Hugh's Life
28 February 2006
Hugh Frederick Trann, born March 24th, 1920 in Brandon, Manitoba, Canada. Parents Annette Casey and John Allen Hugh Trann. Hugh was the fifth child with two older Brothers and two older sisters, Bernard, Eileen, Henry and Isobel. The family moved to Radville, Saskatchewan six months later. Mr. Trann worked as a locomotive engineer on the Canadian National Railway.
Four more children born, Ruth and Daisy, Daisy (died at 18 months of Whooping Cough,) James and Donald. The family moved to Prince Albert, Saskatchewan. when Hugh was about 13 years old. He attended elementary and High School there and played sports, mainly hockey enjoying a happy youth.
He played Junior Hockey in Regina, Saskatchewan at about 18 years of age and then joined the R.C.A.F.
He served in Canada then was shipped to India and Burma (Myanmar) for the duration of the war where he served in the Far East Campaign. Hugh received the Burma Star during his time in the R.C.A.F, one of only seven or eight thousand such persons. They were known as the Elephant Squadron, where they for a while slept on the ground with various snakes, cobras and scorpions until they built their own beds out of bamboo and rope. They flew from dawn to dusk seven days a week and carried more supplies to the army than the R.A.F or U.S.A.F The Canadians were the best and received very little recognition to this day for their efforts in this area of the combat zone. Hugh was sent home on a hospital ship via months in an English hospital with a rare skin disease from the jungle surroundings he had lived in.
Coming home to Prince Albert in 1946 he worked at Imperial Oil for several years. Hugh and Theresa McKinley an R.N. from Saskatoon’s St. Paul’s Hospital married in August 1947. Hugh meanwhile played hockey whenever he could, they raised three boys. John Patrick was born in 1949, Douglas Hugh in 1953 and Andrew Scott in 1960.
In 1953 Hugh took a position with Sears of Canada on the building of a new Sears store in Prince Albert. The family moved to Brandon, Manitoba in 1961 where Hugh managed the Sears Store until 1966 when they moved to Delta, British Columbia
He continued with Sears for two years working in Burnaby.
In 1968 Hugh and Theresa purchased a Men’s Apparel Store in Cloverdale and ran it as a family business until 1976. After selling the business Hugh managed a men’s wear store in Guildford until 1981 when he had a heart attack and was forced to retire. He had heart surgery in 1982.
Hugh enjoyed his retirement, playing golf, travelling and enjoying sports of all kinds. Hugh and Theresa travelled to Asia (Singapore, Hong Kong, Jakarta, Bali and Australia) five times as well as cruises to Alaska, the Panama Canellas Angeles and bus tips to the Maritimes, Grand Canyons, California and Arizona. Fitted in were many driving trips to Saskatchewan and Trann family reunions and Vancouver Island visits.
He coached refereed and played Hockey as long as he could and also coached and managed minor baseball. A dedicated family man he enjoyed his family and friends.
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