I am writing these memoirs because I have always had an interest in history and also because I have enjoyed a long and varied life through most of the interesting times of this century. I am not writing for publication, but to provide information for my family, and at the same time provide some source history which may be useful to other historians. I shall express opinions for what they may be worth, and it must be understood that they are subjective to my own experience.
As I continue to write my story, it seems to me that I have had an adventurous life and that I have sought adventure and change and have not waited for it to catch up to me. I wonder if I should entitle the story of my life as A CONTINUING ADVENTURE. I hope I can make my account read like that. At least, my life has seemed like A CONTINUING ADVENTURE to me.
A CONTINUING ADVENTURE
CONTENTS
Page
Chapter 1 : Early Family History........................................................................... 3
Chapter 2: We Go to Britain(Saskatoon Light Infantry MG)................................16
Chapter 3: South Saskatchewan Regiment............................................................25
Chapter 4: We Go to War......................................................................................31
Chapter 5: The Pursuit - Commander of 6 Cdn. Inf. Bde......................................41
Chapter 6: Back in Canada....................................................................................49
Chapter 7: Staff Course: Kingston, Ottawa, Winnipeg.........................................55
Chapter 8: Imperial Defence College, London, England...................................... 62
Chapter 9: Field Command, Camp Wainwright, Alberta..................................... 67
Chapter 10:Korea, Commander of 25 Cdn. Inf. Bde............................................. 71
Chapter 11:Director General of Army Personnel, Army HQ................................ 87
Chapter 12:Commander of Western Ontario Area, London, Ontario...................106
Chapter 13:Vietnam, Alternate Delegate to Peace Commission..........................163
Chapter 14:Return from Far East by around the world........................................ 216
Chapter 15:Retirement and Move to Bayfield, Ontario....................................... 226
Chapter 16:Epilogue I - Life After Army Service................................................ 236
Chapter 17:Epilogue II -More Life After Service.................................................260
Appendix 1:Curriculum Vitae (Army)................................................................. 286
CHAPTER 1: EARLY FAMILY HISTORY
Without genealogical searching, I am unable to go back much further than my grandparents. This is because they immigrated to this country from Britain (England, Ireland and Scotland) in the mid nineteenth century. In most cases, in those days, with the slowness of transportation and communication, added to the difficulties of adjusting to a new country, there was almost a complete break with those who stayed in the "auld sod."
My paternal grandfather was William Wary Clift who was born in Crewkerne, Somerset, England in 1812. I have visited the parish Anglican church in Crewkerne where Grandfather Clift had attended - a lovely church. He died in 1888. He must have come to Toronto and Aurora in the 1840's or 1850's. He married and had three daughters before his first wife died. He married my paternal grandmother in Aurora in 1873. He was 23 years older than she. My paternal grandmother was Maria Anastasia Hillary before her marriage. She was born in 1835 in Ireland. I understand that the family name may have been Helery at one time. Her family moved from County Clare to Dublin to further the education of the children. Her father was a lawyer and his three sons became doctors. There were three daughters. Two of the sons migrated to Aurora, Ontario in the late 1850's. The rest of the family, including my grandmother Maria, migrated soon after, also to Aurora. Dr. Robert Hillary, a brother to Maria, bought the property on Yonge Street, now known as Hillary House. The house and grounds were deeded to The Aurora Historical Society which preserves the house and its contents.
My grandfather married my grandmother, Maria, against the opposition of the Hillary family because of the difference in their ages. Maria at that time was 38 years of age and had some trouble walking. However, she produced three strapping sons: my uncles, Michael and Valentine and my father, William. It is interesting that the first marriage of my grandfather produced three daughters while the second marriage produced three sons. I have not been able to make contact with Grandfather Clift's first family. Perhaps the Clift name was lost in marriage.
Grandfather Clift and Maria and family moved west to Stonewall, Manitoba outside Winnipeg. Grandfather Clift had a bakery shop in Stonewall. Maria was a pianist and she taught music. Grandfather Clift died in 1888 at the age of 76 years. The family continued to live in Stonewall. The two older sons went to work in the local limestone quarries and became stone masons. My father went to work for the Hudson's Bay Company in their large Winnipeg store. Later, he became a supervisor, also known as a floorwalker. In those days he was a handsome young man, dressed in a frock coat with boutonniere. I have his gold headed malacca cane and his engraved English shotgun. He was a virtuoso violinist, thanks to his mother, and he had an interest in photography. He was an avid curler and used to attend bonspiels around the province of Saskatchewan.
My father and Uncle Valentine decided to go even further west in 1903. They took up homesteads, 160 acres each, adjoining, four miles north of Melfort, Sask. in the rich parklands of the Carrot River valley. The Saskatchewan River was 25 miles farther north. At that time they were in partnership. They opened Melfort's Pioneer Store just north of the town. Father ran the store and Uncle Valentine ran the farms. In 1907 they built the brick store on the Main Street which still stands. I was born in a suite above the store on 17 May 1908. Whenever I return to Melfort I call on the owners of the present day store.
On my maternal side there was the union of the Robertson and Gaynor families in Grey County, Ontario. Grandfather Alexander Lachlan Robertson was born in Priceville, Grey County in 1857. His parents came from Perth,Scotland. He and a brother had a clothing store in Durham, Grey County. Grandfather had learned the trade of tailor. Here he met Letitia Gaynor whose family had moved to Grey County from County Antrim in Ireland. Letitia was born in 1860. I should note that the grave of the mother of Grandfather Robertson is in the Presbyterian Cemetery outside Durham. I should also note that Grandfather Robertson attended high school in Durham. He was a great reader and was a distinguished looking man.
The Robertsons with their daughter, Cora Alexandra (my mother) aged 2 years, went west in1886. This was the year after the North-West Rebellion. They were able to go by train on the CPR to Regina. But they had to go north by wagon 300 miles to Prince Albert. Grandfather Robertson operated a clothing store for some years. My Aunt Anne was born in Prince Albert and the two girls grew up there in a house on River Street, overlooking the Saskatchewan River. Grandfather Robertson later joined the Federal Civil Service and worked for the Department of Natural Resources out of Prince Albert as a timber and homestead inspector. He travelled widely in North and Central Saskatchewan. In 1911 on the change of the federal government he fell victim to the political patronage of that time: all civil servants appointed by the former liberals were fired. Grandfather Robertson was in his mid-fifties and was released without pension or compensation. My mother often referred to this chicanery and she hated the Tories to the end of her days. Fortunately, such action does not involve the whole civil service now as it did in those days. It is obvious that I am descended from pioneering stock on both sides of the family.
My mother became a school teacher. She first conducted school near the north branch of the Saskatchewan River. Then she taught at the Vaughan country school south of Melfort. She met father and they were married on June 6,1906. Three healthy children, Gladys, myself, and Edgar were born in the next 3 ½ years. I had a close rapport with my mother. On one occasion in later years she remarked that she felt like a cow with so many births so close together. I countered that it was great because we children were close because of it. Very few births took place in hospital in those days. I was born in a suite we occupied above the brick store on Main Street. Another suite was soon occupied by Uncle Michael and Aunt Lizzie and their three daughters who had come from Stonewall to join his two brothers and his mother. Grandmother Maria lived with our family until she died in 1911 at the age of 76 years. I dimly remember her in her wheel chair. Later, our family moved to a two story house on a corner double lot on McLeod Ave. one block east of the post office. My father was able to indulge his love for gardening. It was a good neighbourhood for children to grow.
The three Clift brothers were very close, perhaps, because their father had died when they were very young. My early memories are full of family gatherings at Christmas and other occasions. Each summer we all went as a family group for two weeks at Pleasantdale Lake, 25 miles south. At first it was by horsepower. The four boy cousins went with the advance party on a hayrack which carried tents, stoves, blankets and boats. The rest of the family travelled in Democrats. They were wonderful holidays and we all learned to swim and boat and know each other.
During one Christmas get together at our house when I was about 3 years old, two of my older girl cousins put a doll with frilly dresses on the Christmas tree for me. Somewhat earlier I had said that I wanted a doll for Christmas because my sister Gladys had them. A great laugh went up when Santa handed me the doll. I quickly gave it to Gladys.
Our family, before father went farming, was active in Trinity Anglican Church. We normally attended both morning and evening services. Father posted a standing offer of ten cents each if we were able to recite the text of the sermon after we returned home. We children attended Sunday School in the afternoon. The Sunday School superintendent was Mr. H.G. Dawson who had become well to do in the grain trade. I remember his homilies which were delivered with some force. On one occasion he was dealing with the use of improper language. He said to us, "Do you know what 'GOSH' means?" It means, "God strike you dead - and some day if you use that word God might strike you dead." It made a great impression on my young mind and I cannot remember using it since.
In later years when I was a full Colonel and Chief of Staff at Headquarters Prairie Command in Winnipeg, Mr. Dawson was president of a grain company in that city. I invited him and one of his sons to come for lunch with me at the Officers' Mess in Fort Osborne Barracks. We had a wonderful renewal of Melfort memories. I teased Mr. Dawson with the story of "GOSH."
