Remembering Service, Inspiring Peace: Lessons from Les Chater and the YMCA War Service

As Canadians pause to remember those who served and the stories from the wars, at the YMCA Hamilton| Burlington| Brantford  it is important to recognize the contributions and stories that came from the World Wars and the lessons they can teach us.  

Strong values, the importance of exercise and leisure, and the power of community, are lessons the YMCA continues to champion—and something Les Chater brought with him during the darkest of times as a Prisoner of War (POW). 

Les Chater (1910-2007) 

“It’s my belief that my fitness and leadership training at the Y can be directly linked to my survival as a POW.” 
 
Leslie Hilton Chater, or Les Chater was a prominent member of the YMCA Hamilton | Burlington | Brantford , serving on the Board and chairing several committees. In the 1990s, Les became a YMCA philanthropist, donating significant funds to the YMCA’s annual campaigns, and the lead gift for the 1999 campaign. When the Mountain YMCA was built at Turner Park in 2009 (two years after his passing at the age of 97), it was named in honour of Les Chater.  
 
Les joined the YMCA at 10 years old in 1920, During the Great Depression, when 19-year-old Chater could no longer afford his treasured YMCA membership and went to have it cancelled. The man in charge of the YMCA waived the fee, saying, “Someday, you’ll be able to repay us.”  

Chater never forgot this kind gesture and so began a lifetime of service to the Y. 
 
After that, the only time he was ever not a member of the YMCA was during the Second World War, where he was held for several years as a POW in Japan. Despite this, he credits his survival and the respect of his captors to his time at the YMCA. 
 
While in England, Chater applied to work for the British Air Ministry, rebuilding air strips in the Far East for the Royal Air Force. While doing this, he became trapped on the island of Java, where he was captured by Japanese troops who had invaded the island. He was first held at Semplak Aerodrome, with about 1000 other POWs, until he was eventually moved to Japan to the Mitsushima and then Kanose camps.  
 
While being held captive, Chater wrote a series of journals which were published in the book “Behind the Fence” Life as a POW in Japan 1942-1945. Many of his early entries record if he exercised or not that day and describe how in the early days, he helped set up sports for the other POWs to occupy their time.  
 
Chater was a source of encouragement to the other men, showing them how to maintain their strength in spirit, mind, and body. When the war ended and they were released, Chater urged the other prisoners to shake hands with their captors. He wanted them to take the high road, to learn to let go of hatred.

 
YMCA Canada in the trenches 

During both World Wars, the YMCA as an organization brought a sense of normalcy for men overseas.

In the trenches during the World War I, soldiers rotated through the front lines. There was more free time in the rear lines, and when soldiers were not engaged in training or support roles they could spend hours in a YMCA hut, often the centre of a soldier’s social life. The huts provided a quiet space in the daytime to catch up on reading and writing, and a gathering space for concerts or lectures in the evening.

Sports also relieved the stress of war and the monotony of soldiering. The YMCA and Salvation Army organized games and competitions, and the Canadian troops especially enjoyed playing baseball.

These activities were instituted thanks to the work of the YMCA War Service. This consisted of a small force of YMCA officers recruited to accompany Canadian soldiers to Europe to minister to their spiritual, moral, and recreational needs. These soldiers, in non-combat roles, wore Canadian military uniforms. At the height of its war effort the Canadian YMCA mustered 275 secretaries and officers, along with 350 soldier assistants and three thousand volunteers

During and after both wars, the YMCA also helped retraining veterans to rejoin the workforce. Called Khaki College, this service helped over 50,000 Canadians prepare for their transition to civilian life after the war.

These stories show the power and influence that the Canadian YMCA had not only one person, but the lives of so many during the World Wars.

On this week of Remembrance Day, and next week as we celebrate Peace Week, we hope you will take the messages from these stories to both remember and spread peace.

 
Sources: 
Behind the Fence, Life as a POW In Japan 1942-1945, Les Chater, with Elizabeth Hamid (1998)  
www.warmuseum.ca  
The Canadian Y.M.C.A. in the Great War, Charles W. Bishop