55 www.on.legion.ca ONTARIO COMMAND BUMSTEAD, Samuel Freeman Nelson Nelson was born in Waverley, Ontario on August 14, 1910, the son of Oliver and Harriet (James) Bumstead. He was raised on a farm and, before he enlisted, worked for some time as a farm hand, in shipbuilding yards, and in a flooring factory. DuringWorldWar II, he enrolled in the CanadianArmy (Regular Force) on January 28, 1942. Private Bumstead first joined the artillery but later transferred to the infantry with the Black Watch (Royal Highland Regiment) of Canada. He served in the United Kingdom and Continental Europe. He suffered light wounds to his arm and leg on September 15, 1944, but returned to service after recovering. By the end of the war, he had reached the rank of sergeant. Upon demobilization, Nelson was discharged from the Army on March 29, 1946. He married Florence Blanche (Moreau) and settled with his family in the area of Midland, Ontario. He was a member of The Royal Canadian Legion Coldwater Branch 270 where he served as Branch President in 1962. Nelson passed away on June 29, 1971, at the age of sixty. He is buried at Lakeview Cemetery in Midland. BURGESS, Charles Walter “Charlie” Charles, the son of William and Annie Burgess, was born in Toronto in 1922. Known as Charlie, he enlisted in the Army (Regular Force) in Toronto on May 21, 1942, and took basic training at Camp Borden, ON. Overseas, Charlie served with the Royal Canadian Ordnance Corps. By 1943, he was in the Mediterranean serving in Sicily and Italy. One of his favorite stories was of him and his comrades coming across an Italian man riding a donkey, while his pregnant wife walked behind. They ordered him off the donkey, lifted the wife onto the donkey with a warning that he was to continue in that manner. In February 1945, his unit was in northwest Europe. Charlie volunteered to stay on after the war to help with the reconstruction. Charlie appreciated the packages he received from the ladies of the Erin Township Red Cross. Repatriated to Canada in the spring of 1946 and discharged as Sgt. Charles Burgess on September 15, 1946. Returning to civilian life, Charlie married and moved to Chatham, Ontario where he joined The Royal Canadian Legion in 1964. He was a member for 24 years. Charles passed away in Chatham on January 17, 1988. BURCHELL, Fred William Fred was born in Ridgetown, Ontario on September 29, 1889. At the age of 21, he moved to Brussels as a telephone lineman and mechanic. He enlisted in the Army (Regular Force) with the 161st Battalion on January 6, 1916, and went overseas to England at the end of 1916. He was promoted to Corporal and then Company Sergeant Major and served at Dibgate Camp, Kent; Bramshot Military Camp, Hampshire; and Witley Camp, Surrey finishing service at Kimmel Park Concentration Camp. He was declared medically unfit and discharged on May 9, 1919. Fred was married to Margaret Aileen Scott and had a family of five. He became interested in municipal politics and served as Mayor of Perth, Ontario from 1944 to 1946 and ran in a provincial election in Lanark County but was defeated. He was killed in a car accident on July 17, 1952. Fred Burchell was a charter member of The Royal Canadian Legion Brussels Branch 218 and was President in 1931-32. He also served as President of Branch 244 in Perth, Ontario from 1947 to 1950.
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