Black Watch Friends:

Regret to report the passing of Dusty Rhodes in BC yesterday. I served with Dusty in Second Battalion and The Black Watch Depot and am honoured to have known him.

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Neil C. (Dusty) Rhodes ZF 10152 passed away in Victoria BC on August 5, 2014 in his 92nd year. Dusty failed in his first attempt to enlist in the army 1939 as a 15 year old youth, having to wait until 1940 before joining the 2nd Battalion, West Nova Scotia Regiment NPAM. He was transferred to the Active Service Force in 1942, deploying to the UK in 1944, and then to the Mediterranean theatre in May 1944. He moved up and down the promotion ladder between Pte and L/Cpl, finally reaching the rank of Cpl in September 1944. He then served in the NW European theatre until March 1945, returning to Canada in the rank of Sgt. After his release in June 1946 he re-enrolled as a Pte in the RCR in March 1948, serving in Brockville and Petawawa before being commissioned in the PPCLI in 1951. Following service with 1 PPCLI in Korea, Dusty served briefly with 2 QOR of C before following in his brother’s footsteps by transferring to the Black Watch in 1954. He served in 2 RHC and the Black Watch Depot until 1961 when he was posted to I and A staff in Regina before retiring in 1966. Following retirement, he worked for the BC Ministry of Agriculture and Foods until 1980. He retained his ties with the regiments he served by becoming a member of the RCR Association, the PPCLI Association, and the Pacific Coast and Atlantic branches of the Black Watch Association as well as membership in the Korean Veterans Association and the Royal Canadian Legion. Dusty was a treasured member of the regimental family; he shall remain in our memories as a beloved and colourful comrade-in-arms.

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With thanks to Grant Guilet and Dave Leslie for the foregoing.



R. I. P.
NEMO ME IMPUNE LACESSIT