The Life and Times of Bill Ruddock

The Life and Times
of
Bill Ruddock
Written by W.M.Ruddock
June 2010
Preface to Memoirs
These memoirs, I hope will give my grandchildren a little background of their roots.
They should know how their great grandmother and her sisters left England to start a new life in Canada.
With no man in the house and faced with making a living during the Great Depression, it was not easy!
It was a courageous move on their part to immigrate to Canada when you consider that in the UK it was
only 1928 that women were granted the right to vote.
The English saying, “They were made of the right stuff” certainly applied to them.
The fact that unemployment was high and it was also not easy to earn money during my school years did
me no harm.
Included in these memoirs are photographs of Richard and Valerie as well as other family members.
During the war years on the continent it was not permitted to keep a diary or take photographs. As
mentioned I came out of the war with a better sense of values after a few close calls.
It has been very rewarding to see Chemline grow from a very small beginning into a successful medium
sized company. My comments about Chemline’s early start could be interesting to some of our staff
members.
Copies of these memoirs will be made available to anyone who is interested in receiving one.
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First of all I will cover a little about my family’s background, both on my mother’s and father’s side.
On my father’s side, my grandfather Thomas Ruddock who died in 1901, had a ship brokerage business.
One of his brothers William Ruddock was a doctor. Going back another generation, his father was
Lancelot Ruddock who was editor of the Newcastle Chronicle.
On my mother’s side, my grandmother, whose middle name was Golightly had two brothers, one Charlie
who was a fisherman.
Mother’s middle name was Askew. John Askew was born in 1832, became England’s finest violin maker.
He was aided by the local school teacher who translated Italian books on violin making. He copied the
design of Stradivarius using only hand tools. The wood he used came from hundred year old churches.
Some years ago, I along with John Yealland, spent time tracing the family tree. I retained the services of
a Ron Galleway who contacted families in the north of England with the name Ruddock. One delightful
reply I had from a W.M. Ruddock is as follows:
My grandfather Robert
Marson died at the age of
35 in 1904 of a ruptured
appendix. He left his wife
Mary Marson with four
daughters, the eldest Ethel
only 16 years old and Ruby
the youngest 10. He was
in the drapery business in
partnership with Roland
Burgess. This business later
was very profitable and
made Roland Burgess a very
wealthy man. He had a huge
house in Cullercoats, complete
with servants, billiard room,
etc. In 1988 I visited his son
Roland and later in 2003. The
house has become very run
down.
I gather that my grandmother
was not left very well off
and she opened a millinery
shop. In those days nobody
paid in cash. It was left up to
Evelyn who was 14 when my
grandfather died to collect the
money owing. Some of the
customers were coal miners
in the Newcastle area. Evelyn
told me that there were times
when she knocked on the door
and was invited in and the
husband was having a bath in
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the middle of the floor in a galvanized bathtub. Apparently in those days, and also right up to the last war,
many working class families did not have the luxury of a bathtub in a bathroom.
Evelyn was born in 1891; Ethel, 1889, Ruby in 1895 and I assume Mother, who never would admit her
age was born in 1893.
Ethel and my mother both married brothers. My Uncle Billy was born in 1877 and my father was five
years younger and born in 1882. Uncle Billy took over his father’s ship brokerage business, which
chartered boats mainly to Norway. Judging by the fact that he took Ethel on his honeymoon in July 1914
to Italy, the business must have been doing quite well. In those days few people took trips out of the
country.
Unfortunately due to the first Great War, the shipping business failed and Uncle Billy died of diabetes in
1917, leaving Ethel with a two-year-old daughter Elma. Ethel was 28 and Uncle Billy was 41. At that time
they lived at 12 Ashfield Grove, Whitley Bay.
On my father’s side, my grandfather died in 1901 when my father was 19 years old.
Father had two sisters, Aunt Katy and Sally plus two brothers Thomas and my Uncle Billy. My Aunt Katy
later died leaving no will and I received a small amount of money which contributed to my university fees
of $400.00 annually. I was born on February 15, 1919 at 4 The Gardens, Monkseaton and later we moved
Father, Ruby French, Evelyn Marson, Ethel Ruddock holding
me, Elma, Mother and dog. Summer 1919.
Father, Mother and I. Summer 1919.
to 10 Hotspur St. Tynemouth. Father was 37 years old and Mother approximately 24 years old when
they were married. No.10 Hotspur St., Tynemouth was located a few minutes walk from the beach. I
remember how cold and rough it was when I was taken for a swim.
Father was very strict as I remember and I was frequently sent into the kitchen to finish my meal with
Lizzie the maid if my table manners were not good. Prior to developing a bad knee, my father was good
at sports until later when he had problems with his kneecap. I remember him pushing his kneecap back in
place during a walk. These days, a bad knee like that would have been corrected with minor surgery.
Father was in partnership with his brother-in-law, with a large retail coal business in Newcastle. I
remember seeing the bags of coal on the horse driven wagon being weighed out.
Father died at No. 10 Hotspur St. of pneumonia when I was seven years old. He was only 44 years of age.
He is buried at Whitley Bay cemetery grave #332 in Section A. Section A is located close to the entrance
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On the sands of Whitley Bay, Tony, myself and Elma, Me in my Pedal Car, I believe around 1924 at
about 1922.
10 Hotspur Street.
and main gate. Uncle Billy’s grave is close by.
The coal business was not left in good financial shape and again there was not too much money left for my
mother.
Later the Hotspur St. house was sold and Mother joined forces with Ethel, Elma, Evelyn and my
grandmother and moved into No. 5 The Grove, Monkseaton. My Aunt Ruby and Uncle Tony lived next
door at No. 7 The Grove.
Uncle Tony and Young Tony sitting
on car step on England, around 1926.
Mother, Granny Marson, Tony,
Granny French, myself, Elma and
Evelyn with dog, about 1926.
Elma, myself and Tony with dogs,
around 1927.
When I was nine years of age, Mother could not afford to keep me in private school. In those days if you
went to the government sponsored council school, there was no possibility of having a good career other
than becoming a tradesman. It was for this main reason that Mother and my Aunt Ethel decided that there
would be a better future in Canada for the children.
It certainly was a courageous move for the women in those days to immigrate to Canada. Ethel was the
first to emigrate in 1927. The main contact and only people they knew in Toronto, were Bob and Maude
Whitmore. Ethel had known Maude Whitmore in Whitley Bay before she married Bob who was with the
American Armed Forces during World War I.
Ethel was able to get a job in Eaton’s baby department and temporarily lived with the Whitmores.
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England - 1926
Mother, Elma, Granny Marson, myself, Ruby, Tony and Evelyn at The Grove, Monkseaton, about 1926.
Elma, Mother, Granny Marson, Tony, myself, Uncle Tony and Evelyn at The Grove, Monkseaton, about
1926.
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In June 1928, my mother, grandmother, cousin Elma and I sailed from England on the Empress of France.
My grandmother had a distant cousin, Mr. and Mrs. Lott, who had a farm in Frankfurt, Ontario who
vouched for us.
From Quebec City, we took the train to Frankfurt and I stayed, together with my grandmother and cousin
Elma, at the Lott’s farm for three weeks. Mother went directly to Toronto and was able to get a job with
Moore Corporation.
Moore Corporation became one of the largest companies supplying business forms in North America. It
was quite small at that time and the founder, Mr. Moore, was still alive and in their Toronto office.
Mother, who was a good businessperson did very well with Moore Corporation and eventually became
secretary to the President. She recorded all of the proceedings at Moore Corporation’s annual shareholder’s
meetings. One of her friends there was Audrey MacLaren, whose brother started MacLaren’s advertising
agencies, Canada’s largest advertising agency at that time. Her other brother Hunter, worked all his life as
an auto mechanic in Dundas, Ontario.
Mother was able to rent a house at 174 Bowood Ave. in North Toronto. We arrived from Frankfurt with
eight chickens, which had been given to us by the Lotts. These chickens supplied us with fresh eggs.
I don’t recall how we were able to keep the chickens over the winter months. Eventually, it was not
practical to keep the chickens and they were sold to the Jewish “rags and bones” man, who came around in
a horse driven cart.
First winter in Canada, Elma with chicken
and I, all muffled up.
Myself, Elma and Tony, about 1930.
The Bowood house had absolutely no insulation and the second floor outside walls had wooden shingles.
It was so cold one winter that I remember the ink freezing in the inkwell. The house like most houses in
those days was heated with a coal-burning furnace in the basement.
I started at Bedford Park Public School and I walked to school. Later, when I was able to save up enough
money to buy a second hand bicycle with wooden rims for two dollars, I took the bicycle to school.
In those days, milk and ice etc. were all delivered by horse-drawn wagons and Bowood Avenue east of
Wanless was not paved. Cars frequently got stuck in the mud up to their axles when it got wet. One
of the friends who we got to know through the Whitmores, were the MacMurrays. I remember Jack
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MacMurray getting bogged down to the axles. He threw some beautiful woollen blankets under the wheels.
His Irish temper got the better of him!!
A year after came from England, my Aunt Evelyn arrived. She took a Burrough’s bookkeeping course and
got a job with McLelland and Stuart publishing company. Later she worked with Hayward the tea people
and the Federal Government during the war.
In November 1929, the stock market crashed and Canada was plunged into the Great Depression.
It was at that time that Mother’s youngest sister Ruby came to Canada with my cousin Tony Jr. and her
husband, my Uncle Tony. Ruby had married my Uncle Tony in December 1917 when she was 21 and he
was 22.
My Uncle Tony joined the Infantry in 1914 and due to the filthy living conditions and high casualties
applied to join the Royal Flying Corps. In May 1916 he held the rank of Lieutenant and later due to the
high casualty rate in the Flying Corps was promoted to Major. At that time he was the youngest Major in
the British Flying Corps.
Uncle Tony saw action as an observer and with no radio available in those days, his duty was to fly over
German mines, make a written note of the German location and drop this information by hand to our
artillery. According to my cousin Tony, the Royal Flying Corps was not popular with the British Artillery.
In those early days, machine guns had not been synchronized with the propeller. Hand pistols were issued
to ward off the enemy. Planes were also made of highly inflammable canvas and wood. In case of a fire
you would have to decide either to burn to death or jump out of a plane with no parachute.
Due to high casualty rates, pilots were in short supply, and Uncle Tony was made a pilot. It was thought
that only a couple of hours flying instruction was required for a person who had spent many hours as an
observer. As a result Uncle Tony went into a stall, crashed and was sent back to England towards the end
of the war. I have a pewter flask, which Uncle Tony used right through WWI and I in turn used it through
the last war.
When we lived at 174 Bowood Avenue, I used to swim and fish in the Don River. The swimming hole
was behind the Sifton Estates located at Lawrence and Bayview. It was near the small bridge, which was
replaced by the present high-rise bridge. We used to fish for catfish which we threw back after we caught
them.
When we lived at Bowood Avenue, the Lotts very kindly extended an invitation for me to spend my
summer holidays for two months at their farm. Upon my arrival in Frankfurt, I was diagnosed with
scarlet fever and was promptly sent back to Toronto on the bus. In those days, the government was very
concerned about contagious diseases and signs were put on the door if a person had measles, scarlet fever
etc. When I arrived back in Toronto, the scarlet fever sign was hung on our front door. No visitors were
allowed in the house!
I believe it was during the second summer after we came to Canada that we took a two-week holiday in a
rather broken-down cottage on Mary Lake near Huntsville.
A friend of Ethel’s who worked at Eatons, Miss Douglas, had a boyfriend, Mr. Stone who took us up
in his car. The rent for the cottage was low in May or June when the black flies and mosquitoes were at
their worst. The highway from Toronto to Huntsville was not paved. As I recall it took Mr. Stone a full
day at a very low speed to drive to Port Sydney avoiding the all the ruts and rocks on the road. Upon
arriving at Port Sydney we had a small rowboat, which we rowed to the cottage. The forest was alive with
mosquitoes.
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As mentioned earlier, the only people we knew when we first came to Canada were the Whitmores. Bob
was like a father to me, taught me boxing, etc. and I thought the world of him. His wife Maude was an
accomplished singer and Jacqueline, their daughter was a year or so younger than I. Jacqueline now lives
in Prince Albert and is married to Bruce Lobley.
The Whitmore’s lived in a large house broken up into apartments on Blythewood Ave. One of their
neighbours was a Mrs. Quirk whose husband, a sculptor, created Eros at Piccadilly Circus in London.
Mrs. Quirk had a parrot that was allowed to fly all around her apartment. Mrs. Quirk’s daughter lived
on Dawlish Avenue at Lawrence Park and was married to Jack MacMurray. His family owned Brown’s
Linen and he was quite well off, even right through the depression.
It was amusing to learn that when Mrs. Quirk with her parrot moved to Dawlish Avenue, Jack MacMurray
complained about the parrot leaving its calling cards on the doorknobs. Recently Nancy advised that the
parrot eventually died at the age of 100.
We used to be invited to their house for Christmas and New Year’s Eve. The MacMurray’s had two
daughters. One, Nancy, who was Elma’s age and Lorna who was about my age. Elma met Bob Yealland
at the MacMurray’s. Jack MacMurray taught me magic tricks, how to palm cards etc. He was a very
accomplished magician.
After the market crashed in November of 1929, Canada was plunged into the Great Depression, which
lasted right up to the start of the last war. Times were very tough. I remember having only half an egg for
breakfast, after we got rid of the chickens on Bowood Ave.
My Uncle Tony French, Ruby (my mother’s sister) and young Tony came to Canada in 1930. My Uncle
Tony got involved in several enterprises, which all failed. One involved a licensing deal from the U.K for
a material that supposedly made tires puncture-proof. People frequently got flat tires in those days and
the company that my Uncle Tony represented from the U.K came up with a material that you pumped into
the inner tube. Unfortunately it did not work and his last sale was to the Toronto Police Force. In those
days, with well over 20% unemployment, there was no unemployment insurance. Churches and charitable
organizations provided food parcels. My Uncle Tony was out of work for several years.
According to my cousin Tony, one of his father’s most humiliating experiences was taking on a part time
job delivering mail at Christmas time in Lawrence Park. The MacMurray’s were one of his customers and
Mrs. MacMurray gave him a bowl of hot soup. Eventually, due to the assistance of Bob Whitmore, who
was sales manager for Dominion Woolens, my Uncle Tony got a job as a bookkeeper.
174 Bowood Avenue was quite a distance from the streetcar and after I graduated from primary school, we
rented a house at 16 Helendale Avenue.
The first street north of Helendale was
Montgomery Avenue where the fire station was
located. Tony French, who at that time lived on
Broadway Avenue, remembers when we used to
sneak into the back of the fire hall and stroke the
two horses that pulled the truck with the ladders.
When the alarm went off, the harness came
down from the ceiling and the horse drawn rig
was quickly on its way to the fire.
After 16 Helendale Ave, mother rented a house
at 18 Craighurst Ave. in North Toronto. By
Bob Whitmore in car with Jacqueline and I in the rumble that time I had saved up enough to buy a new
seat in Toronto, about 1930.
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bicycle, made by a company called Planet on Queen St. West. I was very proud of that bicycle, but it was
a heavy one to pedal with no gears.
After school, I had several part-time jobs delivering for a bakery, a deli etc. Tony French took over my
job at a deli for two weeks when I was on holiday with Mother and remembers how heavy this bicycle was
to pedal.
In those days, Bob Whitmore used to drive us up to Lake Wilcox in Richmond Hill for a swim. His first
car had an open rumble seat that I loved to ride in. Later, as I recall he drove a Model A Ford.
