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Padre won two Military Crosses
The Presbyterian minister served continuously with a frontline infantry battalion from D-Day to VE-Day
By ALLISON LAWLOR
Special to The Globe and Mail
Thursday, Mar. 11, 2004
Decorated with two Military Crosses for his bravery during the Second World War, Lieutenant-Colonel Rev. John (Jock) Anderson skirted enemy fire to bring wounded soldiers to safety, blessed and gave comfort to the injured, and saw that the dead received proper burial.
A Scottish-born Presbyterian chaplain in the Highland Light Infantry‘s 3rd Division, Rev. Anderson served continuously with a frontline infantry battalion from D-Day through to VE-Day. He died in January in Oakville, Ont., less than three weeks shy of his 91st birthday.
On a fall day in 1939, Mr. Anderson rushed down to the Armouries in downtown Toronto from Knox College, where he was a theology student, to enlist with the 48th Highlanders. "Go back to school," the recruiters said. "If it‘s a long war, we‘ll need you later."
Taking their advice, he finished his studies in 1941 -- the same year he married Helen McMorran, a young woman from London, Ont., with whom he had three children. Mr. Anderson took his first job as a minister at a church in Port Elgin, Ont., but in 1942, after the disaster at Dieppe, he left to join the war effort. He was assigned to the Highland Light Infantry of Canada.
"He always said that he was very fortunate he ended up with the HI [Highland Infantry]," said his son John Anderson. "It suited his character. It was a perfect fit."
In 1994, Mr. Anderson told CTV‘s Canada AM. "Being a Presbyterian minister, I believe in predestination. And I believe it was predestined that I should go to the Highland Light Infantry and do the job I did. I never felt more strong in feeling ‘I‘m doing what I should be doing‘ as I did during that time."
Decades after the war, Mr. Anderson still never forgot the men he served with and those who didn‘t return home. In an interview with Toronto Star columnist George Gamester three years ago, Mr. Anderson recalled Bruce Zimmerman, a young man from Kitchener, Ont., who went on to become a lieutenant. After crossing the Rhine River, the two men found themselves in adjacent trenches.
"Padre, did I tell you I got married when I was home?" Mr. Zimmerman said.
"Why, that‘s wonderful, Bruce. Congratulations."
"Thank you. Now, there‘s something else."
"What is it, Bruce?"
"This is my first battle. And I believe it will be my last. If I don‘t make it, I want you to take my wedding ring and get it back to my wife."
Hours later, Lieut. Zimmerman died and the chaplain removed the gold band from his finger. It was March 26, 1945, just weeks before the war in Europe was over. Back in Canada, Mr. Anderson would return it to the man‘s heartbroken bride.
Mr. Anderson also told a story about Gordon Sim, a schoolteacher who played the accordion. One day, Mr. Sim took the padre aside: "I have a feeling my time is up," he said. "When it happens, I want you to promise me something. I want you to get a piper for the burial. And I want him to play my favourite tune: Mist Covered Mountain."
Major Sim died days later in enemy fire. After retrieving the body, Mr. Anderson arranged a procession and burial in an open field during a lull in the fighting.
He later learned that as the piper played Mist Covered Mountain, he and other members of Maj. Sim‘s company had been within sight of enemy guns. "They could have mowed us down," he once reflected. "Strange business, war."
It was at such moments that Mr. Anderson gained the admiration of his men.
"He was a very, very courageous man," said fellow veteran Melvyn Thurgood, who met Mr. Anderson while both were posted in Dundurn, Sask., just after the war. "We hoped we could be men like Jock Anderson."
On the battlefield, the soldiers looked up to the padres, said Mr. Thurgood, who served with the Seaforth Highlanders. "Our padres were really the guts of the troops."
Born in Edinburgh on Feb. 8, 1913, Mr. Anderson was the second of five children born to Walter and Margaret Anderson. In 1927, Walter Anderson brought the family to Canada, where he found work in Niagara Falls as a stationary engineer. Only 14 years old when he arrived in the new country, young Jock Anderson nonetheless set out to find work. He worked odd jobs and for a time was a delivery boy at a local grocer. He also became involved in the local Presbyterian church, where the minister encouraged him to further his studies. He did. After graduating from the University of Western Ontario, he went on to Knox College in Toronto to pursue his theology studies.
