Dear Residents,

The Village of Lions Bay wishes to pay our respects to a former Council member, Bert Eldridge, who passed away on January 10th, 2012, at the age of 98.

Iʼm not old enough to have fought in World War II but as a child from 8 years to 14 I was brought up to its sounds and pictures – especially the moving variety.

I was a precocious lad who was caught up in the affairs of the day. In Grade VII I won the general knowledge prize the school held. My pal David Rolfe also won it – the next year I think.

Itʼs hard for people to understand just how wrapped up we kids were in the great events taking place every day. I had a large world map on the wall in my bedroom where, with pins with flags on them, I plotted the course of the war, especially in the Soviet Union. Rolfe was often with me and we worked on how we could help General Montgomeryʼs plans in North Africa.

In whispered cloisters of eternal sleep, Through memoried haze of pulses silenced,
Once springing lean and taut like Fine-honed dreams
We sleep as one, across time that Dulls and fades
With patinas worn and rubbed To the raw;
Like knuckles built as dams Against the surge of endless tears.
Oh, still we wait and listen With muted tongues,
Diverse, That bridge
The flickering dawn of Timeless seas.
We whisper prayers we snared With ropes of wire, barbed as frenzied Hopes
Impaled with crowns of thorns On splintered crosses.
Now forever blessed In the lambent glow of sleep
Where dreams reign supreme We whisper soft as baby's breath,
Remember me.
For in the sleeping there Is the awakening,
And in the end We smile at eternal beginnings.

A Thank You Letter

Each year that passes I feel that I truly belong to the generation between the Veterans and our Children, and am reminded of such at the Lions Bay Remembrance Ceremony.

Proudly the Veterans sit in the reserved section of the hall.

“In Flanders Fields the poppies blow between the crosses, row on row,” and where we, the West Vancouver Youth Band, stood; John McCraeʼs famous poem was true. Standing not five feet from where In Flanders Fields was written the musicians of the WVYB saw not even a fraction of the thousands of white crosses that dot the countryside of France, Belgium and the Netherlands where a portion of the Allied Forces lie buried.

[with apologies to Ellen for grammatical liberties]

In the early years of the Second World War (1939-1945), the largest and fastest luxury cruise liner of the day, designed for 2,200 passengers, the RMS Queen Elizabeth, was commandeered as a troopship. It left New York harbour with perhaps as many as 10,000 troops on board. A young soldier, Buff Oldridge, not yet 20 years old, said to the Statue of Liberty, "Lady, tell the man upstairs if I am spared to return, I will do something useful with my life". By war's end, an estimated 416,800 American soldiers had lost their lives in the conflict that was the most deadly in human history (total estimates put the death toll in the range 60-80 million civilian and military personnel). Buff, one of the few who sailed back on a Liberty ship into New York harbour at war's end, said "Lady, I will keep my pledge".

In the spirit of remembrance and honour that Canadians celebrate each year on November 11th. we would like to make note of the passing of Lions Bay's own veteran, Captain Ronald Gordon "Nick" Chester (MMM, CD - Retired), in the afternoon of November 20th. Nick, in his own words - "slipped the surly bonds of Earth" to finally fly free after a long and bravely fought battle with a little known and inaptly named syndrome: POEMS. His beloved wife Isobel; and their sons and family, have a heartfelt letter they would like to pass along...

When I read the obituary of Vera Deans with the unadorned list of her many interests, my mind was jogged with, it seemed, hundreds of memories.  I first met her in 1986 when I joined the Library.  She had been a dedicated volunteer since it opened in 1981 – the one who always went in an hour early to put the books in order and maybe find a particular book that would interest the children she knew were coming in that day.  She had one special young friend, Christopher Koiner, who loved jokes.  Every week she found one for him and he had one for her.  It was a lovely ritual that always had us all laughing.  Often, on a non Library day she could be found in the Library “just tidying up”.

Glenn Gates (1927-2011)
Written by Connie Spiers

Glenn was born in New Westminster, BC on January 4, 1927. He attended schools there until he decided to study Law at UBC and thereafter, he enjoyed a highly successful career in his chosen field. During that time he impressed fellow members of the Law Society with his activities....in and out of court! Their collection of amusing stories could fill a book and provide a good read to anyone who knew him!

Glenn began spending time in Brunswick Beach in 1960 when his father, Frank Gates Sr. moved into a home here.

Glenn loved the area and eventually he and his wife, Annmarie...

A Tony Cox Profile Historian, Gardener and More ...

Tony and Valerie Cox came to Lions Bay over 40 years ago, and hence qualify as 'long term residents'. Tony was born in Devon, a large county in remarkably balmy southwestern England because of the warm Gulf Stream ocean current.  It has a rich Celtic and Roman past, and is next door to Cornwall where the "land comes to an end". Tony's parents had lived in Cornwall, where many family members still live - I think Tony considers himself more Cornish than Devonian.

Devon boasts two UNESCO Sites - the Jurassic Coast Heritage Site and the Braunton Burrows Biosphere Reserve, as well as magnificent natural open moorland and rugged coastal scenery, favoured by hikers, naturalists and pony trekkers...