My father and Uncle Valentine were partners in the general store and also in the farming operations, which were expanding. We children used often to visit overnight with our cousins at the farm and at our home in Melfort. Uncle Michael also purchased a farm. In addition he played the piano in the local movie theatre. These were the days of the silent films. Uncle Michael had such a good repertoire that he could match his music to the action of the film.. Uncle Michael had lost an eye in an explosion at the stone quarry in Stonewall. I should add here that the Michael Clift family raised three daughters. My favourite was Alice who later married John Hopkins, a well educated farmer north of Melfort. John committed suicide. There were two sons, Charles and James. In 1997 James committed suicide. Both Charles and James were good people and good farmers. I used to visit them when I went to Melfort.
I well remember the outbreak of World War I. I was 6 years old. Canada's declaration of war against the Kaiser elicited the greatest enthusiasm in support of the Mother Country. In Melfort my father along with others took their shotguns to the Main Street. There was a great flurry of church bells ringing and shotguns firing.
By 1916 the war was, obviously, going to last for some time. Father had grown tired of filling shelves in the store. He was an outdoors man and longed to farm, which was very remunerative. He and Uncle Val sold the store and divided the farm property.
During the war, inspite of my junior years, I became an avid reader of the Winnipeg Free Press. The progress of events was so fascinating. This was the time my interest in soldiering was awakened. I remember being very disappointed when the Armistice was signed.
Father had ended up with a good 400 acre farm which was all workable. It had a good barn, an equipped blacksmith shop and a wood working shop in the original log house. The new farm house was indifferent and unpainted. The barn was something special. It was very long. The ground floor had the barn in one end, machinery storage in the middle and grain storage at the other end. There were two lofts for hay and we used the third loft as a bowling alley. There was a large slough at south west corner of the property where ducks and muskrats lived. There were several copses where there were partridges. What more could boys ask for?
The farm was 5 miles north of town. Father was 40 years of age with a young family. We were now 4 children, since Muriel arrived in 1914. We kept our house in town so that all of us children should have the benefit of a high school education. Mother was not keen on farming but moved out to the farm at threshing time, and in the summer school holidays.
The farm opened a new world for my brother and me. He was a year and nine months younger. My father had bought a 1916 Model T Ford car which I began to drive at age 12. There were very few cars in those days and fewer rules to govern them. Only the main highways had gravel surfaces. We were often at the mercy of weather and mud and snow. Father believed in mixed farming so there were cows to milk and pigs to feed. Father built a hen house at the back of our lot in Melfort and that became my responsibility year round. There were, of course, the horses to care for and they were the main source of power on the farm. However, we had a Titan tractor to run our thresher and to plow,etc. But the mowing, raking, binding, harrowing, discing, fencing and hauling were mostly horse drawn. Father gave Edgar and me responsibility early; at threshing time, Edgar ran the tractor and I was responsible for the separator. The parklands of mid-Saskatchewan are seldom susceptible to drought as are the southern prairies. The only partial crop failure I can remember in the Melfort area was in 1924. That year at the age of 16 I stooked the whole crop alone.
In effect we had two households. Father came to town on Sundays. Edgar and I would walk the 5 miles to the farm on Friday nights or Saturdays. We came to know our father very well and learned to do all the things he liked, such as hunting, shooting, fishing, swimming and athletics. Father always had a hired man. Father did the cooking on the farm except that Mother looked after the baking in town. As we boys became older it was natural that we should take on some of the never ending chores, especially in summer and other holidays. The family became united on the farm in summer school breaks. We had a Western pony and we all learned to ride bare or saddleback. My brother and I had the run of the blacksmith and wood working shops. What a way to grow up, with an indulgent father who liked games and took us swimming at the Stoney Creek Dam on warm evenings.
Our father and mother took their civic responsibilities seriously. Father had served several terms on town council. He had also been a warden at Trinity Anglican Church. Whenever an orchestra was required in town, Father organized and led it. Melfort also had a choral society and put on a total of six different Gilbert and Sullivan operettas over several years. Mother was a member of the chorus and also sang in the church choir. On Sunday evenings after church when we children had been put to bed upstairs, father and mother would have a musical - piano and violin - of classical music in the living room. It was a delightful requiem to go to sleep by. I used often to sit at the top of the stairs to listen more closely to their music, and between pieces, their conversation. Our mother and father were a devoted pair. I have never heard a verbal disagreement between them.
An additional asset to our household was Grandfather Robertson. After he was released from the Civil Service, he and Grandmother Robertson decided to dispose of their house in Prince Albert. It had been agreed that they should live in turn with their two daughters, my mother and Aunt Anne. The latter had married a banker who was posted between Calgary and Lethbridge during most of his later service. Grandfather Robertson lived most of the time with us in Melfort, with visits from Grandmother Robertson. Grandfather Robertson was always well dressed and had a patrician manner. He went to work as a tailor in Melfort. He always had time to talk to us children. He never evinced an interest in the farm. The outside chores in Melfort around the house were the responsibility of Edgar and me when we were old enough. Grandfather Robertson built a Norwegian sailing boat in the back yard from plans from the magazine, Popular Mechanics, which was his library. He had saved years of copies. When I joined the Royal Bank of Canada as a junior in November of 1925, he made me a good tweed suit which lasted me for years.
I well remember grandfather's foray on the grain exchange in Winnipeg. He had received a legacy of over 3000 dollars from a relative and bought wheat futures. Unfortunately the price of grain went down and he lost it all. Grandfather lived into his 86th year. He died on December 5,1942. I was overseas at the time. Grandmother Robertson lived into her 93rd year and died in 1953. I was able to attend her funeral because I had recently returned from London, England and had been posted to Edmonton to command a training brigade. I flew courtesy of the RCAF from Edmonton to Lethbridge for the funeral service. I was fortunate to have such good caring grandparents. Grandfather Robertson bought me my first razor when he thought I should be shaving.
In my boyhood I had started as a cub and became a boy scout, and attended two camps with them. Mr. Charles Lancaster organized a cadet corps after WW1. He had served in the Boer War with the British Army. He migrated to Canada and Melfort and was the publisher and editor of the Melfort Journal. He was a member of the Anglican Church and sang in the choir. My parents were happy to see their sons associated with him. He was a handsome, erect ex-soldier. He was also an officer in C Company at Melfort of the 12th Battalion, Canadian Machine Gun Corps, headquartered in Regina. In 1923 a local course to train militiamen for the rank of corporal was set up in the local armoury which had been built the previous year and was attached to the post office. Major Lancaster was now in command of C Company. Both my brother Edgar and I and other high school boys joined up to take this course after school and in the evenings, even though we were much younger than the enlistment age of 18 years. An admirable Warrant Officer from the PPCLI, Sergeant-Major Perkis, conducted the course. What a refreshing insight he gave us into the life and training of a soldier. In WW11 he rose to the rank of Lieutenant Colonel. We all passed the course. My brother Edgar was the youngest student but he had great sense and mechanical ability and won all the contests in stripping and assembling the .303 Vickars Medium Machine Gun.
I should say that Major Lancaster had a great influence on my life. My parents approved of him and so did we. He used to like to describe his experiences in the South African War. After parades when we had finished putting the training stores away and had cleaned up, he would talk at length in the QM Stores for an hour or more about his military experiences. I give him credit for my enthusiasm and success in my later military life.
My militia membership extended my horizon. We went to training camps at Shilo and Dundurn every summer when the Canadian Government could find the money. I became a sergeant when I was 18 and in 1934 was commissioned as a 2nd lieutenant in C Company. Later when I was in Pleasantdale as principal of a continuation school, I organized a platoon which recruited young men from the big four villages south on the CPR line from Pleasantdale. Most of them joined for service on the outbreak of WWII. I should say that I even had borrowed a machine gun and had set it up in a spare room in our former bank building home in the village. This was with the permission of my Board of Trustees who were all veterans of the last war.
To go back to my schooling, I was educated at the Broadway Public School in Melfort, Grades 1 to 8. We walked 4 long blocks to school, sometimes in winter temperatures that went down to -40 degrees Fahrenheit. The Melfort High School, Grades 9 to 12, Senior Matriculation, was in the same block as our house in town. In my last year I was 16 years of age and very useful on the farm. That was 1924, one of the worst years for farming because of lack of rain. I didn't start my senior year until November 1, two months late. Principal Williams took me aside and said he didn't think I would pass my year. This put me on my mettle. After dismal Christmas grades I made it by June and was one of four who passed the Departmental Exams, clear, out of a class of 23.
Principal Williams congratulated me on my effort and said he would like to recommend me for a scholarship if I intended to go to university. Scholarships to Western universities were not large in those days.. This one was for only $50.00. I declined because my mother had already started things in motion to get me into the Royal Bank through her sister's husband, Charles MacMillan, who was then an inspector with the bank. Mother was determined that I should not be caught up with farming. In any event, after the war years farming income had plummeted.
