cape Breton Highlanders, R.C.I.C. He was killed on Sept 6, 1944 at the age of 25 and is buried in Gradara War Cemetery in Italy.
Two of the ten sons of Patrick Holmes and Edna McAndrew, Bernard and Lawrence, also signed up. They grew up on the farm at the end of Ch. Claude Lauzon. Bernard was in the Royal Canadian Ordnance Corps while his brother, Lawrence (Larry), was in the Royal Canadian Regiment. Lawrence went on to serve in Korea as a Corporal.
Five of the six Cashman brothers, sons of John Cashman and Beatrice Prudhomme, Donald, Patrick, Victor, William, and Mervyn also enlisted. Donald and Patrick are known to have served overseas. Patrick was wounded in Italy and spent many months in hospital. They lived in the area of the intersection of Montee de la Source and Hogan Road.
Everett Hogan was one of the sons of Frank Hogan and Hannah Holmes. He left his family's farm on Hogan Road to enlist at Huntingdon, Quebec in August 1942. He served until the end of the war. On his way home, Everett married his war bride, Amanda Pilkington, in England in September 1945.
More to follow next month. Please send us your stories of war veterans: info.cantley1889@gmail.com