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Royal
Canadian Navy
March 1943 - March 1946
Ted
was born Sept. 12, 1924 the second son of Villiers Henry &
Ada Estelle (Stella Morgan) Durnford in West Hill, Scarborough,
Ontario. He married Norma Lea, Sept. 26, 1953. During World War
II, Ted joined the Royal Canadian Navy in March 1943 in Toronto.
He was transferred to Edmonton, Alberta where he received Electrical
training. After a period he was transferred to Windsor, Ontario
where he received mechanical training. He was shipped across the
Atlantic to Scotland where he was assigned to the Canadian ship
HMCS Stormont. Their particular assignment was to patrol the North-East
Atlantic with four other ships looking for German submarines.
In late 1944 they escorted a convoy of merchant ships to Murmansk,
Russia. Their ship was also under heavy German mortar fire from
shore and was shelled off the coast of Bordeaux, France. Ted was
a Petty Officer (Electrical Artificer). He was discharged in March,
1946.
An
interesting side note was that HMCS Stormont was de-commissioned
and sold after the war. The ship was purchased by a Greek, named
Aristotle Onassis, who converted the ship into his personal yacht. |
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Royal
Navy, Canadian Merchant Marines
& Canadian Coast Guard
1943 - 1978
Fred
Durnford was born in July 12, 1916 in Rencontre West, Newfoundland.
He was the oldest son of John Matt and Olive (Skinner) Durnford.
During WWI he was a seaman in the Royal Navy stationed in Portsmouth,
England. In 1943 he was on leave in London when the building he
was in was bombed. Consequently, he was buried under a pot-bellied
stove he had been standing next too and suffered burns to his
right hand, arm and face. He suffered through almost a 100 operations
at East Grinstead Hospital. He met his first wife, Doris Bulbrook
at the East Grinstead Hospital where she was a nurse working for
the Royal Navy. After the war he was the skipper of the south
coastal hospital ship in Newfoundland. Later, in the 1950s he
was the skipper a number of Great Lake merchant ships home ported
in Montreal. In the 1970s he worked for the Canadian Coast Guard.
His last duty was that as the relief skipper on the CCGS Simcoe
and CCGS Griffen. He was weeks away from retirement from the coast
guard when he passed away in 1978.
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Royal
Canadian Air Force (retired)
1968-1996
Born
in St. John's, Newfoundland in 1946, he is the oldest son of Capt.
Fred and Doris (Bulbrook) Durnford. He was raised in Rencontre
West, Newfoundland, Montreal, Quebec, and Brockville, Ontario
before joining the Canadian Air Force upon his graduation from
high school. He has been stationed in Toronto, ON; Moosonee, ON;
Goose Bay, Labrador, northern Alberta; Comox, BC; and finally
in CFB Greenwood, NS where he retired.
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United
States Navy (retired)
March 1983 - Sept 2004
Cynde Durnford-Branecki was born
in Montreal, Quebec in 1958. She is the youngest daughter of Capt.
Fred and Doris (Bulbrook) Durnford. Due to her parent's divorce
when she was a baby, she lived in both in Brockville, Ontario
with her father, and Southern Florida with her mother. After spending
her high school years in Brockville, she returned to Florida.
At the age of 25, although still a Canadian citizen, she joined
the US Navy. After four years active duty, she transferred to
the active reserves and retired after 21 years.
Served:
Naval Training Center, Great Lakes, IL; USS Fulton (AS-11) Site,
Groton, CT; Naval Submarine Support Facility, Groton, CT; USS
L.Y. Spear (AS-36), Norfolk, VA; Portsmouth Naval Hospital (activated
for Operation Desert Storm); Cargo Handling Battalion 10, Williamsburg,
VA; Afloat Training Group, San Diego, CA; Naval Reserve Security
Force; San Diego, CA. |
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Canadian Armed Forces–Navy (veteran)
Radar Plotter/Tech
1973-1980 |
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United
States Marine Corps (retired)
Colonel
Dewey F. Durnford Jr. U.S. Marine Corps, veteran of WW II, Korea
and Vietnam. A fighter ace with 7 victories and holder of the
following awards: Legion of Merit with Combat V, Distinguished
Flying Cross (4 awards), Air Medal (10 awards) and numerous unit
and campaign awards. Graduate of North High School, 1941 and the
University of Maryland, 1958. Raised in Columbus, OH. Col. Durnford
served in the U.S. Marine Corps for 29 years. |
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CDR
Harley James Higgens
United
States Navy (retired)
1942-1977
Harley started
out enlisted as in AS in 1942 and by 1944 was advanced to Chief
with permanent appointment in 1945. He was made Warrant Officer
in 1937 then was advance to Chief Warrant Officer and then advance
to Ensign. In 1957 he was detailed to handle President Eisenhower's
communications when he went to Bermuda on the USS Canberra and
received a letter from Eisenhower commending him for an excellent
job. He also handled the communications for the selection of the
unknown soldier from the Korean War and the burial at sea of the
two that were not selected. Harley spent four years on CINCPACFLT
staff during the Vietnam War, the ACOS at COMNAVFORKOREA. The
last four years before retirement were spent in the Joint Chiefs
of Staff. He was awarded the Legion of Merit twice and the Meritorious
Service Medal together with the Joint Service Commendation Medal.
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