I was posted in November 1925, at age 17+ to the Royal Bank branch in Rosetown, Sask. on the Goose Lake line 100 miles south west of Saskatoon. As a junior clerk one of my main responsibilities was to take around to the merchants the drafts which had been drawn on them by their creditors. It was an interesting lesson in human nature and credit. When a merchant "accepted" a draft, the bank could debit his account. But when times were hard sometimes there were insufficient funds in the merchant's account to cover the draft. We could return a draft "unaccepted," but then the creditor's loans from the large city bank would be affected. Sometimes it became a "cat and mouse" game between me and the merchants - an excellent lesson in the credit function of banks. The ledger keepers tried me, as a "new boy," by ordering me to carry out their huge ledgers from the vault. The ledgers were hand-written then. But we soon settled that.
In Rosetown my monthly salary to start was $53.00 per month. I found board and room and washing with Ed and Valentine Rayner. They were a good-hearted American couple who had come to make money in Saskatchewan, during the boom, as had many of the farmers of the area, who were good and knowledgeable agriculturalists, and who were taking advantage of good and cheap farmland. But, Ed's health failed and Valentine, who was an accomplished pianist and vocalist had to support them. She gave music lessons. I paid $35.00 per month for their care and it was good. The junior from the Bank of Toronto was a fellow boarder. He had been sent by his father who was a banker in Paris, France to Canada to learn English and to see something of the world. I think we broadened each other's horizons. Sir Herbert Holt was the president of the Royal Bank at that time. It was rumoured that he had said that no bank clerk was worth more than $100.00 per month. He was not popular.
I was promoted to ledger keeper and moved from Rosetown to Unity, Sask. Unity was a smaller but thriving town and there was some excitement from oil fever. I even invested $25.00 in the Unity Oil Wells which came to nothing, but was a lesson to me. I believe that it became a salt well in later years.
I learned to play bridge when my Grandmother Robertson visited in Melfort and I was pressed to make a fourth with Father and Mother. Bridge became a useful social pastime in my banking years because there was plenty of spare time in the evenings. I became a better than average player.
I think it's fair to say that the excitement of the opening of the West had mostly gone. After Unity, I served as a ledger keeper in Alsask, near the Alberta boundary, and also at Denzil, and then as a teller in Tessier and Simpson, all small villages west of Saskatoon. Small town banking was often a dreary prospect. I left the bank in the spring of 1929 after three and a half years of service. It was a good learning experience, but a very structured life. I thought of going in for law and had even arranged with a Regina legal firm to be articled with them when I started university.
I went home to my parents and got caught up with a project to ship fodder to the drought-stricken prairies. I became the secretary of a loose organization promoted by George Ford, a Melfort business man, and my father. Farmers from the Carrot River Valley were encouraged to donate fodder, hay, or straw, which would be shipped freight free by the railways. I organized the collection and dispatching of the fodder and George Ford and my father looked after the publicity. It was very successful and helpful. Later that spring, I got a job as clerk timekeeper for the firm of Mannix and Owens who had the contract for deep cuts north of a bridge across the Saskatchewan River at Nipawin. This was a mechanical operation with tracked shovel, tractors and wagons which operated through 1929 until December when we finished the contract. I earned $25.00 per week and saved. It included tent and board. I kept the work time of a crew of 30, did the paper work and got the supplies for the work and the kitchen. I learned the life and philosophy of the DIRT GANG. These men spent their entire lives going from one dirt moving job to another. They were the salt of the earth! However, the onset of the Great Depression in the fall of 1929 closed down the extension of railway lines. And it ended my hopes of studying for the legal profession. Graduate lawyers were taking jobs wherever they could find work. I spent that winter with my cousin, Harold Clift, cutting and hauling out fire wood for our respective homes from the forests along the Saskatchewan River 25 miles north.
In the spring of 1930 my father was chairman of the local Chatauqua Committee. The idea of Chatauqua came from Chatauqua Lake in New York State. There, people used to assemble for cultural performances. Canadian Chatauquas were organized by the Erickson family out of Winnipeg to take culture and entertainment to the west in the summer. There was one six-day circuit and many three- or four-day circuits. When Mrs. Erickson was in Melfort in the late spring, she had heard that they were to be short a tent man on the four-day circuit because of a drinking problem. Father suggested me and said that I was going to enroll in Normal School. This fitted their employment needs because the lady local directors and the tent men were generally university students. I met Mrs. Erickson, was accepted and set off for Swan Lake, Manitoba, where I took over. There was one tent man per tent on the four-day circuit. He was responsible for accompanying the tent and accessories to the next village or town on his itinerary, supervising the erection of the tent, with local volunteer help, erecting a stage from barrels and lumber, and building seats with planks - all borrowed materials. Then a fence of canvas had to be erected and a stage and backstage facilities set up for the performers. The tent man was responsible for the lighting and for rigging the stage lights. While in situ, he was the stage manager and controlled the stage lights and curtains and handled the props. He helped the director handle the audience, kept the small children in the front seats well-behaved and cleaned up the debris after the performances. I was even asked to help swell the choruses in the musical from backstage. The whole Chatauqua organization was such a pleasant group that it seemed more like fun. In towns and cities where there was a good local committee, and the lady director had done her job, everything went well and we were ready on schedule. I remember one town on the four-day circuit where none of this happened but I managed with the help of the local boys who rallied around out of curiosity.
I seem to have created a good reputation because I had done only three stands on the four-day circuit when I was promoted to head man, with an assistant, on the six-day circuit which played the cities and larger towns. The tent would hold 1,000 sitting down and it was supported by telephone tent poles. The poles had to be guyed and the tent on rings was pulled up the poles. My pay was $25.00 per week, but it did not include food. We had an interesting maneuver here. We would get the lady director to thank the ladies for their donations of pies and cakes to the tent men. The slight suggestion usually worked. We had our own camp beds and we would rig cover when the tents were in transit. Most travel in those days was by rail.
The main enemy of a big tent was wind. Our stand in the Broad Street Park in Regina was a nightmare. One morning one of the Chautauqua officials found me and my mate asleep in our cots at 8 AM. He was annoyed until he learned that we had been up all night fighting the wind and tightening and repairing canvas and fences. All went well for the rest of the summer season. I was asked to come out again next summer.
I had decided against a legal career. Lawyers even that early in the Depression were firing boilers in apartment blocks. People couldn't afford to litigate. I had applied for and was accepted at the Saskatoon Normal School. It opened the world of education for me and for many others. At that time, the Conservatives were in power in Regina. The Premier was Dr. J.T.M. Anderson, a former teacher. He kept the Ministry of Education for himself. And he really revolutionized educational thinking in the province. Before him, Saskatchewan and other Western provinces had followed the Ontario curriculum. I wish I had kept a copy of the Saskatchewan curriculum for elementary schools. It started with dissertations on the philosophy and psychology of education and laid out the aims and content for all grades. The staff of the Normal School were a most capable and well-qualified group of teachers. Our class teacher in Room A was Dr. Seeley who had been raised in the hardy atmosphere of Bruce County, Ontario. He was an enthusiast on history and I was infected by his enthusiasm. There were 400 aspiring teacher students in the school from the various population centers of the central and northern parts of the province.
I turned out for football because I was older - 22 - and had done farm labour. I did service in the line. And for the rest of the season my bones and muscles were aching. We played against the University "B" team and others. I was nominated by the staff, along with four others, to be the class valedictorian at the closing exercises, the winner to be determined by a student body election. A very good girl student won the election, and deserved the honour. The whole course was stimulating and challenging. It was 9 months long and included practice teaching. Our art teacher was Miss Rankin - a wonderful outgoing Irish person. We all had to do a special art project for her. I did a free hand enlargement of Gagnon"s "At the Foot of the Rocks" in chalk colour. In 1942, when I had achieved some local notice in the Saskatoon Star-Phoenix on being promoted to command the South Saskatchewan Regiment, Miss Rankin dug my effort out of her files, had it framed and presented it to my wife who was living in Saskatoon. It still decorates my walls.
I was out again for three months with Chatauqua on the six-day circuit, mostly in cities and large towns. I travelled in the three prairie provinces and north-west Ontario. This was a nomadic circus type of life, but with a good organization and local support, dedicated to culture and to carrying music, dramatics and lectures to the people - and, incidentally, making some money. Already in 1931 the effects of the Depression and the drought were being felt in the West. Chatauqua began to wind down. Perhaps the greatest adverse influence was the advent of radio. I am grateful for the opportunities Chatauqua gave me, to experience so much of the prairies, and to work with and to know the people of the entertainment and cultural world.
Because I had elected to do a second summer with Chatauqua, I was late applying for a teaching position. I wrote a total of 50 applications until I decided to make my application different. I had prints made of a photo of a hockey team I had played with while I was in the bank. The Chairman of the Board of the Chelton School District, six miles west of Spalding, Sask. was a hockey fan. He and the Board liked my approach and hired me to conduct their school, starting in early February of 1932. Holidays were one month in winter and one month in summer.
