Zone D5 Information

BURSARY ASSISTANCE PROGRAM

The Bursary Forms available

Contact your local Branch to obtain the 2010 form

The Ontario Command Charitable Foundation and Royal Canadian Legion Ladies' Auxiliary Ontario Command Bursary Assistance Program are now accepting applications for the 2010/2011 scholastic year. Students may apply once they have received their OSAP acknowledgment. New applications have Jan/10 on the back, lower right rear corner and are available at all branches and at most University, Colleges and Technical Schools. Please ensure you have the current form before filling it out and submitting it to RCL Ontario Command in Aurora for consideration of a bursary.

Mesothelioma Centre (Asbestos.com)

My name is Colin Hare and I'm the Veteran Liaison for the Mesothelioma Centre (Asbestos.com); an organization devoted to assisting veterans through their application processes for VA benefits, and helping them obtain the maximum benefits for which they are entitled. While I was browsing through a number of Veterans sites I came across your website and was very impressed by the information you have listed.

Countless veterans are currently suffering from life-threatening illnesses that are a result of exposure to asbestos, a material that was commonly used in hundreds of military applications, products, and ships primarily because of its resistance to fire.

The Mesothelioma Centre provides a complete list of occupations, ships, and shipyards that could have put our Veterans at risk for developing asbestos-related diseases. In addition, they have thousands of articles regarding asbestos and mesothelioma and we’ve even created a veterans-specific section on our website in order to help inform about the dangers of asbestos exposure.

Because so many veterans visit your site, I thought that you may be interested in posting our link to help educate veterans on the dangers of asbestos exposure by linking to our website from your links page http://www.asbestos.com/mesothelioma/canada/asbestos.php

For further information: You can reach me Colin Hare at chare(@)asbestos.com or at 407-965-5755.

Support our Troops

Trenton Legion kicks off "Operation Smell the Coffee"

The Trenton Legion is working its way towards boosting the morale of the troops at CFB Trenton.

In light of the recent events at CFB Trenton, the Royal Canadian Legion Ontario Command decided to give a gift to everyone at the Trenton base.

The Ontario Command donated 3,500 Tim Horton cash cards to the base, one for every military and civilian member of CFB Trenton.

"We felt the need to boost the moral of the base personelle and show that we are supporting them, one hundred per cent." said Ed Pigeau, Legion Provincial President. "We recently received letters and emails about how some of the troops were being treated, and we were appalled."

The cards are worth ten dollars each, a total of $35,000 for the CFB Trenton personelle. The cards can be used like cash, to purchase anything on the Tim Hortons menu.

"Well I'm really looking forward to enjoying my free Tim's." said CFB Trenton 8 Wing Commander David Cochrane. "We have such a great bond with the Legion, and we are so thankful for such great support, it really helps to reinvigorate the troops."

The idea for this came from the original Troop Morale Fund, started by the Royal Canadian Legion. The fund is an ongoing initiative to give free Tim Hortons to troops posted in Afghanistan. The goal is to buy each of the troops a coffee and a donut at least every two weeks.

"We named this project Operation Smell the Coffee." said Dave Gordon, Executive Director of the Ontario Command. "Not only do we support the Canadian troops overseas, but the troops right here at home as well."

Since the inception of the Troop Morale Fund almost three years ago, the Royal Canadian Legion has donated over $750,000, with approximately $300,000 coming from the Ontario Command.

Commander of 8 Wing CFB Trenton David Cochrane, together with troops from CFB Trenton, accepts a gift of 3,500 Tim Horton cash cards from Ed Pigeau, President of the Royal Canadian Legion Ontario Provincial Command Monday, March 29 at the Trenton Legion.

This was posted by Emily Mountney in the local

Newspaper on April 6, 2010

JOHN BABCOCK - Our last Man is Down!

John Babcock died today at 109 he was the Last Canadian Soldier of WW1

He enlisted in February 1916 at the age of 15 after lying about his age. He trained in Canada and England but the Great War ended before he reached the trenches. In February 1916, at 15, Babcock signed up and the medical examiner put down his "apparent age" as 18, which meant he was allowed to train. In spite of being under the legal age to fight, which was 19, he continued his attempts to get to the front line. He lied about his age again, and sailed to Britain where underage boys formed the Young Soldiers' Battalion to train until they were eligible to fight. "I wanted to go to France because I was just a tin soldier." In an interview with the Canadian Army website he said: "I don't consider myself to be a veteran, because I never got to fight." He lied about his age again, and sailed to Britain with the Royal Canadian Regiment.

There, conscripts under the legal age of 19 formed the Young Soldiers' Battalion to train until they were eligible to fight. But he never saw action as the Armistice was signed six months before he reached his 19th birthday. He moved to the United States in the 1920s, serving in the United States Army between 1921 and 1924, before becoming an electrician. He now lives in Spokane, Washington.

From the Dominion President - Wilf Edmonds

Comrades,

Yesterday, on February 18, 2010, Comrade John Babcock, the last known Canadian veteran of WWI and Honorary Life Member of The Royal Canadian Legion, passed away, he was 109. Today, we pause to pay tribute to Comrade Babcock and to observe the passing of an era. We will remember him and the 650,000 Canadians who served with him during WWI; their triumphs and tragedies, their accomplishments and sacrifices unite to honour the 68,000 Canadians who fell and to renew our pledge to never forget.

Official commemorations to remember Comrade John Babcock will be announced by the Government of Canada in the coming days. Provincial Presidents are requested to direct the lowering of flags to half-mast at all Legion branches from this date forward to the end of the day of the funeral.

Dominion President Wilf Edmond, on behalf of all members of The Royal Canadian Legion, extends deepest condolences to his widow, Dorothy.

We Will Remember Him.....

_______________________________________

Please CLICK on the link below to view the letter

which was sent to the Dominion President Comrade Edmond at Dominion Command from the Joint Task Force Command in Kandahar, Afghanistan

Letter from Joint Task Force Command

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