The streetcar system in those days was very efficient and on Saturday or Sunday we used to go by streetcar
and ferry boat to Ward’s Islands for a swim. Streetcars were heated in the winter time with a coal stove
stoked by the conductor who took your ticket.
Mother took me on one holiday to Bayfield on Georgian Bay and for several summers we went to Lake
Couchiching where we got room and board. I learned how to paddle a rather heavy cedar strip canoe in the
sometimes rough and windy waters of Lake Couchiching.
I attended Northern Vocational Secondary School at Mt. Pleasant and Broadway where I became friends
with Tom Hastings during my first year.
At Northern Vocation, they had a matriculation course, secretarial, dressmaking, carpentry and machine
shop courses etc.
I had taken up the violin and played in the school orchestra each morning when they had what they called
opening exercises, sang hymns, read the bible etc. There were no Muslims or other religions to object to
this!
Once a year the girls in the dressmaking course put on a fashion show. The girls did not wear too much
under their dresses and the bright lights behind them made things quite revealing. I remember how the
orchestra invariably were distracted and got out of tune watching them!!
When I was 16 years old, a friend and I decided to get jobs picking tobacco in the Tillsonburg area near
Lake Erie. We pedalled the 120 miles in one day. It was hard pedalling up the Hamilton Mountain with no
gears! I got a job nipping the side suckers from the tobacco plants. It was a hot and dirty job and we slept
in the barn.
Shortly afterwards, I got a job delivering the Globe and Mail. My route covered Heddington, Castlewood
and Latimer Avenues, just off of Eglinton Ave. West of Avenue Rd. I had 140 papers to deliver by 7
a.m. The only way to make time was to fold each newspaper and toss it on to the porch while walking
up the street. I got into trouble once by hitting a customer’s plant pot. In order to deliver the 140 papers
both winter and summer, I had to get up shortly after 5 a.m., but I earned $8 per week. This was the same
amount of money that a junior bank clerk made in those days.
Each day I practiced the violin for an hour, did my homework and got up at 5 o’clock in the morning. I
was sure kept busy!!
In my last year of high school, I qualified to play first violin in the Toronto Secondary School symphony
and had a great deal of fun being part of the orchestra. I gave up the violin after graduating from high
school.
While attending Northern Vocational School, my family attended St. Clements Anglican Church and knew
Canon Nicholson and his family very well.
I spent a few weeks’ holidays at the Nicholson’s cottage at Balsam Lake with Nicholson’s son, Ralph who
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was about my age. We played tennis.
My Aunt Ethel was physic and held séances on Friday nights. Attending these séances, were Canon
Nicholson, Dr. Reddick and a Dr. Brink. Dr. Brink was I believe the Ontario Minister of Health at that
time. Due to the fact that Nicholson was a Canon in the Anglican church the meetings were very hush
hush.
I used to get out of bed and sit on the stairs listening to what was going on with the medium, Ethel
projected a cockney voice of a person called Liza.
Family Group - 1938. Bob Yealland, Ethel, Elma, Tony, Ruby, Rosemary, old Mrs. French, Eve and Granny
Marson.
No money ever exchanged hands for these meetings and it is hard to explain. Ethel later felt that it was
not constructive and did not continue with these meetings.
Ethel started with the Anglican Church, got involved with the Oxford Group, then Unity Church of Truth
and finally Christian Science.
During high school when I was 14 or 15, I remember taking Lorna MacMurray to my first dance.
Smoking was the thing to do in those days and I bought a package containing five cigarettes and felt very
“with it” when we puffed the cigarettes.
In September of 1938, I enrolled at SPS at University of Toronto in mechanical engineering. Tom
Hastings who had gone through high school with me also enrolled in mechanical engineering.
The annual fee of $400.00 seemed high in those days. There were of course no student loans and I
counted on earning money on summer jobs to pay for the balance of my tuition.
In all of the engineering courses there were only three girls enrolled in architecture.
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During my first year I joined the COTC (Canadian Officers Training Corps) and did training after class.
The following summer in 1939 unemployment was still very high and the few well paying jobs were in
Northern Ontario in the gold mines.
The main underground job called “mucking” involved blasting the ore and shovelling by hand the rock
into dollies. I along with Tom Hastings planned to hitchhike to Kirkland Lake. Tom’s father refused to let
him go unless we went by bus. With the uncertainty of getting a job, I just could not afford the bus fare.
Tom’s father was the manager of the Ontario Motor League knew McLaughlin of McLaughlin Buick (later
to become General Motors). Through this connection he got Tom a job at General Motors in Oshawa. He
could have certainly got me a job too, but didn’t.
I hitchhiked up to North Bay and Sudbury, where I visited both International Nickel and Falconbridge.
Unfortunately, only weighing about 140 lbs, I am sure that this was a factor in hiring a person strong
enough to shovel ore underground all day.
After hitchhiking back to North Bay, I found that the road to Kirkland Lake had been washed out. I
decided to jump the midnight freight train going north. Locomotives burned soft coal and put out a lot of
soot. The train kept dropping off freight cars and each time I got closer and closer to the locomotive. By
dawn, I arrived at Englehart, (then known as Swastika Junction) which was about 25 miles from Kirkland
Lake. I took a ticket by passenger train from there to Kirkland Lake. I spent most of the time in the train
washroom, trying to get rid of the soot on my face.
By chance in Kirkland Lake, I ran into a couple of fellows from my year at university. They had an old
Model A Ford and found a basement to sleep in.
We covered all the gold mines in Kirkland Lake with no success. At one of the mines, however, I ran into
Dr. Brink who as I mentioned before was a friend of the family and involved with checking out miners for
silicosis for the Ontario Government.
Dr. Brink said that he could get me a job in Toronto with a small company called Burk Electric and X-ray.
They paid me $8.00/week and I was put on a machine of buffing aluminium castings - a boring and dirty
job.
All through university one of my best friends was Lloyd Rupert, who joined the army at the same time as I
did and eventually became best man at my wedding after the war.
After my second year at university, through a friend of the family, I got a job with Canadian General
Electric. GE had the contract to install the huge electric generators at the Beauharnois Plant in Quebec.
These huge electric generators above the pneumatic turbines were about 30 ft. in diameter. I enjoyed this
job and played tennis in the evenings at the nearby Howard Smith Paper Mill tennis courts.
The French Canadians at that time were very tightly controlled by the Roman Catholic Church. The local
priest even dictated that women who were playing tennis had to wear knee length skirts.
The Roman Catholic Church encouraged young men to be a lawyer, a priest or a doctor. The net result was
that most of industry in those days was managed by Anglophones. I often feel that this started the growth
of Separatism in the Province of Quebec.
After finishing my third year of university, I talked to one of the professors who suggested that experience
in a foundry would be good background for a mechanical engineer.
Canadian General Electric offered me a job at their Davenport foundry works. I was put to work in the
foundry pouring hot metal into moulds for irons etc. The old fashioned factory was poorly ventilated and
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very dirty. Heat from the castings had a tendency to blister a person’s feet if you stood over the casting too
long.
A few weeks after starting at the foundry, while scrubbing the dirt from myself in the bathtub, I read a
letter from the army with an offer to provide training as a second lieutenant during that summer. The plan
was that immediately after graduation I would be ready to go overseas and would be granted the rank of
lieutenant and fully trained as a Reme officer (Royal Electrical Mechanical Engineer). I jumped at the
offer even though my original plan was to join the navy and I had even submitted a thesis on the electric
propulsion of battleships.
During my four years at university, I remember two professors in particular who taught me. Calculus was
a subject I took during my first year. Our professor was a Miss Waddell from Trinity College. She wore
a mortarboard square flat
hat and her black gown had
not been dusted for ages.
If a person was not paying
attention to her lecture,
she would throw a piece of
chalk at that person with
exceptionally good aim.
Another professor was
professor Morley Lazier a
Rhodes Scholar who was a
very bad teacher and made
dynamics very hard for me
to understand. During the
war, he contributed a great
deal to the design of the
Mosquito Fighter plane.
Lillian McCallum who was
Chemline’s first employee,
was his secretary at Massey
Harris. According to Lily,
he would lock his office
door and only open it to put
out empty whiskey bottles.
He ended up dying on skid
row in San Francisco.
In 1941, I met Ruth at an
engineering dance. Ruth
had come to the Royal
Conservatory of Music
Toronto on scholarship.
She received a gold medal
as the top Canadian student
in Piano Performance.
The following year Glenn
Gould received this award.
He studied with the same
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teacher.
After graduating from the Conservatory in October 1941. She then enrolled at New York’s Julliard School
of Music for two years, graduating in October 1943. At that time she lived at the YWCA in Manhattan.
At the urging of the Army, Tom Hastings, Lloyd Rupert and I were given early examinations and
I graduated in March 1942 with honours. This was more due to hard work over the four years than
brilliance.
First I was posted as a second lieutenant to the workshop at Camp Borden. Even by early 1941, the
Canadian Army was seriously lacking in equipment and believe it or not the Armoured Corps were
training in American WWI tanks!
After training with the second echelon workshop, which at that time was under canvas, I was given
command of the 87 LAD attached to the Halifax rifles with the rank of lieutenant. An LAD (light aid
detachment) was a small front line workshop attached to a regiment with approximately 35 tradesmen
trained to look after minor repairs and recovery.
The 2nd Army Tank Brigade was formed at Camped Borden with RAM tanks powered by Wright
Whirlwind air-cooled engines.
Training exercises were carried out at Camp Borden and at the newly established Meaford firing range.
To recover 30-ton tanks, which had slipped into frozen ravines etc., we relied on a diamond “T” recovery
vehicle. These were equipped with a front winch with a 1/2” cable and multiple sheaves had to be used.
As part of my training in armoured equipment, I spent a week at Montreal Locomotive, where the
Canadian RAM tanks were being assembled. The cast turret and hull was produced in the USA and
assembled in Montreal. This tank, like the Sherman, had a high silhouette, and was inferior in every
respect to the German tanks. Most of the production of RAM tanks went to Russia.
When I was at Montreal Locomotive, the Russian inspectors objected to the instrument panel showing the
instructions in both Russian and English. They wanted the English removed.
Later, when we met up with the Russians in Europe, a Russian officer who spoke good English looked at
my jeep. He announced that the jeep was an example of excellent Russian design.
The Halifax rifles were broken up and I went overseas in June 1942 as a replacement officer. The troop
ship made a fast crossing to England without naval escort.
In England I was given the command of 122 LAD with the rank of Captain. 122 LAD was attached to No.
3 armoured corps training reinforcement centre at Deepcut located south of London.
In England, the tanks used for training were fitted with air-cooled Wright Whirlwind engines, due to lack
of availability of diesel engines. These air-cooled engines required a minor overhaul every 100 hours. This
was the responsibility of the 2nd Echelon Workshop who could not cope with the backlog. The armoured
corps training centre faced a serious problem with insufficient tanks.
I came up with the idea to recruit armoured corps personnel and be trained by our qualified mechanics.
The LAD increased its strength from 35 to over 100 people.
In order to increase productivity, I issued weekend passes subject to satisfactory final inspection. Later on
weekend passes were not permitted and so I issued two one day passes. The net result was that our LAD
did approximately 70-80 minor overhauls a week. The 2nd Echelon Workshop made their mechanics work
over the weekend and only did approximately 10 overhauls a week.
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Tom Hastings had an LAD with the 3rd Division and was in the D-Day landing. He did not lose any men
but had to take protection from snipers in slit trenches.
The English roads were very narrow and winding. At one time I went with my Staff Sergeant to pick up
a tank transporter. It was a very long full trailer with many wheels. Driving from Aldershot, my Staff
Sergeant advised me that I was turning the corners too sharply and had pushed several bicycle riders into
the ditch.
For blackout purposes all vehicles had headlights equipped with a 1/4” slit for light. One night I was
caught for speeding by a British Provost. As was the practice when an officer breaks the law I was brought
before a court of inquiry, pending possible court martial. Fortunately Brigadier Rutherford dismissed the
charge with the comment that we all speed at times!
On another instance, when we were short of engines, I decided to visit a US Army workshop to scrounge
two engines. The US army gave me two engines without even bothering with paperwork. That night, while
looking for accommodation, I inadvertently landed in facilities where everyone was black with no white
faces to be seen. I beat a hasty retreat. Segregation of black and whites within the US Army existed in
those days.
During 1943, the Prime Minister of Canada, Mackenzie King, came to England and addressed the troops at
Aldershot. He was booed down and I did not hear his speech.
At that time, Canada had conscription, but a compromise was made for Quebec. Conscriptees were given
the choice of joining the 7th Canadian Division in Canada strictly for home defence or go overseas.
In 1943, I met Pam at Grosvenor house at an officer’s tea dance. From then on I visited London on
weekends quite regularly. London was being heavily bombed and in the evenings the subway platforms
were filled with whole families avoiding the night bombings. Golders Green, a London suburb, where Pam
lived was bombed quite severely and a house close by
was demolished, killing a boy she knew.
I remember an amusing incident when Pam joined the
VAD’s, a volunteer nursing assistant organization.
Pam had just received her new uniform and had
absolutely no experience in nursing. Dressed in her
uniform she and her brother went to the Golders Green
subway station. There was a cry for help and a man
was lying unconscious on the pavement. Pam felt his
pulse, removed his teeth and pronounced him dead. A
handkerchief was put over the man’s face and people
took their hats off. Then all of a sudden the man sat up!
In 1943, the Germans sent buzz bombs over London.
When the sound of the engine stopped the bomb would
drop. They had a demoralizing effect with the English
population living between the channel and London.
After the buzz bomb came the V2 rockets.
Pam with Gladys Cooper at the Ealing Studio,
September 1923.
The German propaganda radio station “Axis Sally”
used to say that the Germans did not have to shoot
a Canadian. All they had to do was to give them a
motorcycle. This was quite true and many Canadians
landed up in the Brooklyn cemetery.
15
The last time I rode a motorcycle in England, I took a corner too fast on the wet pavement. I was very
shaken, but fortunately only bruised. Many years later, to Valerie’s amazement I drove John Holland’s
motorcycle up Hi Mount. I never rode a motorcycle again!
Just before Christmas 1943, I took a two-week leave, travelling to the north of England and Scotland. In
Edinburgh, the strictly temperance hotel was very cold and you had to put shillings into the gas meter to
keep the room warm. After a very short stay in Edinburgh, I went to Newcastle where I spent an overnight
with my Aunt Sally and ended up with the Baxters in Monkseaton. The Baxters were old friends of the
family. Their eldest daughter Betty, was a friend of my cousin Elma and later moved with her husband,
Brian Hutton, to New Zealand. They had a younger daughter Mercia who was a few years younger than I
was.
Mr. Baxter owned a trucking business and in spite of food rationing was able to bribe somebody into
buying a turkey. Having been invited by Pam’s mother for Christmas, I was very pleased to arrive with
a turkey. The turkey, complete with feet, etc. was not dressed nor were the sinews pulled. Pam’s mother
threw up her hands and announced that there was no way that we would have turkey. Pam and I ended up
with Mrs. Beaton’s cookbook and we soon learned how to pull sinews and dress a turkey.
Pam’s father was a likable man and somewhat dominated by her mother. Prior to the First War he took a
temporary job in a ranch in western Canada. There was no reason to volunteer for service in France, but he
felt it was his duty and he was severely wounded serving in the trenches.
After the war Pam’s father’s elder brother saw potential in the fledgling silent movie business and became
very wealthy. He along with a Frenchman , Monsieur Gaumont formed Gaumont-British. Their trademark
at the beginning of news updates or a movie was
the roaring lion. With Gaumont covering the news
event, Pam’s father attended the official opening of
King Tutankhamen’s Tomb in Egypt.
