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Lost airman‘s letters tell of final year «ipoiane CysRreoericle Hop 294/)4 S continued from page 6 when it drifted into the dock with no one at °mt i 8 i ; the helm. Over 1,900 were killed in the > i. â€" MUPm 1y Days later we find they are confined to _ blast and the ensuing fires that ravaged the i. ; â€" o A f 4 camp due to an outbreak of spinal city and harbour, crowded with wartime + C pM P is AJ 2e da wl meningitis in a neighbouring camp. No _ shipping. No blame was ever laid in the _ |"" "*&@@a h 3 _ ""ap a is‘ ~ sn Thanksgiving dinner on the ranch. largest manâ€"made explosion until the _ |ugesey / We ce 09 Occasionally, interspersed with the â€" atomic age. 7litm.... We AP S ME ... oommmmezet is letters which he writes separately to each Five days later Tom writes to his dad _ |/ Mf\ ky ~~ w a 1. / oomolk af a m A4 | parent, we find a letter to one of his sisters. _ about the explosion. In the same letter he _ (ap "is es Mn s ¢ . is i {& Bessie bears the brunt of his sibling enthuses about casting his first ballot for E;& on a 3 is agl / C P ds chiding on December 6. He blames his not the Unionist Party and Lieut. Gen.. (ky B BW es pte :”M s _ e /Â¥ '“%% having written to her on a "mean dig" she â€" Mewburn. It was a vote for conscription. eak z. .. SHld es *%fi“ .. °_ M .0 included in her last letter. In the same _ Not surprisingly, the historical -& ol ks w o 2 ”"1‘?3«%;" f c §# * | letter he refers to the Victory Bond bought literature backs Tom‘s view of the vote. . . e ies 34 . o 1P i./ l “ for her, and reminds her when she next The 1917 election was entirely about â€" | @0 fls e ce s Al /fi L sees him, "I will be a brisk but very conscription. The traditional twoâ€"party â€"| M N 08. go es e Y / K. dignified 2nd Lieut. I hope, and of course election in Canada was abandoned, as || / . . ‘f ~~ uts * fi‘%fi ce i . t s you will have to treat me as such and do no politicians crossed party lines to either |**" C wxe s . o. Jn da : se ue “i en CSE O entepeieni â€"conctiih more of your underlining stunts." support or oppose conscription. The _ O ppgppnerierors te unsc ie t‘ . 1 ( iz ( Later when hears she wants to work on Liberals became the voice of French . e +s ~ ‘;Y;fi‘fig%g;% lt\ i. the farm, Tom suggests that they "let her Canadians who did not want any part of | y$Â¥ °_ ‘i%»»?@m*‘* #é’?‘i’ get a }}ttle experience in the garden at the war. The Conservatives, who became â€" M _ wl 3 "‘,Eww%@ : %’;%}?:‘:}i ns home. p the Unionists when proâ€"conscription _ W > _ â€" ‘i. _ < We e &s%h?g J e Baby brother Georgie gets a few â€"Liberals joined them, became the voice of [‘ " _ " * ay . ie o o ie «4933;;»&4 i gg;r(l)l;lieifigtsm’sl‘%nfi ;A;(t)rrrlgers how the ig English Canadians who were in favour of B ” in Fahials l ggw“' Ne e e ce M Scmtee /: {‘ t s present, and â€" increasing Canada‘s war effort. Canada‘s hi 9 . i o in a es e e e oi rens . uen e ‘ months later supposes that he is still â€" most violent and bitter election resulted in {gf%ifig‘:&’«%fi% fm*’x n se 3:;;;."3 Samaiie . | running around with his "phovel". Georgie . a majority for Borden‘s Union government, $s y o ie ie oo oi efi e o 7. /. is not yet five. He will soon attend school and the implementation of conscription in § M sR . i s nc ie "A,,,*éfi-:}ége’"?' ffi%fi? .. and later will have few recollections of his Canada. k. * fol vnmmald ~ e ;g-uihf;'!”;’""l; e&f’f’k? é‘%&?‘» big brother. In Scotland, obviously missing Sydney Mewburn was elected in [ ht \5oe t fasy > > o 'i!&:vw'%";'x*fl';‘:i A 3 his baby brother, he asks, "When is Hamilton East. Everyone enlisted in the S N NC _ T N oo t on u+ a £ t "jr"és ’*'3’!}‘%?‘?&5 ‘”"% : Gebrgie going to write me?" Many letters armed forces was allowed to vote, â€" M Ag '\‘i . on s AL tA :5 ‘g& ali ,#é. MAAA “ | bass on messages to his grandma. For some _ including women. It was the first time they _ MESN ts 1 5y * *&&g’ ko v i ns “%‘_33;‘?9* 37 reason he refers to his letters to her but â€"had been allowed the vote. Two years later â€" [ %" a t’ [ Comile . ~ Saatl ;v‘ o fmilts o e vso t 7 _é.‘:,‘é'fl,f’ | â€" there are no copies of them in his files. every nonâ€"native woman in the country ht 1 19e Wl 2 ,;;*.;«:s l wl 5. &’5\\," e d | ; was on the election rolls. e e / In Wt ol l P e es 194 ;;;,p fi%m% Nothing could ever happen to me ... In a later letter, he mentions the W 1ot . . > tfmunpeie ol > 2 n‘ &»3.“»:“"*% His letter to his mother on December 6 _ Possibility of the arrival of prohibition. : esc : esnt > . o nngsiint ”%‘"‘ 1 could only have deepened the grief eight His final Christmas and New Years are a4 Je ~< e n s S ts o Nes months later. In it, he reassures his Spent at Fort Hicks; he had been delayed [A & W R Sp0M ye . _ * Wikecome ty h hee f mother, "and for goodness sake never be . inexplicably on his return north and failed a e + â€" y . . . Mite selld e 31.‘ alarmed about not receiving letters to reach home as hoped. t 4 Plapr in «.48 ) ewg,,mn & R because nothing could ever happen to me For a month there are no entries. MRA Eid . & l cR o n n( s ut es t c Presumably he was home on leave in wX e AbBany / se es 0s ) 0o tre ) 4e o i n o Events of national and international January, 1918 before boarding the 8. S. PS : sWbler C ng ""‘*fi" es P0 . .c3 t significance fall into the letters. Tunisian on January 27, leaving Canada NeRears ) ; 1e . .. s$s s * * sa n 44. 1 /n On December 6, 1917 the harbour of forever. ul Bc ¢ . $# o o #a#.." Pteme: ""*. ) | Halifax was destroyed in the collision of [) 6 90. 5 Qflw ts : PM o. "sg. i wl the Mont Blane and the Imo. The Mont Part II, next week â€".* ho e "Sou e o# . 2l zen * s p, xk > * > f Blane was carrying tons of explosives 26 i9 e â€" 16. . ‘,":'“ 1 ,‘} 4:4{-!554 %, tine 4 0 ss, * Coen us . * $ ' j aC a ci... en . 6 T NNN ie s | i e o ce nc n o ce n Pelnt J M . $ z> "o,it *‘ & M 4/ uds ho ts o ‘ M & e j us . jf Cop t h CE | ;:" ‘% W" net_a / e( tÂ¥5, * â€" e :: yas u. 0 e 7B i | (0 oo . d9s i: yok . ,_,_,,_______â€"M,,__,,___«_r__.___..._.__â€"J | { \f P Tom Martin stands in front of his biplane in this World War [ photo. _ C e _ It is the only photo Anne and Pieter Wyminga have of "Uncle Tom". t ,