Lest we forget - Robert Steele

Robert Steele was my uncle, but I don't know if we ever crossed paths, as he died, tragically at age 44, the year I was born.

He was my mom's eldest brother, a half brother in fact, which she didn't learn about until she was around 16. That's what happens when you are the youngest of 7 children - everyone just assumes you know things. Either way, I don't get the impression that being half siblings mattered at all. They were one big family. End of story.

Bob was a veteran of WWII. He was a Wireless Air Gunner. Being pretty non-military I had no idea what that means, so I found this interview with a Wireless Air Gunner Click to see interview with a Wireless Air Gunner Veteran. If the link is broken or you don't have time, the W.A.G. learned morse code, and then learned to shoot from a plane's gun turret. I was surprised so much of the training for RCAF crew occurred in Southern Ontario, near Guelph, St. Catharines and Fingal. Who knew?

Since privacy rules still apply, I cannot access Bob's actual service record, so the next best thing is to relay a story told by Bob's brother-in-law, Bob Connor. Apparently Bob Steele completed all his missions, and he signed up for more. Then he was in a plane that was shot down by a submarine. The pilot died right away, but Bob's last memory of that day was of being in a life boat with the other crew. His next memory was waking up 23 days later in a hospital in England.

I haven't had any luck finding out any records or details on this, but will definitely update if I do. Stay tuned....

Comments

Remembering those who kept the home fires burning

In the course of my family research, I often come across people who served in various theatres of war. There are always a few moments of anxiety until I can find out if they survived, or if they made the ultimate sacrifice. Whether on land, in the air, or at sea, it is sad to learn of lives cut short by war. In past years I've written about the lives and service of some of those in my family tree who fought for their country. Recently, I've developed an additional appreciation for those who didn't see active battle, but stayed home, quietly holding things together on the home front. For families in North America and Australia, life was very different from what families experienced who lived with privation, under fire, threat of invasion, actual occupation, in England, Scotland, Europe and Asia. Some men, like my grandfather Stan Ticknor & great-grandfather Charlie Ticknor, worked in factories that were essential to the war effort, like General Steel Wares (G...

Remembering his service - Walter Steele

My grandfather, Walter J Steele served his country for the entirety of Canada’s participation in World War One. Born in the small town of Woodstock, Ontario, he volunteered in response to a recruiting drive, and enlisted in the first contingent of the Canadian Expeditionary Forces at Valcartier, Quebec on Sep 20, 1914. He was a few months shy of his 20th birthday, although his attestation papers say he was almost 21. As we have his record of birth in 1894, it’s unknown whether he may have thought it sounded better to be a bit older, or if this was a simple administrative error. His occupation prior to joining is listed as Painter. Since our Grandma was the artist in the family, he must’ve been a house painter or something like. He is described as 5’ 3, with dark hair and complexion, and a chest measurement of 33 inches. His only distinguishing mark was a scar on his right hand. Wally was assigned to “A” Battery of the Royal Canadian Horse Artillery (RCHA), wh...

Lest We Forget - Alexander Cockburn

Alexander Cockburn was a 33 year old Royal Navy Warrant Engineer on H.M. Submarine Seahorse when he died in January 1940 near Heligoland Bight, Germany in the North Sea. The Seahorse did not have any credited "hits" and was the first British sub lost to enemy action in WWII, and it seems inconclusive when it was officially lost. HMS Seahorse (98S) Alexander's father, Robert Tough Cockburn, was a Naval Warrant Officer and a Gunner, whose active service ended in 1903. Alexander's mother, Adelaide Tickner, came from a naval family; her father had served in the English Coast Guard and her brother Rowan, was one of the Chief Naval officers in attendance at the German Navy surrender at Scapa Flow, Orkney in 1919. (Rowan would go on be the Chief Constructor of the Portsmouth Dockyards, then Hong Kong Dockyards, retiring from the Sheerness Dockyards.) Following in the footsteps of of the men in his family, and those of many men in the Portsmouth area, Alexander enlisted in ...

Ancestor Hide and Seek

Search This Blog