Gaumont owned the movie studio at Ealing a suburb
of London. Enclosed is a photograph taken at the
Ealing studio of Pam as a little girl with Glady
Cooper. Gladys Cooper was the most popular and
glamorous film actress of those days.
Pam’s mother was of Irish descent, born in Brazil.
She was a very good looking woman and I used to be
invited for Sunday dinner at their home. Somehow
or other she wrangled an extra meat ration from her
butcher.
On May 24, 1944, I became engaged to Pam and
gave her the ring at a small place called Looe in
Cornwall. Pam at that time was a nurse at the Naval
hospital in Plymouth. Her mother was very much
against the idea of her marrying a Canadian.
Holland, October 1944.
Back in Canada, mother and her sisters moved to
a house on Balsam Ave. in the east end. Mother
was operated on for a large brain tumour, which
fortunately was not malignant. After the operation
she could not handle the high pressure of her position
at Moore Corporation. She later got a position
16
as secretary to a Mr. Sloan, who was the Ontario Minister of Public Affairs. The girls in the office
complained that mother, after taking dictation, typed the letter too quickly.
On D-Day I was still in charge of No.122 LAD in Deepcut. I remember seeing the sky filled with gliders
being towed overhead.
Wanting to be posted to the continent, I approached Brigadier Rutherford, who had let me off my speeding
charge, and on his recommendation I received a transfer.
In October 1944, when I was transferred to Holland, Montgomery had just failed in his attempt to cross
the Rhine at Arnhem. A large part of Holland was still in German hands.
I remember landing in Dieppe, which was one of the few ports available to the allies at that time. There
were high cliffs on both sides of the landing area enabling the Germans to rake the beaches with machine
gun fire. It was hard to understand how stupid our high command (headed by Mountbatten) was to plan a
raid on Dieppe, which could be so easily defended by the Germans.
The bungled Dieppe raid taught the Allies a lot before the invasion, but it was at high cost to the Canadian
army who suffered heavy casualties.
It was against regulations to keep a diary or take photographs on the Continent. One thing was certain, I
came out of the war with a better sense of values after having a few close calls with enemy shells, snipers,
etc., I realized how unimportant material things, such as a watch, really were.
As a reinforcement officer, on my way to Holland I spent one night at a Belgian monastery. Amid a clatter
of mess tins and shouting, it was rather ironical to read the motto engraved on the wall, which stated in
Latin “Oh beautiful solitude” and “Oh solitude beautiful”.
Going through Belgium it was evident that the civilians generally did not give the Germans a hard time.
This was not true in Holland where every bridge was blown up. Shortly before I arrived in Holland, the
allied advance was stopped by the Germans at Nijmegen. We had captured the port of Antwerp. Since the
Normandy landing, the allies did not have the benefit of a major port and the use of the port of Antwerp
was absolutely vital.
It is hard for anyone to realize the number of vehicles required to keep an army supported with
ammunition, food, etc. Every road was blocked a mile long with convoys of vehicles. To enter the port of
Antwerp, ships had to go through a long, narrow inlet. When we had the Germans on the run, Montgomery
made a serious tactical blunder. He attempted to drive right through to Germany. He made no attempt to
clear the Schelt and allowed the Germans time to regroup on both sides of the Schelt making the port of
Antwerp absolutely useless.
The Canadian Army was given the job of clearing the Schelt, where they suffered the highest casualties
of the war in northern Europe. At the time of the Battle of the Schelt, it rained constantly. Dykes were
broken by the allies, forcing our infantry to advance on narrow roads with water on both sides. Our
infantry could, of course, not rely on very much support from the armoured corps during this action. Due
to the shortage of gasoline, the German Army used horses to move all of their equipment.
It was ironical that after the Germans were pushed out of the Schelt and the port of Antwerp was finally
opened, the Canadians were not invited to participate in the victory celebrations. A similar happening
occurred in Italy, when the Americans insisted on being the first to enter Rome after our Canadians bore
the brunt of the Italian campaign.
I was posted to the 4th Armoured Brigade Workshop. The Workshop set up operations in the former
location of the German Concentration Camp at Vught, located just south of Hertogenbosch. After the camp
17
was liberated on October 27, 1944, the guards were turned over to the prisoners. The rows of furnaces had
metal doors similar in design to other concentration camps which I have seen pictures of. They had two
pre-cast marble like cutting tables in front of the row of furnaces. The prisoners were put to work sorting
out engine parts from planes that had been shot down. The Workshop used facilities in the warehouses
formerly used by the camp prisoners. Camp Vught was one of the most important concentration camps
during the war. It was the official SS concentration camp in occupied Europe. At total of 749 people lost
their lives with approximately half of these being members of the Dutch Resistance.
Directly after it was liberated on October 27, 1944, the camp was used as an internment camp to shut away
Dutch collaborators who were forced to stay in the camp until May 1945. The information I obtained on
my visit to Holland in 2005, refers to the Dutch collaborators, as “bad Dutch”. The camp is open to visitors
as a wartime monument.
From October 1944, I was put in charge of the Recovery Section of the 4th Armoured Division Workshop.
In recovery work one of the main dangers was mines. I always insisted that my men walk in the tracks of
the tank or vehicle to be recovered.
A supply of spare parts was often a problem and it was general practice to take parts from one of our badly
disabled tanks.
The Grenadier Guards were with the 4th Armoured Division and my friend, Lloyd Rupert, was in charge
of their LAD. Rupe was out with his staff sergeant looking for parts on some of our badly disabled tanks.
They hit a mine and Rupe was injured trying to pull his staff sergeant out of the vehicle. Unfortunately his
staff sergeant did not survive, but Rupe was awarded the MC. It was around October 1944 that Rupe was
in hospital recovering from his injuries.
At the time of the closing of the Falais Gap in France, Rupe recalled that he was stopped by the Polish
Division, which was part of the Canadian Army. The Poles were sorting out the SS prisoners and
Wehrmacht on each side of the road. After they had machine-gunned all of the SS, Rupe was allowed to
pass through.
On November 30th, 1944 I was struck off the list from the 4th Armoured Division Workshop and put in
charge of 82 LAD with the 6th Anti-Tank. They were Corps troops and equipped with M-10s, a tracked
vehicle on a Sherman chassis and with a 17-pounder gun (similar to the German 88) mounted on a tank
chassis.
Over Christmas 1944 the Germans attempted to break through the U.S. lines in the Ardennes. This was
termed the Battle of the Bulge. It caught the Americans, who were celebrating Christmas, completely by
surprise. Unlike what was depicted in the movie “The Battle of the Bulge”, many American troops took
to their heels and ran. To the credit of a battalion of crack U.S. troops, the line was held. To add to the
confusion, Hitler had a small group of men dressed up in U.S. uniforms who redirected traffic. These
young Germans were eventually caught and shot.
In January 1945, 6th Anti-Tank was involved for a short time in this battle.
Back in Canada my grandmother died at the age of 76.
In March, in Holland, I received a letter by ordinary mail from Pam with the diamond engagement ring.
After the death of her father, Pam’s mother insisted that she break off our engagement. The diamond ring
was quite expensive and fortunately by chance my friend Doug McGowan, who was with the Grenadier
Guards, had recently become engaged to a Canadian nurse and I sold the ring to him. Doug McGowan
after the war became a Member of Parliament in Prince Edward Island.
In February and March 1945, 6th Anti-Tank saw action in the heavily defended Reichwald and Hochwald
18
Forests. The British 58th Division also fought with the Canadian Army. The main problem in the forest
areas was snipers. I remember seeing an unfortunate British soldier killed by a sniper.
Recovery of armoured vehicles by my LAD was also at times put off due to the close proximity of
the German snipers. I remember the second in command of the 6th Anti-Tank, who was a major,
accompanying me to make a reconnaissance on the feasibility of a recovery job. Not knowing exactly
where the sniper was, he kept ducking and bobbing. After being with him for several hours it was quite
demoralizing, to say the least. It made me wonder how this man ever qualified for the rank of major.
The 6th Anti-Tank officers constantly complained about being used in an offensive role instead of
defensive. This certainly was not true of the armoured regiments in the 4th Armoured Division, such as
the Grenadier Guards. In Holland, the commanding officer of the Grenadier Guards, Gerry Snair had been
promoted from a lieutenant in Normandy to colonel due to the high casualty rate of officers.
Our 32 ton Sherman Tanks were no match for the German 68 ton Tiger Tanks, which had heavy armour
and an 88 mm gun. The only way we could knock out a Tiger Tank was to take advantage of its slow
turret traverse and aim precisely between the turret and the body. The 88 mm gun could easily penetrate
the hull or turret of a Sherman Tank. Loaded with ammunition, when hit they immediately burned and
the crew had no hope of escaping. The Germans referred to our Sherman Tanks as “Ronsons” after
the cigarette lighter. It was hard to understand why the USA did not make any attempt to improve on
the Sherman design. Their strategy was to mass produce the Shermans and accept high casualty losses
when up against the superior German tanks. The main feature of the Sherman tank was its speed and
comparatively light weight, which provided good support for the infantry.
After fighting in the Reichwald and the Hochwald, we advanced to Cleve and crossed the Rhine at
Emmerich. Our guns had hardly stopped firing and the German women were laying bricks and rebuilding
their houses.
Our diet did not include fresh meat. One of my LAD personnel slaughtered a pig obtained from one of the
German farms. We ate it without letting it hang and everybody had the ‘trots’.
From Emmerich we went north towards Emden. It was about this time that the majority of the Canadian
Army went north to liberate Holland. Four and half million Dutch were starving and living on 350 to 400
calories per day. In late 1944 the German Governor of Holland imposed an embargo on all food. The
densely populated Western Holland area where approximately 40% of the population lived was particularly
affected. During the winter of 1944 to 1945 people ate tulip bulbs and many elderly and young people
died.
It was sometime in February or March that the Army made an offer to give me a promotion to the rank
of Major. This was conditional on returning immediately to Canada, signing up for a three-year period,
and attending the Royal Military College. I had no desire to be involved with the Army after the war and
turned this offer down.
The day before VE Day we were close to Emden. My staff sergeant and I had just finished checking on
an armoured vehicle for recovery and a few minutes later the area where had been was heavily shelled.
Fortunately we had moved away from the vehicle just in time.
By VE Day Emden was not occupied by the Allies. The padre, Father Burke, the medical officer and I
decided that this was an opportunity to pick up a few revolvers and binoculars from the Germans. We
headed for Emden in my jeep and were stopped due to the main road being badly damaged. The engineers
who were repairing the road assisted us by putting across the crater a couple of channel steel beams. We
then thought we were well on our way to Emden, but due to heavy rains my jeep got completely bogged
down in the mud. Even my 4-wheel drive did not help. Coming down the road to surrender their arms
19
was a battalion of German infantry. We stopped them and pointed to our jeep. Five or six of them put
down their weapons and picked up our jeep, putting it down on firm ground.
On the way to Emden we picked up a boy with a shoulder injury who required hospital care. We delivered
the boy to a hospital where the Germans had been treating allied prisoners-of-war. Learning that the
doctors had been carrying side arms, which was against the Geneva Convention, we demanded that all
arms be produced. The padre was being very friendly, offering them cigarettes, etc., but the medical
officer understood German and advised that we were being given the run-around. An angry demand and
the simple act of putting a hand on the holster of a pistol were sufficient to persuade them to give up their
arms within a few minutes.
After a lot of trouble, years later in Canada, I was able to qualify as a gun collector in order to obtain the
legal rights to possess a restricted weapon. At this time, I have not able to locate a gun collector who might
be interested in taking them off my hands.
For several months, the 6th Anti-Tank was located in Germany close to the Dutch border. Father Burke
got authority from his superiors to obtain some liquor from a nearby German distillery. The alcohol was
stored in several large wooden tanks, which I gathered was held in various degrees of fermentation. We
went from tank to tank and when the German stopped saying “nien” we decided that the alcohol was all
right. We then had a problem finding bottles to put the alcohol in. Fortunately this plant was a distillery
specializing in a variety of liqueurs and they stored the liqueur ingredients in large 24 litre bottles. We
filled up four or five of these large bottles and later bottled them in smaller 1-litre bottles. This alcohol was
very strong and burned with a blue flame.
Fraternizing with German civilians was not permitted but, as mentioned above, we were close to the Dutch
border. During our time off, Father Burke and I would drive over to Holland. After several weeks of heavy
partying, I remember Father Burke lost his voice and could not give mass on Sunday morning. The Dutch
were completely bi-lingual and treated the Canadians as liberators. I do not think, however, that we were
as popular with the young Dutch men as the girls.
I found the Catholic priests at headquarters to be very liberal minded. One time I remember shooting dice
with them and coming away with a bundle of Dutch guilders.
During hostilities we did not have the luxury of being able to take a bath in a bathtub. We had to wash
from a small tin cut from a gasoline container. On my first leave, I remember how fantastic it was to soak
in hot bathtub.
During the six months after the war ended, I had one leave in England and one in Paris where I celebrated
VJ Day in September 1945. I took my jeep to Paris and stopped overnight in a small hotel in Riems.
There was no bathroom attached to my bedroom and during the night I used the chamber pot. The next
morning when the maid came to make up my room she opened the window and emptied the chamber pot
on the cobblestones of the main street. In Riems no attempt had been made to either rebuild or clear up
building sites which had been bombed a year or more ago. I couldn’t help but compare the French with the
Germans, when German women were rebuilding their houses with our guns barely stopped firing.
In Paris, in the centre of the city we had the Officers Club and also had privileges at the Racing Club of
France on the Bois de Boulogne. As allied troops and particularly Canadians, we were extended every
hospitality and welcomed as liberators. This was so completely different to visiting Paris some years later
when it seemed that Parisians were mainly interested in ripping you off.
One evening at the Officers Club I met a Canadian medical officer and two Canadian nurses. As a lark
we decided to visit the world famous Sphinx, which had been patronized for many years by wealthy
Europeans. Armed with a few packets of cigarettes and my smattering of French, we were ushered into a
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very beautifully decorated night club-like bar. We stayed for about half an hour and had a couple of drinks,
served by scantily dressed girls. I am sure it gave the Canadian nurses something to talk about!
Later in Holland, Father Burke and I decided to take a short leave between postings. We were able to buy
a large quantity of the liquor left over from the Officers Mess after the regiment was disbanded. I got as
far as the Grand Hotel in Hilversum and developed a high fever. In the hospital I was diagnosed as having
clinic malaria, which involved having all the symptoms of malaria but no malaria bug. For a full week I
had a temperature of 104 degrees.
Penicillin was thought to be the only way to cure most problems. They stuck needles into my bottom
several times a day and after a week my temperature went down to normal. By strange coincidence, the
nurse on duty was one of the nurses I had met in Paris. Under my bed was a canvas bag containing ten or
twelve bottles of liqueurs, etc. I remember reaching under the bed and giving the nurse a bottle of liqueur.
During the week I was in the hospital, five Canadians came in after drinking methyl alcohol and went out
in coffins. Tom Hastings, who had an LAD with the 3rd Division had one of his men die after drinking
methyl alcohol at a V2 Site.
Shortly after my session in the hospital, I was posted with 47th LAD attached to the Lake Superior
Regiment, which was scheduled to return to England in November. The Grenadier Guards were close by
and I saw a lot of my friend Rupe, who was in charge of their LAD. Our regiment was scheduled to take
over the quarters just being vacated by the Quebec Infantry Regiment, Les Chaudiers, in Soest. I decided
to accompany the adjutant to look over the new quarters. In the Officers Mess I noticed several very
attractive girls. The adjutant inspected the other ranks’ quarters and discovered that the Chaudiers had
moved in a large number of women from brothels in Amsterdam. They said that they were waiting for the
new troops to move in.
