: read, and pointing to the dug-out
with the rifle. Fritzie wasn’t dull. He put
up eight fingers and two thumbs, four times,
‘closed both hands, and then held up two
' fingers. “Forty-three, including the sentries.
'] thought, well, I might as well take ‘em
along, because if I don’t, Fritzie will get me
after I pass. So I pointed to a box of hand
grenades standing near the sentry, and then
‘I motioned for him to tell his comrades to
come up, or else. And he understood. He
yelled something in German, I guess it
meant come up and give up. Anyway, up
‘came forty-two Germans, unarmed, and
with their hands reaching. They couldn’t
do anything else. They knew all I had to
do was to drop a few grenades down the
steps, and it was curtains for them. Their
‘sentry had been caught napping, and their
service to the Kaiser was over. I took them
along, and later was awarded the D.C.M.
That’s all there was to it.”

Corporal Soles was awarded a bar to his
medal by exposing himself to heavy fire from
a British tank. The latter, owing to mist
and smoke, had by mistake opened fire on
British troops, and Corporal Soles went out
with his tin hat hoisted on his baynonet,
signalled the tank gunners, and re-directed
their fire.

The third occasion on which Corporal
Soles was decorated was when he was acting
Bs Sergeant-Major of “A” Company. He
had 120 men with him when he staged a
brilliant counter attack on the Germans,
coming out ‘victorious, but with only seven-
teen men and himself left to tell how it was
done.
Back in Canada, Corporal Soles joined
the B. C. Game department in 1922, trans-
ferring in 1928 to the Provincial Police.

“It was a great show, the most realistic

Ihave ever seen,” said Corporal Soles after
briefly detailing his above adventures.

_ “Which one of the three was the best?”
lasked, thinking, of course, he was referring
to his adventures in France.

“Oh, I mean the Sergeant York stuff. 'm

going hack to see it again tomorrow. Those
fellows certainly got the train down as it
looked when I was there, and it makes me
“kind of homesick,” was the answer, and that
was all he would say, except to add that he
is moving his family to Vancouver, and try
to enjoy retirement.

LIKE the boy who saved a Dutch town by
putting his hand into a breach in the dyke,
Peter Phillips, a naval radio rating, by
standing on a leak, helped to save his ship—
and won the Distinguished Service Medal.

Phillips was in a coastal ship in the North
Sea when there was a brush with the enemy.
The ship was holed below the water line.
He got blankets and pillows, stuffed them
into the hole and then stood on them to keep
them in position. His ship still leaking badly,
began to steam back to port—stern first.
For two and a half hours he stood there
with icy water up to his shoulders, while
his mates fed him with steaming cups of
tea to revive him. When the ship reached
port, he had to be lifted on deck as he was
too stiff to move.—The Outpost.

WINTER EDITION

PRESENTATION TO STAFF-SERGEANT
JACK RUSSELL

ON THE evening of November 20th last,
nineteen Provincial police, led by Inspector
“Bob” Owens, “raided” the home of
Staff-Sergeant Jack Russell, 307 Elizabeth
Street, Nanaimo. They found the premises
exceptionally quiet. The “staff”, in smoking
jacket and carpet
slippers, was per-
using, of all things,
a sporting goods
catalogue, and the
page dealt with
fishing rods.

Inspector Owens,
on behalf of the
Island police, pre-
sented Staff - Ser-
geant Russell with
a pertectly bal-
anced Greendrape
split cane fishing
rod, and an Eng-
lish Millward fly
reel. The occasion
was the anniversary
of Jack’s thirtieth year with the force, and
the addition of a sixth star under his three
stripes and Crown. Mrs. Russell was pre-
sented with a bouquet of chrysanthemums
and carnations. Jack said he had always
wanted a fishing rod, and Mrs. Russell
expressed appreciation of the flowers but
said she knew that now she would see but
little of her husband during vacations.

