Tag Archives: Military

Herrick Creek

British Columbia. Creek: Fraser River drainage
Flows SW into McGregor River
54.2667 N 121.4833 W — Map 93I/6 — GoogleGeoHack
Name officially adopted in 1915
Official in BCCanada

Named in memory of Captain James Herrick McGregor [1869–1915], Provincial Land Surveyor, who fell at Ypres 25 April 1915.

Mount Quanstrom

British Columbia. Mount
Between headwaters of Castle Creek and Raush River
52.9347 N 120.1683 W — Map 093A16 — GoogleGeoHack
Name officially adopted in 1966
Official in BCCanada
Flying Officer William Quanstrom
Submitted for the project Operation Picture Me

Flying Officer William Quanstrom
Submitted for the project Operation Picture Me
Canadian Virtual War Memorial

Named to remember Royal Canadian Air Force Flying Officer William Quanstrom, J26350, from Quesnel. Serving with 12 (RAF) Squadron when his plane was shot down during air operations over the North Sea on 10 April 1944, age 27. With no known grave, his name is inscribed on the Runnymede Memorial, Surrey, UK, panel 248. Parents were Julius and Emma Elizabeth Quanstrom, Quesnel.

References:

Mount Pierrway

British Columbia. Mount
S of Mount Quanstrom, head of Castle Creek
52.875 N 120.14 W — Map 093A16 — GoogleGeoHack
Name officially adopted in 1966
Official in BCCanada

Named to remember Canadian Army Gunner Alfred Pierrway, K 601413, from Quesnel; serving with the Royal Canadian Artillery when he was killed at Fort Garry on 12 July 1942, age 22. Buried at Prince George Cemetery, grave 4. 2. H. Survived by mother Lily Miller, Quesnel.

Soldier Found Dead In Bush After Storm

Possibly a victim of Saturday night’s violent electrical storm, Pte. Alfred Pierway, of the Artillery Training centre, Fort Garry, was found dead in the bush near the barracks early Sunday morning.

There is nothing to lead police to believe there was any foul play but the initial examination revealed that Pte. Pierway died of shock. “There is a strong possibility he may have been struck by lightning.” Dr. O. C. Trainor, pathologist of Misericordia hospital, who is conducting the post mortem, told The Tribune today.

“Lightning may leave extensive marks or none at ail on the body.”
Dr. Trainor said the body showed traces of alcoholism.
The only mark found on Pte. Pierway was a bruise on his left side, Pte. Pierway, formerly of Quesnel, B.C. had returned to Fort Garry shortly after midnight Saturday following a trip to Winnipeg. At 7 a.m. Sunday a university student discovered the body near the bus stop and notified Cpl. I. Morrison, on sentry duty.

Chief Alex Martin, of Fort Garry, is investigating the case. It is not known whether an inquest will be held or not until more resuits are reported from the postmortem.

— Winnipeg Evening Tribune
References:

Mount Monroe

British Columbia. Mount
N of McBride, S of McKale River
53°23’50” N 120°10’44” W — Map 93H/8 — GoogleGeoHack
Name officially adopted in 1965
Official in BCCanada
Peakfinder

Named in remembrance of Canadian Army Lance Corporal Stanley James Monroe, K41218, from McBride. Serving with the Canadian Forestry Corps when he was killed 1 July 1942, age 24. Location and circumstances of his death not cited; buried at McBride Cemetery, Plot 6, Grave 4.

Parents: Adrian A. Monroe and Lela A. Monroe, McBride.

References:

  • McBride cemetary. Grave markers. 2000
  • British Columbia Geographical Names. Mount Monroe
Also see:

Lunn, Mount

British Columbia. Mount
Near headwaters of Castle Creek
52°59’37” N 120°27’8″ W — Map 093A16 — GoogleGeoHack
Name officially adopted in 1966
Official in BCCanada

The name was adopted in 1966 to remember Royal Canadian Air Force Flight Lieutenant Gerald Alfred Lunn, J10875, from Quesnel. Lunn served as air gunner with 429 Squadron when he was killed in action 17 April 1943, age 23. Buried in Septmonts Churchyard, Aisne, France.

