Posted: 19/04/2010 9:08:29 AM by Judy Lam-Maxwell
In December, The Memory Project: Stories of the Second World War held an event in Edmonton and a man named Godfrey “Bud” Schaupmeyer attended. While at the event Bud asked our team for an organization contact in British Columbia. Shortly thereafter, I received a call from Bud. Having shared his wartime experiences with The Memory Project, Bud explained that he had several friends in Vancouver who would like to be interviewed. I gladly took the names of his friends and subsequently interviewed each of them - Jack “Blue Eyes” Bailey, and Sherlock “Steve” Muir. During his interview, Steve shared stories of his service in North Africa. As he spoke, an elderly friend and local historian named Cecil came to mind; Cecil had shared his wartime experiences in North Africa with me about five years earlier. I decided to take a chance and ask Steve if he knew Cecil Akrigg. Steve’s response was surprising: “I haven’t seen Cecil for over 70 years!” What serendipity! It was remarkable: of the 36,000 Allied forces in North Africa during the Second World War, very few were Canadians, so the chances of the two knowing each other were very slim. I had succeeded in reconnecting two comrades and they were both very happy about it. Steve didn’t think that he would recognize Cecil, some 70-odd years later, because he only remembered what Cecil looked like at 21. Steve Muir and Cecil Akrigg are in their military uniforms in this group photo, taken at the old Immigration building in downtown Vancouver. Muir is on the far left in the front, and Akrigg is second from the right in the second row. About a week later, I brought Steve to Cecil’s residence for lunch. It was quite entertaining: 92-year-old Cecil called 91-year-old Steve a “pup,” and the two of discussed their dental work, among other things. After lunch, Steve and Cecil shared memories and caught up with each other. When Bud learned of the coincidence, he was thrilled. We now e-mail each other regularly, and have lunch with Steve and Cecil about once a month. Bud will be coming to Vancouver in two weeks, and he’ll have lunch with the boys: Bud, Steve, Cecil, and Blue Eyes. It’s funny that an unlikely coincidence brought them all together. This is a recent photo taken in February 2010. Steve Muir is on the left and Cecil Akrigg is on the right.