We owe everything to those who went before us

by William A. C. Rosenblath – November 2023

Figure 1 -The Armoury (mall) – Picton, ON

There is a display in “The Armoury” (mall) here in Picton Ontario that has a collection of items from the Hastings Prince Edward Regiment whose members fought in WWII. The Armoury was originally where the Military stored vehicles, weapons and Artillery in days gone by, but was later converted into a mall and in recent years has undergone further renovations under new ownership.

While strolling though the mall one day after some recent renovations (2021).  I took time to view the display and was very surprised to find a picture of my Grandfather Allan Nutley as well as something I wouldn’t have thought could have survived all these years too; a Valentine’s day card my Grandfather sent to my Grandmother Lena Nutley while he was away during wartime service.

Figure 2 – Valentine from Allan Nutley to Lena Chapman 1945 – The Armoury Memorial Display

Figure 3- Allan Nutley The Armoury Memorial Display

Figure 4- Private Allan Nutley 1939

My grandfather, Allan Nutley served in the Hastings Prince Edward Regiment as a Medic and spent a lot of time in ambulances during the war. (He also did a stint with the Princess Louise Dragoon Guards, sometimes called the PLDG ..Pretty Little Dancing Girls was what my Grandfather called the PLDG Regiment during our any talks when I was a teenager). 

Figure 5 – Newspaper clipping circa 1940

My Grandfather was one of three brothers that enlisted from Prince Edward County in September of 1939. He was joined by his brothers CSM Charles Nutley and LC Reginald Nutley

My Great Uncle Reg, (LC Reginald Nutley) was injured badly and sent home home with an honorable discharge in 1943.

My Great Uncle Charlie. ( CSM Charles Nutley) was killed in action during the landing on the beaches of Sicily on July 10th, 1943. Charles was written about by Farley Mowat in his description of the landing in his book “And No Birds Sang”. CSM Nutley was shot through the neck by a sniper within an arms reach of Mr. Mowat.

Figure 6 – Hastings & Prince Edward Regiment Landing on the Beach in Sicily July 10, 1943

Charles was buried at the Agira Canadian War Cemetery in Italy

Figure 6- CSM Charles Nutley Tombstone in Agira Canadian War Cemetery – Italy

Near the end of the war, the ambulance my Grandfather Allan Nutley was in was blown up and he spent a couple months in England waiting to go back to the front. 

While he was convalescing and preparing to return to the fight, the war ended, and he was sent home like so many others.

He spent 5 years over seas during WWII and was part of the Italian campaign. 

After coming home my Grandfather received both hand written and typed letters of recommendation from his Regimental Medical Officer that could be used to seek a job in a medical field. He decided not to pursue work in the medical field because he had seen too much during the war.

Figure 7- Hand written letter of recommendation for Allan Nutley – 1947

Figure 8 – Typewritten letter of recommendation for Allan Nutley 1947

Figure 9 – Front of post card sent by my Grandfather from England to my GrandmotherDate unknown

Figure 10 – Back of postcard sent by my Grandfather from England to my Grandmother – Date Unknown

Figure 11 – Allan Nutley In field battle dress

Figure 12 – Allan Nutley Preparing for hike in rain in full gear.

Figure 13- Allan Nutley in dress uniform

Figure 14 – Allan Nutley’s Squad

Figure 15 – Allan Nutley – Wreath Ceremony at Hastings & Prince Edward Regimental Memorial – Belleville Ontario.

Later in the 1980’s my Grandfather was asked to take part in a memorial wreath placing service at the Hastings & Prince Edward Regimental Monument in Belleville Ontario.

I remember when I was in my teens, Poppa was having issues with his knee and surgeons removed shrapnel that had been in his knee since that time when he was “blown out of the ambulance”.  (40 years later!)

My Father,  William James Rosenblath joined the military after just turning 17.in 1958.  His father signed the papers to allow entry under the age 18. 

Figure 16 – William James Rosenblath – Royal Canadian Guard

He was assigned to the Canadian Guards. 

After basic training he went to Germany for 3 years on his first deployment. Dad remarked on this once with wonder saying . “There I was 18 years old and walking down a street in Amsterdam.”

In 1962 Dad returned to Canada and was stationed at Camp Picton with the 1st Battalion of the Canadian Guards. 

For anyone unfamiliar with the Canadian Guards, they were known as the Queens Guard of Canada and fashioned after the Queens Guard in England. They were recognized for their sharp dress uniforms of red with those tall bearskin hats. Every possible surface that could be shined in their uniform had to be perfect, shoes, buttons, the brim of their hats etc.  

