Gus Leonard was a soldier, veteran, hockey player
Memorial Centre holds tributes to Peterborough veterans
On this eve of Remembrance Day, we commemorate the sacrifices of thousands of Canadian men and women, many giving their lives, that allow us to be what we are today.
The poppy, our annual symbol of remembering, sometimes overshadows the permanent edifices our societies have constructed over the years to have everyday facilities continue the legacy of our veterans.
The Peterborough Memorial Centre is an example of a memorial to our veterans. The regimental plaques, memorial book and some memorabilia located in the main lobby draw attention to the original intent of the building. Also featured is a large plaque with the names of those local and area veterans we lost in the two world wars and the Korean conflict. Unfortunately, many patrons at events at the PMC are unaware of the displays or their significance.
Every November the Peterborough and District Sports Hall of Fame, attached to the PMC, assembles a display for Remembrance Day. The displays feature the many sports figures of the city that served in our armed forces over the years. One of those individuals, a member of the Sports Hall of Fame himself, we lost this year is Guss Leonard, better known as Gus.
Gus was born in Marmora in 1920 and passed away this past January in his 98th year. He was typical of the athletes of his era. He didn’t start playing hockey until he enrolled in the Marmora High School. One of the smaller schools in the province, twice during Gus’s time there they went on to win the district and play for the Ontario high school championships. This school, with no rink in town, was pitted against large city schools, some with enrollments over 2,000 students, more than the population of Marmora.
Gus also played junior B hockey in Tweed and with the Marmora team in the Trent Valley League before being recruited to Peterborough. In 1941 Gus played for the Peterborough Junior Colts in the Brock Street Rink.
Soon after Canada entered the Second World War, Gus enlisted in the Canadian army and did his basic training in Morrow Park. Assigned to the military police, Gus was transferred to Cornwall, then Ottawa. While in Ottawa he was recruited to play on the army hockey team. The Department of Defense thought exhibition hockey games among teams from the three forces, army, navy and air force, would be a morale booster for troops awaiting deployment in Canadian bases.
Gus met a young player during that time: Red Tilson. Gus remembered him as the most skilled player he had even seen. Tilson had played for the Oshawa Generals of the OHA in the 194243 season winning the league scoring title. He enlisted soon after. Gus talked about the days of training with the army team in preparation for their tour of military bases.
“Just before we were to start the tour, orders came down that all the players were to return to their regular units. The war was heating up. That was the last time I saw Red Tilson,” Gus remembered.
In October, 1944, Red Tilson was killed in a battle in Holland. Soon afterwards the OHA named their most outstanding player trophy after Red Tilson. When Oshawa opened its new arena in 2006, the first banner raised to the rafters was one for Red Tilson. The Generals invited a very proud Gus Leonard to the ceremony to represent Red’s former teammates.
Gus Leonard is just one of the many Peterborough sports figures featured in the displays in the Sports Hall of Fame.