Uncle Willie and survivors of the sinking of HMCS Athabaskan G07 occasionally got together over the years. At this time, there are only three men left from the original crew. The Friends of HMCS Haida Association in Hamilton would honour the survivors each year on the date of the sinking but they discontinued the practise a few years ago as the last two men who could attend were too frail. As the Unit Public Affairs Representative for HMCS Athabaskan 282, I created the photo above as a keepsake for the last presentation to Ernest Takalo.
The faded image of the returning Athabaskan POWs from Germany. AB Bill Trickett is front and center in the first row with his trademark grin.
AB Bill Trickett’s POW Experience
This entry contains photos from Willie’s Log related to his POW stay in Marlag und Milag Nord near Bremen, Germany.
The Orleans group were Athabaskans too severely injured to be sent to Germany. They were sent to an Orleans army hospital, Front-Stalag 133A. They were liberated early when Paris was taken in August 1944.Uncle Willie’s signature on the back of the paperSnapshots of the German POW campA POW issued 10 Reichspfenning note that was not legal German currency. A couple of family photos from home of his father, mother, and sister, Bill, Agnes, and Jessie.A picture of the POWs of Barrack ‘V’. Willie is back row, fourth from the left and not smiling. The middle photo appears to be a machine for boiling water. The bottom photo looks like a prisoner’s drama skit.Random photos of a violin maker, a European city street, and a group of menStockheath Naval Camp located in Portsmouth, England would have been a stopover point for the returning Athabaskan POWs after they were liberated. Dated May 11, 1945, Uncle Willie would have exchanged some Belgian Francs for British Pounds. HMS Victory was Nelson’s ship which I also visited while on a NATO deployment to Europe.A receipt for an American Red Cross package, some possible wrapping paper from something in the package, and a possible ration card dated 1 Juni 1944A much earlier photo of AB Trickett. Unsure of who Ted and Mack are but Ted might be AB Ted Hewitt who was rescued by HMCS Haida.
The following entry is a collection of ship photos from Willie’s logbook.
AB Willie Trickett is front and center with the monster grin. It was the Bay of Biscay where Athatbaskan was attacked by the new German glider bomb. If the German bomber had set the fuse properly, the ship and most of the crew would have been killed. During the sinking, the aft gun crews were all killed or injured.
Spitzbergen was a hotly contested northern Norway island that was important for helping to supply Russia during the Murmansk convoy supply runs.
Every sailor knows about ‘Paint Ship Routine’. This sailor is painting the barrel of the ‘A’ Gun far forward. Athabaskan G07 was painted in a broken paint scheme to camouflage the ship.
G07 with a one colour paint scheme. The photo with 261 on the side is HMCS Mackenzie – a Mackenzie class destroyer escort commissioned in 1962.
Another picture of G07. The photo of the ship pendant number 225 is a post-war photo of HMCS SIOUX – a V class destroyer. During the war her pendant number was R64
A NDHQ photo of G07
The various ships of the 10th Division Force with best regards from Emile Beaudoin, a fellow Athabaskan POW.
A funny cartoon labeled ‘How To Train Your Dog’ and Pete & Freddy
POW Drawings
As promised, here is a continuation of the entries contained within Able Seaman Willie Trickett’s Wartime Log. Many of his barrack mates and friends added their drawings to the book.
A cartoon signed ‘You wait until I see Lolly’ Best (?) Deutschland 1945. Artist unknown
A German Torpedo Boat or E-Boat, drawn by AB R. Westaway of Toronto.
Signatures of the 15 men sharing Room “V” Barrack with AB Trickett. Possibly a depiction of Bill (upper bunk) and William Edgar Connolly.
Names and addresses of the men of Room ‘V’ Barrack
W. D. Trickett, Kelwood, Man
Elmer Scratch, Blythewood, Ont.
Gerry Webster, 507 Manitoba Ave, Saskatoon, Sask.
J. Laidler, 1743 West 2nd Ave., Vancouver BC – “The Duke”
R. D. Osborne, 1110-2nd St, Saskatoon
W. Bint, 711 Ave. “H”. South, Saskatoon, Sask.
Lester McKeeman, Gaspereaux, PEI
E. A. Rouse, Tillsonburg, Ont.
J. W. Fairchild, 33 St. Genevieve Ave, Quebec City
R. E. Phillips, Ocean Falls, BC
J. L’Esperance, 515 Newton Ave., Winnipeg, Man.
D. Sweeney,7516 Querbes Ave, Montreal, Quebec
W. E. Connolly, 18 Locke St. N. Hamilton, Ont
J. Acorn, Cardigan, PEI
E. R. Beach, Balgonie, Sask
R. H. Cummins, Wild Rose, Sask.
An older Tribal Class Destroyer, HMS Bedouin ‘Sunk in Action Off Pantellaria, 15th June 1942. Artist signature could be J. Dunk, R.N. who signed, ‘Best Wishes Bud. “Ginger”‘
An extra loose cartoon in the Log dated the 24th of August probably 1944
Greek H.M. S/M “Triton” Sunk in action off Andros (Greece) by German corvettes 16th November 1942. Signature indistinct.
Carly Dow playing at the Rackham Community Hall – Photo by Dandy Denial
***Original published in South Mountain Press, Oct 26, 2018***
Local Upcoming Star Plays in Rackham Community Hall
Life was breathed back into a forlorn, forgotten church hall in the tiny hamlet of Rackham Saturday night when a sellout crowd of at least 150 came out to enjoy the second stop on local singer/song writer Carly Dow’s latest tour. The musician was back home promoting the October 19 world wide release of her latest album ‘Comet’.