After the war, Mr. Anderson returned to Canada and was demobilized in 1947. He took over the ministry of the Presbyterian Church in Acton, Ont. But not long after, he re-enlisted in the Canadian Army and was posted to the Canadian west to serve as a chaplain with the Princess Patricia‘s Canadian Light Infantry. During an exercise to learn how to jump from a plane, he severely injured his leg. The injury prevented him from serving in the Korean War. By the time he arrived in Korea, the war was over, so he spent his time building an orphanage and doing other humanitarian work.
Mr. Anderson later had postings in Montreal, the Royal Military College in Kingston and eventually Oakville, a then-quaint town a 30-minute drive from downtown Toronto, where he remained until his retirement in 1967. After leaving the military, he worked for a few years as a probation officer and also became very involved with a local church.
On the 45th anniversary of D-Day, Mr. Anderson, along with other Canadian veterans, returned to the Canadian graves in France to honour the fallen soldiers. Marking the 50th anniversary of VE-Day on May 8, 1995, he spoke on CBC‘s The National. He recalled hearing Sir Winston Churchill on the radio telling them the war was over. "I can‘t remember people being jubilant and cheering. . . . We were just so fed up of it all. We were all tired," Mr. Anderson said.
He went on to say: "VE-Day, while it‘s for rejoicing, to me it‘s also a day of sadness. I think of all those many fine young chaps I buried in that cemetery . . . down there in Normandy, or down the banks of a dike, down there in the shore, or there in Germany."
Mr. Anderson spent the last years of his life as a widower living alone in his home overlooking Lake Ontario. His wife died in 1995 after suffering from Alzheimer‘s disease. From his window, he liked to watch the waves on the lake and to chase geese on his lawn. His grandchildren were frequent guests.
Jock Anderson died on Jan. 20 in his home. He lapsed into a coma the day before he died, said his son John. He leaves his children Margaret-Jean, Barbara and John; and brothers Walter and Douglas.
The Presbyterian minister served continuously with a frontline infantry battalion from D-Day to VE-Day
By ALLISON LAWLOR
Special to The Globe and Mail
Thursday, Mar. 11, 2004
Decorated with two Military Crosses for his bravery during the Second World War, Lieutenant-Colonel Rev. John (Jock) Anderson skirted enemy fire to bring wounded soldiers to safety, blessed and gave comfort to the injured, and saw that the dead received proper burial.
A Scottish-born Presbyterian chaplain in the Highland Light Infantry‘s 3rd Division, Rev. Anderson served continuously with a frontline infantry battalion from D-Day through to VE-Day. He died in January in Oakville, Ont., less than three weeks shy of his 91st birthday.
On a fall day in 1939, Mr. Anderson rushed down to the Armouries in downtown Toronto from Knox College, where he was a theology student, to enlist with the 48th Highlanders. "Go back to school," the recruiters said. "If it‘s a long war, we‘ll need you later."
Taking their advice, he finished his studies in 1941 -- the same year he married Helen McMorran, a young woman from London, Ont., with whom he had three children. Mr. Anderson took his first job as a minister at a church in Port Elgin, Ont., but in 1942, after the disaster at Dieppe, he left to join the war effort. He was assigned to the Highland Light Infantry of Canada.
"He always said that he was very fortunate he ended up with the HI [Highland Infantry]," said his son John Anderson. "It suited his character. It was a perfect fit."
In 1994, Mr. Anderson told CTV‘s Canada AM. "Being a Presbyterian minister, I believe in predestination. And I believe it was predestined that I should go to the Highland Light Infantry and do the job I did. I never felt more strong in feeling ‘I‘m doing what I should be doing‘ as I did during that time."
Decades after the war, Mr. Anderson still never forgot the men he served with and those who didn‘t return home. In an interview with Toronto Star columnist George Gamester three years ago, Mr. Anderson recalled Bruce Zimmerman, a young man from Kitchener, Ont., who went on to become a lieutenant. After crossing the Rhine River, the two men found themselves in adjacent trenches.
