Royal Canadian Legion

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East York legionnaire recalls wartime as merchant mariner

In 1944, William O’Leary lied about his age and enlisted as a galley boy in the Merchant Marine. He was 15 years old. “I’ve sailed all over the world,” said O’Leary, who embarked from Cape Breton, Nova Scotia, on a ship carrying food, ammunitions and coal to Allied forces at the end of the Second World War. En route to Odessa, Russia, his ship travelled through the North Atlantic, a playground, he said, for German U-boats that were notorious for picking off slow convoys of ships heading into and out of Canada.


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She sells poppies to honour her father

It’s rush hour. Amid the buzz of conversation and crush of passersby at Scarborough Town Centre, Sarah MacIntosh sits at a table adorned with red poppies. “My father belonged to the army. He was… in World War II and I just carry on his legacy,” she said.


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Vets bring permanent wartime look to East York

A former mayor of East York says the Second World War and Canadian vets have left a lasting impression on his community.

Part way through the 1939-1945 war, the Canadian Government faced the task of moving soldiers back into civilian life when hostilities ended. To ease the transition, Parliament passed the Veterans’ Land Act in 1942 to encourage veterans to purchase land and houses throughout Canada.

Alan Redway, the former mayor of East York, believes the Act helped shape East York into a community that relied on veterans for growth.

“After the First World War, there were veterans who built houses in the southeast corner of East York,” he said.



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Vet remembers sudden end to wartime mission

It happened on a night in May of 1944. Fred Davies remembered the cannon shell from an enemy fighter aircraft flying past his face. It ripped into the engine of his bomber. “The engine and wing… blew up,” he remembered, “(creating) an immediate ball of constant flame about 20 feet or higher.”



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Vet’s daughter still coping with his passing

Darleen Aguiar recalled an incident a few years ago. Her boss came into her office carrying a small container of shoe polish. He couldn’t open it and asked for help. Aguiar managed to get it open, but she cried the whole time. The smell, she said, reminded her or her father who kept his boots and shoes shining at all times.