My pupils at first were either of French or German descent, and they were all Roman Catholic. It should be clear that I enjoyed a broad-minded school board. One of the first things I did was to visit the priest whose church was in the community. I told him what I hoped to do - to read from Hurlburt's Story of the Bible each morning and to repeat the Lord's Prayer. The good Father agreed and he supported me. I had also cleared this with the School Board. I roomed and boarded with the Arthur Chauvins who lived two and a quarter miles from the school. I walked it twice a day - good exercise! The Chauvins also had a son and a daughter-in-law with two children living with them. There was also a hired man, born and raised in France. He had done his novitiate for the priesthood there. He was in the government relief programme for which he received $5.00 per month from the government and the farmer provided room and board for his services. Welfare then was not as generous as it is today. He spoke excellent French and was glad to tutor me in French for an occasional evening. My pay started at $500.00 per year. I paid $20.00 per month for room and board and washing. I was fortunate to teach in the parklands area. On the prairies many teachers, at best, got only part of their agreed salaries. Max Braithwaite who attended Saskatoon Normal School with me has written a hilarious book entitled, "Don't Shoot the Teacher" about the life of a rural school teacher in those days.
I started off with 8 grades. In three years, my school had increased to include Grades 1 to 11. Pupils stayed in school because there was nothing else for them to do during the Depression. There was no library. The only useful book was a huge Webster's Dictionary. School supplies and text books were supplied by the Board. So, one had to improvise and beg and borrow reading material. The High School grades followed the Saskatchewan high school correspondence programme which I taught from, and marked. The school population rose to over 40. But they were good children, came from good homes, and I had no disciplinary problems.
We followed the practice of the annual Christmas concert. To support the concert and the giving of presents to each child, we, the Board, the parents and I, put on a series of dances in the school to raise money for Christmas. We were lucky if fist-a-cuffs did not interrupt the evenings. Fortunately, this usually happened outside. I met my wife, Margaret, the first year of our concerts when I asked her to play the organ. She also came for practices. We fell in love and married. And that solved the musical problem, forever.
We had an active sports programme in the school. We even won the cup for the most points in our area school sports meet. Another effort sprang from my experiences with Chatauqua. We developed puppetry and marionettes. I built a stage, the girls made the puppets and marionettes and the shows were hits at the Christmas concerts. We were also in demand to put on shows at other schools in the area.
I made a deal with the Board for the construction of a three-room teacherage on the grounds for Margaret and me and our family. It only cost $450.00. In return, I agreed to janitor the school and grounds. I was back to see the site in 1995. The school lot was as bare as the surrounding fields, except for a basement filled with trash. We had to have transportation. I built a covered rig on runners with a windshield which I stored on the school secretary's small farm, a half mile away. I was now independent for transportation in winter. We could visit Margaret's family, go to Spalding. And, I could join the Spalding Hockey Club. In summer we had mobility by borrowing Margaret's parents' car.
I joined the Spalding Hockey Club and played defence with them in the Big Four league which included the villages of Spalding, Naicam, Lac Vert and Pleasantdale. Bill and Bun cook who were stars with the New York Rangers were farmers near Lac Vert in the summers. They donated the Cook Cup for competition at the end of the season. I made the trip by horse and cutter to Spalding, a distance of six miles, for practices and games, often with my Board Chairman, who was a hockey fan. For "away games," we travelled mostly by a caboose on sleighs and pulled by horses. A trip to Pleasantdale - 18 miles - meant that I did not get back home until 6 AM. But, I was ready for school in three hours. In summer, I played baseball with the Chelton hardball team. We were quite good.
At the end of 5 1/2 years - in 1937 - the economy was improving somewhat. My father- in- law used to say that he could make money if he could get 50 cents a bushel for his wheat. Wheat went at 19cents a bushel during the depression. Flour could be bought for $1.00 per hundred pound bag. In 1937 I was paid $650.00 per year. And, of course, I had the use of the cottage in return for janitoring the school and grounds. I asked for an increase in pay. The board said they could not afford it. Regretfully, I said I would have to move. I was hired by the Pleasantdale Continuation School to teach Grades 8 to 12 at $800.00 per year. I was able to rent a disused Cdn. Bank of Commerce two story building with four bedrooms and a bathroom upstairs for $10.00 per month. The principalship was given to the teacher of the junior room who was an older man than I and was a veteran of WW1. I was even busier in Pleasantdale. Margaret and I now had three children. I took a summer school course at the university in Saskatoon, in chemistry, so that I could teach it. The Chairman's daughter wanted to go in for nursing.
I took on the coaching of the Pleasantdale hockey team, and played on the team. Margaret and I underwrote the Christmas concert. A teacher's work is never done. Nor is his wife's. We were almost equidistant between Margaret's parents west of Spalding and my parents in Melfort. I purchased a rather used Star touring car which was still running, for $50.00 to get about in the summer. During my two summers in Pleasantdale, I had a ½ acre garden, by permission of a kind friend, at no cost. I dug it by hand. It was fertile and I grew a good crop of vegetables. Fortunately, I had a good basement for storage. It was elemental living in Pleasantdale. I used to buy wood in rails for $1.00 per load. Then I would saw it by hand and burn it in our furnace. We had some advantages, like a septic system and a well with an electric pump.
I was commissioned a 2nd lieutenant with the 12th Cdn. Machine Gun Battalion in 1934. In the militia reorganization of 1936, C Company in Melfort became part of the Saskatoon Light Infantry (MG). I told Major Lancaster in Melfort that I could raise a platoon in Pleasantdale, after discussing it with the School Board. I should say that there were some pacifistic (and even communist) elements in the University of Saskatchewan at that time. Major Lancaster issued me a Vickars, a medium machine gun, which I set up in a spare room in our large building, and I recruited a platoon from the BIG FOUR villages area.
At the departmental examinations in 1938 for Grades 11 and 12, junior and senior matriculation, all my students passed. The Board was so pleased and so were the parents, that they vested the principalship in me for the next year - with no increase in pay. My school board were all war veterans; and there was no problem with Bob Moss, the teacher of the junior room. I took university courses by correspondence both winters in Pleasantdale, in English and History, toward my degree. I was working so hard I had to have a short sleep in the early evening and then work until after midnight at the books, and preparation for classes. The weekends were a godsend! My wife was a great support.
In the spring of 1939 my close friends, the druggist and the United Church Minister, and I had decided that war was inevitable. I applied for a course to qualify for the rank of full lieutenant, was accepted, and took a six-week course during school holidays at Camp Dundurn in July and August, which I passed. My school had done only two weeks of the fall term when the Sask L I (MG) was ordered to mobilize as part of the 1st Canadian Infantry Division for early overseas services . This was on Friday 3 September. The decision to fulfil my commitment with the Militia was not taken easily because of my young family. But, Margaret said that I should go. Her father had served in the Boer War. Margaret was a good partner in all my activities. I called up the Chairman of the Board to say that I regretted that I would not be able to be in school on Monday because of my call-up. He understood and wished me well. Major Reg. Lancaster, son of Major Charles Lancaster who had died, asked me to be second-in-command of "C" Company with the eventual rank of captain. I reported for duty in Melfort. We started mobilizing our company, having medical examinations, equipping, and recruiting. By the end of the week 10 September, I commanded over 70 volunteers on a train trip to Saskatoon to join the battalion which was forming at the Exhibition Grounds in that city. Major Lancaster had to come later because he had to continue recruiting, and hand over his civilian job with the CNR. I made arrangements to move my wife and children and furniture to Saskatoon so that we could be together before the battalion proceeded overseas.
I must comment on the visit to Canada by King George VI and Queen Elizabeth in June 1939. It was a wonderful moment of unity for Canada on the eve of war, although we did not know it at the time. "C" Company went from Melfort to Saskatoon by train to do our part for the Royal Progress. We went a day early to freshen up our ceremonial movements, and so that our officers could be instructed in ceremonial sword drill. The battalion's task was to line the route of the Royal Progress, along with other units and the Royal Canadian Legion. Our battalion changed position three times by hustling up side streets ahead of the Royal entourage. We must have given the impression of having far more troops than we actually had. Because we were posted at intervals in front of the crowds on the sidewalks, we soldiers had very close views of the royal couple. The extensive Royal Tour covered the whole country, or at least its main centres, and was such an important morale booster for what would happen in a couple of months.
The Great Depression of 1929 to 1939 was an even greater depression in the prairie provinces. In addition to the economic downturn, the southern prairies suffered from drought, plagues of grasshoppers and searing winds which moved the precious top soil into ravines, ditches and copses. The parklands areas in the middle of the three provinces were spared the drought and the other calamities which went with it. Some farmers on the southern prairies just moved up to the parklands with their families and possessions on hay wagons. We had one case in the Chelton School District which I learned of when two small girls came to school without lunch. We got food and relief for the family. But, the Depression just got worse as prices fell and the world economy closed down. Wheat even fell to 19 cents per bushel. There was the spectacle of thousands of young men "riding the rods" on the freight cars from east to west and south to north looking for work. There was no organized welfare except for unattached young men who were herded into camps like Dundurn, or were subsidized on farms. Many of them joined the forces in 1939 and 1940. The extraordinary thing was that it took a war to get the economy moving. And soon there were jobs for all.