Although Carly is diminutive in stature and modest about her burgeoning success, there is nothing small or restrained about her strong, throaty lyrics or her signature style on her acoustic guitar and clawhammer banjo.
Carly’s brand of music easily appeals to a broad cross section of people. The twang of her banjo and solid downbeats thoroughly entertained an eclectic mix of fans that ranged from dancing children to toe tapping grandmothers. Farmer flannel intermingled with hipster skinny jeans. New Age lifestyle fused nicely with the homey atmosphere of a rural social that came complete with song, dance, wine, craft beer, veggies, and venison sausage. Her upbeat songs concerning Nature, lost relationships, and plain everyday life strike a common chord across all spectrums.
As Carly played through her repertoire of songs, she gave some insight on where she gets her inspiration for her music and video projects. She already had a strong link with the Manitoba backwoods from her summers spent up at the Park, majoring in Environmental Studies at the U of M, and subsequent employment with the Nature Conservancy of Canada. Her Lake Audy property, encounters with wildlife (or the occasional errant Canadian goose), and the wildness of rural Manitoba feature strongly in her lyrics and videos.
Also, unique to the new method of raising capital for projects like a song album, Carly sang ‘Prairie Mountain Sisters’. She wrote the song as a pledge reward for the Kickstarter campaign that made her sophomore project possible.
Glennis and Garth Dow, Carly’s parents, were in attendance and proud of their daughter’s success. According to her mother, Carly’s talent for music started to blossom when she first started playing guitar back in Grade 9.
‘Carly is her own creation’, was the response from Glennis when asked if their daughter took after someone else in the family. Garth was glad that his daughter’s hard work was gaining recognition and admired all of the effort that she has put forward to get to this point.
Carly made the permanent move to the Lake Audy area about four years ago. The appeal of the Park also convinced her parents to make the move away from the Big City at the same time. Mom and Dad had already been running the Chocolate Fox in Wasagaming since 2008 and it has worked out that the whole family is out this way.
Garth pointed out that this latest album was pretty much an all Manitoban production. Most of Carly’s published music videos are shot in and around the Lake Audy/Onanole area featuring the wild Manitoba landscape and locals volunteering their time. ‘Cut and Run’ from the new album features an older Sandy Lake couple and their VW ‘Peace’ van out enjoying life by Clear Lake and the Wishing well area. The video ends with Carly playing at a dance over at Poor Michael’s Emporium in Onanole. The musician expressed her humble gratitude for all of the support and appreciated the chance to ‘give back’ by performing a show for her home crowd.
Carly will continue promoting the new album with a month long Western Canada tour of 20 venues that will take her to Vancouver Island and back. If you want to follow her progress and sample some of her unique ‘wildcrafted folk music’, look her up at www.carlydowmusic.com or on her Facebook profile.
For tech savvy fans, her album is available for download via iTunes, Apple Music, Spotify, Amazon, & Google Play. If you are an audiophile, ‘Comet’ is also available on vinyl featuring design work by Roberta Landreth and artwork by Gabrielle Funk.
Blair is a personification of a ‘Jack of All Trades and Master of None’. He has held several careers and has all the T-shirts. Time to add the title Blogger to the list.
***Original published in Crossroads This Week, Oct 19, 2018***
New Housing Option for Hamiota Older Adults
The town of Hamiota is gaining a unique senior housing option due to the forward looking efforts of Mark Fisher and his contracting company. The first of at least two downtown 4 Plex units is almost complete and Mark is well into the planning stages of starting a second 4 Plex in 2019.
The Souris based company has been in the construction business for 15 years and has been building custom homes specifically for older adults since 2014. He started with two 3 Plexs in Souris, one 4 Plex in Hartney, and started construction of this latest project this spring.
Mark explained that he recognized that there was a niche market for high quality, small venture, housing options for older adults in rural Manitoba towns. “It’s risk management in smaller markets. In my opinion, it is not feasible in a small community to blow into town promising larger developments. With my business model, I can scale building safely without overextending financially. It has been successful for me and my previous customers, so I’ll keep doing what works.”
The buildings that Mark has designed are built with the needs of seniors in mind. All the rooms are on one level, everything is wheelchair and scooter accessible, the doors and garage are oversized, and there is no yard to look after.
Plus for the new tenants literally getting in on the ground floor, they have the option of getting together with Mark during the building process to ask for specifics suited to their needs. Upgrades or other changes are always easier for a builder before the final building is done. Mark regularly takes feedback during the building process and has already incorporated improvements into each successive project.
Unlike a condominium, Mark’s housing business model is to act as a landlord with long term tenants. With the first few projects, he was asking for a $15,000 deposit that would be applied to the first five years of the rent. The money offset the company’s financial liability during the construction process. With these new projects in Hamiota, the deposit is now optional but if it is paid, Mark will guarantee no rent increases and a commensurate rent decrease for a five year period. If the tenant decides to leave, they will receive a pro-rated deposit refund. After the five year period finishes, Mark forecasts that any rent increases will be minimal.
A selling feature for this type of housing option is there are no extra fees or hassles with a condo committee. The hardest thing for the building’s tenants to get together over is collectively sharing the costs of snow removal.
For Hamiota residents interested in the new building slated for the 2019 construction season, Mark will be holding an Open House at the 74 Maple Ave location on October 30 from 5 to 8 pm.
Blair is a personification of a ‘Jack of All Trades and Master of None’. He has held several careers and has all the T-shirts. Time to add the title Blogger to the list.
