FOCUS - SEPTEMBER 2016 33 FOCUS - NOVEMBER 2017 33 FOCUS - JUNE 2015 3 They used to burn the grasshoppers. And there were frequent dust storms. The Brawns settled near Columbus, Ontario, and that’s where Lloyd met his bride-to-be. A young Lloyd used to help his dad with farming. He remembers thinning the rows of turnips so that the remaining plants would grow bigger. At the age of nine, Lloyd lost a finger due to an accident with a seed drill. For this reason, he was rejected the first time that he tried to enlist. His second attempt was successful, and Lloyd signed up. In the interim, Lloyd worked at a factory in Oshawa which made step stools, and later, parts for wartime vehicles. Lloyd still has another historical treasure: His official Canadian Army Soldier’s Service and Pay Book. “We were supposed to keep it in our breast pocket at all times,” he said. “They didn’t pay us much,” he added. Lloyd says he really enjoyed his time in Holland, which he described as “so clean.” The floor of the cattle barn he visited there, which was at- tached to a house, was as clean as the rug in his apartment, he said. Spotless! The Dutch were very warm and friendly people. March 7, 1944, was the memorable day that Lloyd was discharged and came home to wed his Jennie. Early in their marriage, they lived at a blacksmith’s house in Columbus. Eventually, they settled in Epsom where their only child, daughter Trudy Empringham of Port Perry, went to Epsom Public School. For some 20 years, the former army Jeep driver was on the road again, teaching student drivers through his job with a driving school in Oshawa. He also got into harness racing, and enjoyed travelling all over Ontario. Ironically, the injuries Lloyd has suffered during his lifetime were not war related. A drunk driver caused a car accident which resulted in a leg break. This happened on the way home from a horse race in Orangeville. He also sprained his ankle once, plus he had a hip replace- ment a few years ago. But he was not harmed during World War II, where his main role was driving officers in a Jeep from one country to another. They had a mascot dog, but sadly it was stolen. Although he “heard rifles and gunfire,” Lloyd never saw the front line. “I didn’t get shot at,” Lloyd says. Lloyd’s Soldier’s Service and Pay Book, a book issued to all members of the Active Army upon enlistment. Photo from his scrapbook which said underneath: B 159813 PTE. Brawn, Lloyd Cecil Mar.7/1944 to Aug. 15/1946 Lloyd’s true love, Jennie Bushby who he married in 1944. ...................... Please turn to page 34 Lake Scugog Historical Society Meeting Wednesday November 8, 7:30 pm Guest Speaker: GWEN LAYTON a recognized authority on Lucy Maud Montgomery, speaking about “Lucy and World War One” St. John’s Presbyterian Church, 319 Queen St., Port Perry Please join us ...