Shilo Observer Flashback

08/28/2026

On Wednesday, August 28th, 1918, one thousand five hundred and six Canadian soldiers were killed — including Souris-based Kendra Minary’s Great-Great Uncle, Cecil Edmund Minary.

108 years ago today this handsome man lost his life at the young age of 23. 🖤

• Pte. Cecil Edmund Minary • 829297 •

Cecil enlisted in the fall of 1915 shortly after his 20th birthday. He joined the “Little Black Devils” 144th Battalion in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. While in early training at Camp Hughes he very nearly died from pneumonia. In the days before antibiotics it took him seven and a half months to recover from it. This delayed his training so that he didn’t reach England until September of 1916. After further training he was sent to France in January of 1917. He had been picked in a draft of 30 men to join the 52nd Battalion. The 52nd was still a reserve unit in April at the time of the Vimy Ridge Battle but Cecil’s letters tell of seeing action shortly after. It would appear his unit was continually in and out of the battle lines until at least August of 1918. In Cecil’s letters he spoke of some close brushes with death and of friends being killed or wounded. But Cecil seemed to have had a charmed life because in the same action, he was only shot through the heel of his boot. There is little in his letters to suggest of the horrors and hardships we now know these men endured. In fact, he would appear to do his best to make light of it all.
Cecil wrote in letters to his family that as of October 1917 he was in charge of his Lewis Machine Gun crew. The previous man in charge was wounded and had to go under an operation as his temple was broken in and there was a piece of shrapnel in his head and it was unknown when or if he would return to France. Cecil stated that he carried no rifle, just a revolver and The Lewis Machine Gun and he was the man who did all the shooting when the Germans were in sight.
Unfortunately, on August 28th, 1918, he and his crew of six other men were hit by an artillery shell near Bois Du Vert, France. (East of Arras) Six of the seven men, including Cecil, were killed instantly.

Cecil is buried in the Vis-En-Artois British Cemetery in Pas de Calais, France. Plot VII. Row 6. Grave 16.

08/06/2026

07/23/2026

07/23/2026

🎖️ HE GOT LOCKED UP THE NIGHT BEFORE RECEIVING THE VICTORIA CROSS — TO KEEP HIM OUT OF TROUBLE🔒

Meet Ernest "Smokey" Smith — the only private soldier awarded the Victoria Cross in WWII. And that "private" rank? Not an accident. Smokey got busted down from Corporal to Private *nine separate times*. Hard-drinking, insubordinate, no patience for authority — exactly the guy you wanted next to you in a firefight, and exactly the guy commanders dreaded in garrison. The night before King George VI was set to pin the VC on him at Buckingham Palace, they tossed him in a jail cell with a couple of beers, just to make sure Smokey Smith showed up sober and on time. 😂

Rewind to the night of Oct 21-22, 1944, at the Savio River in Italy. The Seaforth Highlanders had just forced a crossing when the Germans hit back — three Panther tanks, two self-propelled guns, and ~30 infantry. Torrential rain had swollen the river six feet in five hours, so no Allied tanks or anti-tank guns could follow the rifle companies across. They were on their own.

Smokey's weapon of choice was the PIAT — a spring-loaded anti-tank launcher notorious across the Allied armies for being brutal to fire, prone to jamming, and only lethal within about 100 yards. It wasn't a weapon you trusted, it was one you endured. He walked it into open ground anyway, and when a Panther rolled down the road guns blazing, he stood his ground at *ten yards* and put it out of action.

Ten German infantry jumped off the wreck and charged him. Smokey walked into the road and cut them down with a Tommy gun, drove the rest back, then held the position alone through another tank assault — scavenging ammo from a ditch — until the Germans finally gave up. The bridgehead held. San Giorgio di Cesena fell soon after.

He came home, kept his stripes off for good, and lived to 91 as Canada's last surviving VC recipient from WWII.

🇨🇦 Rest easy, Smokey.

07/23/2026

VC - great interview

🎖️ Major Frederick Tilston, VC — March 1, 1945

Wounded in the head crossing 500 yards of open ground under fire. He kept leading his men forward.

Wounded again in the hip fighting through barbed wire into the enemy trenches. He told his men to go on without him — then got back up and rejoined them anyway.

Ammunition running low, he crossed a road swept by machine gun fire **six times**, alone, to resupply his men.

On the sixth trip, he was hit a third time, in the leg. Found in a shell crater, barely conscious — he still refused treatment until he'd briefed his last surviving officer on the defense plan and made sure the position would hold.

It held. His stand gave his Brigade the base they needed to break through Germany's last defensive line west of the Rhine.

His wounds were so severe that both legs were later amputated. He survived, and lived until 1992.

For his valour, Major Tilston was awarded the Victoria Cross. 🇨🇦

Lest we forget.

RemembranceDay LestWeForget

07/23/2026

🍁 HONOURING CANADIAN COURAGE🍁

On 17 November 2007, in the mountains of Afghanistan, Captain Isabelle Marie-Ève Bégin proved that split-second precision can be the difference between life and death.

When Reconnaissance Platoon was caught in a deadly insurgent ambush, Capt. Bégin's technical mastery in coordinating and calling artillery fire gave her platoon the window they needed to withdraw safely. Her calm, professional ex*****on under fire didn't just save lives — it helped secure mission success.

🎯 Why artillery mattered so much in Afghanistan:
Canada's gunners were the backbone the infantry could count on. When troops were pinned down and grid references went out over the radio, the front line trusted that fire would land exactly where — and exactly when — it was needed. That accuracy wasn't luck. It was relentless training, disciplined math, and total professionalism, mission after mission.

Soldiers on the ground knew: call it in, and the guns would answer. That dependability turned potential tragedy into safe withdrawal, time and again.

For her skill, composure, and dedication that day, Capt. Bégin was Mentioned in Dispatches — a recognition of exceptional service in the presence of the enemy.

We remember, and we thank her for her service. 🇨🇦