Arthur William Peers

1939-1945 Star, Atlantic Star, Canadian Volunteer Service Medal (CVSM) and Clasp, 1939-45 War Medal

Royal Canadian Navy

WW II

Arthur William Peers was born 21 March 1923 to Arthur George Withers and Eva Beatrice (Best) Peers in Dauphin, Manitoba. He grew up with his two sisters Celia and Freda and attended school in the community in which he was born. As a teenager he worked at the Gay Theater in Dauphine as a projectionist.

Art joined the Royal Canadian Navy in 1942 at age 19 and was known to his peers as Sea Biscuit. He served on HMCS Magog, a River Class Frigate that was assigned to convoy escort in the North Atlantic, along the eastern coast of Canada and the U.S. At 1925 hrs 14 October 1944, while in the Gulf of St. Lawrence, they were torpedoed by U-Boat U1223. The Magog lost 65 feet off its stern, nearly 1/4th of its 283-foot length. Fortunately, of the ships company there were only 6 casualties, 3 killed and 3 injured. HMCS Magog did not sink and was towed to safety and later declared as being unrepairable. Sea Biscuit was transferred to the HMCS Waskisui, another River Class Frigate also assigned to convoy escort duty and the search for U-Boats until VE Day 08 May 1945, He was discharged 24 August 1945.

After his RCN service Art got employment with the Manitoba Power Commission (MPC), later Manitoba Hydro and in 1949 met and married Anne Dyck. They moved to Manitou Manitoba in 1951 where he was a lineman and became the Assistant District Supervisor for MPC. He and Anne had 5 children Lorraine, Judi, Arthur, Rick and Thomas and in May 1966 Anne passed away.

In 1969 Art was transferred to Morden where he worked with hot line tools as a lineman and later changed his job to bucket truck operator, the first in the Morden district

. In 1974 he married Marie Klassen and they were married 30 years. Art retired from Manitoba Hydro in 1982 and took up a hobby of making trinkets which he gave to family and friends, “just to see a smile on their faces.”

During his lifetime Arthur was awarded the War Service Badge by Royal Canadian Navy Volunteer Reserve (RCNVR) HMCS Chippiwa. He was a Life Member of the Royal Canadian Legion and a member of St Thomas Anglican Church and in 1998 he received the Caregiver of the Year Award.

Arthur William Peers passed away 21 September 2004 and is buried at the Manitou Cemetery.