"Padre, did I tell you I got married when I was home?" Mr. Zimmerman said.
"Why, that‘s wonderful, Bruce. Congratulations."
"Thank you. Now, there‘s something else."
"What is it, Bruce?"
"This is my first battle. And I believe it will be my last. If I don‘t make it, I want you to take my wedding ring and get it back to my wife."
Hours later, Lieut. Zimmerman died and the chaplain removed the gold band from his finger. It was March 26, 1945, just weeks before the war in Europe was over. Back in Canada, Mr. Anderson would return it to the man‘s heartbroken bride.
Mr. Anderson also told a story about Gordon Sim, a schoolteacher who played the accordion. One day, Mr. Sim took the padre aside: "I have a feeling my time is up," he said. "When it happens, I want you to promise me something. I want you to get a piper for the burial. And I want him to play my favourite tune: Mist Covered Mountain."
Major Sim died days later in enemy fire. After retrieving the body, Mr. Anderson arranged a procession and burial in an open field during a lull in the fighting.
He later learned that as the piper played Mist Covered Mountain, he and other members of Maj. Sim‘s company had been within sight of enemy guns. "They could have mowed us down," he once reflected. "Strange business, war."
It was at such moments that Mr. Anderson gained the admiration of his men.
"He was a very, very courageous man," said fellow veteran Melvyn Thurgood, who met Mr. Anderson while both were posted in Dundurn, Sask., just after the war. "We hoped we could be men like Jock Anderson."
On the battlefield, the soldiers looked up to the padres, said Mr. Thurgood, who served with the Seaforth Highlanders. "Our padres were really the guts of the troops."
Born in Edinburgh on Feb. 8, 1913, Mr. Anderson was the second of five children born to Walter and Margaret Anderson. In 1927, Walter Anderson brought the family to Canada, where he found work in Niagara Falls as a stationary engineer. Only 14 years old when he arrived in the new country, young Jock Anderson nonetheless set out to find work. He worked odd jobs and for a time was a delivery boy at a local grocer. He also became involved in the local Presbyterian church, where the minister encouraged him to further his studies. He did. After graduating from the University of Western Ontario, he went on to Knox College in Toronto to pursue his theology studies.
After the war, Mr. Anderson returned to Canada and was demobilized in 1947. He took over the ministry of the Presbyterian Church in Acton, Ont. But not long after, he re-enlisted in the Canadian Army and was posted to the Canadian west to serve as a chaplain with the Princess Patricia‘s Canadian Light Infantry. During an exercise to learn how to jump from a plane, he severely injured his leg. The injury prevented him from serving in the Korean War. By the time he arrived in Korea, the war was over, so he spent his time building an orphanage and doing other humanitarian work.
Mr. Anderson later had postings in Montreal, the Royal Military College in Kingston and eventually Oakville, a then-quaint town a 30-minute drive from downtown Toronto, where he remained until his retirement in 1967. After leaving the military, he worked for a few years as a probation officer and also became very involved with a local church.
On the 45th anniversary of D-Day, Mr. Anderson, along with other Canadian veterans, returned to the Canadian graves in France to honour the fallen soldiers. Marking the 50th anniversary of VE-Day on May 8, 1995, he spoke on CBC‘s The National. He recalled hearing Sir Winston Churchill on the radio telling them the war was over. "I can‘t remember people being jubilant and cheering. . . . We were just so fed up of it all. We were all tired," Mr. Anderson said.
He went on to say: "VE-Day, while it‘s for rejoicing, to me it‘s also a day of sadness. I think of all those many fine young chaps I buried in that cemetery . . . down there in Normandy, or down the banks of a dike, down there in the shore, or there in Germany."
Mr. Anderson spent the last years of his life as a widower living alone in his home overlooking Lake Ontario. His wife died in 1995 after suffering from Alzheimer‘s disease. From his window, he liked to watch the waves on the lake and to chase geese on his lawn. His grandchildren were frequent guests.
Jock Anderson died on Jan. 20 in his home. He lapsed into a coma the day before he died, said his son John. He leaves his children Margaret-Jean, Barbara and John; and brothers Walter and Douglas.