The padre of the Lake Superior Regiment heard about this and enlisted the assistance of the Provost Corps
(Military Police). It must have been an amusing sight to see these girls, many dressed in Canadian army
clothing, being driven down the main street.
The Lake Superior Regiment was to be honoured with the presentation of Colours by the Queen. It was
planned that the Colonel go ahead as an advance party to organize the event. He held a meeting at the
Officer’s Mess to obtain authority for a sizeable sum of money from mess funds for his personal expenses.
He asked for a motion authorizing this payment.
A Lieutenant (his first name was Lou) who had been drinking a little too much rose smartly to his feet and
replied in a loud voice “that is a lot of balls - Sir!”. It was a very amusing instance and I do not remember
how the Colonel handled it.
On November 13, 1945 I returned to England with the Lake Superior Regiment and on December 3rd,
1945 sailed for Canada.
On March 28, 1946, I was struck off strength and based on active service from May 1941 to September
1941 and March 3, 1942 to March 28, 1946. I received a war service gratuity amounting to $939.91.
With this amount I was able to buy a new Chevrolet. Unfortunately I was so careful breaking this car in
that it used a quart of oil every 200 miles.
In April 1946 I obtained a job as plant engineer for the Beardmore company tannery in Acton. This was
the largest tannery in the British Empire with several acres of buildings. Beardmore was a subsidiary of
Canada Packers.
Stewart Bennett was a president of Beardmore company and also director of Canada Packers. Bob Parker
21
was Vice President of Beardmore
company and I reported to him.
I obtained board and meals with Mr.
and Mrs. Johnson, a retired farm
couple, living in Acton.
The equipment in the tannery
required a lot of up upgrading after
the war and I found the job to be a
real challenge.
I supervised the installation of the
new steam plant, the building of a
dozen company houses, designed
pumps and piping systems,
reinforced concrete slabs, ducting,
Beardmore Tannery
sizing of steel beams, plant layout and estimates.
During week days I spent most evenings boning up on engineering design which I had studied in
university.
Charlie Hanson, the master mechanic who I worked closely with had a lot of practical experience. He
would ask me to size a steel beam only to see a beam of similar strength on the shop floor which Charlie
had selected.
When I first started the large water tank had to be painted on the inside. To test me out Charlie suggested
that it was my job to climb up the high structure and check the inside paint job. I did this with some
trepidation!
The tannery produced sole and upper leather and belting. It was a very smelly place.
The office had a fairly large staff which mainly consisted of people keeping track of the bookkeeping and
financial information. At the reception desk, the switchboard girl Rita McNabb, transferred incoming calls
by plugging line in to a switchboard. This was quite different from the way incoming telephone calls are
handled today.
Labour was in short supply and a bunkhouse was available for the single men who worked in the tannery.
The Indians had separate quarters in a farm house close by.
Each week the company sent out large portions of meat sufficient to take care of meals for the full seven
days. The Indians however would eat all the meat on the first day and then be out of food.
At one time they complained about the roof leaking and it was found that they had taken the wooden
shingles off the roof and put them in the fire to keep warm.
Another project I became involved in was to supervise projects on the Stewart Bennet’s farm where he
raised prize short horn cattle. This farm is located just north of Georgetown and is now a public park.
O.D. Vaughn, Vice President of Canada Packers had an adjoining farm and I was given the job of
supervising the construction of a barn. When it was finished, I remember O.D. Vaughn’s blond wife
commenting “Isn’t it just too, too divine!”. Hardly a fitting comment for a barn!
Both J.S. McLean former President and O.D. Vaughn vice president of Canada Packers have large houses
located to the east of Sunnybrook Hospital. They became wealthy at the expense of their employees. My
22
Family Goup - Christmas 1949. Mother, Myself, Rosemary, Eve, Mrs. Yealland, Ethel, Elma,
Mrs. McCord, Irene, Tony and Bob Yealland.
annuity after working for sixteen years with Beardmore company a Canada Packer subsidiary amounts to
$77.18 per month. Less than the cost of two bottles of gin!
In Acton, I belonged to the Wiseman’s Club who raised money for various charities. We put on a show
and I was dressed up as Betty Grable - well padded and in high heel shoes. I just don’t know how women
can walk in high heel shoes! Today, if a person were to participate in a show like this you would be
labelled a “queer”.
Acton was a little more than an hour’s drive from Toronto and my weekends are usually spent in Toronto
where there was always something going on.
Directly after the war Tom Hastings married a Dutch girl Swannie. She was a member of the Alliance
Francais, a club representing mainly people with a European French background. I remember going to
parties given by the head interior decorator of Eatons who had a very unique house converted from a
stable. The master bedroom was located in the former loft, reached by a short ladder and no protective
railing.
One member of the Alliance Francais was a girl called Betty Teagle who had just graduated as a lawyer.
This was just the beginning of women being accepted to enter the practice of law.
While in Acton, I played golf at Cutton Fields Golf Course in Guelph. The golf course was owned by
Stanley Thomson, Canada’s most famous golf course architect. He designed golf courses in Banff, Jasper,
Capilano in Vancouver plus many more. In those days he still played golf with hickory shafted golf clubs.
The annual out of town membership at Cuttenfields was $25 per year and we felt that was outrageous
when it was raised to $35 per year.
In 1949 I took a two week tour by train to California and the west coast of Canada. Sleeping on a train for
two weeks certainly would not appeal to me now. It was however a young group on the tour and I enjoyed
it at the time.
The two-week train trip stopped off in LA, Tijuana in Mexico, San Francisco, Victoria, Vancouver and
Banff. In Vancouver, I looked up Ruth, whom I had not seen since university days. We had, however,
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Wedding and first house in Acton.
Mother, Bob Yealland, Elma, Uncle Tony, Ruth and
Rosemary at Wedding.
165 Guelph Street Acton. First house on large lot,
which had to be cut with a hand mower.
First visitors at our Acton house.
kept in touch with Christmas cards etc.
That following Christmas, Tom’s wife Swannie offered to wrap some of my Christmas presents for me.
She mixed them up (I’m sure it was deliberate) and Velma, a girl I had met on the tour was sent a parcel
with the wrong greeting card before I discovered the mistake.
As previously mentioned, Ruth received a Gold Medal from the Royal Conservatory of Music as the top
Canadian student of Piano Performance. After graduating from the Conservatory in 1941, she continued
her piano studies at Julliard School of Music in New York.
On returning home from New York, she gave a recital at the Hotel Vancouver. Making a living as a top
piano performer is limited to very few people. It is an extremely competitive profession. On the advice of
her father, Ruth took a secretarial course.
In 1950 Ruth came to Toronto and got a job with an insurance company. On June 15, 1951 Ruth and I
24
were married at St. Clement’s Anglican church. Ruth was 30 years old and I was 32. My best man was
Lloyd Rupert.
Ruth was born on November 28, 1921 in Prince Rupert. Her father, Scott, was a school principal and was
moved from time to time to take charge of different schools located in the interior of British Columbia.
Only recently I learned that Scott’s father was the Reverend John Sims and Scott was born in Brampton,
Ontario. Scott was a very likable person and somewhat domineered by his wife Peggy. He told me about
earlier days when he had a car in British Columbia with two wheel brakes. They mountain roads were
treacherous and the radiator would boil over and he would have to fill up with cold water from a mountain
stream.
Ruth’s mother Peggy was born in Manitoba and she, along with her sister and one of her brothers, were all
very musical. Ruth’s uncle Len Hayman emigrated from England and came to western Canada. He ended
up for forty years owning the ferry, which crossed Okanogan Lake. He enjoyed a good shot of rum and
lived to the age of 99.
Len and Ruth’s Aunt Jean had two daughters, Joyce and Eunice and one son, Bob. Joyce studied organ
for five years at the Royal Academy of Music in London, England. Later she married an accomplished
commercial artist George Zacharie who passed on some years ago. At the time of writing these memoirs
Joyce is 97 years of age and lives in California with 9 cats in the house. Onie married a doctor Tom
Darymple and they have both passed away several years ago.
Bob Hayman joined the Navy during the war and served at one time on the Renown. They were on
a manoeuvre and he recalls the instance when a blond good-looking officer came on board from the
destroyer Rotherham and apologized for his poor navigation. Some of his navigational map plots
apparently would have put his vessel aground at a nearby beach. The blond officer turned out to be
Prince Philip of Greece. Upon retirement Bob played jazz piano on one of the cruise boats and wrote his
memoirs, which contain the following “ A Prayer for Me”.
********
Dear Lord:
Like it says in the bible, I praise and magnify Your Holy Name. I thank you for creation, and for making
me a part of it.
I don’t think I have ground the faces of the poor, nor have I harmed or taken advantage of widows or
orphans.
While helping myself rather liberally, I think I have tried to help others.
In the Life Hereafter, if it is in Your Divine Plan, I would like: To play music; to play some tennis and
golf; to make love to and with a beautiful woman, and if you wish I could supply a couple of names; to go
fly fishing with Jim Rankine; to write a book on the Life Hereafter.
If the above don’t fit your Master Plan, or if my performance here on Earth disentitles me to these
goodies, I’ll understand and will willingly accept anything you dish up for me.
However, I do want to thank You Lord, for my wonderful, if tempestuous life on Earth; I confess my sins
and beg Your forgiveness. I particularly ask absolution for the sin of doubting Christ, if He truly is Your
Son. I promise to do better in my next incarnation to and including preaching Your Word, if indeed the
Bible is Your Word.
Please be assured that I love You, Lord and know that You love me.
25
I remain,
Your devoted servant,
P.S. And I thank you family and friends, and the kindly folk who have populated my world.
Well, that’s all there is, so I’ll be saying “so long”.
“Bob”
*****************
From a religious aspect I agree with Bob’s thoughtfully worded epitaph.
I feel very strongly that the Bible stories should not be treated literally, particularly the Old Testament.
As mentioned earlier in this document, I witnessed the fact that my Aunt Ethel was psychic. When
Pam lived in Canada she was also psychic but tried to fight it off. I witnessed four psychic events,
one involving her father and three others with Ruth and my family. There were strange events on two
occasions where Pam completely passed out for a few minutes after experiencing the presence of her father
and Ruth. I can only conclude that in some way there must be a life hereafter.
As a young girl, Ruth spent all of her summer holidays in Kelowna. I think she was closer to her Aunt
Jean than to her mother.
After we were married, Ruth and I moved into a small storey and a half house in Acton. We had a
very large lot and vegetable garden. The lawn mower was push type and of course the house had no air
conditioning, clothes dryer, dishwasher etc. Our treat for the week was to go to Guelph and have dinner
on a Saturday night.
Prior to Ruth and I getting married in 1951, Beardmore became exclusive Canadian stocking distributors
for plastic pipe extruded in Acton by Micro Plastics. They were one of the very first companies in Canada
to manufacture polyethylene plastic pipe.
Micro Plastics was associated with a US company who used the trade name “Carlon”. The American
plastic pipe industry as a whole made absolutely no effort to test the strength of the polyethylene pipe they
produced. The whole industry copied one another and rated the working pressure of 1/2” polyethylene pipe
at 540 psi.
My first involvement in the plastics industry was in 1946. I was given the job of testing all sizes of
polyethylene pipe. My tests indicated that 1/2” polyethylene should have been rated at only 100 psi
maximum.
In 1951 my job as a plant engineer was no longer a challenge. We had gone through several million dollars
in capital expenditures and now I was concerned mainly with maintenance.
The salesmen I was dealing with in technical equipment were making 50% higher salary than I was. I
therefore asked for a transfer into sales with the Carlon Pipe Division. My request was granted and I
reported to Ed Smith, who was the sales representative who had started the Carlon Plastic Pipe sales
division.
Ed Smith was a good salesman and I learned a lot from him. He insisted that I make every sales with a
50ft. coil of 3/4” polyethylene pipe. This was to show its flexibility and lightness. Plastic pipe of course
was very new and our main market was replacing galvanized pipe on farms etc.
Ed Smith also insisted that I wear a hat on all sales calls. On a windy day it would blow off and thanks to
26
Ontario Ploughing Match, about 1950. Prime Minister St. Laurent looking at a coil of polyethylene pipe for the first time.
“First 3” Plastic Pipe, about 1950. On the job site for 3” polyethylene pipe in British Columbia and Don
Donaldson who was our West Cost sales representative.
27
John Kennedy, men stopped wearing hats.
We showed our product at the annual ploughing match. Please refer to the photo of Prime Minister Louis
St. Laurent looking for the first time at a coil of polyethylene pipe about 1950. To make the polyethylene
pipe look like galvanized a gray colour was extruded for the first year, but after it was subjected to ultra
violet light, it cracked after about one year in the sun. A decision was then made to make the polyethylene
pipe with carbon black added.
In 1951 I was appointed manager of the Carlon plastic pipe division and replaced Ed Smith. About
that time I was appointed chairman of the SPI committee for plastic pipes. This was followed by my
appointment as first chairman of the CSA committee for plastic pipes.
Prior to Richard being born on July 9, 1953, Ruth had several miscarriages. It was only with the help
of a neighbour Joyce Hards that Ruth was able to keep her feet up for most of the nine months she was
pregnant. Joyce and Ted Hards were named as godparents for Richard.
In 1953 my Uncle Tony died from a heart attack at the age of 58. He strictly followed the advice of
doctors in those days who recommended complete rest after a heart attack.
While in Acton, we bought a beagle and we named him Monty because he was the friskiest puppy of the
litter. He was the only dog that I have ever had that I could not train. He would get loose going after a
rabbit or something and come back three days later stinking.
When I first started in the sales business, we were still living in Acton and I refused to move to Toronto
until they gave me a good raise. Rent in Acton was $27 per month compared to Toronto where I would
have paid $120 per month. Eventually I got my raise and we rented a duplex at 122 Welland Avenue in
Moore Park.
Family Group - 1955. Ethel, Irene, Eve, baby Richard, Ruth, Mother, Michael, John and Elma.
28
Bill Hopkins, who later became my sales manager,
joined us as a sales representative. At the time we
were lacking good sales distribution in Western
Canada and it was decided that I should move to
Vancouver for at least a six-month period.
Bill Hopkins and his wife temporarily moved into
the duplex on Welland Ave and Ruth and the baby
flew and I drove my car to Vancouver. After 5 days
of driving with Monty, I smelled like a beagle upon
arriving in Vancouver
While I was away on a one-week sales trip, Ruth’s
father gave Monty away to someone on Vancouver
Island. Six months later he was killed by a car,
probably while chasing a rabbit.
Mother, Scott, Richard, Ruth and Peggy, August 1957.
In Vancouver we stayed with Ruth’s parents and
while I was away on a week’s sales trip in Alberta,
Ruth had another miscarriage and landed in the
hospital. She was very upset with her mother who
refused to visit her in the hospital. It was hard to
understand!!
During that winter, I found the Vancouver
weather very depressing. The sun never seemed
to shine and it rained a great deal. Before leaving
Vancouver I appointed Don Donaldson as our sales
representative to cover Western Canada.
In 1955 Bob Yealland died at age 46 leaving Elma
a widow at 40, with two boys Michael 14 and John
10.
Don Mills was just being developed from farm
fields and in 1955 I bought a house at 29 Deepwood
Cr. I showed the house to my mother while it was
under construction and the road had not yet been
paved. Her comment was “that I was quite mad
buying a house in the sticks!”
Valerie’s Christening, June 3, 1957. Ruth, baby
Valerie and Richard.
