Wednesday June 13, 2001 THE OAKVILLE BEAVER B1 JLL* J (90S ) 8 4 2 -7 7 3 3 w w w .lcyoga.com Hf.AL THY BODY III A l IIIY MINP OFFICIAL MEDIA SPONSOR OF THE OAKVILLE WATERFRONT FESTIVAL Focus 4 Oak^CHe/ W ccterfront FettlHciL FOURTH LINE AUTO GOODYEAR For All Your Car's Needs Drive Clean Emission Testing Government Safety Inspection Tune-Ups · Brakes · Exhaust · Cooling Systems C A A Approved Shop 559 Speers Road (905 ) 842-3001 Oakville Beaver Focus Editor: WILMA BLOKHUIS 845-3824 Ext: 250; Fax: 337-5567; Email: blokhuis@haltonsearch.com Lost at sea Precious negatives survive By Christina Chabot SPECIAL TO THE BEAVER or guests attending * the D-Day reception at the Oakville K Museum on .M . Wednesday evening, it was a night to hear naval war stories and watch a moving documentary about the HMCS Athabaskan. For Ed Stewart, it was a night to honour the brother he lost. "The legacy lives, and you're going to see it," said Stewart, presenting the one-hour docu mentary that was recently aired on the History Channel. The 72-year-old graphics designer has spent half a century collecting and compiling pho tographs, letters and other mem orabilia from his older brother Bill's collection before the ship's tragic end five miles off the coast of France. The fruit of his labour is a book, Unlucky Lady, co-written with Len Burrow, who also lost a brother on the ship. "This book wouldn't be sur passed regarding life on a Canadian warship in World War II," states Stewart, pointing out the black-and-white photographs, a chosen few from the hundreds in his collection. A tribute to the young Canadians lost, the bound book took a decade to complete, and was first published in 1982. "Len would say `keep the faith' every time he left during the making of the book," said Stewart, relating that there were many times when their efforts seemed futile. But the end product was worth their toil, says Stewart. "This is really a memorial, not a naval history or novel," he emphasizes, saying he always had a "funny feeling" about the fete of his brother's photographs. B j "Why did the negatives not go down with the ship?" The question remains unan swered, but the photographs cut to the heart of readers, vivid por trayals of a young man's life in the navy. "He was my mentor," recounts Stewart of his older brother. "The exciting brother .. . he had a dark room in the base ment, he painted, he had lots of girlfriends . . . the kind of guy you'd take home and introduce to your sister." Lost in the sinking of the Athabaskan on April 29, 1944, Bill was one of 128 men who never returned from the frigid waters of the English Channel. The documentary relates their lives and deaths, from the Commanding Officer to the ship's cat, Ginger. Wayne Abbot, the producer/director of the film, was originally commissioned to do a documentary on the Athabaskan's sister ship, the HMCS Haida. According to Stewart, Abbott decided there was "more to the story." "War documentaries tend to be so dry," says Stewart, who acted as a consultant and con tributed his photographs to the film. "You wouldn't believe the people that have come out of the weeds since the making of this documentary." Only 60 days before D-Day, the vessel's stem was tom off by a German torpedo, followed by a second explosion that rained flaming oil on the crew members and severely crippled the ship, causing it to slip below the waves. "It's a nightmare for the sur vivor," states Stewart, who was only a teen when the war broke out, but has spoken with several former Athabaskans. "They're still living it, the nightmare of the ship. Death at sea - there Bill Stewart, who served aboard the ill-fated HMCS Athabaskan during World War II, is shown third from left in this casual photograph of army life during World War II. AT RIGHT, the cover of Unlucky Lady. ain't nothing like it." After the sinking, sister ship HMCS Haida returned to rescue the survivors, but left before dawn for fear of being discov ered. The 83 remaining crew members drifted in the Atlantic until morning, when they were discovered by a German ship. They were taken prisoners of war and placed in solitary con finement for six weeks, until the camp was liberated by a Scottish army. The bodies of those not res cued now rest in nine cemeteries along the Brittany Coast, and the local people still visit today to honour them for their sacrifice. "Bill - we're even," says Stewart, remarking that he has spent the last 50 years "immersed" in the history of the Athabaskan. His brother was never identified, and lies in one of the unknown tombs along the coast of the channel. An exhibit on the soldiers who fought in both World Wars can be viewed at the Oakville Museum, at 6 Navy St. YOU ARE INVITED TO The BodyShaping Fitness Studio ForWomen. As a Proud sponsor of Burlington's Dirk Gebhardt Maria Kinlough Maria and Dirk have created Oakville's most exciting fitness studio for women It's a sparkling, brand new, 10,000 sq.ft., state-of-the-art facility, featuring; cardio theatre strength machines stretching area fitness classes personal training weight management massage therapy fully equipped free-weight area private showers towel service individual make-up vanities relaxing hot tub and sauna plenty of fiee parking The Kids Club - a fantastic naturally lit child minding centre (ECE supervised) visit our healthy cuisine bistro accented by our tranquil fountain S a tu rd a y Ju n t 1 6 tn Sunday Ju n t 1 7 th ju st east of Brant Street Burlington Z1U 9 L A K E S H O R E R D you're invited to stop by and relax with FREE Ice Creamf Ice Tea, Lemonade & Popcorn Saturday & Sunday - the kids will be entertained by our clown from 12-4pm with face painting and animal balloons & on Sunday enjoy the sounds of Tribute our barbershop Quartet from 2-4pm /A A p V OJ / " / / J / 4 ? "1 " 7 We've researched every equipment manufacturer in North Amenca and Europe and chose the very best, from each, to accommodate a womans body. Your needs are our priority. For more information please call (905) 849-1919 183 Lakeshore Road West, Oakville, Ontario L6K 1E7 (Between Kerr St. & Dorval Dr.) MARTHA'S LANDING