CHAPTER II: WE GO TO BRITAIN
Canada was quite unprepared for war when Parliament declared war against Germany on 10 September 1939. There were only three regular infantry battalions at half-strength, and two under-strength cavalry regiments which were still horsed. There were under-strength artillery units with insufficient guns. This situation existed throughout all the corps of the Army and to an even worse extent in the Navy and Air Force. We had just not kept up our manning and equipment for twenty years since the end of W.W.I. Our saviors were the Militia of the Army and the Reserves of the Navy and Air Force. In the Army the best units of the Militia were mobilized first to train with weapons left over from W.W.I. We even lacked uniforms for our men. Some men were in low shoes for months. The favorite story was that we should be fully equipped when we reached Britain. But Britain was not ready, nor was France. It was fortunate that there was a period of the "Phoney War" and that the R.A.F., with many Canadian volunteers, won the Battle of Britain later, in the air, before the British, Canadians, and Americans met the German forces in Africa, Italy and France. We must not ever forget the determination of the British, the initiative of the Canadians and the might of the Americans. It was a "close run thing" as Wellington said after Waterloo. Will we make the same mistake again?
The exhibition and fall fairs buildings across the country provided accommodation for partial mobilization. We had no camps across the country with sufficient buildings for winter mobilization. The first necessity is a good officer base. Then the warrant and non-commissioned officers have to be selected and trained for their responsibilities. The next thing is to fill up the units with good men and to train them. The Army had veterans from World War I who were most crucial to our organization for war. As soon as I arrived I was put to work instructing officers and NCOs in machine gunnery. Major Drayton Walker, a former teacher from Saskatoon, was made officer commanding the school and I was his assistant because of my teaching experience and because I was fresh out of a summer course in machine-gunnery. There was the need to fill out the organization of the battalion into companies, platoons, and sections, and to start their training as teams, to drill and to improve physical fitness and reactions. Specialists such as clerks, mechanics, armourers, and storekeepers had to be recruited or trained. Above all, we had to learn our basic arm, the Vickars Medium Machine Gun. The battalion was to be completely mobile eventually, on wheels or tracked vehicles. But we could not be trained on these vehicles until they were issued to us in Britain. But, there was no orderly progression. In order to get a battalion to Britain before the end of the year, the main effort was to fill up the battalion with personnel, and sort out the rest later.
Medical examinations, including inoculations, were continuous until our departure for overseas. I remember going into battalion headquarters after tetanus shots one afternoon. There was not a single person able to act.
Brigadier George Pearkes, who commanded the Western Brigade, came to inspect us in early October. All we could manage was to be formed up as a battalion on parade, and then to march past in column of route. Brig. Pearkes then ordered us to march again around the parade square and to sing soldiers' songs. We were not on parade with arms. Quite frankly, we had not yet learned to sing marching songs with gusto. It was pathetic! He was trying to tell us that we should give some attention to this morale booster. He was helpful and was able to hasten items of equipment. He was a Victoria Cross winner in W.W. I. He later commanded 1 Canadian Division, but not in action. He became the Minister of National Defense and later Lieutenant Governor of B.C. He had an illustrious and varied career.
We were only three months in Saskatoon before we entrained for overseas. It was a period of basic training, organization, recruiting, documentation and medical and dental administration. I was instructing on courses mostly. There was also the problem of equipping our soldiers with uniforms, boots, etc. while there were such serious shortages of everything military in Canada. And we married soldiers were settling our families before we left for what might be years abroad.
It was a poignant scene at the Saskatoon railway station on 7 December 1939 when the Sask. Light Infantry (MG) embarked on two trains for the three-day journey to Halifax. Although there was supposed to be some security about this movement of troops, it did not work out that way. Whenever we stopped we were greeted by cheering crowds. Most of the battalion were to board the liner, Duchess of Bedford. "C" and "D" Companies were to board the liner, Aquitania, which also carried Major-General Andrew MacNaughton, the divisional commander and half of his staff. In addition there was the whole of the Royal 22nd Regiment and an RCASC Transport Company. I was given the task of assistant baggage officer for the voyage. Half of the 1st Canadian Infantry Division were in this first large convoy leaving Halifax for Britain on 10 December carrying formed bodies of Canadian troops. Many transport ships were also part of the convoy. We were well-escorted by ships of war against the enemy submarine threat.
What a way to go to war! The Aquitania was the queen ship of the Cunard Line and it had not yet been converted to troop ship basics. Officers and NCOs had cabins, even though crowded, and we had stewards. There were menus at meals and one could even order drinks and wines at meals or in our cabins. There were a couple of submarine scares on the crossing, with our escorts rushing about. And on a couple of occasions we were called for boat drill. We exercised by walking on the upper deck. And so did General MacNaughton. He liked to talk to us.
We steamed up the River Clyde to Gouroch, just before Glasgow, where we landed on December 17. Security was much tighter in Britain. We landed in the rain and transferred quickly to waiting British trains. They were so tiny compared with our large Canadian railway trains. We travelled down the west coast of England and then over to Aldershot.. In WW1 the Canadian troops were billeted in tents, in winter, on the Salisbury Plains and our troops suffered. We did better this time. We were housed in permanent barracks in Farnborough, near Aldershot. It was a British military centre. The Sask L I (MG) and the Toronto Scottish (MG) occupied a single British Regiment's lines together with joint messes for officers and also for warrant officers and NCO'S. Nothing much was to happen about equipment until after the New Year. We kept ourselves busy with settling in, basic training and route marches to keep fit and to learn our area.
Hospitality was excellent. The arrival of the 1st Canadian Division created quite a stir and we were well received, especially over the holidays. The big thing was to get up to London which was only an hour away by train. Of course, there were no bright lights. Britain had put itself on a war footing: air raid wardens, blackouts of windows, road signs removed. Some families and children had even moved from the cities to the countryside. We were amazed at how much had changed in the few months since war had been declared. But, we were in the stage of the "Phoney War"!
The winter of 1939/40 was the coldest in Britain in living memory. The pipes for the plumbing were on the outside of the buildings. And they froze often during that winter. Strangely enough, the following summer of 1940 was the sunniest and warmest for several years.
My company commander, Reg. Lancaster, and I went to Clacton on Sea on the Essex coast to spend New Year's visiting Jimmy Walker who had spent some years in Melfort as Secretary of the Melfort Board of Trade. Seagrams had made a very generous gift of several bottles of whiskey at Christmas to every Canadian officer. So we had a rather bibulous time with Jimmy, but a very good visit. At Christmas we had attended a dinner party in a London hotel put on by a British retired brigadier.
We began receiving our transport and equipment in the first part of January. Amongst the vehicles were light Norton motorcycles intended for despatch riders. All officers were encouraged to become proficient on them. There were many accidents with them because of the narrow, winding English roads. They were excellent machines. After I had put on 2000 miles on my cycle I decided I had pushed my luck far enough and opted for a four wheeled vehicle. We had jeeps and tracked carriers and 15cwt. trucks at the platoon and company level and 60 cwt. trucks at the battalion level. Our battalion was completely mechanized. A great deal of movement training and practice was necessary to accustom the unit to move, to camouflage their vehicles and to use overhead cover at rest. I was sent on a two week vehicle mastership course which instructed on maintenance and the supervision and inspection of maintenance. I passed with an "A" mark. I was also sent on a machine gun company commander's course at Netheravon School. I was sent on these courses because I was doing so much instruction in our battalion training.
In January, Queen Elizabeth, who was Colonel-in-Chief of our allied British regiment, The King's Own Yorkshire Light Infantry, came to welcome us and to inspect us. She lunched with us in the Officers' Mess. What a charming woman she was! She won all our hearts.
The training programme increased in tempo as we were equipped to full strength in weapons and transport. I was given a lot of jobs. Colonel Potts named me as secretary of the combined officers' mess. Then our regimental schools were started up again. In addition I had responsibilities as 2 i/c of "C" Coy. My promotion to Captain came through, with back pay.
Our commanding officer was Lt. Col. Arthur Potts. He had taken command just before we left for overseas. He had been a professor of agriculture at the University of Saskatchewan and was Commander of the COTC there. He had served in WW1 and "knew the score." He was a tough and demanding CO and ran a good unit. We trained with the prospect of going to France fairly soon.
An interesting problem arose at Division HQ. We had too many MG battalions in our division and we had to reduce these to one. It was decided that the selection was between the Toronto Scottish and the Sask. LI for the honour of remaining with the 1st Division. The solution suggested by the Netheravon School of Small Arms was to run a firing competition on the Salisbury Plains where we were both doing field firing. The school set up and adjudicated the competition. A gun team from every MG platoon in each battalion as well as teams from the officers and NCO'S would compete in successive gun shoots at falling plates 600 yards away. The object in each of the 14 competitive shoots was to knock down by machine gun fire the plates in front of the other battalion before they could knock down yours. The Sask. LI won the competition easily. I was the No. 1, who fires the gun, on the gun for the Sask. LI officers' team and I shot down the Tor. Scots plates before they got a shot away. So the Sask. LI remained as MG battalion in the 1st. Cdn. Inf. Division. There was also a benefit for me personally. Colonel Potts cancelled, on the spot, a punishment he had awarded me of a month's duty officer for an infraction of the rules against going into the Sergeants' Mess the evening we moved to Salisbury Plains.
In May of 1940 the Germans attacked with massed infantry and tanks through Belgium, around the north end of the Maginot Line (French) and demonstrated a very successful tactic known as the Blitzkrieg with dive bomber support. They broke the French- British defence line and the latter were driven back to a perimeter defence around Dunkirk. The Germans then attacked the Maginot Line to the east from its rear. This took some pressure off the Dunkirk perimeter.
