Canada’s courage exemplified THE FOLLOWING was weitten by North Vancouver resident Cam Turner, a distant relative of Ca- nadian war hero James Alexander Turner, who served in the First World War from 1914 to 1918 and fell in the Battle of Buzancy on the morning of July 26, 1918. lt has been written by many that Canada came of age as a country during the Great War, It is a tragedy that this world recognition came to Canada at the ex- pense of so many young lives. They signed up to fight the Boche by the tens of thousands from every region of the country. It was the thing to do. There was no questioning the correctness of these decisions. On each Remembrance Day, I have a quiet thought for a distant relative of mine whose short but spectacular military career perhaps exemplifies this quality of charac- ter and courage shown by so many young Canadians throughout this conflict. I think of the tremendous ac- complishments in Alex Turner’s short life and what he might have gone on to achieve in a fuller life- time. How many of us, after be- ing wounded a third time in 20 months, would have said to ourselves: ‘*Well, I've done my bit” and called it a day? Not Alex. From all evidence, he couldn’t wait to get back into the fray. A graduate of Highfield School in Hamilton, Ont., and the Royal Military College in Kingston, Alex accepted an offer from the Cana- dian government as an_ assistant engineer on hydrographic survey duties in B.C. and reported to du- ty to Lieutenant Commander P.C. Musgrave R.N. in Esquimalt, B.C. in August 1913. A year later he was on the schooner Naden doing surround- ing work in Dixon Entrance and off the northwest coast of the BEEF OVEN ROAST 46 He had reached his tent only a few minutes before the explosion ...99 Queen Charlotte Islands when war was declared. Alex volunteered in Vancouver for service overseas and a few days later was one of a trainload of western Canadians that arrived at the Val Cartier, Que., training camp. He then went overseas with the fsrst Canadian contingent to England where he spent several months training at Salisbury Plains. In his eagerness to get to the front, Alex sought assistance from an old college chum and succeed- ed in obtaining a commission as second ficutenant in the British Imperial Regiment, the Second Battalion of the Royal Scots which he joined in Flanders in April, 1915. He was promoted to lieutenant in August at Hooge and got his first exposure to the deadly mustard gas and was hit on the head with a shell fragment. This put him out of action for a few days. In September, he was promoted to captain and at the battle of Sanctuary Wood on Sept. 25 he was seriously wounded. While leading his men out of the tren- ches, Alex was shot through the shinbone and in falling back into the trench, pierced his cheek on one of his own men’s bayonet, barely missing his jugular vein. After convalescing in London, Alex returned to Montreal to heal his wounds. A little over a year after he was wounded, Alex returned overseas and jvined the 13th Battalion Royal Scots in France. In April, se mamaat aree weiter ms 1917, he won a distinguished ser- vice order at Arras. His wounds kept Alex out of action for about two menths. In July 1917, he rejoined the [3th Battalion and in August, 1917, he won the Military Cross at Ypres. In November, 1917, Alex was appointed second in command of the 13th Battalion at Royal Scots. He had been offered a position as lecturer on tactics to the American army but refused it because it would nave resulted in his leaving the fighting front and the Roya! Scots. After 10 weeks of training at the senior ojficers’ school at Aldershot, he rejoined the 13th Battalion in Flanders. In May, 1918, at the age of 26, Alex was promoted to lieutenant colonel and appointed commander of the 13th Battalion. In July, several of the Scottish regiments including the 13th were hurriedly rushed to Soissons to assist the French and American armies in the offensive that was rejoined there. After two days of very severe fighting in storming the hits of Buzancy, four miles south of Soissons on July 26, Alex was killed instantly by the explo- sion of a shell at his headquarters. He had reached his tent only a few minutes before the explosion, following his fast round of the companies before retiring. He received many tributes, in- cluding one from the King and Queen. . When I think of Alex on Remembrance Day, the last lines of a tribute by J.H. Collinson, headmaster of Highfield school, STORE HOURS DUNBAR &% DOLLARTON Mon.-Fr 9am-9pm Sat. Bam-7pm, Sun 9am-6pm DUNDARAVE WEST VAN. Mon-Wed Qam-7pm Thut-€t. gam-9om Sat-Sun Qam-6pm LYNN VALLEY NORTH VANCOUVER Mon-Sat 8am-9pm Sun Sam 6om working on the schooner Naden near Queen Charlotte islands age Photo submitted JAMES ALEXANDER Turner, a graduate of Highfield School in Hamilton, Ont. and the Royal Military Coliega in Kingston, was when war broke out. He served in the First World War from 1914 to 1918 and feil in the Battle of Buzancy on the moming of July 26, 1918. come to mind: **We, all of us, have our bit of sky and our own particular stars. They do not all gleam with equal lustre for one star differeth from another star in glory, but we love their light and are in distress when N sTIME ? 20% ors one goes out. “To many of us, Alex Turner was our wonderful star; its blaze seemed ever to grow and now that its glory has been transferred to a happier sphere, what wonder if we feel chill and lonely.’” THERE'S STILL 70 DECORATE FOR} CHRISTMAS (but not much ...) selected custom draperies, valances, sheers and bedding 257% ore selected upholstery fabrics 40-50% OFF _Levelor blinds’ 20-504 OFF tables, lamps and accessories SALE ENDS NOV. 15/92 Call today for a complimentary in-home estimate 985-6112 GOLDEN TOUCH INTERIORS proudly decorating North Shore homes since 1984 1099 Marine Drive, N.Van. parking in rear {corner of Lloyd)