Three Uncles Who Served

 Three of my uncles served in the military.  Two of them were in World War II, and a third did a stint as an army cook during the 50's.  

The first is Uncle Bert, who was one of Mom's older brothers.  Unfortunately I know nothing about what action he saw, or what troop he belonged to.  All I have are a few photos of him in uniform.  I do believe that he did go overseas though.

 

 I'm not at all sure where the above photo was taken, whether it was on Canadian soil in a training camp, or if these were actual combat vehicles in Europe. Those do look like Canadian white pines behind, but they could well be abroad.

The photo below is an interesting one to me.  It is of my father and Uncle Bert, who would eventually become Dad's brother-in-law.  Dad and Mom had not started dating before the war, so the fact that the two of them ended up being photographed together in uniform seems a little odd.  I don't think the families were friends at that point, although they did come from the same general area.

Whatever Bert's involvement in the war, he came home, relatively unscathed, but then died in a train crash several years later.

 

Above is Dad's youngest brother Ray.  Uncle Ray enlisted at the age of twenty.  He never saw actual combat though, because he died during basic training in Toronto, from Scarlet Fever, at 20.  He is buried in Fairholme Cemetery with his parents.  I often wonder if my life would have been different if Uncle Ray had lived.  For one thing I probably would have had cousins my own age (all my cousins are considerably older than me).  He also looks like he was a jolly sort of chap.

This is Ray on the right, with a neighbour, who must have enlisted at the same time.

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 Above is my third uncle, Mom's youngest brother, who joined the army after World War II.  I do not know when he joined or how long he served, but he would only have been 15 at the end of the war.  I assume this picture was taken in the 50's.  He served as an army cook.

The Daily Quest

This is a new daily feature on The Musical Gardener blog. Below is a question, or puzzle that will change day by day. Do not use the comment section of the blog for your answer.

Answer to Yesterday's Puzzle:  Stumped everyone this time - it is a closeup of a plastic 4 pack for plants

Today's Puzzle:

Whosaidit

Who uttered the following statement:

"Did you ever think how a bit of land
shows the character of the owner? "

a) Voltaire
b) Charles Dickens
c) Emily Dickenson
d) Laura Ingalls Wilder

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And that is about all I have to say for today.

Musings and meanderings from the Musical Gardener.