Posted by Robert Mackenzie, 6 February 2010 at 10:33
I was Arthur Powell's letter-carrier for many years. He was a great, old gent living with his sweet wife in a tiny house on Weston Street in London, Ontario. He drove around in an old Nova with a "Go Navy!" bumper sticker.
I went over there on some of my days off and had Mr. Powell show me the "gong" he received for what he called "The Exploit".
He was so cool and so was she. He loaned me an old copy of Reader's Digest with a story of the attack on the U-boat. I was hesitant to borrow the book, but Mrs. Powell assured me that he had quite a few copies stashed away. I gather that there was a R.C.N recruiting poster made depicting the event. At a time when we were losing all over this had to be a great victory.
Mr. Powell had all of the clippings of his return to Halifax and we spent some great hours looking them over.
Sadly he passed away many years ago after years of bad health and some amputations.
When I sat with Arthur Powell I had the feeling that I was in the presence of a real hero. I also knew that if we ever got into a scrap I was done. I can only imagine what a formidable man he must have been in 1942!
Your truly,
Robert D. Mackenzie
Posted by Kurt Powell, 24 May 2016 at 16:02
Hi Robert! I am Arthurs great nephew and I am working on the Powell family tree. Could you email me?
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I was Arthur Powell's letter-carrier for many years. He was a great, old gent living with his sweet wife in a tiny house on Weston Street in London, Ontario. He drove around in an old Nova with a "Go Navy!" bumper sticker. I went over there on some of my days off and had Mr. Powell show me the "gong" he received for what he called "The Exploit". He was so cool and so was she. He loaned me an old copy of Reader's Digest with a story of the attack on the U-boat. I was hesitant to borrow the book, but Mrs. Powell assured me that he had quite a few copies stashed away. I gather that there was a R.C.N recruiting poster made depicting the event. At a time when we were losing all over this had to be a great victory. Mr. Powell had all of the clippings of his return to Halifax and we spent some great hours looking them over. Sadly he passed away many years ago after years of bad health and some amputations. When I sat with Arthur Powell I had the feeling that I was in the presence of a real hero. I also knew that if we ever got into a scrap I was done. I can only imagine what a formidable man he must have been in 1942! Your truly, Robert D. Mackenzie
Hi Robert! I am Arthurs great nephew and I am working on the Powell family tree. Could you email me?