In 1956 Valerie was born. About this time I was
quite active as Chairman of SPI Canada (Society
of Plastic Industry). In the USA, I remember
that Dupont announced that they had developed a
new material similar to nylon. They put on a big
promotion in New York featuring models wearing
swimming suits made of this material. When
the girls dove into the swimming pool, the water
dissolved the fabric. It was amazing that a company
such as Dupont, didn’t evaluate the properties of
Valerie’s Christening, June 3, 1957. Mother and baby this new material before promoting it.
Valerie.
29
Big Brother Richard (3) and
Valerie (1 month), 1956.
Richard and Valerie, August 1957.
Valerie brushing her teeth, 1958.
This in the early days along with the pressure rating of plastic pipe was typical of the USA approach to
introducing a new product. Promotion came before testing and evaluation.
Several years later as Chairman of SPI Canada I attended the annual meeting of SPI USA in Washington.
Plastic drain waste and vent was being introduced in direct competition against copper and cast iron. The
copper and cast iron manufacturers had raised substantial amounts of money to keep plastics out of this
market.
At a breakfast meeting with over 100 in attendance, the President of SPI USA requested that the plastics
industry raise money to lobby against copper and cast iron. He stated that they had recently been involved
in a lobby against the paper manufacturers who claimed that plastic garment bags should be banned
because they could smother children. Apparently a meeting was held in a dry US state where a committee
of US government officials were attending. The US SPI Chairman stated that a few weeks ago their
lobbyist had advised that it looked likely that the paper people would win out but recently the situation had
changed and the paper lobbyist was in jail. He had been caught crossing the state line with a trunk full of
liquor and four prostitutes. This was all announced in a very matter of fact fashion in front of the several
hundred plastics people attending the session.
During the summer of 1955, Ruth and I took a vacation in Muskoka. We stayed near one of the large
Muskoka hotels, which I believe was Cleveland’s House. As we entered the hotel, we heard somebody
playing the piano in one of the rooms and Ruth discovered it was Oscar Morowitz a famous Canadian
composer of the day. Ruth had known Oscar during her Conservatory of Music days. The hotel had
a very good dance band and I suggested that Oscar join us. He had the first dance with poor Ruth who
found that he had absolutely no sense of rhythm!
Among Ruth’s musical friends in Toronto was George Coutts an organist who had taught Ruth theory
at the Conservatory. We were invited to an evening with several well-known Toronto musical people
attending. Included was Horace Lapp who played the organ at the Imperial movie theatre. This organ has
since been renovated.
George Coutts put on a recording of a woman singing and asked me what I thought of her. Fortunately, I
had a good ear for music and simply shook my head. This woman sang every note just a little off key. She
was a wealthy New Yorker and hired Carnegie Hall every year to put on a concert. Musical critics who
would attend would simply comment that she sang. She also did recording and was well known in New
York musical circles.
30
Putting in the foundation, early 1959.
Front view of the cottage with veranda cantilevered
out close to the water, June 1960.
The Deepwood house was not air-conditioned and I installed a window unit in the kitchen and we used
fans to keep the bedrooms cool. The basement was completely unfinished. I had a fireplace put in and
completely finished the recreation room and installed a two- piece bathroom.
We lived on a corner lot with no privacy. I planted a side garden hedge and erected a screen around the
back patio. When we sold the house, the new owners tore down the screen and the side hedge.
While we lived on Welland Avenue, Ruth met Jean Fitzgerald who had a baby Howard who was about the
same age as Richard.
The Fitzgeralds’s invited us to their cottage on Little Hawk Lake. Their next-door neighbour Jim
Stephenson gave me a ride on a surfboard behind his boat. He flipped me off after making a fast turn and
I almost lost my swimming trunks. It really is a small world because Jimmy Stephenson, who passed away
some years ago, was Marg Fitzwilliam’s brother.
Crown land lots accessed only by water were available on Little Hawk Lake, but I was looking for a
cottage lot with access by road. Later in April 1959, Frank Clouse, Rosemary’s father-in-law sold me a
one-acre lot on Lake Manitawabing for $600.
As mentioned, with the market for polyethylene pipe being mainly for rural use, we exhibited at the
ploughing match each year.
In 1958, the B.C. Plywood Association featured a farm shed using a unique rigid frame construction. The
shed they had on display had a span of approximately 32 feet with no supports or supporting columns. I
felt that this type of construction would be ideal for a summer cottage.
The B.C. Plywood Association were interested in promoting this design for cottages and offered to spend a
full day supervising the construction.
The cottage I designed had a 16 ft. high ceiling and 31 ft. span. The combined living room and kitchen
area was 12 ft. x 31 ft. and was all glass in front.
The 2 x 12 exposed ceiling rafters were fastened to the 2 x 6 walls sandwiched between ¼” plywood.
Approximately 300 1” nails were specified to join the plywood. Farmer Jones along with Richard, who
31
View of one acre lot from rear where we moored the
boat ending up in Richard’s favourite swamp.
Front swim area with sandy bottom below rocks.
Valerie and myself with Brownie, Farmer Jones dog,
July 1962.
Richard drive 10 HP motor boat with Valerie.
Richard’s 7th Birthday at the cottage.
Richard with fish we had for breakfast.
32
was seven years old, helped to hammer in the nails. It was a very strong structure and along both sides
were ventilating flaps covered with mosquito netting. A cantilevered deck extended to near the lake water
edge.
The first thing I did was to install a flush toilet. Apart from hiring a contractor to shingle the roof, I did all
the electrical and carpentry work.
Fishing was good in Lake Manitawabing and I have a photograph of Richard proudly holding a bass
he caught. Both Richard and Valerie became good swimmers during the ten years we had the cottage.
Valerie was only 5 or 6 years old when, using a life jacket, she would cross the bay to Frank Clouse’s
cottage.
I made a $50 bet with Richard if he could swim across to the island opposite our lake property. Richard
reminded me of the bet and said that he was ready for the swim. It took him about ¾ of an hour to cross
the lake.
The property was on a point with a backwash where we moored the boat. The little bay ended up with a
swamp. At school, Richard wrote an essay about the most interesting feature of our cottage - the swamp!
I took movies of the cottage going back to 1959.
In Don Mills, one of the most interesting movies I took of Valerie was when she was about 3 years old.
She was attempting to push a doll’s pram up over the six-inch curb at Deepwood. In order to get up the
curb herself, she had to climb up with one knee.
I also took movies at Christmas and Halloween. Between movies and slides, I have a good record or both
Richard and Valerie when they were growing up.
By 1958, the Carlon Plastic Pipe Division had taken on a line of polyethylene traps and fittings for
laboratory drainage. We represented a UK plastic moulder who were the first to develop a system using a
heat socket fusion joining method for polyethylene pipe. Fred Folkard owned the company.
We also imported from an English company, Durapipe a line of ABS pressure pipe fittings.
In June 1959, Fred Folkard invited John Powell, sales manager for Nalge who were his US representatives
and myself to visit his agents in Holland, Belgium and France. While in London, I looked up Pam and her
husband. Gerald was around four or five years of age at the time and Pam’s mother was living with them.
On this trip for the novelty of it I returned to Canada from Rome to New York on one of the first
scheduled transatlantic jet passenger flights. Shortly after this Boeing 707 jet planes were available.
Mercia Baxter, the daughter of friends of the family in Whitley Bay, had become a London model. I
remember being invited for an evening at her flat, which she shared with another girl. I was introduced
to a fellow (his first name was Michael) who had been Elizabeth Taylor’s first of many loves. She phoned
him every day from California.
Recently, I received a Christmas card and note from Mercia mentioning that she had a surprise call
from Princess Alia of Jordon. She is the eldest daughter of the late King of Jordon, who Mercia knew
personally before he died. She also personally knew Orson Wells and Sterling Moss the car racer. I think
that perhaps she should be writing her memoirs, not me!
Fred Folkard had moulded a plastic device called a “ burper”. During the war an attempt had been made
to make a pneumatic breakwater at the harbour of Dover.
In Canada, during the wintertime, it is common practice to use compressed air to keep ice from forming.
33
The temperature of the water below the surface of a lake is up to 2 degrees Fahrenheit higher. The
“burper” provided a build-up of a large volume of air bringing the warm water to the surface more
efficiently than using a perforated pipe.
In 1960, we convinced the Canadian government that they should install a “burper” at the dock at
Cambridge bay, 300 miles north of the Arctic Circle. They insisted we supply a mechanic to install the
system and I decided to do the job.
The flight from Edmonton to Cambridge Bay in November 1960 was in a very small plane. With the
possibility of a forced landing in the barrens, I had to wear fleece lined boots and heavy clothing.
Cambridge Bay in November was a very desolate place with no trees or signs of vegetation. The Mounties
had a team of full bred huskies but the Eskimos had mainly mongrels. No ski-doos of course were
available at that time.
I brought back for Richard and Valerie a wooden carving of an igloo. The note enclosed with the carving
read as follows:
DDDDDDDDD
November 1960 - Cambridge Bay
I got this from an Eskimo called William who lived every winter himself in an igloo like this. The bed is
made from snow with a fur skin covering it. The whole family slept on this bed.
The Eskimo woman inside the igloo is cooking on a seal oil stove called a “Kudele”.
The stove is made from soap stone and uses seal oil and moss for a wick. The stove cannot be too hot
because it could melt the snow house. The soap stone is used to heat the igloo.
Notice the small baby being carried on the woman’s back, under her coat (the inner coat is called an
Cambridge Bay - November 1960
DEW line radar station at Cambridge Bay.
Building the air compressor enclosure for the burper.
Wharf and complete air compressor enclosure with
ocean frozen over at that time.
Completed air compressor housings.
34
Anglican Church
Cambridge Bay and Nisson type nuts provided by the
Federal Government.
Hunter with rabbit.
Inuit kids in front of their rather run down house.
Antigg and the outer a Kulitak).
The knife the woman uses is round and is called an Ulu. This knife and other tools are always left at the
entrance of the igloo.
The Eskimos are very honest. If a knife were to be stolen the person would die on the trail.
The sled is called a “komatick” and has runners made from ice and mud smoothed down.” Cambridge
Bay is 300 miles north of the Arctic Circle. It was near here that the British explorer Franklin and his
whole crew perished.
The country here is very barren with no trees. When I was in Cambridge Bay in November, it was very
cold and ocean was frozen over. It was also very windy.
The lemming, a small furry mouse-like creature survives in the Arctic by living on small seeds. The Arctic
Owl and other creatures rely on the lemming for food.
DDDDDDDDD
As mentioned in the note above written in November 1960, the Eskimos were very honest. It was about
this time that the Canadian government took the children from their families and put them to school in
Nouvic to teach them how to read and write. When they returned to their remote Eskimo settlements,
they did not know how to fish and hunt. They ended up in a large settlement like Cambridge Bay with
35
nothing to do and relying on relief payments from the government.
There seemed to be no shortage of money for cigarettes which they all
smoked.
It was admirable how prior to about 1940 , the Inuit could live off this
barren land and survive. It is my opinion that we should have left them
to their way of life and only taken care of their medical needs. Sadly
today we are faced with serious problems with the Inuit who were once
a race of people to be admired.
Arab with dagger showing
Richard where I was going.
While I was in Cambridge Bay the ocean froze over and unfortunately
salt water does not have the approximately 2 degree temperature
gradient of fresh water and the “burper” did not work. It was however
an interesting trip for me!
The Carlon Plastic Pipe Division retained for a modest fee, a political
representative in Ottawa, Robbie Robertson. Robbie was a campaigner
for Roland Michener who later became Governor General.
In early 1961 on a weekend I received a phone call from Robbie at
home. He said that he wanted me to meet an important person from
Kuwait at my office on Front Street. The Kuwaitee was dressed in full
Arab regalia complete with dagger. I took a movie of him in our living
room showing Richard (who was 8) with the dagger where I was going.
He represented a wealthy Kuwait merchant who felt that there was a big
market for plastic pipe in Kuwait. The merchant made an offer to pay
my fare and expenses to go to Kuwait.
Essa Amad Ajeel, Kuwait 1961.
After Beardmore company verified that the merchant, Essa Amad Ala
Ajeel, was in fact a wealthy merchant, it was agreed that I should go.
In January 1961, lacking a visa which is normally required, I landed in Kuwait.
In those days, Kuwait had just struck oil and they had one salt water distillation plant. Water, however,
was still being sold in the street.
Victor Dehan was Essa’s partner and was the only one who spoke English. Dennis Ding, Vice President
of Benson and Hedges, was also visiting Essa at the time and he stated that my comments sometimes were
not correctly interpreted. Dennis claimed that he spoke no Arabic.
Dennis Ding told me he that his main job was to promote the sale of cigarettes which would be smuggled
out of the country. In hot climates cigarettes deteriorate and Benson and Hedges built refrigerated
warehouse on the border points for the smugglers. Dennis told me that it had taken several years for him
to locate one of the largest smugglers who was located in Vienna.
Essa had a fax machine and I read the message that chocolates were due on a certain flight to arrive in
Bombay. I said to Victor that I did not know that Essa dealt in chocolates. He replied that “chocolate”
was the code name for gold. Essa no doubt was dealing with Dennis Ding to smuggle cigarettes also.
Later, I found out that Essa had been the courier for a wealthy Kuwait merchant and smuggled gold bars
into India. As a reward for his service, Essa had been tipped off about the location for a new proposed
airport. He bought several acres of land and made a fortune selling it to the government.
I got along very well with Essa who was a short man with a scar across one cheek. Ruth looked at his
36
photograph and thought that he was very handsome!!
After making a sales presentation to a Kuwaitee, Victor Dehan told me that I had insulted the potential
customer. For the life of me I could not understand why. Victor said that I should have engaged in small
talk after the presentation. Instead I thanked him for his time and left too quickly.
On my return to Canada, I stopped off for a day in Lebanon. That evening I visited their famous gambling
casino and watched them play a game of cards. They were gambling thousands of dollars on this game.
Cards were dealt out using a wooden device shaped like a paddle.
From Lebanon, I spent some time in Rome and Zurich.
At the request of Essa, I returned to Kuwait on April 30, 1961. Essa did not drink but his partner Victor
Dehan was an Egyptian and he did take a drink. During my first visit, one evening, Victor Dehan said
“Ding, I think you are a spy”. I put the comment down to too many drinks.
On my second trip the telephone rang in Essa’s office. It was Dennis Ding phoning from the Mayflower
hotel in Beirut. Victor said that the Mayflower hotel was the centre for British intelligence.
From Kuwait, I accompanied Victor Dehan to Cairo where I took pictures of goats and camels on the main
street.
Victor’s sister was married to a man called Henri Barracat who owned Barracat films. He was Egypt’s
leading film producer. I was invited to dinner at Barracat’s penthouse apartment. The meal consisted of
rice, chicken and a green sauce. I had two helpings and when I was finished I was as high as a kite! On a
later visit to Egypt, I was told that a special plant grown on the Nile is commonly used for this sauce.
From Cairo, I went with Victor to Libya, where they had just struck oil. This was prior to Kadafi and the
country was ruled by sheiks, who had beautiful palaces. My trip was in May and the weather had become
very, very hot. After spending a few days in Libya, it was arranged that Victor would go to England to
meet with Brian Cauthrey’s father.
I felt that there was a possibility to form an agency to sell major equipment to Kuwait. My product
manager at the Carlon Plastic Pipe Division was an Englishman Brian Cauthrey. His father had just retired
as a civil servant involving purchasing of major equipment. It was therefore arranged that Victor Dehan,
after our trip to Libya would see Cauthrey’s father in England.
Immediately after the meeting, Cauthrey had a visit from the British Intelligence, who wanted to
know what had been discussed. The British Intelligence advised that Victor was one of the biggest
contrabanders of gold in the Middle East and was wanted by Interpol.
