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Bermuda's War Veterans

Honored on Remembrance Day at eleventh hour of eleventh day of eleventh month

By Keith Archibald Forbes (see About Us) exclusively for Bermuda Online

To refer to this file use "bermuda-online.org/war veterans.htm" as your Subject.

Introduction

Here in Bermuda, Canada, United Kingdom and elsewhere in the British Commonwealth of Nations, Remembrance Day, at the Cenotaph on Front Street  in the city of Hamilton every November 11 from 11 am is a very solemn day for surviving Bermuda veterans of World Wars. If well enough to do so, wearing their medals they march down part of Front Street.

Accompanied by the Bermuda Regiment Band and Corps of Drums, the Salvation Army, North Village and Somerset Brigade Bands, and the Bermuda Islands Pipe Band, they reflect on their comrades who fought for freedom. At 11 a.m. guns fired at Fort Hamilton and Ordnance Island, St. George's, to signal the two-minute silence, held every year on the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month to commemorate the end of the First World War.

They were followed by - for the first time in 2007 - former members or on behalf of the Bermuda Home Guard and Bermuda Contingent of the Caribbean Regiment.  A service takes place in the Bermuda Cathedral in the event of wet weather.

Bermuda veterans of World Wars 1 and 2 and Korean War of the 1950s were mostly in the Bermuda Home Guard or serving abroad in the British Army (Mostly Caribbean Regiment or Lincolnshire Regiment), Royal Navy, Royal Marines, Merchant Navy, Royal Air Force, Royal Canadian  Air Force and Royal Canadian Navy.  They included John Ward, a veteran of the 9th Submarine Flotilla.

The town of St. George's also remembers the Island's war heroes, at a Remembrance Day Parade in the Town Square opposite the War Memorial. Those present include the Mayor, The Royal Artillery and Ex-Artillerymen's Association, Bermuda Island Pipe Band, The Bermuda Regiment Band & Corp of Drums, Bermuda Sea Cadets, St. George's Girl Guides, Bermuda Fire Service, Bermuda Regiment Wreath Bearers, Bermuda Regiment Gun Troop, and the Boy Scouts all participate in the ceremony.

If veterans served with a British unit - as most of them did - they get a War Pension from the United Kingdom. They may also, like UK-based war veterans, be entitled to a free British citizen's passport if born on or before 2 September 1929.  Another local veteran, also honored, served in Korea with the  US Army. On this day, all veterans wear their war medals, as members of the Bermuda War Veterans Association. They are accompanied by the band of the Bermuda Regiment. As wreaths of poppies at the Cenotaph are laid by the Governor, Premier and Opposition Leader,  there is a one minute silence. Unlike in the UK, USA, Canada, etc. there are no retirement homes or hospitals specifically for World War veterans. Some Bermuda veterans have had to pay more than $100,000 out of their own money if they have it to overseas hospitals for operations, owing to a lack of affordable medical insurance and no social conscience in Bermuda from taxpayers' resources. If they don't have the funds, they don't get treated overseas.

War veterans in Bermuda who served in the British armed forces are eligible for the popular HM Armed Forces Veterans Badge, a war pension and a free UK passport. Eligibility to this prestigious badge was widened following Remembrance Day 2005 to include all those who served between the end of the Second World War and December, 1954, thus encompassing the Korean War and military campaigns in Malaya undertaken by British forces. Members of the Merchant Navy who took part in military operations during these periods are also now eligible for this prestigious badge. The free HM Armed Forces Veterans Badge was launched in May, 2004 with the intention that it would be made available to all First World War veterans and the Second World War veterans who under the National Lottery’s Heroes Return Scheme in the United Kingdom, traveled back to the battlefronts where they had fought. It has since been extended to all veterans of the two World Wars. Those wishing to apply for the badge should send their name, address, date of birth, service number, period of service and theatres of service to: The Veterans Services, Veterans Agency, Norcross, Blackpool, FY5 3WP, United Kingdom.

In England, on every Sunday before Remembrance Day in London, the Foreign Secretary, currently the Right Hon. Jack Straw, MP, on behalf of the Foreign & Commonwealth Office, London, England, which administers Bermuda, lays before the Cenotaph (later copied by Bermuda) in London a wreath to the fallen who died in the wars from the British Overseas Territories. He is accompanied by the UK's Prime Minister, and leaders of the Opposition - those from the main Conservative and Liberal Democrat parties. 

The wreath is supplied to the FCO by the Directors and Staff of, and hand-made at, Kew Gardens, Britain's finest gardens, from flowers and botanicals in its collection from all the Overseas Territories including some prized Bermudiana. It always includes sprigs of two endemic Bermuda species, the Juniperus bermudiana (Bermuda Cedar) tree and Chiococca bermudiana (Bermuda snowberry) shrub.

