Person:Harry Shiell (2)

Harry served in the Armed Forces and was wounded in Italy. He would never talk about his war experiences with family and much of what happened is still a mystery. After his injury,he was in an English hospital and his family recalls going to see him when he arrived in London ON. Curiousity got the better of me ...I contacted the National Archives and received a copy of the records that detailed Uncle Harry's military career.

Below is a precis: 10 Dec 1942- Enlisted in London. Assigned to the 48th Highlanders. 18 Dec 1942-Assigned to Chatham Base for Basic Training. 29 Dec -2 Jan 1943-Furlough for New Year's Eve.24 Feb 1942- Assigned to Camp Ipperwash for Advanced training. [This exercise was called Hot Dog.] 26 Apr 1943-Granted Furlough for 2 weeks(till May 9) 5 May 1943-Recalled, Furlough cancelled 13 May 1943- Left for UK 22 May 1943-Disembarked in UK6 Aug 1943-Assigned to Canadian Infantry Reinforcements Unit in UK. 24 Dec 1943-Transferred from 48th Highlanders to the 4th Battalion* 5 Jan 1944-Shipped out as part of the Central Mediteranean Force. 25 July 1944-Appointed Lance -Corporal 16 Sep 1944- Wounded* 17 Sep 1944-rank reduced to Private [From 17 Sep till 17 Dec 1944 Uncle Harry must have been at an army Hospital , specific location in Italy unknown, because the next notation is dated 18 Dec 1944]

18 Dec 1944-Evacuated to UK. 28 Dec 1944- Admitted to 19th Canadian General Hospital UK [Research suggests this was most likely located in the Manchester area quite probably at Birmingham although Basingstoke has also been mentioned as being the location where Canadian servicemen were treated before being shipped home or back to the front]

12 Mar 1945-Shipped back to Canada to London Ontario 24 April 1945- Admitted to Crumlin** in London.In recognition of his army service. Uncle Harry was awarded the following medals: These medals are the final clue to his probable location at the time of his injury. Research on the 4th Battalion reveals that medals were awarded for each of the campaigns in which the 4th battalion participated. Below is a summary of the activities of the 4th Battalion

The Second World War; 1939-1945On 1 September 1939 the Regiment was placed on active service as Canada prepared for participation in the Second World War . Moving to the UK in December 1939 with the 1st Canadian Infantry Division , the RCR saw hard training for almost four years. On 10 July 1943 the RCR landed at Pachino as part of the Allied invasion of Sicily. After fighting across the island, the regiment was involved in another amphibious landing at Reggio di Calabria . The RCR was also part of the fierce battle at Ortona and then took part in attacks on the German defences in Italy called the Adolf Hitler Line and the Gothic Line .... ...Battle Honours awarded to the Regiment for the Second World War were: "LANDING IN SICILY, Valguarnera, Agira, ADRANO, Regalbuto, SICILY, Landing at Reggio, Motta Montecorvino, Campobasso, Torella, San Leonardo, The Gully, Ortona, CASSINO II, Gustav Line, LIRI VALLEY, Hitler Line, GOTHIC LINE, LAMONE CROSSING, Misano Ridge, RIMINI LINE, San Martino - San Lorenzo, Pisciatello, Fosso Vecchio, ITALY 1943-45, Apeldoorn, NORTH-WEST EUROPE, 1945"[2] (Capitalized honours were approved for emblazonment on the Regimental Colour.) The regiment returned home to Canada in 1945. Taken From http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Royal_Canadian_Regiment#The_Second_World_War.3B_1939-1945

*There was no mention of Uncle Harry's location at the time he was wounded. A best guess, based on documentation of the progress of Allied forces in Italy suggests that he was most likely injured at Rimini Ridge....the site of one of the most bloody battles of the second World War.   **Crumlin was the name of the Army Hospital in London.It was a part of   

RCAF Stn LondonThe new airport was opened in August of 1940 to house two training schools. The Elementary Flying Training School where potential pilots were given flying training after several weeks of theoretical study at an Initial Flying School. The course at Crumlin included engine and airframe theory, navigation, instrumentation and 50 hours of actual flight. At the Air Observers School, students were taught the navigational skills necessary for bomber and transport operations. These included map-reading, plotting, aircraft identity and meteorology. In September of 1948, Crumlin became home to 420 Fighter Squadron (Auxiliary), flying first Harvards and then Mustang fighters until they were disbanded 1 September 1956. On 1 July 1956 RCAF Air Defense Command reformed 2420 Aircraft Control and Warning Squadron (Auxiliary), training Fighter Control Operators. It was disbanded on 31 May 1961. Renamed RCAF Stn London, Crumlin became The Officers Selection Centre. Trainees underwent airforce indoctrination prior to undertaking flying training elsewhere. In 1950 NATO trainees were added and airmen from France, Norway, Italy, Holland, Denmark, Belgium, Portugal and Turkey arrived for three month courses. English language training for up to 12 weeks was added. Later, London became the home for Officers School and Selection Unit and a centre training Nursing Sisters. After being abandoned by the RCAF, various uses were made of the building complex. For a time, they housed a Veterans Hospital, a morgue and the hangars were used to store military aircraft. All that remains is the Royal Canadian Air Force Association 427 Wing Building which began life in 1940 as an Airman's Canteen. Copyright Paul Ozorak(from the Spooner Memorial <kgspooner.html> at 427 Wing <http://www.427wing.com/> , Air Force Association of Canada <http://www.airforce.ca/index2.php3?page=about> Parkwood Hospital was later designated as a veteran's hospital and is now part of the Victoria Hospital complex at Commissioners Road and Wellington. I also contacted a Legion member who told me that, in essence I need not feel like he had deliberately kept his exploits from his family because he felt that they would not understand...he never said anything to any of his Legion buddies either!This was not unusual behaviour for veteran's of the second world war. Most seemed to prefer to think about those days as being akin to a bad nightmare...you recovered by hanging out with friends who acknowledged the reality of your experience but who did not need to have the nightmare rehashed on a regular basis. I think there is a lesson for all of us in there somewhere.

1. ↑ ^{1.0 1.1 1.2} Ada Jane Shearer and The Shearer Historians. Shearer Family History. (Created in Elma Township in 1938 and maintained by Shearer Reunion Historians. Information was reported by knowledgeable family members and was well maintained in the early years.).
2. ↑ ^{2.0 2.1 2.2} Isa Cleland. Information that Isa researched on the Shearers. (This information was gathered by Isa until her death in 1999. Most is copied from the Shearer Family Tree.).
3.   Canadian Archives.