References:

Mount Lulu

British Columbia. Mount
Headwaters of Albreda River
52.6361 N 119.3647 W — Map 083D11 — GoogleGeoHack
Name officially adopted in 1961
Official in BCCanada

Private Samuel Lulu (Service number K/15302) of Albreda was killed on active service on July 15, 1945.

Lulu was a member of the Royal Canadian Army Service Corps. He is buried in the Holten Canadian War Cemetery, Netherlands. The great majority of those buried in Holten Canadian War Cemetery died during the last stages of the war in Holland, during the advance of the Canadian 2nd Corps into northern Germany, and across the Ems in April and the first days of May 1945. After the end of hostilities the remains of over 1,300 Canadian soldiers were brought together into this cemetery.

Mount Longstaff

British Columbia. Mount
NW of Berg Lake
53.1667 N 119.3333 W — Map 83E/3 — GoogleGeoHack
Earliest known reference to this name is 1911
Name officially adopted in 1925
Official in BCCanada
Elevation: 3180 m
Tom George Longstaff

Tom George Longstaff
Alpine Club Photo Library, London


Dr. Tom Longstaff

Dr. Tom Longstaff
Canadian Alpine Journal, Vol. 48 (1965), p. 162

Describing “a distant high peak of which the side towards us was wrapped in snow,” Arthur Oliver Wheeler [1860–1945] wrote in 1911, “I named it Mount Longstaff after the well-known mountaineer and explorer, Dr. Tom G. Longstaff.”

Tom George Longstaff [1875–1964] was born in England. He was educated at Eton and Christ Church, Oxford; and studied medicine at St. Thomas’ Hospital where he obtained his medical degree. He served in the British army in both World Wars. President of the <Alpine Club (UK), he climbed in practically all the major mountain ranges of the world — the Alps, Caucasus, Himalaya, Rockies, as well as in Selkirk, Greenland and Spitsbergen. He did not climb in the Mount Robson region.

Longstaff attended the 1910 Alpine Club of Canada camp at Consolation Valley, near Lake Louise. He attempted to climb Mount Assiniboine by a new route, which he climbed “by sheer mental effort. I used up all my credit balance of nervous energy and it took me two years to build it up again. It was the hardest climb I have ever done,” he wrote in This My Voyage. Longstaff later climbed in the Purcell Mountains with Arthur Wheeler, and in 1911, “captivated by the Western Mountains,” returned to climb in the Selkirks. “The trail was the freest form of travel I have known. There was no need for official permits; no pathways to oppose the whim of the moment; no tribes with differnt languages and customes to be humoured in a dozen ways; no dusty villages to be cajoled for supplies with infinite patience. My companions, packers and hunters, spoke the same language and we were all equal.”

References:

  • Wheeler, Arthur Oliver [1860–1945]. “Report on Mountaineering [1910 camp, Consolation Valley].” Canadian Alpine Journal, Vol. 3 (1911):134-139
  • Wheeler, Arthur Oliver [1860–1945]. “The mountains of the Yellowhead Pass.” Alpine Journal, Vol. 26, No.198 (1912):382
  • Holway, Edward Willet Dorland [1853–1923]. “Mt. Longstaff.” Canadian Alpine Journal, 8 (1917):109
  • Longstaff, Tom George [1875–1964]. This My Voyage. London: John Murray, 1950
  • Bell, Fred C. “Dr. Tom George Longstaff 1878–1964.” Canadian Alpine Journal, Vol. 48 (1965):161-164
  • Wikipedia. Tom Longstaff
Also see:

Mount Kimmel

British Columbia. Mount
Headwaters of Kimmel Creek
52.6333 N 119.4167 W — Map 83D/11 — GoogleGeoHack
Name officially adopted in 1961
Official in BCCanada
Richard, Gordon, and Clifford Kimmel

Richard, Gordon, and Clifford Kimmel

The Kimmel brothers Richard (1914–44), Gordon (1916–44), and Clifford (1919-44) were killed serving in the Canadian Army during World War II. They were from Albreda.

