Image: Lymburn Train Station, ca. 1930 (SPRA 2000.73.171)
Soldier Spotlight highlights veterans from the Archives’ online Soldiers’ Memorial. Each week, our volunteers select a remarkable individual to showcase in this blog series. The Soldiers’ Memorial commemorates more than 1,100 WWI veterans and 2,300 WWII veterans from our region. Three dedicated volunteers have contributed over 1,200 hours to this project by researching and writing biographies. Our goal is to have all South Peace soldiers acknowledged for their service. If you know of someone who lived in the South Peace and should be listed on the Memorial, or would like to get involved by researching a local veteran, please contact the Archives.
Clifford Burbee was born in 1907, being one of 8 siblings, in Kenville MB. His education was taken at Pretty Valley School in Kenville. At age 14 he had to start working, and he had a job on a big steam threshing outfit. In 1924, at Bowsman MB, he worked at a sawmill where he got caught in a belt, but luckily only his overalls were ripped off. He worked one summer in Tisdale SK. Coming to the Peace Country in 1927, he worked in Grande Prairie as a butcher, and in construction. In Wembley, he worked at the roundhouse, and when the railroad came to Hythe, he worked there. Clifford filed on a homestead in Lymburn in 1929 where he lived for the winter. In 1930 he married Mabel Large, and they had a daughter, Eileen. Sadly, Mabel contracted tuberculosis, and died in 1936. Two years later, Clifford married again, to Carrie McDonald, and they had a daughter, Connie. During World War II, Clifford served in the army and was posted in France and Italy. Having attained the rank of Sergeant, he was discharged in September 1945. He then bought a farm 3 miles from Hythe, and Carrie and Clifford had 3 sons: Benny, Donald, and Herbert. Since World War II, Clifford worked in carpentry, and he was a member of the Hythe Canadian Legion. In 1963, he sold the farm, and built a house in Hythe. In November that year he moved to Prince George where he built two more houses. At the age of 84, Clifford passed away on January 13, 1992 in Prince George.
Source: Pioneer Round-Up pp. 185-187
South Peace Regional Archives: Family and Personal Life Reference Files – Obituary