by Gerry Tilmans
Legion 202 is proud to say that we should have twenty commemorative banners of local soldiers to put up after Thanksgiving in Lions Head. The intent is to write a few words about the names and faces you will be seeing.
Private John Gilbert was born in Tipperary County in Ireland and came to Canada as an orphan at age 21. He found lodgings with the Davis family on what is now The Bury Road and worked on a neighbouring farm. He married in 1936. After the second world war started he applied to enlist locally but was turned down due to hearing loss in one ear. He made his way to London (ON) where he was able to enlist with the Royal Canadian Regiment. At the battle of Ortona in Italy, he was badly wounded with a serious hip and leg injury and wasn’t released from hospital until four years later in 1947. His daughter Vera Osborne lives in the area and is proud to keep his memory alive with a banner.
Once a month we hold a Veterans Coffee that is open to Veterans and currently serving members of the Canadian Armed Forces, RCMP and First Responders, Wednesday August 19th from 10am to noon.
Our free weekly Tai Chi classes are Fridays, 9:30 to 10:30 am. This is open to the public so if you’re interested just come out a few minutes early, and bring a dry pair of shoes with you. The focus of the moves are to stretch, improve balance, and of course, have fun. This is not a “hot” workout so casual wear is fine.
Our address is 6 Hellyer Road. Come out to play cornhole every Thursday at 1 pm (except the first Thursday of the month), but bring your darts in case it rains. Contact me at branch202pro@gmail.com for more information about our Branch.
Lest we forget