I’m sure you’ve heard the saying, Join the navy and see the world.” Dad said jokingly with the guards it was “Join the guards and shine the world.”

Dad met my mom Deanna Rosenblath while stationed at Camp Picton. 

Dad left for cypress 7 weeks after getting married and spent 6 months on peacekeeping duty with NATO helping with the conflict between the Greeks and the Turks. 

Figure 17 – William James Rosenblath – NATO Peacekeeping Medals display

Figure 18 – William James Rosenblath – NATO Peacekeeping Medals

As a child I never thought much about it, but the older I get, more I realize how important it is that we take time to reflect every year.  We would be nothing without the contributions made to ensure our freedom by those brave people that went before us. “Lest We Forget”…

William A. C. Rosenblath – November 2023
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The McCormack’s of PEC

There are landowners all over ontario that purchase homes and tenants refuse to leave and they can’t do anything since the Landlord Tennant Board takes forever and Tenants rights are always favoured. In some cases this has caused the purchasers to lose everything while the government stands by and lawyers claim rights for the Tennant who stops paying rent and still refuses to vacate.  Hopefully the McCormack’s can turn this around on the government for once by just refusing to vacate, and getting good legal counsel to put a hold on the lease termination pending the appeal. 

In a case like this where the occupants are basing their livelihood on having the locations, not to mention doing a lot maintenance that the government was supposed to do but doesn’t, I would hope any civil rights lawyer worth a grain of salt would be able to fight this on that let alone on the basis of previous agreements made by the federal government.

Welcome to the new order of government over reach and meddling even more in people’s lives.  Our rights continue to be eroded in the guise of good intentions. Woke facist beliefs frome group who feel that the government has the right to tell us what to think and how to feel. They’re in our homes and lives and in our wallets and they haven’t the right.

Less government means less taxes and less intrusion.  All we can do is to start voting to reduce government control and look at other parties that stand for individual rights rather than government control. They exist, but so many people simply ignore what’s going on and do nothing. The ones who get voted in stop working for the voters and begin campaigns to stay in power instead. The cycle just seems to keep repeating itself.

“Liberal governments always seem to develop into aristocracies. The bureaucracies betray the true intent of people who form such governments. Right from the first, the little people who formed the governments which promised to equalize the social burdens find themselves suddenly in the hands of bureaucratic aristocracies.”

God Emperor of Dune – Frank Herbert

I hope the McCormicks are successful fighting their government eviction. It would nice to see a win for the people for a change.

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The federal ethics commissioner role has been vacant for six months. Why is it taking so long?

Mario DionPHOTO: Adrian Wyld / THE CANADIAN PRESS
The federal ethics commissioner role has been vacant for six months. Why is it taking so long?
By Catherine Morrison
 It’s been over six months since the federal government has had an ethics watchdog in place. The vacancy can not only hold up investigations and allow unethical behaviour to go unnoticed, but it has also raised questions about the appointment process of the next commissioner.

The Government of Canada has been without a conflict-of-interest and ethics commissioner since the winter, following former commissioner Mario Dion’s retirement in February. While the position was briefly filled by Martine Richard, who took on an interim role in April, it is currently vacant as she quickly resigned due to controversy about her family ties to Minister Dominic LeBlanc. The main role of the commissioner is to administer the Conflict of Interest Act for public office holders and the Conflict of Interest Code for members of the House of Commons, in order to “prevent conflicts between private interests and the public duties of appointed and elected officials,” according to the federal government.
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How can you tell summer is almost over?

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We really need to chose our leaders way better than we have been in the last few decades

The problem isn’t “The Government” as an entity, the problem is the people chosen or appointed to lead. We have to find away to choose better leaders with dignity, proven leadership skills, and above all benevolence and integrity with a will to serve the good of all people not just work to get votes by favouring the ones who scream the loudest and want their so called “woke” beliefs (which in many examples out there now is just fascism with a smiling face) to become law, or favouring the ones that line their pockets to further their own agendas.

Here are a couple examples from one day of elected and appointed/hired government officials and authority figures abusing power over fiscal and social responsibility. Those chosen to be in federal provincial and municipal authority MUST do better.

Excerpts from The Ottawa Citizen | Evening Update:

National Defence executives rake in almost $3.5 million in bonuses.


By David Pugliese

National Defence civilian executives were awarded almost $3.5 million in bonuses with one public servant being paid an extra $101,000.

The bonuses cover the period between April 2021 and March 2022, a time that involved the federal government and National Defence responding to the pandemic. But it was also a period marked by ongoing bungled defence procurements, cost overruns in the billions of dollars on equipment programs, and allegations of widespread sexual harassment at the department and in the military.

