Hero In The Family

 

Talking with one of my neighbours, Brenda Ferguson this evening, I found out that her father was one of our countries Hero’s of WW II.  Apparently it wasn’t until after his death that the story even came to light, as seen here in this 1945 newspaper article in the Kitchener Waterloo Record. 

Here is an excerpt from the article:

“Oscar was decorated for an act of supreme valour in 1942, when crossing the Atlantic. The troopship on which he was travelling, suffered a hole stove in its side, and was in danger of sinking. Oscar and two others volunteered to crawl over shattered bulkheads and attempt to stem the flow of water into the ship.

They managed to reach the hole and successfully plugged it, not knowing at what moment the ship might sink. So well done was their work that the ship was able to continue her journey. Aboard at the time were some 5000 servicemen whose lives were undoubtedly saved by the brave action of these three men.”