“GERMAN-BORN SOLDIER GIVEN TWO YEARS,” Barrie Examiner. June 11, 1942. Page 1. --- Had Unlawful Registration Card and Failed to Register as Alien ---- CAME TO CANADA, '29) --- Convicted of unlawfully having in his possesin a registration certificate which was not issued to him, a 30-year-old soldier. Eric Horace Brandt, was given a term of two years in Portsmouth Penitentiary by Magistrate Compton Jeffs yesterday morning, and on a, second charge of failing to register as an alien between December. 1941, and April of 1942, was given twelve: months to run concurrently.
When apprehended on April 15, he was in A-9, Canadian Armoured Corps (Advanced) Training Centre. (at Camp Borden, under the name of Reuben Schilski.
Constable James N. Clish of the" R.C.M.P. Toronto, detailed to investigate the case, told that he found that Brandt was born in Germany and came with his parents to Canada in 1929. After war broke out he enlisted in the Canadian army while living with his family at Lashtown. Sask.. in February, 1940, but was discharged in June, 1940, on a nominal excuse of being under age. At that time he was suspected of being pro-Nazi.
Witness stated that in November, 1941, he received permission to. move to Vancouver, but turned up later at North Battleford. Sask.. stayed overnight with a friend, Reuben Schilski, took the friend's registration certificate, and enlisted at Lloydminster under that name.
While at Camp Borden he had been in Toronto and registered at the Metropole Hotel as Roy Davis.. His father was believed to be in the German army.
The accused, of slight, build and normal appearance, told in detail his actions since 1927, when he claimed the family came to Canada. To the statutory question regarding church affiliation his reply. was, "My father is a Lutheran." He also told that he had been notified to return to Germany before war broke out with the assurance that after six months' labor camp and two year's army camp, he would be allowed to return to Canada, but he had decided to stay here. He had written asking for a guarantee of return but had received no reply.
To a question of Crown Attorney Frank Hammond, he stated that he had not taken the matter seriously but could easily have gone back to the German army if he had wished.
Mr. Hammond's view of the case was that the background gave it more serious proportions. The young man was not acting foolishly and if he had been doing so we could not afford to take a generous view:
"He is a potential danger," the Crown said.
Magistrate Jeffs thought that the situation looked like a need for internment.