Their father Harry Kimmel (1886–1972) left Illinois to settle in Canada in 1917. His wife Sylvia (ca. 1886–1961) and four Illinois-born children joined him in Edmonton the next year. Hearing of work at Swift Creek, Harry went there in 1918 and worked at Kennedy’s sawmill. He moved the family into a tiny house the next year, where Clifford, the sixth of twelve children, was born. In 1922 the family moved to a homestead at Albreda, where Harry worked on the coal deck that fueled the steam locomotives. Sylvia Kimmel was described as “the spirit of the pioneer, the kingpin of her family and jack of all trades and indeed master of most of them.” In 1961, the year she died, Sylvia represented Canadian mothers at the Remembrance Day services at Ottawa.

Richard, Gordon, and Clifford had a brother Harry Leonard Kimmel of Grand Forks, British Columbia.

Canadian Army L Sergeant Richard Kenneth Kimmel, K92118, killed in action 18 June 1944 during the Normandy landings. Buried at Beny-sur-Mer Canadian War Cemetery, Calvados, France.

Canadian Army Rifleman Gordon Leroy Kimmel, K53748, killed in action 8 June 1944 during the Normany landiongs. Buried at Bretteville-Sur-Laize Canadian War Cemetery, Calvados, France.

Canadian Army Corporal Clifford Howard Kimmel, K92117, killed in action 5 December 1944 during the Battle of Moro. Buried at Ravenna War Cemetery, Italy. Citations: 1939-45 Star, Italy Star, Defence Medal, Canadian Volunteer Service Medal and clasp, War Medal 1939-45.

References:

  • Robson Valley Courier. Weekly newspaper published by Pyramid Press of Jasper from 1968–88 (1968–1988).
  • Canoe Mountain Echo. Weekly newspaper published at Valemount by Pyramid Press of Jasper. Last issue, June 1988.. 1988
  • Valemount Historic Society. Yellowhead Pass and its People. Valemount, B.C.: 1984

Mount Hammel

British Columbia. Mount
Between Ptarmigan Creek and Goat River
53.4836 N 120.9339 W — Map 093H07 — GoogleGeoHack
Name officially adopted in 1969
Official in BCCanada

Named to remember Canadian Army Sergeant James Shannon Hammel, M15887, from Snowshoe. Serving with the Loyal Edmonton Regiment, he was killed in action in Sicily on 5 August 1943, age 41.

Sgt. Hammel is buried at Agira Canadian War Cemetery, Sicily, grave B, H, 248. At the time of his death, he was survived by wife Horah Mary Shannon-Hammel of Prince Albert, Saskatchewan, and by parents Isaiah and Isabella Hammel.

References:

Mount Halvorson

British Columbia. Mount
SW of Legrand, E of Milk River
53.2589 N 120.5806 W — Map 093H07 — GoogleGeoHack
Name officially adopted in 1965
Official in BCCanada
Trooper Frank Halvorson

Trooper Frank Halvorson
Canadian Virtual War Memorial

Named to remember Trooper Frank Halvorson, H45935, from McBride; serving with the 27th Armoured Regiment, Sherbrook Fusiliers, RCAC, when he was killed in action 29 October 1944.

Frank Halvorson was son of John and Ann Halvorson, of McBride. He was born in Edmonton on November 24, 1918,and enlisted July 3, 1940, at Port Arthur, Ontario.

The Sherbrooke Fusiliers Regiment was formed as an infantry unit in 1940. In 1942 it was converted to an armoured regiment and renamed 27th Armoured Regiment (Sherbrooke Fusilier Regiment) and joined 4th Armoured Brigade. They later transferred to the 2nd Canadian Armoured Brigade and saw action in Normandy and across Western Europe.

Halvorson is buried at Bergen-op-Zoom Canadian War Cemetery, Netherlands, grave 8, D, 7. Most of the soldiers buried at Bergen-op-Zoom Canadian War Cemetery lost their lives in the fighting north of Antwerp during the Battle of the Scheldt, as the 2nd Canadian Infantry Division, with support from the 4th Canadian Armoured Division, worked to clear the right (north) bank of the Scheldt estuary of German forces. Bergen-op-Zoom Canadian War Cemetery contains 1,118 Commonwealth burials of the Second World War, 31 of which are unidentified.

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