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6 Friday, October 22, 2021brooklintowncrier.com On Oct. 7, Stewart Bray turned 100. A resident of the Court at Brooklin, Bray had the Legion's Colour Guard attend along with various dignitaries. The Royal Hamilton Light Infantry online magazine "The Riley" wrote this about him in last June's issue: "He went overseas in World War 2 and saw extensive combat until a wound sent him home in 1945. Corporal Stewart Bray is one of only two known wartime Rileys remaining with us. He joined the army on January 20th, 1943 and was posted to the RHLI in February, 1944. "I was farming before the war," Mr. Bray told The Riley. "We had five farms in what is now the north end of Oshawa. My son still farms part of one today. "We landed July 1st, 1944. We landed on the Mulberry artificial harbour - we didn't even get our feet wet! I was with 16 Platoon, in "D" Company." His first battle was Verrières Ridge, attacking entrenched German forces that had already repelled numerous assaults, causing huge Canadian casualties. "Man, did they ever paste us with artillery fire! But we went 4 or 5 miles, right through the German lines." His platoon dug in just south of an old church. "It was sure hard digging in that shale rock!" he said. The Rileys held on for a week, and gained the reputation of never giving ground, once taken, thanks to the efforts of Bray and his fellow soldiers. After Verrières, the Rileys, along with most of the Canadian Army, were shifted all over northwestern Europe. "I think I walked halfway across France!" Mr. Wray joked, but added how much they liked it when they got a "lift" in the Kangaroos. He was on foot when his war ended. "Near Bruges, around Dunkirk, I got it," Mr. Bray recounted. "14 guys were ahead of me in a field, about 3 a.m., and BANG! - I got it. Land mine. It wounded the guy in front of me too." He noted that of the platoon he landed with, only six were left when he got wounded. He was sent back to the UK for treatment for his shattered right foot, then Canada, and he was discharged in June, 1945. He was granted a 35% pension for his injuries. "My first cheque was for $26.35," he noted. Post-war, he has made three trips back to France, the last being in 2000 when the RHLI plaques at Woensdrecht and Verrières Ridge were dedicated. He's there in the photos, with comrades old and new. Mr. Bray farmed in Raglan but also worked at GM in Oshawa. He and his wife June, whom he met in hospital in September 1945 while being treated for arthritis, raised seven children. A 100th Birthday for Brooklin Court War Vet