We Remember - Major Charles Ferguson Hoey V.C. M.C.

 We always try to do a post on one of the local soldiers for Remembrance Day. 

 

 We were in Duncan the other week and the local museum had a display for the Day of the Dead. And we came across this... 

 It's a memorial for a local soldier - Major Charles Ferguson Hoey.

 We found a plaque outside for him as well - he apparently received the Victoria Cross and the Military Cross. We were intrigued...

 

This is a better picture of him. Charles was born in Duncan BC on 29 March 1914 to Ferguson and Mary Rudyerd Hoey. His maternal grandfather was Major General Charles Rudyerd Simpson CB from the Lincolnshire Regiment. Charles went to school in Duncan and graduated from the local high school.

In 1933, Charlest went to England to pursue a military career. He first enlisted with the Queen's Own Royal West Kent Regiment as a private but won a cadetship to the Royal Military College, Sandhurst. He attended Sandurst in September 1935, and graduated in December 1936. He was commissioned a second lieutenant in the Lincolnshire Regiment in January 1937. He sailed to India in September 1937 to join the 1st Battalion of the Lincolnshire Regiment that was stationed there. In 1942, his regiment went to Burma. A year later, he was awarded the Military Cross for his actions during a raid on a Japanese position at Maungdaw.

On 16 February 1944, his company formed part of a force that was ordered to capture an enemy position at all costs. Although wounded in the head and at least twice in the leg, Charles led his men to the enemy strong post, killing all the occupants before being mortally wounded. He was awarded the Victoria Cross posthumously for his leadership and determination in capturing this vital position. 

 
He is buried at the Taukkyan War Cemetery in Burma. His Victoria Cross is displayed at the Galleries of the Royal Lincolnshire Regiment at the Museum of Lincolnshire Life in Lincoln, England.

 

But the story does not end there. Charles had a younger brother, Lt. Trevor Ferguson Hoey who, at the time of his brother's death, was serving overseas with the Canadian Scottish Regiment. A few months later, Trevor was wounded in action, and died the following day (21 July 1944) from his wounds. He left behind a wife and young daughter.

 

Charles and Trevor's sister, Priscilla had married James Wilcox Connor, who was also serving overseas with the Royal Canadian Air Force as a Pilot Officer. He managed to come home alive and passed away in 2002.

We Remember. 

4th Randomly Scheduled (Possibly Annual) Art Deco Contest

 Hullo!! How did it get to be November already!!?? It's past time for the 4th Randomly Scheduled (Possibly Annual) Art Deco Contest!

This summer, I saw some great art deco buildings in Newfoundland...

Like this one!! Which looks like it should be in Florida somewhere...

It was beary pretty!! I found a website that had some info on the building... because little bears are curious... It was completed in 1947, designed by local architect William J. Ryan. At the time, it was the first Art Deco building in the Dominion of Newfoundland (NFLD only joined Canada in 1949).

Our 3rd Randomly Scheduled Art Deco Contest was last year... You can find the entries and contest winners at this link!

4th Randomly-Scheduled Art Deco Architecture Contest

The idea is... get a picture of yourself (the stuffie... not the human) in front of an Art Deco building where you live (or travel)... more details below... Building should be in focus... stuffies can be out of focus... as they usually are...

Contest Details:

Take a picture of you (the stuffie) in front of an Art Deco building where you live (or travel).

One entry per stuffie. If there is more than one stuffie in your household... well... then you can have one entry for each stuffie... Maximum of 5 stuffies per household (looking at you Beanie Mouse & Co... and you Little Fox & Co!!!)

You can send the pic via email or post on your blog and send me the link... (littlecanadianbear {at} gmail {dot} com)

Winners chosen by random draw...

Prizes sent out by Canada Post.

Deadline for submissions: January 31, 2027

Mice Bearthdays and Bus Bingo Cards

 Hullo! We went to the beach to catch the sunset the other day.

That's all the colour we got... sigh.

It was really too cloudy but... we had a good chit-chat and Sandy agreed to let us have a post ALL TO OURSELVES!!

So here we are... Cocoa and Navy Beanie. We hereby call this Meeting of Mouse Minds to order!

And the first order of business is Mice Bearthdays... we can neither of us remember when our birthdays are and Beanie Mouse suggested that given the whole Mouse Island tsunami fiasco and the loss of all mouse records... that we take the date of issue of our passports as our birthdays!

So we got our passports and... hmmm...

We got our passports!

And had a look!

My bearthday is 21 November 2020!

And so is mine!!!

Well that's handy! So mark that on your calendars... it's a busy month November... Sandy has a birthday on 9 November... Jerry has his on 11 November and now we're in the fray with 21 November! Cool!

Now... our next item to discuss is...

This Bus Bingo business...