This brought an end to my hopes of forming a company to sell to the Middle East!
It was several years after my trip to the Middle East, when I met an Egyptian who was in charge of one of
Noranda’s plants in Vancouver. He knew Victor Dehan and Barracat and mentioned that Dehan was a Jew
and Barracat was a Christian. This was rather amusing when prior to my first trip we had to certify that
there were no Jewish directors on the Board of Canada Packers.
Sharif Elkei, the Egyptian owner of the restaurant, Pourquoi Pas, also knew Victor. He apparently
eventually died a very wealthy man.
In 1961, there was no Don Valley Parkway and Miller Paving operated a rope tow on the slope just south
of Lawrence Ave. It was a very convenient spot to take both Richard and Valerie who were 8 and 5 years
old at the time for ski lessons. The Miller Paving men who operated the tow were in white coveralls and
Valerie used to refer to them as the “picker-uppers.”
37
On May 30, 1962 my mother died at the age of 70 after struggling with a stroke.
In December 1962, after Building Products bought Microplastics from Jack Kent Cook, I was made
manager of the plastic pipe sales division. Two years later in December 1964, the division was sold to
Allied Chemical.
In April 1963, my cousin Elma died. She was only 48, Mike was 22 and John 18.
When I was running the Plastic Pipe division for both Building Products and Allied Chemical, once a year
I accompanied my sales representative for British Columbia and Alberta making joint sales calls with him.
We used to drive from Edmonton to Jasper, Banff and then to Vancouver. We were frequently able to play
a game of golf at Jasper.
Stanley Thompson, one of Canada’s most renowned golf course architects, designed the Jasper golf course.
After completing the job far over budget, the story goes that he played his first round with the Chairman of
the Board of Canadian Pacific. They came to the 15th hole, which presently is called the “Mermaid”. The
CEO of CP said, “Stanley, you cannot do this to the CPR!”
Stanley had designed the hole shaped with a woman’s figure and with mounds and bunkers in the right
places.
When we were promoting the
application of plastic pipe for golf
course irrigation, I worked very
closely with Stanley Thompson.
He was one of the first to
visualize the use of plastic pipe
for golf courses at a time when
it was felt that nothing replaced
galvanized pipe above ground.
In spite of the fact that my sales
trips normally took between
2-3 weeks, I was able to mix a
little pleasure with business. On
Vancouver Island, when time
permitted we would fish for
salmon. You cannot beat a small
salmon for flavour cooked just
after you catch it.
By September 1964, I could see
no prospects for advancement
with Building Products and felt that it was time to move on. My friend Rupe told me that there was an
opening for Chief of the new plastics and rubber branch of the Department of Industry in Ottawa. They
were offering $15,000/year, which was more than I was earning at the time. Fortunately I did not get the
job. I certainly would have been a misfit working for the Government.
Christmas Card 1964.
In December 1964, Building Products sold their plastics division to Allied Chemical who had recently
acquired Smith Manufacturing, extruders of plastic conduit and drainage pipe. At that time plastic conduit
was just being introduced to the utilities on an experimental basis.
My grandmother died on March 3, 1945 at the age of 76.
38
In November, 1956 after a business trip to Europe I skied at
St. Moritz. I was not impressed with the ski facilities there.
The T-bar tows in those days were miles long and snow
conditions were hard and wind-swept.
In Don Mills, our neighbour across the street, the Perrys, had
a small dog called Snookie. Valerie was 10 years old and
spent a lot of time with her. One day Snookie got out and sat
at our door and growled at the Perrys when they tried to take
her back to their house. The Perrys were not pleased and
ended up giving Snookie to Valerie.
Snookie was such a good-natured dog and all the time we had
her she never growled!
I also became very fond of Snookie and after forming
Chemline took her to the office every day. I remember one
day at the office, I was talking to a customer, Snookie was
at my feet and I quietly said Snookie go and see Lily. The
Snookie, 1968.
customer was amazed when Snookie got up, left my office
and sat down with Lily. She knew everything I said and I took her with me everywhere without a leash.
One day I visited a lawyer’s office downtown. The lawyer commented that she was more obedient than
most children.
The only time I chastised her was after she chased a motorcycle.
After Snookie’s death in 1980 I incorporated a private company in the USA “Snookie Incorporated” that
handled time-share units. “Snookie Incorporated” was discontinued in 2003.
In 1966 Allied Chemical sold their plastic division to Canadian Gypsum. I had had enough of ongoing
takeovers!
In September 1966, I resigned from Allied Chemical to form a new company Tridon Plastics, a subsidiary
of Tridon Manufacturing in Burlington. Tridon was a privately owned aggressive small company who
utilized maximum availability of credit to expand very rapidly. I could only develop enough sales to
operate two shifts a day and this was not sufficient to make a profit. My contract was terminated in June
1967 and I found myself out of a job!
We were still living in Don Mills and had a fairly high mortgage to maintain. I sent out resumes to all of
the head-hunters to no avail.
When an engineer is out of work, he becomes a
consultant. Having started Tridon Plastics from
scratch I had a good knowledge of production
equipment and costs.
Christmas Card, 1967.
On May 31, 1967 Ethel died at the age of 78. She
suffered from cancer and Dr. Warren was the family
doctor. After discussion he gave her a strong needle
which he said would relieve her pain. This would of
course not be allowed in Canada today even under
these circumstances. It is a pity that euthanasia is
not allowed in Canada as it is in Holland.
39
In September 1967, I had a meeting in Montreal with the Vice President of Manufacturing for Marbon
Chemical. Marbon manufactured ABS and were considering the possibility of getting into the extrusion
business making ABS drain, waste and vents. This of course would be in direct competition with their
customers.
For a sum of $15,000 I was able to negotiate a confidential report. This 120 page report detailed
production costs, equipment, return on investment and existing and future potential market.
To type this report, I employed the services of Lily MacCallum, who eventually became Chemline’s first
employee.
Just before I left Allied Chemical, I had placed an order with Mitsui for PVC ball valves manufactured by
a Japanese company Kitamura. Allied Chemicals saw no potential in the sale of plastic valves and were
unable to sell them. They were willing for me to buy in small quantities and at a discounted price.
To avoid the cost of forming a limited company, I started “Chemline Plastic Sales Company”. At the same
time, I placed a modest stocking order for Kitamura ball valves with payment terms of 120 days letter of
credit.
Back in 1960 I joined the Donalda Club as a charter member. They only had a 9 hole golf course and the
entrance fee, I believe was $1,750.00 with one thousand dollars a repayable bond vs. $65,000 entry today.
I played golf on weekends with Bill McNeal who owned McRae Engineering Limited. He very kindly
gave me the use of a shelf in their office for my small ball valve inventory. I paid for a phone line and his
people at the office answered the telephone calls on my behalf. A data page was put together and I had
Chemline labels made for the ball valves.
My first order was November 1967 to Alcore in Richmond Hill. From November ‘67 to February ‘68, all
orders were for less than $100 and were made to plastic pipe distributors I had known located on the east
coast, Quebec, Northern Ontario and Western Canada. These small introductory orders were all drawn
from Allied Chemicals stock at 20 cents on the dollar.
By February 1968, my first stocking order arrived from Japan. On March 1968 I was able to negotiate my
first large order amounting to $2,300 from Fabricated Plastics. They paid in 30 days and our commitment
to Mitsui was payment 120 days by letter of credit.
In April 1968, I incorporated Chemline Plastics Limited. The assets of Chemline Plastics Sales Company
amounted to $4,555 and was transferred to Chemline Plastics Limited.
After the Marbon Chemical assignment I was able to negotiate a feasibility study for the manufacturing
of plastic pipe for the Manitoba government. This involved trips to all parts of Manitoba. In Flin Flon I
remember not seeing a sober Indian after 2 p.m.
Many parts of the study I had done for Marbon Chemical on production costs and return on investment I
used in this report, which paid a $15,000 fee.
Following the Manitoba government assignment, I negotiated a smaller feasibility study for Lundrigan in
Newfoundland. Lundrigan controlled several large enterprises on the island and is one of Newfoundland’s
wealthiest and most influential men.
In St. Johns, I met with Lundrigan’s man and mentioned that it would have been easier to get information,
if my study had been sponsored by the Newfoundland Government. He said that that would not be a
problem and immediately arranged a meeting with the Minister of Industry the following day. To my
amazement at the meeting, he dictated a letter stating that I had been retained by the government. My fee
of course was paid by Lundrigan and not by the Newfoundland government.
40
On this study I remember an amusing incident in Cornerbrook. After checking into the Holiday Inn I
learned that the whole staff except for the cook had been fired the week before. The manager had recruited
some local women and when you checked in for a price you were offered a room, a bottle of rum and a
girl.
The manager’s wife got word of this and one of the Holiday Inn inspectors was asked if he wanted a room
“with or without”. This sort of thing could only happen in Newfoundland!
Between time spent on consulting assignments and starting Chemline, I was working around the clock
seven days a week. The Newfoundland assignment was my last consulting job.
I rented a small office and warehouse at 11 Guardsman. The decision was made to sell all products under
the copyrighted trade name Chemline. We kept overhead to a minimum and I remember Valerie and her
friends putting labels on valve boxes in the basement at 29 Deepwood.
On October 1968, I made my first trip to Japan. At that time Chemline was buying from Japan Kitamura
PVC ball valves, diaphragm and globe valves from Teraoka.
On this trip I intended to visit my suppliers and attend a plastics show in Osaka. I was also working with
John Barry who I had known in plastic pipe days when he worked for Carlon products in Cleveland.
Finished Summer Cottage
View of kitchen area with ventilation shutters running full length of cottage both sides.
Front veranda view.
Finished Summer Cottage - Sold July 1969
Finished Summer Cottage. Started cottage started 1959 and sold at market price July 1969 for $12,000.
Living Room
Living Room
41
John Barry was interested in promoting tooling for the first plastic moulded beverage case, which was
developed in Germany.
Kitamura’s main product line was stainless steel ball valves and our first Chemline logo was based on a
Kitamura PVC ball valve, which lacked union ends. At the dinner, with Teraoka, they had a geisha whose
specialty was her quick wit and ability to keep everybody laughing with her jokes. She, of course, only
spoke Japanese, but they did interpret some of the comments she made about me.
In Tokyo I met for the first time Mr. Morimoto. He proudly showed me their new 4” gate valve. We were
not interested in Asahi’s other products such as their double union ball valves, which could not be removed
from the line. Following the meeting, I placed an order with Asahi for gate valves.
On the consulting assignment I also met with Meiji Rubber, who were moulding under German license
a plastic beverage case. In the evening, I was taken out for dinner by their President. He suggested that
we should go to a steak restaurant. When I said that I would much prefer Japanese food such as sushi
or sashimi, he said that he would show me Tokyo!! Later that evening we landed up in a small Japanese
bar with two geisha and I happened to mention that recently I was in Kuwait where one evening I was
invited for a meal where they barbecued a lamb. At this meal I was offered the eye of the lamb, which is
considered in Arabia to be quite a delicacy.
The president of Meiji Rubber said you are now in Japan where the delicacy is the eye of the fish. The
small restaurant we were in produced a fish head with a large eye. Believe it or not, it was not easy to eat
this with chopsticks!!
We ended up in my hotel room at 2 o’clock in the morning, drinking Scotch. The two geishas who
accompanied us were I’m sure of a diminishing group of geishas who were trained professionally since
they were young girls. At 2 o’clock in the morning I tried to hide a slight yawn, which was quickly
noticed. One of the geisha’s pulled a silver hairpin from her hair and gave it to me. It is now in the living
Bought 55 Guardsman, 1971
Chemline Plastics, July 2005
room stuck into the Japanese doll I brought back for Ruth.
I believe that it was March 1969 when Ruth’s father Scott died at 72.
In July 1969, we sold the cottage at market price of $12,000. 1969 was also the year of the Apollo moon
landing.
In 1970, Valerie visited Ruth’s cousin Joyce in California. She did not enjoy this visit and was very glad
to come home again to Toronto. Richard was 17 years old and Valerie was 14 when both of them attended
42
Christmas Card, 1971. Richard (18) and Valerie (15).
Bob Parker and Valerie, about 1971.
the Don Mills Collegiate. Bill Davis was Minister of Education at that time and he promoted the idea that
students should be permitted to have more freedom. At Don Mills Collegiate kids were even permitted to
smoke during Health class. Ruth and I decided to send Richard to Trinity College in Port Hope and Valerie
to a day school at Havergal for her grade 10.
In 1971 I bought 55 Guardsman Road for $175,000.
I also made a trip to Japan that year and contacted both Asahi and Teraoka. We had to drop the Kitamura
PVC ball valve due to a conflicting patent with Jamesbury in the USA. We bought globe and diaphragm
valves from Teraoka. As previously mentioned, the PVC ball valve manufactured by Asahi was poorly
designed with union ends that did not permit removal from the line. It was after my trip to Japan in 1971
that we started handling the whole Asahi line including ball valves, diaphragm valves, butterfly valves,
gaskets, expansion joints and swing checks. Our exclusive distributorship was concluded with Asahi
(through AVT) around 1973. This was two years before Asahi America concluded the same agreement.
In June 1971 my aunt Evelyn died at 79. She had been staying at Carefree Lodge at Bayview and Finch
for the past 12 months. Unfortunately Carefree had a limited number of single rooms and Evelyn had to
put up with sharing a room with an incessant talker. She warned Evelyn that someone was listening to
their conversations with a microphone (sprinkler head) on the ceiling.
For the full year that Evelyn was in Carefree I used to pick her up to do bookkeeping at Chemline. She
was a delightful person and I’m sure she enjoyed working half days at Chemline.
In December 1971 I took the family over Christmas to Acapulco. We could not afford to stay at a more
expensive hotel on the water and had to walk to the beach . Every day for fourteen days we passed a dead
dog in the main street. The sewage was dumped into the bay and when I was scuba diving I got a bad
eye infection. The druggist in Mexico City gave me some drops, which the eye specialist in Toronto said
would make me blind if taken for any length of time.
On returning back home I came down with infectious hepatitis and spent from January to June in bed. All
this came at a very bad time, having just started Chemline and buying the property at 55 Guardsman. I
remember in the fall of 1972 making a trip out west. In Calgary I just did not have enough strength to get
out of bed in the hotel and contacted my customers by telephone.
In October 1972 we sold the Deepwood house in Don Mills for $53,000 and bought the Himount house for
$88,000. That fall Valerie decided to leave Havergal and finish her high school at Earl Haig Collegiate,
which was a good school.
43
In the fall of 1972, Richard enrolled in
Chemical Engineering at the University
of Toronto. From January to December
1973, Richard was on the road for
Chemline. He was 19 years of age and
unable to rent a U-drive. One of my
customers, Benny Hochhausen at Rice
Engineering, offered me his wife’s car and
we got her a U-drive.
In those days, our main market for
Chemline PVC ball valves was fish plants,
where expensive bronze valves lasted
only six months. Richard was away on
three-week trips and visited all of the
important fish plants on the east coast. In
January 1974 Richard enrolled at Guelph
University and graduated in Engineering
in 1977.
Ruth, our 25th Wedding Anniversary, 1976.
At Chemline we were handling a trueunion polypropylene ball valve, which could be easily removed from the line. This valve we purchased
from an Italian company in Milan called Tecnoresina. This valve, with PVC socket ends, was specified by
Cominco, who dealt with our distributor Fleck Engineering in Vancouver. It was the first true union ball
valve design in North America. Nipco later came out with a similar true union design and unsuccessfully
sued Chemline for patent infringement.
