Today marks the 72nd anniversary of D-Day on June 6, 1944.
On that historic day, the allied forces, which included Canada, began their
assault on Western Europe at Normandy France.
Canadian forces concentrated on a beach front in an operation called
“Juno”.
Numerous battles ensued after the June 6th invasion and many
young Canadian men lost their lives fighting for future generations.
The hockey world wasn’t immune to the conflicts of
World War Two. This story is about about one such brave individual, who loved
playing hockey and more importantly, loved his country.
Red Albert “Ab” Tilson was born on January 11, 1924, in Regina
Saskatchewan. In 1941, Tilson travelled
east to play junior “A” hockey in the OHA. Tilson became a member of the Oshawa
Generals and played under coach Charlie Conacher.
The following year, 1942-43, Tilson won the OHA scoring title with 57
points in 22 games. Once again, the Generals played in the Memorial Cup Final
held at Maple Leaf Gardens, but lost 4 games to 2 against the Winnipeg Rangers.
Tilson repeated as scoring champ in the tournament by recording 32
points in 11 contests. For most of his time in Oshawa, Tilson centered a line
with Floyd Curry and Kenny Smith. He was a prospect with the Toronto Maple
Leafs and by all accounts was a can’t miss NHL’er.
After the ’42-’43 season, Tilson, then 20 years old, enlisted in the
service at Kingston, Ontario. He chose
Kingston in hopes of playing hockey with the senior “A” Kingston Frontenac Army
Club. Ultimately, he played only 3 games with Kingston.
On June 17, 1943, Private Tilson underwent his basic training in
Cornwall and on August 18 his rank was upped to acting Lance Corporal.
A year later, on May 2, 1944, Tilson arrived in Nova Scotia to become
part of a training brigade in preparation for going overseas.
He departed Canadian soil on June 17 and arrived in England on June
24. Now ranked a Private, Tilson landed
in France on July 23, 1944, and was assigned to the Queen’s Own Rifles of the 3rd
Canadian Infantry Division’s 8th Brigade.
On August 9, 1944, Tilson got his first taste of action. The operation
called for his unit to clear a path in the Quesnay Woods for an attack by a
Polish Division, which was attached to the Canadian Army.
In October, Tilson, now back to his rank of Lance Corporal, was part of
“Operation Switchback”. It involved clearing the south shore of West Scheldt
(SHELL-T) in Belgium. It became known as the Battle of Scheldt.
On October 12, Tilson and the Queen’s Own began their crossing, but
came under German fire. As a result, Tilson was injured and sent behind the
front line for treatment.
When he returned, Tilson was ranked as a Rifleman.
On October 26, the Queen’s Own started their attack on the town of
Oostburgh and secured the territory. Also, they took a number of prisoners.
However, they soon faced a counter-offensive by the Germans, who were located
nearby at Walcheren. They used 88-millimeter guns against the Canadians.
The Battle lasted several days and on October 27, 1944, Red Tilson was
hit and died in action. He was 20 years old.
In time for the 1944-45-hockey season, The Globe and Mail donated a
trophy to the OHA in honour of Tilson. The first winner of the Red Tilson
Trophy as the league MVP was Douglas McMurdy of the St. Catherines Falcons. Johnny
McCormack, then with St. Mike’s, finished second in the voting.
The first Leaf prospect to be awarded the Tilson was Tod Sloan. He was
named the winner the following year. The last Leaf prospect to be voted the winner of the Tilson was announced
just a couple of weeks ago when London’s Mitch Marner got the nod.
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