Dear Editor,
Re: HMCS Stettler
I thought that the residents of this community would like to know why a ship was named for Stettler.
I was working in the Royal Bank at that time. Stettler was the first town to go over the top in selling Canada Savings Bonds on the first day of issue. I don’t remember how it was achieved but T.J. Kirby, Lloyd Thirsk, J.J. Munro and Mrs. Walter Kloepfer (Mickey) had something to do with it.
Also during the war years the merchants of Stettler formed a club and sent a carton of cigarettes every month to all soldiers of the community serving overseas. I often had the privilege of typing the list sent directly to MacDonald Tobacco Co. which the bank manager A.E. Morrison mailed.
If the soldiers were non-smokers the cigarettes were useful in trading for food or other items especially by the prisoners of war in Germany. Many of our local boys were taken prisoner at the Battle of Dieppe.
Ethel Williams
Stettler
Editor’s note: HMCS Stettler was named after our community when Edmonton gave up on its efforts to have a ship named after the city. The details were reported in our Remembrance Week edition last year.