We continued to offer the true union polypropylene Italian ball valve until Asahi agreed to produce a true
union PVC ball valve.
On one of my earlier visits to Italy I spent time with Dr. Nello Diana at Tecnoresina in Milan. I remember
the time we drove from Milan to Genoa. Dr. Diana leaned across, locked my door and announced “I like
sports driving”. There were no expressways and we drove down winding two-lane roads just missing a
hay wagon drawn by a horse. When we arrived in Genoa I noticed a blonde Italian girl with a very good
figure. Diana said in broken English “Italian girls they very nice but better they not vertical”. He got his
point across!
When Richard visited Tecoresina in 1977, he was able to talk to Dr. Diana in French.
During the summer of 1974, Richard went on the road selling Chemline valves.
In 1975, Valerie at age 19 went to a French immersion course in Quebec City. She also got a job of all
things, being the night watchman for the large Bell telephone building on the west side of the Don Valley
Parkway.
In December 1976, I made a trip to Japan.
During the summer of 1976, Richard got a job working for Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources,
Conservation Authorities branch in the Timmins area. His job was level surveying and mapping flood
plains.
Ruth gave piano lessons and from 1977 to 1983 performed monthly for the local music club. A copy of the
programs she played is on the following page.
44
45
Richard graduated from Water Resources Engineering at Guelph University in 1977. He worked at
Chemline for six months. That Fall he went backpacking in Europe, first visiting the Cavaliers in England,
also Tecnoresina in Milan and FIP in Genoa (two of Chemline’s suppliers at the time). He visited Paris,
Southern France and travelled all the Mediterranean coast from Naples and the Isle of Capri in the east to
Cadiz in southern Spain. In December he travelled to Teneriffe, Canary Islands.
In December 1977, I received a phone call from Richard advising me that he was not coming home for
Christmas and planned to cross the Atlantic during the month of March in a 10 metre trimaran “Trigo of
Sussex”. When I asked him details about the sailboat, he said that the phone call was costing him money
and hung up.
Later I learned that he had met a French couple at the Canary Islands who had bought and sailed the boat
from England and the Channel Islands. It was ten years old , home- built by an amateur English boat
builder. The girlfriend , Annie Chenard refused to continue to cross the Atlantic. The crew consisted of
the Frenchman Richard Doze, a Norwegian girl, Sofie, a young Newfoundland dog and Richard. Shortly
after setting sail Doze became seasick and Richard had to skipper. He learned to navigate using a sextant
and a French manual.
We had no idea exactly when the boat left the Canaries and by early 1978, we had received no further
word from Richard.
In February 1978, I made a two week business trip and tried to sell the Cubans plastic valves. Business
wise it was not too successful since the Cuban Government purchased plastic valves in ANSI, DIN and
JIS dimensions. During my visit to Cuba we had a severe tropical storm which knocked down trees. I
visualized being out in the middle of the Atlantic ocean and we were quite worried about Richard.
On my return to Toronto, I got in touch with my friend Barney Danson, who was then the Canadian
Minister for Defence. Barney said that he would get in touch with East Coast Rescue in Halifax. I
received a phone call from them that Friday and the following Monday they advised that the boat had been
last accounted for in the Cape Verde Islands. It was through Lloyds of London who reported that repairs to
the rudder had been carried out. Damage to the rudder was due to heavy seas and it was fortunate that the
rudder did not fail in the middle of the Atlantic ocean.
According to Richard, it was an eight day voyage from La Palma Island in the Canaries to the Cape Verde
Islands. After spending eight days in Cape Verde to get the rudder repaired, they set sail for Barbados.
Two days later the automatic steering gear broke down. It was therefore necessary to steer the boat on
eight hour shifts around the clock.
Close to the Caribbean, it became calm and they had to wait for the wind. The motor on the boat was
inoperable, encrusted in barnacles. During the 20 day crossing from Cape Verde they also had to ration
their food supplies. Upon landing in Martinique, Richard caught a flight back to Toronto 5 days later.
Richard started to work for Chemline on a full time basis on returning in April 1978.
My earlier trips to Japan were very exhausting. The Japanese were very hospitable but they spoke very
little English. During negotiations care had to be taken not to express your feelings with body language.
After the 1976 trip and other visits, I spent a week in Hawaii, Mauie and Kauai.
In March 1978, I made a trip to Japan on the invitation of Asahi. Also invited for the distributorship sales
meeting, were two Spanish distributors, an Israeli distributor and Plastics Construction in the UK. At
that time Asahi dealt with Plastics Construction who enjoyed a major share of the UK market and their
purchases were much higher than Chemline’s.
Plastics Construction was later acquired by Glynwed who in turn bought out FIP in Italy.
46
Asahi continued to supply Plastics Construction as an exclusive UK distributor in spite of the fact that
they were mainly offering plastic valves manufactured by FIP. The net result is that Asahi today enjoy
a negligible share of the UK plastic valve market. At the time of writing these memoirs, Chemline is
negotiating with Japan to acquire exclusive distributorship of Asahi valves in the UK. This, providing it is
economically viable.
After my March 1979 visit to Japan, I took a two week guided tour of China, visiting Honolulu, Beijing
Shanghai, etc. In Canton, in the middle of the day, the pollution was so bad that I was unable to read to
poster board a few feet away.
The Great Wall of China, near Beijing extending hundreds of miles was a sight to see. Shanghai at that
time had not changed since the early 1900’s and colonial days. I remember the strange feeling that I
had. It was like living in the past! Today Shanghai
is China’s fastest growing city with multiple story
skyscrapers. One of the hospitals we visited had a
herb garden for medication.
In the spring of 1979, Valerie visited England after
graduating. She took a tour of southern England,
Cornwall, etc and spent time in France with a French
family.
In September of 1979, Valerie got a job with IBM.
On May 27, 1980 Snookie died at the age of sixteen
years. Prior to that her health had been deteriorating
and she lost control of her bowels. During the night
in the early hours of the morning, when she was
chained to my bedside, I had to rush her to the front
door and let her out.
That same year in 1980, Ruth and I took a holiday in
Antigua and St.Kitts.
On February 28, 1981 Valerie and David were
married.
In November 1981 I took a business trip to Japan
visiting Singapore and Thailand. In Bangkok, I met
with the Asahi distributor who took me to a rather
Valerie and David on their Wedding Day, Feb. 28, 1981. unusual restaurant. Outside on the sidewalk, meals
were cooked by a number of chefs, this after we had
chosen the items for dinner inside. It was an unusual eating experience. In Thailand, the street traffic was
bumper to bumper and not as clean as in Singapore, where you were fined $25.00 for dropping a piece of
paper.
I believe it was in 1982 when I took Ruth to Europe. In Milan, we decided to take a subway to our hotel
which was only two subway stops away. Ruth started to pass out and suffered an attack of agoraphobia.
Unfortunately we were booked on a flight to Paris the next day. In Paris we got a cab and just when we
reached our hotel Ruth completely passed out. Thinking of the lira, I gave the cab drive what would have
amounted to $200 instead of $20. In typical Parisian style, he gave me no change and took off.
After Paris, we planned to visit Ireland. I was however able to contact my business friend Fred Folkard
who picked Ruth up at the airport. Ruth stayed with the Folkards for a couple of days while I did some
47
business in Ireland before picking Ruth up in London and returning to Canada.
Ruth enrolled in a course for agoraphobics and was determined to overcome her problem. David helped
me by taking Ruth to the subway. After quite some time, Ruth finally overcame her problem and took a
short trip on a Toronto subway.
In March of 1983, I visited Gemu and Exner.
In May of 1983, Ruth and I enjoyed a holiday in Bermuda. The weather was excellent and we toured the
Island on a little moped.
In October 1983, Ruth tragically died at the age of 62.
Looking back, we had a good marriage over 32 years. I was away on 3 week trips and Ruth never
complained. Without Ruth’s support, Chemline would not have become the flourishing business it is today.
In late 1984, Pam moved from England to Canada and in November 1984 we made a trip to Japan.
In Japan we spent time in Kyoto, Myazaki and in Nobeoko where we were treated like honeymooners.
While I was involved with business meetings in Nobeoka, Pam was taken sight seeing by the President’s
secretary. I remember one evening particularly, when we were entertained at the local drinking
establishment, the Mama San there had a small Pekinese dog in one of her sleeves. Some years ago,
these tiny Japanese Pekinese sleeve dogs were quite
popular. The Mama San took Pam upstairs and
dressed her in traditional Japanese geisha attire.
People joined hands and Pam went under them and I
was not able to interpret the Japanese song that they
sang, but I believe that they thought we were on our
honeymoon!
About six months prior to our visit Bud Lewis made a
visit from the United States with his wife who insisted
in buying a very expensive complete Japanese Geisha
outfit.
After Japan we visited Honolulu and on the big island
saw the bubbling volcanic mud at Hilo. It was raining
there but later spent time at Kona where the weather
was perfect.
The following year on February 1, 1986, Pam and
I were married. Due to the fact that we were not
attending St. Clements Anglican Church, we ended
up being married at the Unity Church of Truth. Tom
Hastings was my best man and Bob Parker gave Pam
away.
Richards and Karen’s Wedding Day, August 18,
1990.
For our honeymoon, we visited New Zealand via
LA, where we saw Pam’s brother, Michael and his
wife Flossie. It was interesting to see the huge “Blue
Goose”, the plane built by Howard Hughes which at
that time was in LA.
On the way to New Zealand we took a cruise at Fiji
48
and spent time at Raratonga and the Cook Islands.
In Auckland we visited Betty Hutton, who has a home right on the beach surrounded by high rise
apartments. Betty’s sister Mercia was living in New Zealand at that time.
New Zealand is a beautiful country and we drove to the south island. Being below the equator, the south
island has a lot cooler climate. The south island has beautiful fjords and is quite a rugged country with
sheep it seems everywhere. It was amazing to see hundreds of sheep being brought in by only one sheep
dog.
In January 1985, we took a holiday in Tobago and in April of that year made a business trip to Germany
visiting Gemu and also to England seeing Hayes and Kinnetrol.
In 1987 Chemline moved into the new office and Richard and I made a business trip to Japan. Kawagami
was in charge of AOC and we enjoyed a very close relationship with him. I remember we were invited
to visit his beautiful home overlooking the ocean. In the entrance hall was a full length old style men’s
urinal, fully exposed to view. It was a rather astonishing sight!
On Richard’s later trip to Japan, Kawanami took him fishing. Richard’s bait was placed on the hook by
one of AOC’s employees. As a special Japanese treat the small fish were filleted and served to Richard
raw that evening!
In April 1988, we visited England and drove to Birmingham visiting Pam’s friend Una and proceeding to
Whitley Bay and Tynemouth in Northumberland. The house at 4 The Gardens, Monkseaton where I was
born hadn’t changed since 1919. We located my father’s grave at the Whitley Bay cemetery and arranged
to have a headstone erected. During that visit, we spent a couple of nights with the Burgess’s. I also made
a business trip to Germany.
Pam and I did a lot of travelling that year and in November did a safari in Kenya. This was a memorable
trip and I took still pictures of animals with my Nikon and made an excellent record of the whole trip
on my camcorder. One of the interesting shots I took on my camcorder was from our hotel room window
Kenya Safari, Nov. 1988.
early in the morning. There was a lion and lioness at the water hole when a herd of elephants appeared.
With the herd were three baby elephants. The large bull elephant made a trumpeting noise, charged and the
lion and lioness slunk away. Later we came across two lionesses with four small cubs. One cub went to
the wrong mother who pushed him away. Eventually the cub got the right mother and the right nipple. All
of this I have recorded on my camcorder.
49
Karen and Richard’s Wedding Day, August 18, 1990.
Bill, Pam, Karen and Richard
At one hotel on arrival we were met with a young
ostrich called Lucy who accompanied us right to the
check-in counter and was quite at home in the bar.
Copies of some of the still shots of a cheetah and
lions are included with these memoirs.
During the time that Pam was in Canada, she had
several psychic experiences involving both her father
and Ruth. She would completely pass out at the
time and in one case I had to shake her. She tried to
fight these experiences off, but later lost her psychic
ability.
In 1988 Bill Dean traded in his sail boat and bought
a diesel driven trawler. I was invited to make a
trip with him and Betty from Picton to Gananoque
return.
In December 1988, Pam and I had a holiday in
Trinidad. I believe it was in 1988 when we went to
Las Vegas with Fitz and Marg. Marg played the slot
machines until 3 a.m and we took the flight over the
Julia, age 3.
Grand Canyon in a very small plane. With one very
large pilot on board, we worried if the plane would be able to get off the ground!
In September 1989, Pam and I visited the east coast spending some time in PEI and driving around
the Cabot trail, visiting Louisburg etc. Pam gave me a hard time for selecting a one night stand at a
conveniently located “Econo Inn”.
50
I also made a business trip to Europe, visiting Neotecha at Zurich and Jack Reuss. It was in Switzerland
that I had dinner with Jack Reuss and his wife and 4 year old. The service was dreadfully slow and the
little boy asked the waiter if they had caught his fish yet!
In November 1989, together with three other friends of the Deans we chartered a sailing boat for a two
week cruise around St. Marten. This was a delightful holiday. We did our own crewing and the sailboat
was well equipped with provisions.
In March 1990, Valerie and I took a holiday skiing at Steamboat, Colorado. Valerie was skiing very well
and snow conditions were perfect.
In August 1990 Richard and Karen were married.
Bob Hayman, Ruth’s cousin died at the age of 73 in 1990.
In July 1990, Pam and I separated and I bought her a home in England.
It was in October 1990 that I renovated the kitchen at Himount at a cost of $20,000.
That year Richard put an offer for the cottage of $130,000 which was turned down and later sold for
$86,000.
In January 1991, I took a two week cruise to the French Polynesian Islands, Tahiti, Bora Bora and Moria.
The islands were beautiful but I didn’t have anything in common with the passengers who were mainly
from Texas. They seemed to be constantly bragging about their house boys etc. At my table there was
a rather plump Texas woman along with her husband. She announced that after her wedding when her
husband came home from work, she lay naked on the dining room table covered in cellophane. Hardly a
homecoming that I would want to experience!
After the cruise, I made a visit to Japan.
In February 1992 I went on a two week tour of Egypt sponsored by the Royal Ontario Museum. We
started by visiting the Cairo museum where the Tutankhamen exhibit was absolutely fantastic.
At Giza, we saw the Sphinx and went inside the pyramid. From there we went by boat up the Nile
to Aswan and Abu Simbel. It was amazing to see 65 ft. statues of Rameses II and his wife Nefertari
originally carved out of living rock in one piece. The seven hundred tonne granite statue was moved to
higher ground when the Aswan dam was built. The obelisks at Queen Hatshepsut’s temple weighed 100
tonnes. Queen Hatshepsut was the famous woman ruler who depicted herself with a beard. At the Valley
of the Kings we visited three tombs.
All in all the Egyptian trip was very worthwhile.
In March 1992 we went skiing at Steamboat, Colorado with Richard. On April 19, 1992 Carolyn was born
and on July 30, 1992 Geoffrey.
In November 1992, Pam and I spent two weeks in Florida and visited the Kennedy Space Centre and saw
the huge Saturn rocket that took the astronauts to the moon in 1969. It was as long as three football fields!
It was in the 1990’s that Pam and I took a cruise to Alaska. On this trip we visited the Klondike where
we climbed up an unbelievably high and narrow trail over the mountains which was used years ago by the
miners. They still have the original houses used by the prostitutes.
On the boat we came close to numerous icebergs and also saw polar bears. It was a fascinating trip.
In March 1993 we had a holiday in Costa Rica and in April I visited Japan with Richard.
