Page 20 The Stettler Independent
Wednesday, November 5, 2014
Independent REMEMBRANCE
Locals were eager to enlist when war broke out
WE REMEMBER
Joel van der Veen INDEPENDENT REPORTER With Britain’s declaration of war against Germany on Aug. 4, 1914, the rest of the British Empire — including Canada and Newfoundland — also found itself at war by default. For most of the Canadian public at the time — made up largely of British immigrants and their descendants — this arrangement suited them just fine. The news of the declaration of war was met with marching and singing in the streets. Recruiting stations were overwhelmed with thousands of volunteers, willing to enlist to do their part for king and empire. But the flood of interest meant that recruiters could afford to be choosy, and many eager volunteers were turned down, includ-
ing Emmanuel “Mannie” Gray of Stettler. Born at Springbank in what was then the Northwest Territories in 1895, to English immigrant William Brigham Gray and Maggie (McMullen) Gray, Mannie moved with the rest of his family to the Stettler area in 1905. He was working at local ranches as a cowboy when war broke out, and decided to enlist in the Canadian Overseas Expeditionary Forces in Calgary in May of 1916, hoping to serve with the Field Ambulance Corps. Despite Mannie’s willingness to serve, a military doctor detected a heart murmur during a medical inspection, and he never saw overseas action, receiving an honourary discharge in February 1917. Nearly a century later, his
Contributed photo
Emmanuel “Mannie” Gray is pictured in his First World War-era uniform. Gray enlisted in Calgary in 1916 but was rejected due to a heart murmur detected in a medical examination and given an honourary discharge in 1917. daughter, Kathleen Kossowan of Stettler, said Mannie was disappointed by the news, given his enthusiasm for serving his
country. “He really wanted to go,” she said, noting that his supposedly defective heart would serve him well for the rest of his life. (He died on Aug. 7, 1999, at the age of 103.) A photo of him in his military uniform reveals a handsome and apparently healthy young man. Kossowan said others have pointed out his resemblance to the late actor, Patrick Swayze. Gray was married to Melissa Stotts in 1929, and during their married life, most of which was spent in Stettler, they welcomed and raised six children. He would live to see 17 grandchildren, 31 great-great-grandchildren, three step-great-grandchildren and one great-great-grandchild added to that number. Mannie was far being from the
only volunteer to be turned away. According to the website of the Canadian War Museum, potential recruits underwent strict medical exams, requiring them to be at least five feet, three inches in height, and between 18 and 45 years of age. Good eyesight, arched feet and healthy teeth were also among the valued features — so much so that gap-toothed soldiers were turned away in frustration, despite protesting that they wanted to shoot the enemy, not bite them. Most visible minorities were also largely turned away in the war’s initial years. The Canadian War Museum reports that while First Nations recruits were valued for perceived skills as scouts and snipers, most Asian and black volunteers were rejected. continued on page 21
Remembering Our Veterans
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RCNVR 1942 to 1945 Pacific
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