Mission’s contributions to the defense of Canada has been an impressive one. In 1914 when England declared war on Germany and called upon her Dominions to help, Mission was there to answer the call.
More than 300 men enlisted and 96 gave their lives on the battlefields of Europe. Twenty-one years later when Germany invaded Poland and the Second World War began, Mission responded again and this time 28 citizens did not return to their loved ones. Here are the stories of some of those who served and those that sacrificed their lives in military service.
WORLD WAR I
– Lance Corporal Arthur Gibbard (1896-1918), son of George and Eliza was born in Mission. He joined the 72nd Seaforth Highlanders in 1915 and left for France on August 12, 1916 to serve on the front. One year later Arthur was granted a 10 day leave before returning to the battlefield.
Writing to a friend the following year about an advance on Aug. 9, 1918 – the Battle of Amiens - he noted: “It was a great sight to see our cavalry march out to fight. They rode out through a field of wheat and a small village just as though they were going out for a day’s drill…They made the advance a brilliant success. The tanks did excellent work and the whole thing went off like clockwork; before midnight the same day, our advanced horse lines were on what had been the enemy’s front line.”
The following month while fighting in the Battle of the Canal du Nord, he was seriously wounded on the first day and died of his injuries at the age of 22 on Oct. 9, 1918.
– Nursing Sister Constance “Connie” Hodgson (1888-1965) was the daughter of Thomas and Mary, residents of Hatzic since 1892. Following her enlistment on June 6, 1918 with five other nurses from Vancouver General Hospital, Connie embarked for overseas on the 29th.
She was assigned to work in the Canadian Army Medical Core (C.A.M.C.) hospitals in England which provided long-term care to soldiers recovering from their horrific injuries. Enduring grueling hours with physical and emotional strain, she contracted the Spanish flu on Nov. 20 and was hospitalized for 33 days during which time the war ended.
On Feb. 28, 1919, Connie returned to Canada and worked for the C.A.M.C. until receiving her discharge on March 18, 1919. Returning to Mission, Connie married Francis Dempster in 1925 and settled on a farm in Dewdney where they raised four children.
– Born in Mission, Private James Alfred Wharton (1890-1916) was the son of George and Lucinda E. Wharton. A member of Mission’s fire brigade, James volunteered for active service in the Canadian Over-Seas Expeditionary Force on Nov. 20, 1914, just four days after his 24th birthday.
In 1915, several months after being sent to the front lines in France, he wrote home: “I have been awfully lucky so far but one can never tell when he is going to get it. I was in two small battles, but it did not amount to much.”
Between September 26 and 29, 1916 his battalion fought in the Battle of Thiepval Ridge in the Somme region of France. James was among the more than 700 Canadians killed in action between September 26 and 29 with no known grave. His name is inscribed on the majestic Vimy Memorial located in Pas de Calais, France.
WORLD WAR II
– A lifetime resident of Mission, Private Harold Hills (1918-1972) joined up and went overseas as a member the Seaforth Highlanders of Canada in 1943.
On the 23rd of May 1944, the battalion fought in the assault on the formidable German defence network known as the “Hitler Line” near the town of Pontecorvo in Italy. Following the fierce battle, Harold was declared missing.
Months later, his parents received a letter from him stating he had been captured by the Nazis and was working on a farm in Germany where “…the hours were long and the work very tiring but the grub was good and that made up for a lot.”
Liberated by the Americans in 1945, Harold arrived back in Mission on Friday, July 6 “looking particularly tanned and fit as he leapt off the train”.
Active in many community organizations following his return, he died unexpectedly at age 53, survived by his wife, Vera and two children, Bob and Janet.
– A former resident and student at Mission High School, Pilot Officer Donald Beverly Moody (1920-1942) was working on his Bachelor of Science degree in Agriculture at the University of British Columbia when the war broke out.
He joined the Royal Canadian Air Force and served as a wireless operator and air gunner. His duties were to transmit all radio messages, including the position of the craft regularly and distress signals, operate the gun turret when the aircraft was under attack and deal with any minor emergencies.
In 1942, Donald was a crew member of a Lancaster R5890, a four-engine strategic bomber, from Squadron 49 assigned with 12 other aircraft to attack the Krupps Steelworks in Essen which was known as the “weapons forge of the German Reich.”
All were killed on Sept. 17 when their aircraft came down in the target area and are buried in the Reichswald Forest War Cemetery in Kleve, Germany.
– An alumni of Mission High School and sawyer by occupation, Flying Officer, George Thompson Gilbert Terris (1921 - 1944) enlisted on June 13, 1942 to serve in the Royal Canadian Airforce. After earning his air bomber badge in 1943, he was sent overseas.
On the night of Nov. 6, 1943, Gilbert along with six other crew members failed to return from an operational attack on Gravenhorst in western Germany. On Nov. 8, his father received notification from the Air Force that his son was “missing believed killed.”
The two page letter attested to Gilbert’s character: “This was your son’s sixth operational sortie over enemy territory and during the relatively short time he was with the squadron, he displayed a great keenness both in the air and on the ground. His loss is not only deeply regretted, but is one which we can ill afford, and he will be greatly missed by all those on the Squadron that knew him.”
Gilbert, 23 years of age, along with the other crew members are buried in the Heerde Cemetery in the Netherlands.
A shoe box full of precious letters, handwritten postcards exchanged during the war, photographs of uniformed men and women, yellowed newspaper clippings, pages of military documents and a scrapbook of military service keepsakes – all document and represent the personal accounts of veterans, their families and friends that are preserved in the Mission Community Archives. If you are able to contribute information about local veterans who served Canada in time of peace and war, please contact Archivist Val Billesberger to ensure their legacy can be passed down from generation to generation.
– Information provided by Val Billesberger, MAS Archivist & Records Manager