The 1st Cdn. Inf. Division was ordered to the south coast of England to try to bolster the French resistance by landing at Brest in Western France. About a third of 1 Cdn. Div. landed, but it was useless. Our units were taken off by ship, in some cases with the loss of equipment.
The story of Dunkirk is well known. The German attack in this area had lost its momentum, chiefly because the enemy were rolling up the Maginot Line. Our ring of defences around Dunkirk held, and the British Navy and many small boat sailors, supported by the RAF, rescued a third of a million men to fight again. The 25 miles of the English Channel saved Britain from being overrun. Our battalion, which was a supporting arm, was on a day's notice to embark for France from the south coast of England. The movement was cancelled before we embussed on our transport.
The German aim was to invade Britain and knock it out of the war. But their planning had not envisaged such a quick defeat of the French-Belgium-British defence line, and they did not have the necessary craft to cross the channel in force. Moreover, the British Navy and the RAF were very formidable. The Germans code named their plan for cross channel attack Operation Lion, and they began to assemble landing craft for the assault. The British Navy and the RAF continued to pound the French west coast.
The enemy decided they had to win the skies over Britain before they could invade. The Battle of Britain - the German Air Force against the RAF - began. Fortunately, the British had developed two superb aircraft, the Hurricane and the Spitfire, which were superior in firepower and manoeuverability to the German fighters. We also had radar for early warning. It must be said that there were many Canadian pilots in the RAF at that time.
Our 1 Cdn. Inf. Division became "McNaughton's Flying Circus" as we moved to the Midlands of England to be prepared to counter threats against the east coast by the enemy. Then the 1 Cdn. Corps, as it became, with the 2nd Cdn. Division and an armoured brigade, were moved to the Sussex and Surrey areas south of London. By this time, I had been appointed adjutant (staff officer to the CO) of the battalion and our HQ was in the village hall at Ockley, north of Horsham. Our companies were spread out around us. They had machine guns mounted in an anti-aircraft role. I so well remember the 15th of September when our battalion captured the pilots of four German aircraft downed in our battalion area. This was the day the German air force suffered very heavy losses from the guns of our fighter pilots. It was the turning point in the Battle of Britain. Britain kept her skies, and the island, from the threat of invasion.
After mid September there was still the necessity for the defence of the SE coast of Britain, if the Germans seriously returned to the thought of invading. However, after consolidating France, Denmark and Norway, the German strategy turned to consolidating Europe, south and east. Nevertheless, the Germans continued their bomber attacks against London and other British cities by night. In turn, British Bomber Command carried the war to German strategic targets. Hitler also put emphasis on submarine attacks in the Atlantic in an attempt to strangle supplies to Britain.
It did look as if we should have a long period of training in Britain. In November it was decided that instructors should be returned to Canada to assist in the integration of the Canadian Army at home and the Army overseas. I was adjutant of the battalion and all paper passed over my desk. The Sask LI were directed to nominate an officer for a six month tour of instruction in Canada. I persuaded the Commanding Officer, Lt. Col. McKerron, that I was a good candidate for this tour because of my training expertise, and also because of my young family. I have a copy of the letter signed by Col. McKerron in which he cancelled a recommendation for another officer who was single and not an instructor, because he thought I should be of more value in training reinforcements for our battalion. I was to be interviewed by Brigadier G.R. Turner who was BGS of 1Cdn. Corps, as to my suitability. He questioned me on machine gun tactics and was satisfied with me and my responses. Later, he became a good friend. I was then attached to the Middlesex Regimental Depot (they were a MMG unit also) in North London for two weeks. This was at the height of the "Blitz" on London. I was billeted in a private house near the Depot. The owner of the house left his home every evening to spend the night with relatives in the country. This tour was not a good learning experience because I had already attended the company commanders' course in machine gunnery at Netheravon. But, I had the opportunity to be a part of a British basic training centre for two weeks. It enlarged my experience.
In due course I was posted through the Canadian Reinforcement Depot for return to Canada on a Belgium ship which had been built for the run to the Congo. It was 19,000 tons and was designed for the tropics, definitely not for the North Atlantic. We were to follow the battleship Revenge, without an escort, after we left the air cover and small ship protection near Britain. The ocean trip took 13 days from an eastern British port to Halifax. It was at the end of November and it was stormy. Our course took us north almost to Iceland and then down the Labrador coast to miss the convoy lanes where enemy submarines might be lurking. There were no incidents. The Revenge was not a huge battleship. She was going to Halifax to provide convoy protection for a convoy to Britain. At that time the Germans were sending out cruisers and battleships to attack British bound convoys. Day after day we followed that low slung battleship wallowing through heavy seas. And our ship wallowed even more than the Revenge!
I was billeted in a cabin with two regimental captains who were being returned to Canada for medical reasons. They elected to travel alcoholic, to counter, they thought, sea sickness. The result was that in both their cases they spent most of the whole voyage in their bunks. I did not subscribe to their theory of ocean travel, but was of some help looking after them. Apart from a few hours queasiness, at first, I was not sea sick and spent most of the days and evenings playing bridge - a great consolation on a trip like this one. After landing at Halifax and the long three day trip west, I was attached to No. 12 District Depot in Regina and posted for duty to No. 18 Infantry Machine Gun Training Centre at Camp Dundurn, just 30 miles south of Saskatoon, where my family were now living. How fortunate! I had Christmas with my family during a short landing leave. And I should have most of my week ends with them.
I was given command of a trained soldier company which later had 300 men on strength. This was because there were no battle casualties overseas and no need to load up the reinforcement depot in Britain. Lt. Col. Murray Dillon, from London, Ontario was the Commanding Officer. He became a Brigadier on staff at Army Headquarters in Ottawa by the end of the war. He had served in WWI and had won the Military Cross. He was a thoroughly fine man and a good soldier!
The members of the Officers' Mess at No. 18 were a good and well motivated group, as well they should be, with a leader like Col. Dillon. He was a virtuoso on the violin, and along with other musicians, it was a musical and happy Mess. The staff of this training centre were very capable. Company Commanders had been regular army warrant officers before the war and knew man management and instruction, and had a good philosophy of soldiering. In other words the competition, for me, was good. The 2i/c Major Richmond had been a pre-war officer with the Strathcona Horse, a regular unit. David Currie was our transport officer. Later in Normandy, as a major with an armoured unit, he won the Victoria Cross at the closing of the Falaise "Pocket." After the war he served for years as the Sergeant-at-Arms in the House of Commons. There were several very good officers who served with me in the Trained Soldiers Company, and later with the Sask. LI overseas.
The problem for me was what to do with these trained soldiers to keep up their edge with winter upon us. I suggested to the CO that I should like to do winter training out of doors. He agreed and assisted by obtaining winter equipment for me - toboggans, skis and snowshoes. Ski boots were not available. But we got moccasins, parkas, wind pants, and heavy mittens and sun glasses. For skiing we wore leather boots with two pair of socks. When all of this arrived after New Years we were ready to go. In the meantime, we were lucky. Amongst the ranks of the Training Centre there was a former Norwegian by the name of I.O. Meyers. He had been a skier in Norway and had recently won the Saskatchewan Cross Country Skiing Championship. He was posted to my company and we made him a corporal instructor. Of course, I had to organize my reinforcements as a company and continue with normal training and instruction indoors. We had a very high esprit and all of us tried to live up to our reputation as trained soldiers.
I should say that on return from overseas there were the inevitable public duties I had to perform: press interviews, a talk to the Officers' Wives' Club, etc. I also had to lead discussions on overseas field training with the officers at the Training Centre. It was a challenge for me.
Our winter training was a great success. We tried to get out every day on exercises over the rolling prairie terrain of Dundurn Camp which ran as far west as the valley of the Saskatchewan River. Our regular service boots, oversize, with two pair of socks and insoles served as ski boots, but we had to keep moving. We established bivouacs, heated our food and slept in shelters facing to a wood fire. No one, to my recollection, suffered severe frost bite, although the temperature did on occasion, go down to -30 Fahrenheit. We even set up schemes, whereby a platoon played enemy against the rest of the company. In all of this Corporal Meyers was a tower of strength and good humour. We all learned to ski and to snowshoe and to haul and load toboggans. I don't think there was much boredom in our company. In March I was promoted to Acting Major. Promotion is said to be the sincerest form of flattery!
I was very fortunate to have this instructional tour back in Canada and to be posted so close to my family. Margaret was even able to attend social functions in our Officers' Mess at Camp Dundurn. And we saw something of Saskatoon too. As for the children, then aged 7,5 and 3 (Barbara, Gerald and Garth), they were able to get to know me better. I recall that Gerald wanted to know about soldiering. On one occasion he got some of his friends together and I showed them infantry battle tactics at the section level, on some empty ground nearby. There was also the opportunity to have contact with my parents in Melfort and Margaret's parents in Spalding. There were many soldiers who went overseas with the 1st Division in 1939 who did not get back to Canada until 1945 or 1946.