Organizations involved

Bermuda's Roll of Honour Sons 

Poppy poem

Poppies have been since World War 1 the national and international symbol for British airmen, soldiers, sailors and marines who perished while serving their country in world wars and the Korean conflict.  When we mourn Bermuda's dead in Remembrance Day ceremonies each November, we think of a flower - a poppy. Why? Because of the following immortal lines from a poem: "If ye break faith with us who die, we will not sleep, though poppies grow in Flander's fields." 

The author of this famous "poppy" poem was Colonel John McCrae, who was a distinguished professor of Medicine at McGill University after he served in the Boer War. On the outbreak of war in 1914, he at once enlisted in the Canadian Army, 1st Brigade Artillery, which was sent to fight in Belgium. 

Soon after landing in Europe, he was made Medical Officer. During the second battle of Ypres in 1915 he was so horrified, appalled and heart-sick over the senseless slaughter of so many hundreds of thousands of men that he penned the following words, used to this day on 11th November. 

These verses were sent anonymously to the British magazine Punch, which published them in December 1915 under the title "In Flanders' Fields." 

Colonel McCrae died from his battle wounds in 1918.

The poem expressed McCrae's grief over the "row on row" of graves of soldiers who had died on Flanders' battlefields, located in a region of western Belgium and northern France. The poem presented a striking image of the bright red flowers blooming among the rows of white crosses and became a rallying cry to all who fought in the First World War. McCrae's poem had a huge impact on two women, Anna E. Guerin of France and Georgia native Moina Michael. Both worked hard to initiate the sale of artificial poppies to help orphans and others left destitute by the war. By the time Guerin established the first sale in the U.S., in 1920 with the help of The American Legion, the poppy was well known in the allied countries — America, Britain, France, Canada, Australia and New Zealand — as the "Flower of Remembrance." Proceeds from that first sale went to the American and French Children's League. Guerin had difficulty with the distribution of the poppies in early 1922 and sought out Michael for help. Michael had started a smaller-scaled Poppy Day during a YMCA conference she was attending in New York and wanted to use the poppies as a symbol of remembrance of the war. Guerin, called the "Poppy Lady of France" in her homeland, and Michael, later dubbed "The Poppy Princess" by the Georgia legislature, went to the Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) for help. Following its first nationwide distribution of poppies in 1922, the VFW adopted the poppy as its official memorial flower. However, a shortage of poppies from French manufacturers led to the idea of using unemployed and disabled veterans to produce the artificial flowers.

1. Great War of 1914 to 1918

They died fighting for Bermuda and the UK. Sorry, this author has no details about which Bermuda Parish they were from. Input will be welcomed from any surviving relatives and will be added here. 

Officers and NCOs of Bermuda Contingent, Royal Garrison Artillery, who served in France in World War 1. Photographed in England prior to their departure to the front. One of those was William (Lanky) Furbert.

Bermudians en route by ship to France in World War 1.

Philip Tatem, BVRC, 1st Bn. Lincolnshire Regiment, killed September 25, 1916 at Battle of the Somme. One of those who went by sea to France on the ship above.  He was the great-uncle of Sherri Panchaud Onorati who kindly sent this photo. 

2. World War 2 1939-1945

They died fighting for Bermuda and the UK. Sorry, this author has no details about which Bermuda Parish they were from. Input will be welcomed. 

Joseph Robert Gibbons, born 19 May 1929, was also once listed in the above in error, but survived his service in the Royal Air Force (1940-45) and returned to Bermuda after the war before traveling about the Caribbean islands as an employee of Esso Carribe. In 1956, he was transferred to Canada and settled down in Toronto where he passed away 13 January 1976 leaving his wife, Joan Mary (Hawes) and his children, Sharon Joan, Meredith Anne and Bruce William Watson.

Members of Bermuda Militia Artillery (BMA) sent to Europe in World War 2. The author will welcome receiving their names, for inclusion here.

Members of BMA celebrating after the war. They included Sinclair Furbert, with the BMA in Bermuda from 1943 to 1945.

Members of Bermuda Volunteer Rifle Corps sent to Europe in World War 2. They included Herbert Tatem.

Bermudian women in the Royal Canadian Air Force in World War 2. They included, from left, Lillian Bell,  Daisy Vallis, Kathleen Bromby, Iris Jackson, Betty Cousland (later, Leighton), Lucy Benevides, Frida Rigby, Joan Lee and Mary Adams (not shown but present on right).

Other units included

• Home Guard

• Bermuda Contingent of the Caribbean Regiment

Some indication of who they  were will be welcomed so they can be mentioned here.

