The Reminder is making its archives back to 2003 available on our website. Please note that, due to technical limitations, archive articles are presented without the usual formatting.
Dr. Cluny MacPherson was born in St. John's in 1879. When the First World War broke out, he was one of the first volunteers with the Royal Newfoundland Regiment and saw action in many stages of operation. When the Germans began using gas as a weapon in battle, the allies were concerned about the number of casualties. At Ypres, over 5,000 French soldiers died after one battle. Cluny MacPherson went to his superiors and told them of his thoughts for a gas mask. He was sent to London to work on the project and after months of experimentation, MacPherson felt that he had what he needed. He was so confident about his invention that he offered himself as a guinea pig to test it out. It worked. The gas mask (or anti-gas helmet) has been credited with saving tens of thousands of lives. After the war, holding the rank of Lieutenant Colonel, MacPherson returned to St. John's. He lived there until his death in 1966. Did you know Margot Kidder, who played Lois Lane in the Superman movies, lived in western Labrador during her teens while her father was employed in the iron ore mines there. Something to Ponder: Happiness is like jam Ð you can't spread even a little without getting some on yourself.
