NFB film to feature local man

Lively City column by Dan Hilborn
Published Sept. 25, 2004


Al Little, an unassuming 80-year-old Burnaby resident, may soon become something of a media celebrity.

Little, who recently received $25,000 in 'recognition money' from the federal government after discovering he was used as a test subject for chemical weapons testing in the Second World War, was recently interviewed by a film crew working on an upcoming National Film Board documentary.

Andrew Killawee of Arcadia Entertainment in Halifax, Nova Scotia, spent almost 90 minutes interviewing Al and his wife Irene at their comfortable North Burnaby home earlier this month.

The interview will likely be a small part of an upcoming documentary, Buried at Sea, which looks at the Canadian government's participation in chemical weapons testing programs, in particular the alleged dumping of discarded chemicals into Halifax harbour.

"We talked about his feelings in regards to what he's found out," Killawee said. "He's an interesting guy, but the most impressive thing is his calm demeanour. He doesn't seem angry at anybody."

The film crew hopes to come back to Burnaby to conduct a more detailed interview with the Little family later in the year, with a view towards having the documentary completed by late 2005.

CALLING MICHAEL GRAY

Does anybody know were to find Michael Gray, a sporty kind of guy who used to live where the Burnaby RCMP detachment is now located? If so, his old car is calling.

North Vancouver resident and vintage sports car enthusiast Ron Brasier is so completely overjoyed with the restoration of Mr. Gray's old 1954 MG TF that he wants to give the vehicle's original owner a ride in the famous old car.

"Assuming that Michael Gray was young when he bought the car, he'd be either 72 or 73 years old now," Brasier told the Burnaby NOW recently.

Brasier has been trying to locate the vehicle's original owner ever since he finished the restoration of the English sportster seven years ago.

With only the original B.C. Department of Transportation registration form and help from local historian Jim Wolf, Brasier went through stacks of old phone books and other records in the hopes of tracking down where Gray currently lives. But it was all to no avail. The only things Brasier knows for sure are that Gray bought the vehicle when it was brand new and his former address was 6349 Gilpin St.

The stylish red convertible sport car could well be one of the rarest vehicles in the Lower Mainland. Only 9,000 were built by the British manufacturer, and Brasier was told that only 2,000 made it to this side of the Atlantic Ocean.

"If that's true, then there aren't going to be very many of them left," he said.

Brasier found the little MG parked in a North Vancouver backyard about a decade ago, where the little vehicle had languished for about 15 years after its second owner was unable to keep up with its repairs.

"I bought it and spent a few bucks on it, and now it's being driven every day," said the retired mechanical engineer. "These things do get very expensive and you never get back what you put into them. But when you see it on the road, everyone smiles."

The first year after he restored the English sportster, Brasier drove it to a vintage car show in Monterey, California and came back with a second-place trophy.

"It's a beautiful-looking car," said the proud restorer. "Honestly, it's better than when it was new."

And the car has added so much fun and excitement to Brasier's life that he just wants to make sure that the vehicle's original owner gets at least one more chance to go for a spin around the block in it.

If anybody knows where to find Mr. Gray, they can call Ron Brasier at 604-983-3394.

FOR THE RECORD

A couple of errors crept into my last submission on the Merchant Navy Day held last week in North Vancouver.

The merchant ship Athenia, which was the first passenger ship sunk during the Second World War, was not a Canadian vessel; it was registered with the Donaldson Line of Glasgow, Scotland, says former Donaldson employee Neil Lamont. In addition, it was Britain and France that declared war on Germany, not vice versa.