| Notes |
- Burial: Tillsonburg Cemetery
Rouse, Edward A. 1923 - 1995
"Together Forever"
The front page of the July 27, 1944 edition of The Tillsonburg News:
far right of the page is a picture and short entry about Edward, a member of the Royal Canadian Navy, who was taken as a German prisoner of war after the sinking of his ship, the HMCS Athabaskan, on April 29, 1944.
At the time the destroyer Athabaskan was sunk, Edward was helping convoy supplies and troop ships to Russia. The ship sank in the English Channel after engaging with German destroyers and being torpedoed. Many of the seaman who went into the water that cold April day were rescued within 15 minutes of the sinking by the Athabaskan's sister ship the Haida, whose crew risked their own safety to pluck as many survivors from the water as possible. Edward, however, wasn't among those rescued by the Haida, and though he had all but given up hope of survival, was saved from the icy water by a German ship. Ed was a stoker on the Athabaskan.
According to Ruth (Ed's wife), the ship's captain went against orders and stopped to pick up remaining survivors. Once on board, said Ruth, the soldiers, near exhaustion, were cleaned and showered by the Germans. They were then transported to a prisoner of war camp near Bremen, Germany, where they would spend the next year of their lives.
Life in the prison camp was anything but luxurious. The walls of the camp were high and covered in barbed wire, and signs informed would-be escapees that they would be shot without hesitation if they tried to make a run for it. Soldiers in the camp were subjected to lengthy and strenuous exercise, said Ruth, and some died of exhaustion because of it. Those who survived the persistent exercise lived on minimal food.
Edward survived and made his way home after the war, where he met Ruth and they were married.
Edward suffered many nightmares from his war experiences. He sought help from a psychiatrist when he was 62 years. Following his retirement, Ed's health deteriorated rapidly; he became sedentary, and at times, wouldn't eat. Doctors tested him for numerous diseases and conditions, they could find nothing wrong. Edward died at the age of 72, and his wife Ruth feels the memories of war killed him.
Excerpt from The Tillsonburg Independence News, Monday, Nov 13, 2000, page 4
Notes from Ashley Rouse, January 2010 - Grand Son
Edward joined the Navy and served aboard HMCS Athabascan. His ship participated in convoys across the Atlantic and up to Murmansk, Russia. The ship was torpedoed and sunk in the English Channel, but my Grandfather was plucked from the water by German Sailors. He spent almost a year in a P.O.W. camp in Germany before returning home to Tillsonburg at the end of the war. He was an electrician who worked for hydro
|
My Scottish "Wilkie" Family
1923 - 1995 (71 years)