World War 2 members of the British Army, Royal Canadian Navy, Royal Navy and US Army

This list, not complete by any means - the author would love to get some more to go with the photographs displayed earlier - of those not mentioned by name elsewhere to date - included Tommy Aitchison (who moved to USA in 2004, saying it was too expensive to continue living in Bermuda); Major Appleby; Robert Ascento; Captain J. Carlton Astwood; Barnes; Wyndham Barnes; Albert Benjamin (electronic service engineer at HM Dockyard); Captain N. T. Campbell; Card; John Card; Captain Fred Clipper (US Army); Henry Dallas;  Lieutenant Colonel Michael Darling; DeFontes; Eugene Doughty; Jack Exell; Frank Farmer (HMS Ulster); Benny Ferguson; Ronald Firth; George Fisher; Franklin; Major General Glyn Gilbert; Malcolm Gosling; Sir Richard Gorham; Sergeant Grange; Hooper; Virginia Hooper; John Keefe (Canadian Army); Cyril J. Kempe; Commander Anthony Law RCN, Corporal Mary Leighton; David Lindsay; Sergeant John MacDonald; Graham Madeiros; Herbie Marshall; Louis Panchaud; Major Patrick L. Purcell (March 16, 1918-February 21, 2002); Mello; Sandy Powell; William Riker; Anthony Russell; Alfred Simmons, MBE; Slater; A. E. Toby Smith; Lieutenant J. Brownlow Tucker; Stan Walenciak; Bill Westerfield. 

World War 2 members of the Royal Air Force (RAF) and Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF)

See Bermuda Aviation, under "1940."

They included 

• Geoffrey Bird (later a realtor)
• John Brewer 
• Bobby Burnard
• Royston Dodwell (his son David is a hotelier in Bermuda)
• Joseph Robert Gibbons 
• William Kempe (later a barrister, became one of the founders of Appleby Spurling & Kempe, now Appleby Spurling & Hunter)
• Jim Lang
• Teddy Nicholl 
• Geoff Osborn (awarded the George Medal, see Mid Ocean News story of January 22, 1972. He continued his career in aviation in ATC postwar in Dusseldorf, Germany;  Lusaka, Northern Rhodesia (during the Comet runs to Capetown); 
  then at Speke, Stanstead and Heathrow before returning to management in the Bermuda Airport. He now lives in Poole, in southern England. His son Michael is now in airport management in Bermuda.
• Jack Pitt
• Pete Perenchief
• Percy Roach
• Martin Smith (later a barrister in Bermuda)
• Francis Stephens
• Jackie Thomas
• Jimmy Vallis
• Hugh Watlington, DFC (died 2003)
•  Alan (Smokey) Wingood, DFC, married Peggy from England, later a diver and historian
• Jimmy Whitecross. 

Other Bermudians too joined the RAF, as graduates of the Bermuda Flying School. 

Those who went to Canada and joined the Royal Canadian Air Force included 

• Fred (Red) Adderley
• Harold Dale, later a Bermuda insurance executive
• Arthur (Copper) Jenkins
• Norman Jones, later a Bermuda bank executive
•  David Kopec
• Charles Nunn
• Robert Oatway 
• John H. (Jack) Osborn (brother of Geoff Osborn who served in the RAF); served in Coastal Command of the RCAF in the North Atlantic and the North Pacific (after Japanese invasion of the Aleutians). He now lives in Lumberton, NJ, USA and his  email address is jho291@juno.com. He kindly supplied this author with some information on himself, his brother and Eldon Williams.
• Arnold Redman
• Richards (first  name unknown)
• Norman Sumpter, later a Bermuda insurance executive
• Squires (first name unknown) 
• Geoffrey Welch
• Eldon Williams (older brother of Billy and Charley Williams), RCAF fighter pilot, shot down by friendly fire during D-Day operations. Jack Osborn saw him in hospital in New Westminster, British Columbia in 1945.
• Herbert (Chummy) Zuill, later a Bermuda Olympics sportsman and philanthropist.

Bermuda Catering Corps war ladies who volunteered their services at the Hamilton Hotel canteen in World War 2. They included, from left to right, Charlotte Ellen Hobbs, Jocelyn Motyer, Mrs Norman Parker, Mrs. Nellie Creelman (seated), Jean Hill Qua and Mrs. William Frith.

3. Korean War

From 11th November 2002, there was a documentary film/videotape titled "Bermuda's Defence Heritage." It aired on VSB TV Channel 11 for the first time. It focused on the permanent exhibit of Bermuda's war veterans and local forces at Commissioner's House, Bermuda Maritime Museum.