B64216 Warrant Officer I Angus Scully was born in Aberdeen, Scotland in 1910, the son of Edward Scully (who served in the Britsh Army in WWI) and Annie Geddes. After completing his apprenticeship there and qualifying as a motor mechanic, he came to Canada in 1930, and worked as a mechanic in the Toronto area, notably as the service manager at Austin Canada. He married Rachel Annie Burns, originally from Hamilton, Scotland, on 21 May 1938.

At the start of the Second World War in 1939, he volunteered for the Royal Canadian Air Force but was put on a waiting list. At the time he was working in the garages of the Canada Life Company, across the street from the University Avenue Armouries. One of the men working for Canada Life was an officer in The Queen’s Own Rifles (QOR), and he asked Angus to make up a written test that would help identify who, among those wishing to join up, might actually know about motor mechanics.

In June 1940, tiring of waiting for the RCAF, Angus crossed University Avenue and volunteered for the QOR. Having stated his occupation, he was given a short test. When it was graded, the corporal took it into an office, announcing that a man had shown up who had gotten perfect on the mechanic’s test. The officer looked at the results, then roared with laughter, saying, “No wonder, he set the test.” Angus Scully attested on 21 June 1940, service number B64216.

Angus had some funny stories about his early days with the regiment at the Exhibition grounds and then at Camp Borden. His pay book shows that at Camp Borden with the regiment he was made acting corporal on July 8, and acting sergeant on August 28, 1940. The rank of sergeant was confirmed on 21 November 1940.

Not surprisingly, Angus was sergeant of the transport platoon, commanded by Lieutenant H. E. Dalton. There were two platoon corporals, G. E. Bradley and G. E. Thacker, and Sgt. Scully’s platoon list has 53 riflemen named. Sgt. Scully was with the regiment when it went to Newfoundland and Sussex New Brunswick, where training intensified as the regiment prepared to go overseas. A paybook entry for 12 February 1941 states his rank as “Sgt. MT.”

During a training exercise in June 1941, Sgt. Scully was seriously injured when his motorcycle flipped as he was crossing a just-completed bridge. His wife Rachel, living nearby, was informed that he had been killed. In fact, he had survived with a fractured skull and a broken arm. He always credited his helmet with saving his life. He was still recovering when the regiment went overseas, and Lieutenant Colonel MacKendrick, battalion Commanding Officer, wrote him a letter of recommendation. MacKendrick stated,

“This N.C.O. has been Transport Sgt. of this unit since mobilization in June 1940. He is an excellent instructor and controls men with a firm hand. He is reliable, sober, industrious, and thoroughly competent in every way. A motorcycle accident in the line of duty is the cause of his leaving this battalion. I can thoroughly recommend him and will only be too delighted to have him back with this unit.”

Angus always said that he had to work hard to get overseas after recovering. He rejoined the regiment in England, but he was not fully recovered from his injuries. He was soon attached to the 3rd Canadian Infantry Reinforcement Unit and promoted to Acting Company Sergeant Major (WOII). He was confirmed in that rank on January 5, 1942, then as Sergeant Major Instructor in November 1943. He remained with the 3rd CIRU until the end of the war as Sergeant Major Instructor, then CSM of B Coy and CSM Support Company. At the end of the war, his rank was acting WO1. Angus returned to Canada in May 1945.

On the one-hundredth anniversary of the regiment in 1960, Angus Scully attended the gala banquet at the Royal York Hotel and had his menu signed by MacKendrick and Lieutenant Colonel Steve Lett. At the big parade, with Field Marshal Montgomery taking the salute, Angus had planned to watch with his family from the balcony inside the Armouries. However, Lieutenant Colonel MacKendrick spotted him and ordered Angus into the ranks of veterans. The parade had the regular force, the reserves, and the veterans, who undoubtedly were the smartest.

After the war, Angus and Rachel had two sons and he became an insurance claims adjuster, completing his AIIC at the University of Toronto through extension courses. He was an active Mason and when he died in 1967, was master of the University Lodge. He was always proud to have been in the Queen’s Own.

Scully died in Toronto in 1967 and is buried at Resthaven Memorial Gardens in Scarborough, Ontario.

Information and photographs provided by his son Angus Scully in December 2023.

 

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