"We were good friends. He was a good soldier and missed very few battles. He was always up there with us. He never shirked. A fellow you could depend on".

@EDITRULE:

This is how Graham Madeiros describes his World War II comrade, Elliott Aubrey.

It is because one war veteran (Graham) can say that about another war veteran (Elliott) that his words should be echoed in the hearts of every man, woman and child living in Bermuda and the rest of the Free World.

Both served as Bermudian volunteers in the 2nd Battalion of the Royal Lincolnshire Regiment, 9th Brigade, 3rd British Infantry Division.

The other regiments in the Brigade were the Royal Ulster Fusiliers and the King's Own Scottish Borderers.

They nicknamed themselves "The International Brigade".

Elliott was the elder son of Stuart and Eva Aubrey, who lived to be 103.

The family had moved to the United States, but returned to Bermuda during the Great Depression year of 1933.

They had lived in New York City where Elliott completed his education.

His first job in Bermuda was with the main store in Hamilton of the OR Loblein Islandwide grocery chain.

A period with Gosling Brothers followed prior to the outbreak of war.

Elliott had already enlisted in the Bermuda Volunteer Rifle Corps, and was called up on mobilisation of the Local Forces on September 3, 1939.

He was 21.

His younger brother Keith joined him in the BVRC in 1941.

Both answered the call for volunteers for overseas service in 1943.

They left Bermuda on May 5, 1944 as part of the 86-man Second Contingent for the Lincolnshire Regiment.

They travelled to England on SS Highland Chieftain, a freighter crammed with 4,000 troops, part of a 56-ship convoy.

For the next few months, they underwent intensive training at various locations in England, ending at Camp Borden in Hampshire before embarking for France.

They travelled on through Belgium and into Holland where Elliott took part in his first major battle at Overloon-Venrai on October 14, 1944.

Following a night of continual enemy mortar attacks, the battalion advanced on a frontal attack of the woods before Venrai.

Elliott had survived the night, while in the next trench another soldier was killed.

To everyone's relief, when they captured Venrai, they found the Germans had already pulled out.

But the cost had been high.

There were heavy casualties. Five Bermudians had been killed: John DeSilva, Anthony (Toby) Smith, the C Company Commander Willard Patterson, Warren Harris and Richard White.

Elliott had also taken part in the dangerous night crossing of the Escaut Canal by a two-company assault force led by Major (later to be Major-General) Glyn Gilbert.

The men had to slither down the muddy banks into the boats in total darkness.

The operation was a complete success, enabling the British armour to cross the canal.

Some five months later on March 1, 1945, the Lincolns defeated battle before they pushed on to Bremen to receive the German surrender on May 10, 1945.

Forty-three men of the Lincolns at Winnekendonk were killed, including two more Bermudians, Frank Monkman and Edward Hennessey.

Elliott completed his war service with the Army of Occupation in Germany.

He served a year in Oldsburg, a beautiful mountain area near Winterburg, a famous resort for winter sports.

The troops hunted two days a week to help to supply the villagers with food.

He was demobilised in 1946 and returned to Bermuda to be included later in the group of Bermudian servicemen and women representing the Islands in the Victory Parade in London.

His after-the-war employment included a ten-year period with the QTEV "Queens of Bermuda".

He then joined the Hamilton firm of Johnson & Cooper where he was destined to meet his future wife, Maureen O'Loughlin of Croydon, Victoria, Australia.

They were married in 1966.

Elliott latterly worked for Butterfield & Company, and was with them following the merger with JS Vallis & Company, until he retired.

He inherited an interest in sport from his father, who was for many years a Bermuda harness racing champion.

Elliott could have been a good athlete, having shown early promise in swimming and diving.

He caught the eye of Bermuda swimming coach Bill Brooks, who encouraged him to join the training squad for the Olympics.

However, Elliott decided not to.

His favourite recreation became fishing, a passion he shared with his friend Dave McLean, the former snooker champion.

They made many fishing trips on Dave's boat, The Lizard.

Elliott was one of those people who had a flare for getting into odd, usually amusing, "situations".

Dave recalls one such episode when they were catching fry for bait.

The were standing in a small six-foot punt hauling in a 60-foot net with fry.

In doing so, they failed to notice the punt was sinking lower and lower under their weight, and that of the net and fry, until to their surprise the punt sank to the bottom!

Martin (Butch) Ray is another close family friend, who delivered an eloquent eulogy at Elliott's funeral at St. John's Church.

Butch remembers his friend as: "Laid back, always enjoying a good time, smiling a lot, and had a kind word for everyone, and always a thorough gentleman".

One of Elliott's closest friends overseas was Bill Roberts, who was also with him in the night attack on the Escaut Canal.

During the action, Bill was severely wounded, spent weeks in hospital and could not return to the battalion for six months, just missing the Battle of Winnekendonk .

I should add here that wartime service life was not all unmitigated bullets and bombs, although infantrymen had to face devastating quantities of both.

At reunions it is the funny things we remember and laugh about.

Bill Roberts recalls one involving Elliott and himself.

During the occupation period in Germany, the military frowned on fraternising between Allied soldiers and German girls.

However, for a couple of infantrymen who had survive constant hand-to-hand fighting and anger, this order didn't really pose too great a challenge.

They found a pair of frauleins and made dates.

The girls invited them home.

All was going well until one of them noticed a military policeman approaching the house.

The girls quickly ushered Bill and Elliott into a closet.

Then one girl spied a cap on the table.

Quickly, she threw it into the oven forgetting the oven was turned on.

Later they found it had been burned to ashes!

But let me give the last word to Bill Roberts who remembers Elliott as "A great guy. I liked him very much. He was A-1 all the way".

Elliott was a member of the Bermuda War Veterans Association and the BVRC Overseas Association.

At this time we remember those dear to Elliott: his wife, Maureen; their children Kerrie, Stuart, Mark and Kylie and their families; brothers Keith and Joyce; and sister Betty and Willy.

Contributed by Tommy Aitchison