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Betts Harold C.

Betts Harold C.

Betts, Harold C. (H. C.) Photo

Rank	Flight Sergeant, Sergeant
Service #	R205921
Unit #	R.C.A.F.
Resident	Chatham

Books Of Rememberance Page Available

Three and one half years in Army in World War 1916-1919.

The CDN 2/02/24 reported that Harold was on a weekend furlough at his home in Chatham.

Served in Canada two years. Was promoted from Sergeant to Flight Sergeant.

Discharged December 1944.

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Did You Know?

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CK IODE lobbied local officials for mandatory TB testing of farm animals as many children suffered from bovine tuberculosis.

In 1961 the IODE membership dues were $3 for the year.

Koreans were among the “Germans” captured at Normandy. They were forced to fight for Japanese, Russians and Germans, until captured by the US Army.

$1000 was donated to the National War Memorial Fund for the education of children of fallen heroes of the Great War.

The US Army had more ships than the US Navy.

On September 1, 1939 Germany invaded Poland and Britain and France declared war on Germany.

CK IODE dedicated the gates to Maple Leaf Cemetery in 1928 and placed plaques honouring WWI casualties.

Did you know? Germany designed the Messerschmidt Me-264 bomber to hit targets in North America from France. Thankfully, only three prototypes were constructed as the Luftwaffe prioritized short-range fighter construction.

Four empires collapsed after WWI: Ottoman, Austro-Hungarian, German, and Russian.

65 million troops were mobilized during WW1.

The long-term effects of WWI include the formation of the League of Nations, which laid the groundwork for the United Nations and a worldwide arms race.

During WWI, trenches were infested with millions of rats, frogs and lice.

When the US Army landed in North Africa, among the equipment brought ashore were 3 complete Coca Cola bottling plants.

Millions of soldiers suffered “shell shock,” or post-traumatic stress disorder, due to the horrors of trench warfare.

The French had what German soldiers called the Devil Gun. At 75 mm, the cannon was accurate to 4 miles. French commanders claimed their Devil Gun won the war.

There were 433 Medals of Honour awarded during WW2. 219 of them were given after the recipient’s death.

Originally, a Chapter President was called a Regent.

By D-Day, 35% of all German soldiers had been wounded at least once, 11% twice, 6% three times, 2% four times, and 2% more than 4 times.

Germany’s indiscriminate submarine warfare was a primary reason the U.S. joined World War I.

CK IODE donated $100 towards furnishing the Sergeant’s Mess in the Armoury.

Herbert Hoover encouraged people to plant “Victory” or personal gardens. Over 20 million Americans planted gardens; US food consumption decreased by 15%.

In WWI, Germans released about 68,000 tons of gas; the British and French released 51,000 tons. 1,200,000 soldiers were gassed; 91,198 died horrible deaths.

Germans were the first to use flamethrowers in WWI. Their flamethrowers could fire jets of flame as far as 130 feet.

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Even though the U.S. government didn’t grant Native Americans citizenship until 1924, nearly 13,000 of them served in WWI.

The sinking of the Lusitania in 1915 bought the US into WW1.

WWI helped bring about the emancipation of African Americans. For example, Henry Ford recruited black people from the South to work in his factories.

The total cost of WWI for the U.S. was more than $30 billion.

WWI brought a new era of warfare. The most significant development was air power, which brought civilians in the line of fire.

“Little Willie” was the first prototype tank in WWI. Built in 1915, it carried a crew of three and could travel as fast as 3 mph (4.8 km/h).

World War I was also known as the Great War, the World War, the War of the Nations, and the War to End All Wars.

France, not Germany, was the first country to use gas against enemy troops in WWI. In April 1915, the Germans were the first to use poisonous chlorine gas.

After WWI, Finland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, and Poland emerged as independent nations.

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Japanese ace Hiroyoshi Nishizawa shot down over 80 planes. He died while a passenger on a cargo plane.

In 1917, explosions beneath the German lines on Messines Ridge at Ypres in Belgium were heard in London 220 km (140 miles) away.

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In 2012, CK IODE revived the Antique Show and Sale, in partnership with Victoria Ave United Church.

Over 200,000 men died in the trenches of WWI.

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After WWI, Britain’s leadership in the world economy was gone forever. It had huge debts, high unemployment, and slow growth.

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Germany’s power grid was more vulnerable than realized. If just 1% of the bombs had been dropped on power plants, German industry would have collapsed.

The trench network of WW I stretched approximately 25,000 miles (40,200 km) from the English Channel to Switzerland. The area was known as the Western Front.

During WWI, the total value of IODE war work was $58,080.

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Over 100,000 Allied bomber crewmen were killed over Europe.

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For the span of WWI, from 1914-1918, 274 German U-boats sank 6,596 ships. Most of these were sunk near the coast, particularly in the English Channel.

Russia mobilized 12 million troops during WWI, making it the largest army in the war. More than 3/4 were killed, wounded, or went MIA.

The Phoney War was the period in Europe following the German invasion of Poland in September, 1939 and before the Battle of France in May, 1940.

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During WWI, the first Khaki (Soldiers’) Club in No. 1 Military District was opened for enjoyment of the soldiers.

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Woodrow Wilson’s campaign slogan for his 2nd term: “He kept us out of war.“ About a month after he took office, the US declared war on Germany, in 1917.

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THE CK IODE motto “Unto the Last Ditch” is the same as the 24th Kent Regiment.

The WWI Books of Remembrance were completed, inspected and signed by Lord Byng then placed in the Armoury, in 1922.

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