Inside Camp - X TM

Chapter VII

By Lynn-Philip Hodgson

The Deaths

 It is miraculous, to say the least, that given the approximately one thousand days of the Camp’s life, there were so few recorded deaths which took place there.  This becomes even more significant when you bear in mind that live ammunition was used exclusively, making all the demolition and firearms exercises extremely dangerous.  It is inevitable, however, that there would be some fatalities from the long days of training.

 August of 1942 arrived hot and unbearably humid, the kind of weather that makes breathing all but impossible and any exertion hardly worth the effort.  Even along the normally cooler shores of Lake Ontario there was no relief.  The moon shone so brightly that the beach was illuminated as if by floodlights and, despite the stifling heat, people could be seen scrambling, running frantically with no sense of direction or purpose.  The events of this evening at Camp - X had never occurred there before.

 Staff Sergeant Maloney ran along the dirt roads that led to the C.O.’s residence.  As he got closer, he tried to formulate in his mind exactly what he would say to the C.O. that could begin to describe what had happened.  He got to the house, opened the screen door without knocking, and ran inside.  He found the C.O. in the parlour, reading the evening paper.

 The C.O. asked for an immediate explanation for his behaviour.  Staff Sergeant Maloney blurted, "Come quickly, Sir.  There's been an accident!"..............................
 

The C.O.'s Parlour inside Camp - X.

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 Captain Howard Benjamin Burgess born August 15th 1915, was a young man of 25 when he was called upon by his country, to perform a very special service.

Howard Benjamin Burgess

Before the war, Burgess worked for the Daily News in London, England. He was recruited by the British Secret Service when his superiors were so impressed with him that they recommended him to S.O.E. where he became a training  instructor at Beaulieu under Bill Brooker’s command.

 When  William Donavon (O.S.S.) convinced William Stephenson that he, "must have Major Fairbairn" in order for his new school in Virginia ( RTU-11) to be successful, Stephenson of course granted his good friend this request. There were favours flying back and forth between the B.S.C. and the O.S.S. on a regular basis. More on this later.

 When Brooker was told that Fairbairn was going to be loaned to the O.S.S., he immediately summoned the bright young man from Beaulieu to replace Fairbairn. Thus on April 9th, 1942 Howard Benjamin Burgess left for Canada to join Camp - X.

 Tragically one spring day Burgess was illustrating the art of avoiding gun fire as one crawls on one’s stomach through a trench while barb wire scrapes across one’s back, when a live run of fire caught him in the head. Roper-Caldbeck and Brooker were devastated. How could this have happened? ...................

Howard Benjamin Burgess' grave at the 'Union' cemetery, Oshawa, Ontario, Canada

Camp - X


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