The bonuses were paid to 252 National Defence executives, according to the documents obtained through the Access to Information law. That means almost all executives in the department received the extra money.


Poster boy for Ottawa by-law and Algonquin college police program secretly filmed women


By Gary Dimmock

Former Ottawa By-law officer Andrew Seangio is the last guy you’d want mentoring young women enrolled in Algonquin College’s police foundations program.

Still, he was literally the poster boy on promotional material for the college and Ottawa By-law, and he was highly recommended by some instructors, particularly when it came to training for physical requirements.

After all, there was a gym at his Ottawa apartment building, and the shower in his unit was always available.

What Seangio didn’t tell the women was that he was secretly filming them in the bathroom as they showered and used the toilet, starting back in 2011.

All sources : https://ottawacitizen.com/

My Advice

Read reputable news sources, look for unbiased journalists and news agencies. They still exist. …You won’t find them on Facebook because fb is not public…it’s a company with shareholders and a goal to make profits from any means possible. ..oh and FB isn’t allowing Canadian News Organizations to Post anymore…unless they pay of course.

My opinion

There’s nothing wrong with trying to make money to support your family and have a better way of life. There’s nothing wrong with standing up for the things you believe in either, just dont do either at the expense of others, ….and, don’t look for guidance in the current administration, they are too busy throwing away your tax dollars and trying to stay in power to line their own pockets way beyond the point of just getting by like most people nowadays because of their bad choices and actions.

By Wil Rosenblath

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Freedom 2022 Convoy Analysis

I have always sought to be a critical thinker, a rationalist, and a free thinker. I look at both sides of every argument. Often I don’t pick sides publicly and I never force my opinions on others. I make my own choice based on scientific data when it applies and rational argument. This is just how I was brought up both by my parents and the school system as it was when I grew up. You analyze without emotion and look at both sides of an argument and you don’t really have to declare a winner, you let the debate, the evidence and the questions it raises resonate with people. If you have ever been in a debate club you will know you often take either side of the argument at random and debate. This gives you a broader perspective; from this perspective, here’s what I came up with for an analysis of the freedom 2022 convoy.


Pros

  • Freedom of speech.
  • Voice of a minority being heard. (Truckers and those opposed to vaccine mandates)
  • Voices lack of confidence in current government of Canada leadership.

Cons

  • Poorly organized.
  • Misplaced protest . (Should have started at the provincial level and gone national if the message wasn’t heard)
  • Morphed into an Anti Justin Trudeau Protest
  • Showed ignorance to established peaceful protest methods
  • Showed ignorance to those that agree with vaccine mandates and the needs of the many
  • Showed an overall ignorance in the writing of demands
  • Disrupted the lives and livelihood of others that are not involved
  • Disrupted an organization that only seeks to ease suffering (Shepherds of good hope)
  • Allowed the spread of a message of hate and allowed other elements of white supremacy to show their ignorance.
  • Showed disrespect to nationally established monuments and ideals that all Canadians hold to be self evident.

I’ve tried to be as fair as I believe possible here and I completely get the point of rebellion. I have often voiced my disdain for the current liberal government and Justin Trudeau many times as well as illiberalist movements and I definitely didn’t vote liberal in the last election. I lean a little left of centre typically, but truthfully my political beliefs don’t fall on the current political spectrum of any one party but incorporates parts of each.

I wouldn’t classify this as a movement or a protest though, I would say it was more of a rebellion or perhaps an insurrection. It certainly wasn’t something that was put forth with peace and good will toward humankind.

I have many friends who are vaccinated and unvaccinated and some vaccinated by mandate only so they could keep their jobs. So far they are all still healthy and surviving and able to pay their bills as far as I know. Some are struggling more than others. They all made their own choices too, because when given a set of rules, you always have the choice. When you make a choice you are responsible for the outcome, no one else. You are the one in control of your own life (Stephen Covey)

I had one friend that worked for the company I work for that chose not to vaccinate. Our company policies regarding covid are in place to protect all that work for our company and state you must be at least double vaccinated. My friends employment was terminated with a very generous severance pay. He wasn’t punished, just given a choice. After he made that choice, the company made sure he would have time to find another job and not suffer any loss of income during his search. I’m sure I may take a lot of criticism from many people I know regarding this analysis, I may even lose some FB friends I really enjoy talking with. That’s their choice, and also the choice I’m making by writing this. …and I am ok taking that responsibility for my choice.

I don’t feel it’s my place to judge personally. That doesn’t mean I can’t have my own opinion. Do things always go the way I want them to?…nope. Do I live with that and enjoy life anyway?…yep.

Be excellent to one another!
Wil

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