This is Sandy's Bus Bingo card and do you see how many he has crossed off???

He has NINE crossed off (9)....

And this is our Bus Bingo card (which we are sharing... along with our bearthday!)...

Do you see how many we have crossed off??? FOUR!!! Just 4!

9 for the Bear...

4 for the Mice...

Well, at least we can see Beanie is definitely not playing favourites in the Bus Bingo realm...

But then we think Beanie does not realize the significance of some of the weirder bus numbers we chose...

So we are going to share some intel...

So maybe... you know... Beanie will realize that there is lots to discover on some of these mouse bus routes!! Ready....

Ahem....

Beanie's Bus Adventure Tour

Bus #37 - House of Dreams

This is a weird little place - by Stephen Wright - who has accumulated all sorts of weird and wonderful things from various places... which we thought might appeal to Beanie...

Bus #339 - V&A Storehouse

This one seems like a dead ringer for Beanie! You can get hands on with over half a million works from every creative discipline. Seems kind of cool... Now it's a bit further afield... but... it's pretty appealing... for an artistic mouse. We think...

Bus #197 - Hornimam Museum & Gardens

We'd never heard of this place! It's free for the main collections and there's a raft of things to see and do by the looks of it... A Music Garden with giant musical sculptures? Eh??!! And if that's not enough... an overstuffed walrus!

Bus #188 - Greenwich

This route may lean a bit nautical (Navy is whistling and staring at the ceiling)... National Maritime Museum? Cutty Sark? Queen's House? AND... the Prime Meridian and the Royal Observatory. Hmph... slam dunk in our minds. Not to mention the Greenwich Foot Tunnel under the Thames...

Bus #C1 - Leighton House

This one is near Holland House!! And it's got paintings and cool architecture and is 50% off if you have the National Art Pass... We know Beanie uses the C1 on occasion... but go here? Hmmmm

Bus #135 - Mudchute Farm

The name grabbed us on this one... a chute made of mud?? Sounds fun for stuffies! This is like 32 acres of green space in East London with a farm and farm animals. That you can get into for FREE!! And then buy some stuff to feed the animals... 

Bus #39 - Wimbledon Lawn Tennis Museum

OK... this one might be a bit off the wall... but apparently people find it quite intriguing... sooo...

Bus #43 - Muswell Hill

Errr... hmm... why did we pick this one again? Was it Alexandra Palace? Maybe? Can't remember!

Bus #139 - Abbey Road

Don't need to say anything about this one...

Bus #68 - Brockwell Park

Hmmm... not sure about this one... It has an art deco lido at the pool!!! Do mice have to get wet to go there... that's the question...

Bus #254 - The Viktor Wynd Museum Of Curiosities, Fine Art & UnNatural History

Well... the name says it all! Who can resist a museum of curiosities? Wonder if it's got a severed hand in there...

Bus #15 - Trinity Buoy Wharf and Lighthouse

Another nautical theme! And London's only surviving lighthouse... And the Trinity Buoy Wharf has warehouses and art expeditions and other cool stuff!

Bus #24 - Camden Arts Projects

They have free admission with an arts pass! They support emerging artists too! And it's all in an old Methodist church which adds its own vibe.

Bus #205 - Chinese Pagoda - Victoria Park

There's a cool Chinese Pagoda in Victoria Park... and there's some Punjabi and Pakistani food in Whitechapel... which we know is a draw for Beanie & Co.

Bus #29 - Little Istanbul

This bus goes along Green Lanes Haringay in north London... a place known as Little Istanbul! Turkish food... nothing left to say!

Bus #85 - Dorich House Museum

A cool museum in a nifty house with art deco vibes... and sculptures... and it's free!

Bus #149 - Dalston - Kurdish

This one can combine a couple of things... Dalston which is a hub of Kurdish cuisine... AND Abney Park Cemetery! Eh??!! Some notables include Betsi Cadwaladr, the ‘forgotten Florence Nightingale’. A sleeping lion on a tombstone... and a ruined chapel...

Bus #49 - Leighton House

You can get here with Bus C1 too (see above).

Bus #190 - Chiswick House & Gardens

There's a house... and gardens! The gardens are free to roam...

Bus #73 - Abney Park Cemetery

Yes... hmmm... this was mentioned above too... on Bus #149!

Bus #52 - Museum of Brands

This sounds cool! It's like time travel, walking through old brands! And they have a gift shop... National Art Pass gets you 50% off entry!

Bus #26 - Museum of the Home

Beanie already did this bus on Oct 18, 2026 but... we don't think they went to the Museum of the Home! It's free and has different rooms that show how home life has changed over 400 years...

There!!! That's why we picked some of the weird numbers! Hmph!!

You don't think this is like... swaying the judges do you??

Nope... this is just providing info so that the judges can make informed decisions!!