Refreshment, tea, coffee “and” were
served, and the Staff-Sergeant proved his
superiority over the Inspector in a game of
cribbag>. Accompanying the gift was a
long silk ribbon, on which were neatly
typewritten the names of the donors, as
follows:

Victoria: Inspector R. Owens, Sergt. T.
Kennelly, Sergt. C. C. Jacklin, Sergt. Mc-
Naught. and Const. W. A. Jaffray. Duncan
District: Cpl. J. Henry, Const. H. Parsley,
Const. W. W. Deans, Const. R. Ross, and
Const. E. F. McKay.

Nanaimo District: Cpl. J. Howe, Const.
M. Martin, Const. E. Elgie, Const. A. Tan-
nock, Const. A. E. Vickers, Const. T. A.
Stewart, Const. W. L. Healey, Const. D.
Colquhoun, Const. F. D. Avis, Const. F.
J. Walker, Const. G. Brassard, Const. L. P.
Buxton, Const. F. T. Patton, Const. A. E.
Wellens, Game Warden F. Greenfield, and
Magistrate C. H. Beevor-Potts.

Driver's Test Unit: First Clerk A. M.
Bestwick. Highway Patrol: Const. S.
Kendall. West Coast District: Sergt. S.
Service, Const. P. R. Hutchison, Const. H.
Mann, Const. W. J. Lumsden, Const. W. E.
Sarsiat, and Game Warden J. Dewar.

Courtenay: Sergt. A. Fairbairn, Const.
W. H. Davidson, Radio Operator W. J.
Davis, Const. N. Matheson, Const. C. D. J.
Figuerido, and Const. E. Corson. Cumber-
land: Const. J Shepherd. Campbell River:
Const. M. N. MacAlpine, Const. E. Holm,

S/Sgt. J. RUSSELL
In Charge Nanaimo
Police District

Const. D. H. Carroll, and Const. M. Mor-
rison. Alert Bay: Corpl. H. Lashman.

ES

Joining the force in 1912, in Victoria,
Staff-Sergeant Russell was sent to various
points on the Island. He went to Cumber-
land in the troublesome days of the coal
miners strike, and first began to receive
recognition as a coming “diplomat” in ser-
vice by tactful handling of troubles.

At Endako, Burns Lake, and Hazelton on
the Canadian National, Russell served,
being transferred to Ladysmith in 1916. He
went then to Courtenay for a brief time,
then to Duncan. He came to Nanaimo, as
a sergeant, in 1926, and was promoted to
the rank of staff-sergeant.

For sixteen years he has been head of
police affairs in Nanaimo. He has made an
enviable record, that of being popular with
the public and with those who guide the
police affairs of the province. As a court
prosecutor, Sergeant Russell has made a
name for himself which has practically
eliminated the necessity of the department
hiring a lawyer to conduct prosecutions in
minor, and some major cases.

SPOT THE GENTLEMEN

“HE was not only a crackpot, but he
couldn't put paper up straight. I saw some
of his jobs. They were terrible.” This is
the view of an Austrian paper-hanger (now
in New York) who belonged to the same
Austrian Paper-hangers Union as Hitler.

This one is not so easy. This man’s record
included terms of imprisonment for the
following offences: “Stopping the tramways
by violence, damaging the telephone lines,
causing personal injuries to public servants,
placing a telegraph pole across the railway
line.” He took part in these and many other
crimes in the year 1911 as a protest against
the Italian conquest of Libya ... his name
is Benito Mussolini.

B. C. POLICEMAN GETS D.F.C.

The many friends of ex-con-
stable Jack McDonald (Headquar-
ters Motor Branch) were pleased
to hear in November that he had
been awarded the Distinguished
Flying Cross.

McDonald joined the

Const.
R.C.A.F. in February, 1941, and
since landing in Britain has par-
ticipated in many bombing raids
over enemy territory. His parents
reside in Victoria.

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