In June of 1941 Col. Dillon arranged that I should speak to Brigadier Trudeau who commanded Military District No. 12 in Regina, about my return to my regiment in Britain, since the 6 month tour had expired. I told him I did not want to appear to be "dodging the column." He agreed with me and suggested I should go to Regina HQ for a couple of months to get some experience of staff work, and to ensure that my return overseas would not be overlooked. So I became a staff learner under Major George Ferguson, a former lawyer from Saskatoon who had served in WW1 with the Saskatoon Fusiliers. He took me under his wing and I shared a room with him in the Saskatchewan Hotel. I did my staff learning in his branch. He was the DAAG (Deputy Assistant Adjutant General). That branch looks after personnel. And he saw that I had learning opportunities. He became a very good friend. Before the end of the war he had become a Brigadier and was Deputy Adjutant General at Army HQ in Ottawa. I was able to see my family on weekends in Saskatoon.
It was arranged that I should return overseas on a convoy which was taking part of the 5th Cdn. Armoured Division to Britain in October 1941. I had spent eleven months in Canada. There was the problem of my acting rank as major. I said it would only make problems when I returned to my battalion. Both George Ferguson and Murray Dillon insisted that I was to be posted overseas in the rank of acting major, and let the unit decide. As far as they were concerned, I was worthy of it.
And so it happened . I returned overseas with the units of the 5th Division in October and was posted to the Reinforcement Depot on arrival in Britain. I was most fortunate to be in time to attend the Presentation of Colours to the Saskatoon Light Infantry MG at Caterham Barracks in Surrey on October 24. I was a spectator and a guest. Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth presented the Colours which were a gift from the citizens of Saskatoon. The Regiment did itself proud on parade and Her Majesty was her lovely and gracious self. It is interesting that the band of the South Saskatchewan Regiment played for the occasion.
The preparation of a unit for the Presentation of Colours was not done lightly. The unit with four selected guard companies of 100 men each moved to Caterham Barracks for 2 weeks of drill preparation under instruction by senior NCOs and Warrant Officers of the Brigade of Guards. With new uniforms the unit really looked like Guardsmen after two weeks of intensive training. The Sask. L I (MG) gave a splendid and memorable performance! And it was a great fillip to morale! King George VI came after the Presentation of Colours for lunch. It was the Queen's show in her role as Colonel-in-Chief of our allied regiment.
I must comment on Queen Elizabeth in the Officers' Mess before lunch. We had seen this before in January 1940 when she visited us to welcome us to Britain. It was her custom to gather the junior officers around her after she met the senior officers and guests, and to get a good conversational flow going. What a woman! What a queen! She was quite extraordinary! Like Churchill she so exemplified the fighting spirit of the British.
There was a new Commanding Officer in the Sask. L I (MG). Lt. Col. J.S. Dudley had taken over from Lt. Col. McKerron. Col. Dudley was 2i/c of the unit when I was adjutant at Ockley, Surrey, before I went to Canada. We roomed together and were good friends. I said I was prepared to give up my acting rank and return to the unit. But he said that was not necessary because he wanted me to command "C" Company with whom I had started in 1939. I was posted back to the Sask. L I and confirmed in the rank of major. At this time there had been several changes in senior officers in the regiment.
The unit had moved from just south of London to defensive positions along the south coast. "C" Company had its HQ in Masefield, not far from Arundel Castle. And my three platoons were in villages along the south coast. We thus had a defensive role against invasion, and we had ready access to the South Downs which were an excellent training area. Later that winter I was posted to "B" Company which had six platoons and defensive responsibilities over a long stretch of the coast. My HQ was in Lancing, Sussex. We were nine officers and we had accommodation in a large beach house owned by Ray Noble, a well known London orchestra leader. The army had taken over his property for the duration of the war. Lancing College was on the edge of the Downs directly above Lancing. We ran every morning at 6 AM on the coast road, excepting the cooks, and not on Sundays. We trained hard and made good use of the Downs. Saturday was interior economy day with inspections, parades, etc. Sundays had church parades, and quiet time. We had reconnoitered positions for defence and practised occupation regularly. But by this time the likelihood of invasion was diminishing.
My records show that in August of 1942 I was appointed 2nd in command of the Regiment under Col. Dudley. Major Klaehn, whom I succeeded had been appointed to command another battalion, The Cameron Highlanders of Ottawa (MG) in the 3rd. Division. This meant that I went to live at Battalion HQ which was located at Wiston House near Steyning on the north edge of the Downs. Wiston House was the most delightful manor house we occupied in England - not too big, not too small. It had been taken over from the Barings family, who were merchant bankers. There was a great hall on the ground floor, and stairs led up to a balcony which circled the great hall. Off the balcony were bedrooms and private rooms. I enjoyed a bedroom with a huge four poster bed. The Barings had left quite a bit of furniture in the house. There were delightful living, dining and sitting rooms downstairs with a huge library full of books. Obviously the Barings had been persuaded to leave furnishings because the location of the house made it almost certain that it would be occupied as an HQ. We did our best to take care of the place and its lovely grounds.
We were not to enjoy Wiston House for too long. The regiment was moved to Kent County, south east of London where our HQ was to be quartered in Tunbridge Castle - not a huge castle, but it had a tower and good grounds. The previous occupants had not looked after the place too well (it had also been taken over by the Army). We set to work with the area engineer's office to repair the damages. Our companies were billeted around us. Because we were mechanized we had a great deal of transport and vehicles to hide away under trees against enemy bombing.As 2 I/C my responsibilities would, normally, be administrative. But the CO put me in charge of training. Because there were extra officers waiting in the Reinforcement Depot I managed to have Everett Bates and Bob Wilson posted to the unit to run my training office. They were ex-teachers and had been in my company in Dundurn Camp the previous year. They helped me run our battalion concentration in the West of England in the spring of 1942, which was a great success. I was not to enjoy Kent for too long.
One of the most interesting 7 day leaves my friend, Bertie Thompson, and I took in 1942 was at Oxford. The universities had a programme of morning lectures and visits to the other colleges, and informal afternoons. We lived in the students' quarters and had meals in the Great Hall. In our case this was New College. It was new in the reign of Henry IV. One afternoon we had a trip to Stratford to see a play. Another had punting on the Thames with the girls of St. Hilda's, with tea afterward. Bertie followed his punting pole into the water when his pole stuck in the mud. The week was full of interest. And we could, at least, say we had been "up to Oxford," if only for a week.
CHAPTER III : THE SOUTH SASKATCHEWAN REGIMENT
On 19 August 1942 the ill fated attack on Dieppe had been attempted. It was a disaster. The 2nd Cdn. Inf. Division was given the task of a large scale one day assault and withdrawal on the coast of France. The object was to create the possibility of an Allied invasion and thus to tie down German troops who might be used elsewhere. It has even been said that this was a rehearsal for later invasion. If so, it was not at all well done. Perhaps it did help to prevent hasty attacking in 1943, and certainly it made us do our "homework"for the 1944 invasion. It cost a great many lives. The planners seem to have overlooked the threat of the precipices surrounding the port and town. The commando raids were insufficient to neutralize the enemy fire. A film "Dieppe" shown on CBC in early Jan. 1994 pointed to the many errors in the planning of this action.
The 2nd. Cdn. Inf. Division supplied command and 6 infantry battalions (approx. 5000 all ranks). There were also 50 U.S. observers and some other special small parties. It was to be supported by the RAF whose planes because of distance could spend very little time over the battle area. The British Navy transported the force but, of course, they could not give heavy fire support because it was not politic to kill many French. Nevertheless, the Navy managed to take off many who had landed on the beaches. Dieppe was a bad choice for a "hit and run" attack within one day.
The Dieppe Raid affected me because the South Saskatchewan Regiment lost heavily, though not as heavily as other battalions. Lt.Col. Merritt, the CO, had been made a prisoner for the rest of the war. The Regiment needed a CO and Brigadier Hugh Young, who had just taken over command of the 6 Cdn. Inf. Bde. after Dieppe, wanted a Western officer to take Merritt's place. I was selected and sent off to the Senior Officers' School to be assessed and trained for command. I was promoted to Lt. Col. and took command of the South Saskatchewan Regiment at the end of October. The Regiment was concentrated in a hutted encampment on the outskirts of the Village of Kirdford , on the estate of the Barkforld sisters - very rural and prime apple country. The 6th Bde. HQ was at Petworth House, the estate of a British noble who was a patron of J.M.W. Turner, the great English landscape painter. The house has a large collection of his works. The other two battalions of the brigade were the Cameron Highlanders (QOCH) from Winnipeg and Les Fusiliers de Mont Royal from Montreal, both of which were situated near Petworth.
The Dieppe fiasco had a heavy impact on the three battalions of our brigade. My battalion was besieged by reporters, staff officers, historical officers, etc., all attempting to record all aspects of the raid. What the unit needed was to put Dieppe behind it and get on with the future. I attempted to do this. I had welcomed my transfer from a supporting arm to the infantry, which is properly described as the "Queen of Battle."