51
In January 1994, spent time in the UK and went on a tour of the Greek Islands, visiting Athens, Delphi,
and Rhodes etc. This trip like the others I recorded on video.
In 1995 I participated in the 50th anniversary of the liberation of Holland, staying with Klaas and
Hebel Poppens and their two daughters age 10 and 12. Their home was located in a small town called
Vinkenbuurt. On my visit to Holland in 2005, I was able to speak to Klaas on the telephone. After
Holland, I took a business trip to Barcelona.
From March 15 to April 10, 1995 Pam and I went to South Africa. From Durban we flew to Port Elizabeth
and joined a garden tour. The short safari from a game lodge did not compare with the safari in Kenya.
For approximately 4 weeks with Pam doing most of the driving we went through the old gold rush towns.
One night we stayed at a small Dutch hotel where we were served breakfast on a silver tray. There was a
lot of violence in South Africa at that time, however the hotel was safe from attacks because their cook
was the local witch doctor. We were told to avoid Johannesburg due to local violence.
In 1996 Pam and I went to visit Israel and Jordan.
Israel was free from terrorist attacks at that time and we were able to visit Christian, Hebrew and Muslim
holy sites. This included the Wailing Wall and the Church of the Last Supper. This church is supposed to
be on the site of the Last Supper, but nobody really knows.
One of the most interesting places we visited was the ruins of Petra on the Dead Sea. This was a
flourishing city on the trade route to the Far East during Roman days. It was destroyed by an earthquake in
300 AD.
Unfortunatley, my video tapes were wiped out leaving Israeli customs. Anyone travelling to Israel should
remove film from cameras before going through customs.
It was on July 3, 1996 that I had my first black out and car crash when Pam broke her arm. Unfortunately,
I was not given medication and again in October 1996 hit a tree on Himount.
Charlotte Riemann, who also lived on Himount, came out of the house to investigate the crash.
Charlotte, I learned, had a lot of past sales experience and I talked her into doing telemarketing for
Chemline. She made phone calls to consulting engineers, distributors and end users. This resulted in me
becoming a lot more involved with Chemline. I also had a much more active social life entertaining
friends for dinner at Himount, etc.
In February 1997, Pam and I went on a holiday in the Barbados and in August of 1997 went on a Baltic
cruise.
From Dover we sailed to Norway and spent the day touring Oslo and saw a Viking ship. Our next stop was
Stockholm in Sweden, followed by visiting Helsinki in Finland. Two days were spent in St. Petersburg.
We went through the Hermitage and visited several fabulous palaces. Next was day visiting Tallinn in
Estonia which was not as interesting. The city of Gdansk in Poland appeared to be rather run down after so
many years under Russian influence. On the voyage back to England we went under an unbelievably long
suspension bridge which was under construction in Denmark.
This was a cruise I would strongly recommend to anybody.
As mentioned we spent a day in Gdansk, Poland. I cannot remember the date Pam and I went to Poland
and were taken to one of Hitler’s dreadful concentration camps.
The following year in 1998, Richard and I went to Japan.
52
Julia, age 11, 1998
Carolyn, age 6, 1998
Having become very interested in Russia, in
November of 1998 took a boat trip from Moscow
to St. Petersburg. Moscow seemed to be very
prosperous with many expensive cars on the streets.
On the boat, we had a professor who gave us a
lecture about the Russian economy. She explained
that it was cheaper for big corporations to pay off
the Mafia than to pay taxes.
On February 8, 2000, Alyssa was born.
In November 2003, Valerie ran for councillor in the
Markham Municipal election visiting approximately
7000 households. Based on the fact that her
opponent had been an incumbent for many years,
she did very well, losing by only approximately 400
votes.
In July 2003 I spent three weeks in England with
David, Valerie, and family. We visited Pam and
Gerald in London and drove to Northumberland and
Whitley Bay where I was born, and Tynemouth etc.
Geoffrey and Alyssa, Christmas 2004
There was absolutely no change in the house where
I was born 84 years ago. We spent a few days in
the Lake District and spent the last few days in
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Cornwall. In the Lake District I remember, with
Dave driving, meeting up with a two decker London
style bus with the road so narrow that trees touched
both sides of the bus.
On May 1, 2005 I attended the 60th Anniversary
of the liberation of Holland. Along with 26 other
veterans I was assigned to the city of Groningen,
which is about 60 kilometers from Germany.
My hosts were Jan Slump and Peter Bergema (011
31 50 3117 220). George Smith, a veteran from
Hamilton shared the ground floor of their home at
H.W. Mesdagstraat 44 9718 HL Groningen.
The event was very well organized and Jan sent
photos each day to Richard and Valerie by internet.
It seemed that in almost every photograph I had a
glass in my hand!
On the next day Monday May 2, we visited an
old folks home. The program stated that it was an
opportunity to meet “old” friends. They were all
about my age and many were in wheelchairs.
On Tuesday, May 3 we went by coach to the
Groesbeek cemetery for a memorial service. On
Liberation day May 5, we were involved in a two
hour parade through Groningen and I managed to
ride in a WWII jeep. The streets were lined with
people.
A welcome chat with this attractive young Dutch girl
directly after visiting the old folks home with many
my age in wheelchairs.
On Saturday May 7 we had lunch with the Governor
General Adrienne Clarkson and her husband John
Ralston-Saul.
The big parade was in Aperdoorn where it rained in
torrents. The parade lasted an hour and a half with
people at all ages lining the streets. I have never
shaken the hands of so many youngsters in all my
life. What impressed me the most about this visit
was the participation of the children.
It was a most memorable and enjoyable week and
Jan and Peter plan to visit Canada in September
2006.
As I complete these memoirs in April 2007, time
seems to fly! They say that a busy life is a happy
one and this is certainly true in my case!
Jan, Peter George Smith and I.
Working with Charlotte on telemarketing is keeping
me up to date on sales coverage of consulting
engineers, distributors and key end users. This
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After luncheon with Adrienne Clarkson.
An opportunity to congratulate Adrienne Clarkson on
the excellent job she is doing as Governor General.
knowledge enables me to contribute to Chemline
management and director’s meetings. I also enjoy
duplicate bridge and gardening.
On the left an autographed copy signed by Adrienne
Clarkson, “With happy memories and great
admiration and affection, Adrienne Clarkson”. This
autographed copy was obtained by Karen when she
purchased the biography of Adrienne Clarkson.
WWII Jeep privately owned taking part in the
parade in Groningen and Aperdoorn.
Parade in Groningen Thursday May 5, 2005.
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Bought 55 Guardsman, 1971
Chemline Plastics, July 2005
Chemline Plastics, July 2005
Photograph shown at left taken with Julia
after taking my Nissan Infiniti for a drive.
This car has plenty of power with a 280
HP engine and a unique voice command
system to dial telephone numbers, change
temperatures etc.
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This is a copy of Rosemary Clouse’s comments to my memoirs dated August 2006. She points out that her
mother Ruby French passed away in 1949 at age 55.
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On November 13, 2006 Valerie was elected councillor for Ward 1 in the Town of Markham.
Three years ago she lost out by only 400 votes to her opponent who had been successfully voted in as a
councillor six times for a 3 year period each.
Since August 21, Valerie knocked on approximately 7000 doors and spoke with 3500 people. Apparently
although she was well received at most houses, at one the door was slammed and at another she was invited in for a martini. She also was able to get 640 lawn signs put up.
I attended two meetings of candidates where Valerie gave an excellent short speech. At one there were
approximately 250 people in attendance. Each candidate was asked if they received money from developers. When her opponent replied that he did take money from developers the audience booed him.
Prior to the election Valerie stood at various intersections early in the morning with her sign and waved to
motorists. The day after the election waved to motorists with a thank you sign.
Dave also contributed a great deal to the campaign.
I must say that I was very proud of Valerie and delighted when she won.
In December, Valerie, believe it or not received a Christmas card from a developer with a $300 cheque
which she of course returned.
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A copy of a January 2007 update for the family tree which John Yealland has compiled can be found in
the attached Appendix.
John Yealland has spent many hours on the family tree and has done a fantastic job.
With reference to the family tree my father’s side, Lancelot Ruddock 1777 – 1828, was the editor of the
Newcastle Chronicle. William Ruddock 1815-1879 was a doctor and Thomas Ruddock who died in 1901
was a ship broker with my uncle William Patterson Ruddock taking over the family ship brokerage business.
On my mother’s side, my grandfather Robert Marson 1869-1904 was in the drapery business. His brotherin-law Charles Golightly was a fisherman and John Askew 1834-1895 was a famous violin maker.
Also enclosed in the Appendix is a copy of the passenger list for the Empress of France which brought us
to Canada in 1928. Not being able to afford first class passage our names were not included in the passenger list. John was also able to obtain a record of my mother’s birthday dated July, August or September in
1892.
“Empress of France, 1928”
Mother who would never admit her age was 70 when she died, my grandmother 76, Ethel 78, Evelyn 79
and Ruby only 55 when they died.
In November 2006 I received a copy of a binder entitled “ A Collection of RCEME Individual Histories in
North West Europe in WWII”.
In the section entitled honours and awards, I was very surprised to find that I had been awarded an MBE,
(Member of the Order of the British Empire) in 1944 when I was in charge of 122 LAD. Enclosed is a
copy of the recommendation for an MBE made in August 30, 1944 by Brigadier T J Rutherford, approved
by Major General J H Roberts.
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As a member of the EME, I spoke to Major (Retd) Mike Horn about the listing of the MBE award. Mike
made a number of inquiries on my behalf and he sent Colonel (Retd) Murray Johnston a copy of the recommendation. Colonel Murray Johnston an EME historian sent an e-mail to the EME Association members which listed my name under the heading “RESPECTED AND RECOGNIZED” commenting as follows,
“In August 1944 the Battle to close the Falaise Gap drew to a close. The Allies had trapped and destroyed
a German army and were ready to break out from Normandy. But the furious fighting to achieve this came
at tremendous cost in terms of tanks, tank crews and infantry soldiers. Replacement of these was imperative if the breakout was to succeed.
One direct result of this was an increased effort to train more tank crews and infanteers back in the reinforcement holding units in England. These units were commanded by Major-General J.H. Roberts,
Commander Canadian Reinforcement Units (CRU).
Training these soldiers required serviceable, operational tanks – lots of them. But all that were available
were in bad condition and few, if any, new tanks were available for the training units. As many tanks as
possible were going to the front lines to make up for combat losses. Similarly spare parts were in short
supply.
Captain Ruddock commanded the maintenance platoon in the group of CRU units tasked with training
these soldiers. As General Roberts noted, the training units had the equivalent of a brigade of tanks, most
of which were old and worn out and all of which were being used hard and required 100 hour check ups
each month. It was a formidable maintenance task for Captain Ruddock’s small unit. So up to 90 vehicle
technician trainees from other CRU units were attached in to help and to receive on the job training.
This augmented platoon required a tremendous amount of organization and supervision. It produced excellent results as General Roberts noted in commending Captain Ruddock for his “imagination, organizational
ability, enthusiasm and dedication to duty. Single handed, with a small establishment and with junior rank,
he is doing a job that normally would require a senior officer and a considerable staff. The assistance he
has cheerfully given this group, which has made possible the rapidly expanding program of field training,
deserves very special recognition.
Captain Ruddock received no special award as a result of this citation and in fact was unaware of its existence until it surfaced recently in a listing held at National Archives. He now lives in Toronto and is an
active member of the Toronto Chapter of the EME Association. But he is happy to learn that his wartime
efforts were recognized at the time.”
I am just sorry that the MBE was not awarded back in 1944. My family would have been so very pleased.
I also discussed the matter with Margaret Warbeck at the office who is an active member of the
Newmarket Vetrans’ Association. Margaret solicited the help of Ron Anderson, Public Relations Officer at
the Newmarket Veterans Association. She asked Ron if it would be possible to obtain official recognition
of the award.
Back in 1942, all awards were issued by the Ministry of Defence in the UK and acted upon a recommendation from the Canadian Army. Since the MBE is strictly a British Award, it cannot be confirmed by
Ottawa.
Ron Anderson sent numerous e-mails and special delivery requests. He took this project on like a bulldog and ended up having a beautifully framed engraving made up . Please refer to the photograph of this
engraving in the attached Appendix.
It was so very much appreciated and I thank both Ron and Margaret.
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Geoffrey attended St. Andrews College
in Aurora grades 9 to 12, graduating in
2010. He was a good student, on the
Headmaster’s honor roll most terms, entitled to wear a special tie. That meant keeping every subject above 80%.
On Saturday May 5, 2007 I attended the
annual Cadet Inspection. The event was
quite spectacular with all the boys marching in uniform and the pipes and drums.
Geoffrey was very involved in Cadet program. In grade 12 he became the Deputy
Commanding Officer of the corps, rank
Major. He earned the Canadian Cadets
National Star award and later received the
Duke of Edinburgh’s Gold Award personally presented by Prince Edward, Earl of
Wessex.
At the time of the annual cadet inspection,
I gave Geoffrey a small pewter flask. This
flask was given to me by my Uncle Tony
who used it all through the first Great War.
I in turn carried the flask in my tunic pocket full of either rye whiskey or German liberated booze all through the last war.
Cadet Major Geoffrey Ruddock
142 SAC Highland Cadet Corps - Pipe and Drums
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Geoffrey’s 16th birthday, July 30, 2008
and Luger liberated from a German
during WWII.
DDDDDDDDD
Hopefully at least part of these memoirs, early photographs and particularly the family tree will be of interest to both Richard and Valerie and my grandchildren.
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Member of the British Empire Award, August 1, 2007
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Ron Anderson, Margaret Warbeck and myself, August 1, 2007
Ron Anderson and myself, August 1, 2007
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Bill’s 90th Birthday Celebration at the Donalda Club
February 15, 2009
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Grandchildren – Julia, Geoffrey, Carolyn and Alyssa who all participated in the event.
The Piper – arranged by Charlotte, and who came as a complete surprise to me!
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Cutting the birthday cake.
Gerald and Juliet who came all the from England to attend my birthday celebration.
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Julia and Valerie.
Ted Rogers and myself. This was Ted’s first outing after recovering from his accident and many
months in the hospital.
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90th Birthday Wishes from the Governor General of Canada, Michaelle Jean.
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Invitation April 13, 2010, myself and two other veterans to attend a luncheon sponsored by the
Canadian Club Ottawa celebrating the 65th liberation of Holland.
Myself and Ambassador of the
Kingdom of the Netherlands to Canada,
His Excellency Wim Geerts.
Canadian Club – luncheon April 13, 2010 Ottawa – several hundred people attending.
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Brigadier-General Peter Holt (retired) with model of Canadian Army Outfit worn while deactivating
improvised explosive devices. These outfits with steel bodied armour are extremely heavy.
Myself and two other veterans who were invited to this function.
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General Walter Natynczyk, Chief of the
Defence Staff of the Canadian Forces
and myself.
Brigadier-General Peter Holt (retired)
and myself.
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Reception Invitation at Dutch Embassy Ottawa, May 11, 2010 on the occasion of the official visit to
Canada HRH Princess Margriet of the Netherlands and Professor Pieter van Vollenhoven.
I, along with one other veteran were invited to this May 11 reception.
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HRH Princess Margriet and myself.
Professor Pieter Van Vollenhoven
husband of the Princess. A very
outgoing and friendly person.
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Wim Geerts (Dutch Ambassador), myself, Professor Pieter Van Vollenhoven and Mrs. Geerts.
General Rick Hillier (retired)
former Chief of the Defence
Staff and Brigadier-General
Peter Holt (retired) and myself.
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Brigadier-General Holt and his wife.
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