Ringland, Meredith & Gray Limited

Stocks – Bonds

Herald Building

Lethbridge, Alberta

12th, March, 1948

Mr. Ken Mayhew, Editor,

Yorkton Enterprise,

Yorkton, Sask.

Dear Mr. Mayhew:

The writer has never met you personally, however your name is quite familiar, through your past and present hockey associations. I am similarly mixed up in the local hockey picture, and it is just possible that I met you when our Maple Leafs played the Regina Rangers in the spring of 1941.

I enclose herewith crew picture of the late Eddy Patzer. Eddy was my room mate overseas on our bomber station near York, England, and if memory serves me correctly you were instrumental in promoting a memorial award of some kind to hockey in your Province in memory of Eddy Patzer.

I am therefore forwarding you this picture, and if you are acquainted or know where Mrs. Patzer resides, I would appreciate it if you would pass on this picture to her.

Eddy and I roomed together for some three months and I will always remember that Eddy had completed his first tour of ops, when the limit was raised from thirty to thirty five. Poor Eddy went on his 34th trip. Three of the crew subsequently returned to the station having been Prisoners of War and the details were then revealed.

It appears that the aircraft was hit by German flak, three of the crew were able to get out of the flaming aircraft, and with Eddy at the controls refusing to leave until all crew members were out, the Halifax “hite the deck” and exploded. I certainly missed him and it is an awful feeling and too often experienced, when the next day someone came in to collect the effects.

It so happens that Eddy was centre iceman on our station hockey club which I coached. We used to play at Durham, the only artificial ice rink in Northern England, which was some one hundred miles north of our station. We used to put Eddy on Porky Dumart, who was coaching Linton-on-ouse, which was our closet station and hated rivals.

I trust this picture will be of some interest to you and it may find its way to Mrs. Patzer.

With best regards.

Yours very truly,

Ken Ringland

J.K. Ringland

P.S. Our Leafs were only so-so this year but I think our “Native Sons” are going places        

KR.