Leonard North

War vet made certain kids knew price of freedom

SAINT JOHN - Royal Air Force veteran Leonard North of Grand Bay-Westfield didn't allow his harrowing World War II memories to rob him of his British wit or sense of fun.

    But the much-loved and admired family man, who died April 13 at age 86, made certain his own children - and those in local schools where daughters Pat McCavour and Linda Gaston used to teach - knew all about war.

    "He spoke (to the school kids) about the ugliness of war and, also, that it made a difference because of the freedom and liberty we have today," recalls son-in-law Enos McCavour. "And (he told them) not to forget the veterans and all that they did, and the lives that were lost to defend freedom."

    In his funeral eulogy, North's son Randy recalled the children's response whenever his father would end his talk with, "Now when all the veterans have died, will you remember them?"

    "Oh, yes!" they would shout, in unison.

    Pat McCavour says her father was never prouder than when her sister, Sharon (MacIsaac), enlisted in the Canadian Forces.

    Randy North spoke of growing up in "a home full of possibilities" where he and his sisters - Pat, Linda, Sharon and Bev (Sleigh) - were "challenged to be the best we could be." He also shared wonderful memories of times spent at the family cottage on Belleisle Bay and of a father who, as a Legionnaire and former president of RCAF Club 250 Wing, was the centre of attention wherever he went.

    "(But) his sense of humour is what I treasure the most," he added.

    Those who knew North as Granddad, said Randy, knew him "as a man with an enormous, playful inner child of his own who would play with you and share his curiosity and wonder at life with you."

    Born Sept. 23, 1920 in Tottenham England, Leonard North was a son of the late George and Eliza (Shepherd) North.

    He joined the RAF Volunteer Reserve in 1939 and, following graduation as a Leading Air Craftsman, was given the rank of sergeant and assigned to Pennfield, under the Commonwealth Air Training Plan. He returned to Britain in 1944, where he served with No. 149 Bomber Squadron until the war's end.

    He emigrated to Canada in 1946, working as salesman and repairman for Soulis Typewriter and a saleman for O.H. Pierce Co. before serving 29 years as regional manager of Pitney Bowes Co.

    North had a number of close calls during his military service, says daughter Pat McCavour, including one in which Cpl. North let a complaining corporal named West go on his schedule air test, for which he made extra money.

    "Cpl. West never came back," she says.

    "They found out the airplane had flown into the side of a mountain."

    Eerily, the book North received from his Book of the Month Club a few days later was entitled, From West to North.

    In retirement, North traveled widely with his second wife Gwen, who died in 1993. He and his dog Sandy were constant companions in recent years, making the daily drive to McLaren's Beach for Sandy's run.

SOURCE: New Brunswick Telegraph-Journal (Saint John, NB) - April 25, 2007.