there was a tremendous barrage of A/A fire along the French coast, and we saw many bombs exploding, lighting up the sky; the detonations can be felt aboard us, though we are about 15 miles off shore. The attack kept up all night, and the noise was added to by gunfire from our big ships at the beach area – they have some target not very far inland. Some very colourful tracer shell displays in our vicinity, but as usual we do not know who is firing.
“13 June: A few minutes after midnight Louisburg, on our starboard quarter, got a radar contact; she reported it to us, and illuminated with starshell. The latter were laid accurately over two E-boats making for our little convoy. Owing to their speed and evasive action she soon lost them, but we picked them up a few seconds later by radar and also illuminated them with starshell, some distance from the first position. Got away a few rounds of 4 inch and a lot of Oerlikon, and appeared to score more hits with latter, the range being close at times. Lost target when starshell burned out, and tried again with illuminating rockets; found target again, and opened fire, but this time they were going all out, half hidden in spray from their bows, and they were soon out of range and sight. The enemy hereabouts seems disinclined to take risks, and our two did not even return our fire. They might have done us some damage, as they have much greater speed and are armed with 40 mm guns. We investigated several radar and asdic contacts later, but nothing developed. Just before dawn a ship in another convoy near us was sunk, but we did not learn how, nor who she was. Made very poor time all day as the tow is very hard to handle. Nothing of interest during daylight; dark hours same as before....”
Editor’s Note: The Royal Canadian Navy grew from thirteen vessels and 3,600 personnel at the outbreak of war to a force of 93,000 personnel and 939 vessels (373 categorized fighting ships). The RCN contributed 110 ships and 10,000 men to the Normandy landing operation.
Naval vessels built in Canada in the war period; 487 escort ships and minesweepers, 391 cargo vessels, 254 tugs and auxiliary vessels, 3,300 special purpose craft.
At the war’s end Iver Gillen transferred to the Merchant Service and eventually joined the Canadian Customs and Immigration Department. Upon his retirement in 1972, he and his wife Anne, went to live on Salt Spring Island, British Columbia where he died suddenly in October 1981.
Iver J. Gillen is on the far right of his four shipmates from across Canada.
LAND
On 5-7 November 1943. Black Watch on Assault Training.
6
Acceptance
Outside Greyshott, England, in September 1941, Canadian Army Chaplain Waldo Smith studied his map before his rounds. Recently in 1980 Waldo Smith had this comment on one consequence of the Second World War.
“My personal jeep had been ‘modified’ to serve as an ambulance if necessary. The ordnance section built a projection in the rear to support angle irons which would be the tracks to take stretchers. I had a canvas cover with a large red cross painted on each side. When the enemy saw this symbol they did not shoot at me.
For a girl to marry a serviceman from overseas was a high risk gamble. She was too willing to believe the best of men who set themselves out to please. And in war’s hazards the uniform did something to women. Many a man looked smart only because the provost sergeant had not let him out otherwise.”
Close to 50,000 young women, the majority from Britain and Holland, took that gamble and married Canadian servicemen. For most of them, it was a happy choice.
Reverend W.E.L. Smith relayed the following poignant story connected with one such venture.
“A farm, a few miles north of Cobourg, Ontario was the destination of an English war bride and her infant son. Her husband, a farmer’s son had arrived home ahead of her and was working with his father.
“Unfortunately, the mother bitterly resented the marriage and received the daughter-in-law unkindly. The poor girl had an unhappy time that winter. In spring she went into hospital for the birth of a second child.
“Grandmother was left in charge of the little boy, by then a toddler. One day she suddenly noticed that he was no longer with her. She hurried outside to look for and call him, but could find no trace. During the lapse of supervision he had found his way to a pond and drowned.
“The young war bride was told of the tragedy and prepared herself for the return to her husband’s home. Carrying the newborn child she went into the farmhouse and greeted her mother-in-law with a warm smile. The older woman broke down, all bitterness gone.”
Honourary Major Waldo E. L. Smith M.C. served overseas 1941-45 as chaplain with the 1st Canadian Armoured Brigade, the Canadian Army Service Corps and later with infantry as they attacked the Gothic Line. His book, What Time The Tempest, an account of his wartime experiences, was published by Ryerson Press in 1952. Rev W.E.L. Smith is a retired minister of the United Church living in Kingston, Ontario.
7
Here and There with a Hasty Pee
The Hastings and Prince Edward Regiment, an infantry unit of Canada’s First Division was assembled primarily from men who joined up from the farming area, backwoods, and small towns of the two Ontario counties. Among them was Robert Bate of Bowanville, an employee of the Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company who served six years with the Hasty Pees.
Early in the war, leaves and humorous incidents punctuated the routine and discomfort. But then Sergeant R. Bate was catapulted into the hard-fought Italian campaign and faced the red-hot reality of front-line fighting. In common with so many combat soldiers, the ability to appreciate the lighter side of a deadly serious job never deserted him.
Shortly after enlistment he heard the story about two Hasty Pee men of 1939 who had climbed to the roof of a Picton canning factory-turned barracks to take down an imposing pewter figure of an Indian Chief. Thought to be a likeness of Tecumseh, the firm’s trademark weighed in at 500 pounds and stood over eight feet tall. Adopted immediately as regimental mascot, Little Chief was within forty-eight hours on his way to Halifax with the overseas bound detachment. When the men fastened him to the prow of the troopship Ormonde, Little Chief was an impressive figure-head with his spear in one hand and his tomahawk in the other. From England the Hasty Pees and their mascot sailed to Brest in June 1940. After travelling 200 miles inland by train they were forced to return to the French coast. Little Chief had gone along with the transport section who at that point were ordered to damage, destroy and abandon vehicles and equipment. What should they do with the mascot? Because of his size and weight they wrapped him in groundsheets and buried him – with the intention of retrieving him later. Although several efforts were made to locate Little Chief after the war, he remains Missing in Action.
“Little Chief”, mascot
