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1251 Simcoe St.
N.,
Oshawa, Ontario
L1G 4X1
905.404.1992
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About Branch #637
The Royal Canadian Legion is a non-profit organization whose purposes
and objectives include: providing support to veterans, ex-service
members and their families; perpetuating the tradition of Remembrance;
and, participating in programs designed to improve Canadians general
quality of life.
Sir William Stephenson Royal Canadian Legion Branch #637, is located at
Simcoe Street N., just south of Taunton Road, in Oshawa Ontario. The Sir
William Stephenson Branch was chartered on May 2, 1989, named to honour
the war hero and master spy who was also known as the ‘Man Called
Intrepid’. The branch houses Sir William Stephenson's medals, which were
generously donated, and a personal telegram granting permission to
honour him in this way.
Badge of
Knighthood
L to R
Order of Canada, Military Cross, Distinguished Flying
Cross, 1914-1915 Star, General Service Medal,
WW1 Victory Medal with MID, Queen Elizabeth II Jubilee Medal, Commander of the Legion of Honour (France),
Croix de Guerrewith Palms (Belgian), Presidential
Medal of Merit (US), Distinguished Service Medal
(US)
Telegram From Sir William
Note From Mrs. Stephenson
On Our Opening
 Sir
William Samuel Stephenson, CC, MC, DFC
(b at Winnipeg, Man 11 Jan 1896;
d in Bermuda
31 Jan 1989)
Sir
William Samuel Stephenson, inventor, businessman, master spy
Born in the Point
Douglas area of Winnipeg, Manitoba, he left school at a
young age. In 1916 he volunteered for the 101st
Battalion (Winnipeg Light Infantry), CEF. He earned a
field promotion to Sergeant and a medal for battling in
the trenches before he turned 19. While recovering from
being gassed in 1916, Stephenson learned to fly and then
transferred to the British Royal Flying Corps on August
16, 1917. Posted to 73 Squadron on February 9, 1918,
Stephenson flew the British Sopwith Camel fighter
biplane and scored twelve victories, among them was
Lothar von Richthofen, the younger brother of the famous
Red Baron, before he was shot down and captured by the
Germans on July 28, 1918.
By the end of
World War I he had achieved the rank of Captain and
earned the Distinguished Flying Cross and the Military
Cross.
Stephenson flew as a fighter pilot in WWI, winning several medals for
bravery. While a student at the University of Manitoba, he invented the
wirephoto and then a radio facsimile method of transmitting pictures
without need of telephone or telegraph wires. He moved to Britain in
1921 to develop and market this invention to newspapers and rapidly
earned a fortune and an entrée to influential political circles in
London. Thus, for example, he served on a royal commission in the 1930s
to plan the development of India's natural resources.
At
the beginning of WWII, Stephenson was placed in charge of British
Security Co-ordination (counterespionage) in the Western Hemisphere,
with headquarters in New York C (where the telegraphic address was
INTREPID - later popularized as Stephenson's code name). His
organization's activities ranged from censoring transatlantic mail,
breaking letter codes (which exposed at least one German spy in the US)
and forging diplomatic documents, to obtaining Vichy French and Italian
military codes, protecting against sabotage of American factories
producing munitions for Britain, and training (at CAMP X, near Oshawa,
Ont) allied agents for surreptitious entry into Nazi-occupied Europe.
Although Stephenson was knighted by King George VI and awarded the US
Medal for Merit, not much was known about his war services until the
publication of H. Montgomery Hyde's The Quiet Canadian (1962).
William Stevenson (no relative to Stephenson) later published 2 books
about him, A Man Called Intrepid (1977) and Intrepid's Last
Case (1983).The novelist Ian Fleming, a
member of his wartime staff, is said to have adopted Stephenson as a
model for the character ‘M’ in the James Bond books.
Service
As
important as our support of veterans and their dependants is, our branch
members find the time and energy to make significant contributions to
our community.
Sir William Stephenson Royal Canadian Legion Branch #637,
support other community based organizations financially, using funds
raised through clubhouse operations, Poppy sales, raffles, events and break open
tickets. Each year, hundreds of thousands of dollars are donated
to other community and service organizations. As well as financial
support, the hall is the main meeting place
for our veterans
and their dependants.
As well as support for others,
Branch #637 operate,
or help to organize and operate many community programs. These include
public safety programs, programs for seniors, transportation, sport and
youth programs.
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Turning over the
keys!
Bill Harris and Vic Shorey hand the keys, the second of two new
vans, to members of the Canadian Cancer Society. The donated vans will be
used to shuttle patients to and from appointments. |
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Bill Benson raised $2160 for the
Canadian Cancer Society, through the sale of his delicious cookies over the last
few months. Mrs. Benson is proud of him, as are we all, and glad she can now get
her kitchen back. |
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2006 President Bill Harris and Poppy Chair Donna Bunting present a $500
donation to the Army Cadets. The Air and Sea Cadets also received equal gifts. |
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The branch supports the Sunnybrook Veterans On The Move
Program. Our annual luncheon is only one of the day trips we host in gratitude
to those who stood for us. |
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Youth Chair Francine Doucette and Past President Bill Harris assign
Public Speaking competitors their numbers at the annual event. Just one of the
many youth oriented programs we sponsor. One of our judges looks on. |
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2008 Public Speaking participants and winners display their
awards at the end of a tough competition. Students from St. John Bosco, Father
Joseph Venini, Beau Valley and Sunset Heights all gave informative, often
entertaining presentations. |
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WHO DID ALL THEY COULD?
JOIN US TODAY!
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