ABOYNE – Cecil Curtis never talked much about his experience in the war. But he was deeply affected, says his son Ted Curtis.
Cecil is now 106 and lives at the Wellington Terrace. His hearing and eyesight is bad, so Ted, who lives in Rockwood, told his father’s story.
Cecil was born in Cornwall, England in 1914, one of 11 children. He had a farming background but enlisted with the Duke of Cornwall Light Infantry in 1935 and served with the colours until 1946.
During the Second World War, he served in Belgium, France, North Africa and the Middle East. He was also stationed in the Isles of Scilly for a period of time guarding prisoners.
It was still peacetime when he joined, and he almost immediately signed up to be on the army running team.
“His team won may races with Cecil being first or second to the finish line in cross-country races. He was awarded numerous medals and trophies,” said Ted in an interview.
“He was one of the fastest cross-country runners in the British army.”
In peace time, Cecil also guarded the Queen at Buckingham Palace, although he never saw her in person, Ted said.
“He doesn’t talk much about the war, especially around kids,” Ted said. “It’s a private thing for most of them. But he did talk about seeing the pyramids and riding a camel. He’d tell us some of the fun and exciting stories.”
In later years, Cecil would talk about how he was wounded, though.
He was in Belgium and his company was under attack.
“They all ran for cover,” Ted said. “Dad jumped into a truck. Some of his buddies were hit. Dad got some shrapnel in his upper right arm.
“He lay on a stretcher in the battlefield for some time as the German planes continued their bombing. He says that a German fighter jet swooped down so close that he could see the pilot’s eyes, but was spared as the plane flew away.
“He was then taken back to England where he spent approximately a year in a London hospital before returning to active duty.”
Ted said his father would talk about the nurses and the wounded at the hospital.
“He said there were kids there crying all the time. He was still a kid himself,” Ted said.
After the war, Cecil immigrated to Canada and settled with his sister in Hamilton for a time. Eventually he got a job as a handyman at a lodge in Muskoka, “and that’s where he met my mom,” Ted said.
Cecil got a job with the Anglo Leather Company in Huntsville and transferred to the Beardmore Leather Company in Acton, “and that’s how the family wound up here,” Ted said.
Today Cecil Curtis is 106 and lives at the Wellington Terrace. Here he is joined by his son Ted Curtis and daughter-in-law Pat.
Submitted photo
Cecil retired when he was 65 but continued to be active in the Legion and in the community.
He credits his longevity to his running in the army, staying active with daily walks and exercising many dogs.
“He never owned a car and if he could he walked wherever he needed to go,” Ted said.
After his wife died, Cecil lived on his own until he was 94, when he fell and broke his hip shovelling snow for a neighbour. He lived for a while with Ted and Pat after that, then Eden House and now Wellington Terrace.
“They’ve gone through so much, but they adapt so well,” Ted said.
“Right now my dad has a bad cold, but he’s rallied back.”
And that is what is amazing about this generation of war veterans, Ted said. They saw so much, they faced so much, yet they continued to do what had to be done.
“He tells us all the time, he’s had a great life.”