Our camp near Kirdford was not a salubrious spot. Nevertheless we were in a kindly, rural community, miles from other units and well received by the local people. In spite of the rain and mud of winter, I instituted a vigorous training programme. We had evening study groups with the officers twice a week to get to know each other and to go through battle procedures in the field. We discussed, separately, all the field operations of war - the advance to contact, the encounter battle, attainment of the objective and the reorganization against counter attack, the pursuit, defence and, even, the withdrawal. And we reduced these operations to orders group pro forma, which were provided for every officer.
Because it is essential that infantry officers, who are likely to lead in most operations, must know the capabilities of the supporting arms, one starts this by inviting officers from the supporting arms to join our evening study groups. Later, the infantry and the supporting armies must work and train together in the field. In retrospect, after the Battle of Normandy experience, it was clear that we had NOT mastered infantry-tank cooperation with artillery.
I should like to include a paragraph from a letter written by Christopher Hull who wrote his MA thesis on WWII; he quotes from John English' book on the Normandy campaign: "I have a new book on the Army during the Normandy campaign, written by Lt. Col. John English. It looks back to the interwar era to assess the reasons for the relatively poor performance by the Army in Normandy. English blames the interwar senior officers, especially MacNaughton, who were involved in grand strategic, political and scientific matters at the expense of the study of the operational art, the core of the officer's trade. This lack of preparation was particularly striking at the divisional level in England and in Normandy, where the GOCs knew too little of their trade to effectively train the army even over three years. He points to Simonds as one of the few exceptions. English also cites my MA thesis once. I think English makes a coherent argument, one that is much better than the usual one of blaming the inexperienced junior officers and other ranks. The German forces we faced in Normandy were, after all, mainly green as well. They just had better leadership that trained them for their wartime role more successfully."
We had good assault courses at Barkfold Camp and there were enough grassed fields for sub unit battle drills. One can always keep up weapons skills indoors, if necessary, and there is a host of subjects in which a soldier must not only be instructed , but also practised. A section commander is expected to train his men, a platoon commander his platoon, a company commander his company, and so on up the scale. All training must be supervised to produce a high standard. Soldiers must often fire their weapons. Physical fitness is very important. This includes route marching and speed marching. We also emphasized competition in field sports, cross country running, boxing, orienteering, etc. And we won more than our share at the brigade, division and army athletic meets.
The brass band of the South Saskatchewan Regiment was quite unique. It had been maintained by the Regiment during the Militia days prior to WWII. And there is no doubt the reason for its excellence was its leader, Sergeant Munday, who joined up for war with the nucleus of the band in 1939. The reason for its continuation was that commanding officers, including myself, were determined to keep it going - not easy in a unit preparing for action. The bandsmen filled posts in the stretcher bearers, etc. They were certainly the only continuing brass band in the overseas Cdn. Army. They played for the Sask. L.I. Colours Ceremony in 1941 and for the Royal Regiment and S. Sask. R. Ceremony in July 1943. They were also in demand for other engagements throughout the Army. In addition, they could provide orchestras for social occasions. We were proud of our band and they were very important to the morale of the Regiment.
Quite apart from unit training, the Brigade Commander and Staff organized Tactical Exercises Without Troops (TEWTs) to refresh unit COs and Supporting Arms in the larger aspects of operations of war. Corps and Army HQ laid on movement exercises at regular intervals to ensure that we could move our vehicles quickly and without confusion. These movement exercises also trained HQ personnel at all levels on their duties in the field and developed a sense of teamwork throughout the Army.
The most memorable of these exercises in my time was code-named SPARTAN, which stressed endurance and was quite realistic at the army level. It involved 85 miles of marching for our battalion and many other miles of convoy. It operated on the roads and some fields through several counties south west of London. And this was in late winter. I still have recollections of sleeping along the hedgerows with one blanket and a ground sheet in early March. The commander had to practice living like his men. I insisted on every soldier shaving every day on exercises. Not all units did this. I was able, after SPARTAN, to tell my battalion on parade that I had received a compliment for the unit from the brigadier commanding the divisional artillery who said that we were the best turned out unit in the whole exercise. Later we followed this practice in action. I should note that Lt. Col. Cecil Merritt had been gazetted as receiving the Victoria Cross for his bravery and leadership at Dieppe.
A few words about Kirdford again. The vicar of the Anglican Church in Kirdford held services for us in his church. When we went to war we deposited our colours in the Kirdford church. The Vicar even offered me the use of his bathroom with hot water. But our ingenious mechanics had built our own mobile bath unit which was mounted on a 60 cwt. truck. We took it to war with us.
Our unit was in Quonset accommodation along a forest row on the Barkfold estate. The Barkfold sisters occupied the house and used to invite us over for tea on occasion. Large meals were out of the question because of wartime stringency but we were in the centre of an apple growing area and benefitted from it. When I was in No. 9 General Hospital in Horsham I was presented with a crate of Coxie's Orange Pippen apples from the Apple Association. I kept the apples under my bed to treat visitors.
EXERCISE FLAG in July 1943 was an important event for the S.Sask. R. We went as a unit to the Brigade of Guards Depot at Caterham, near London, to train for two weeks for the Presentation of Colours on 11 July by His Majesty the King. The Royal Regiment of Canada was also to receive new colours and they trained with us for the joint ceremony. The Colours are traditional in the British Army and the Canadian Army. In the days of close order battle the colours provided a rallying point during the battle. There are two colours - the King's Colour and the Regimental Colour which has emblazoned on it the Battle Honours of the Regiment. Nowadays they are not taken into battle but are generally laid up in a church until the Regiment returns from the war. Then they are retrieved from the church and fixed, generally, in the Officers' Mess in the unit.
The drill instructors from the Coldstream and Scots Guards were headed up by RSM Brown of the Scots Guards. We were put through a most intensive two weeks of training, all of it on the parade square. One of the advantages of this exercise was that there was a complete new issue of battle dress for the ceremony, and of new web equipment and boots, if necessary. Major General Burns, our divisional commander, came to our final rehearsal and played the part of the King. He approved of our efforts. I was senior to Lt.Col. Nichols who commanded the Royals, so it was my responsibility to give the commands for the joint parade. The Royal Regiment were senior to the S. Sask. R. so they were on the right in Review Order. For the parade, the battalions were in Review Order with their Colour Parties and four one hundred man guards each.
Their Majesties King George VI and Queen Elizabeth arrived promptly at 1100 hrs. 11 July. We presented arms when they were on the reviewing stand for the Royal Salute. The S Sask R Band played God Save The King. I have never, on a large parade, heard arms movement so well coordinated as this one was. There was a gasp from the crowd. The Guards instructors were, obviously "proud as punch." The two commanding officers then went forward and were presented at the dais. The inspection of the 100 men Guard Companies by the King then began, first, of the Royals on the right and then of the S Sask R on the left. The Queen went around the ranks with the inspection party. Next, the Colours were presented by His Majesty to the two Colour Parties. After presentation the battalions marched past Their Majesties carrying their Colours. Then they reformed in close order facing the dais. I gave the order to advance in Review Order. We halted, gave the Royal Salute, with the band, and concluded with three cheers for Their Majesties. The King and Queen then left the dais and the Battalions were marched off for dismissal.
At noon hour and before lunch the officers of both Regiments were introduced to Their Majesties in the combined Mess. After the introductions there were short informal chats before proceeding to the Senior Officers' Mess for lunch. Photos were taken in the afternoon of the King and Queen sitting with the officers and colours of each regiment. And pictures were also taken of the Guard Companies. Shortly afterward Their Majesties left with the resounding cheers of both Battalions lining the exit route. To top off this memorable occasion a special dinner was served in the Men's Mess. The S Sask R held a Regimental Dance in the Horsham Town Hall in the evening.
Something about our Guards instructors - they took a great interest in our two battalions. We learned later the Guards Warrant Officers, who trained us, had put up bets as to which battalion would do the best on the parade. The Warrant Officers supporting the S Sask R won their bets. Our men were great competitors and they were the same in action.
After the comparative relaxation of Exercise Flag, it was not easy to get back to field training at Barkfold Camp. Exercises HAMMER, PICKAXE and HARLEQUIN soon put everyone back into training. Harlequin was an embarkation exercise south of Winchester. Its purpose was to practice both troops and staffs in passing thousands of troops and vehicles through the "sausage machine" as the embarkation process was called.
On 1 October 1943 Brigadier GSN Gostling became Commander of 6 Cdn. Inf. Bde. Brigadier Gostling, as we discovered later by comparing experiences, adopted a strange, rather critical approach in his first interviews with his three infantry COs. He told me that Maj. Gen. Burns had told him that I was inclined to be argumentative. As a matter of record, I have never backed down from expressing my opinion to senior officers. I finally told him that, if he didn't like the way I was commanding my unit, he should replace me. I suppose this is a citizen soldier's reaction. Brig. Gostling was also a citizen soldier. His tone changed and we departed amicably. Later we established a very good relationship. He did not take the Brigade into action because he was not a field soldier. He finished his career on the staff. By the way, he did fire the CO of one of the other battalions. This was not a good way to start a tour of command. He should have waited and watched before he acted. When we got into action the next year, the deficiencies of some of our senior officers became apparent.
On 2 October 1943 the S Sask R moved to Worthing for winter quarters on the Sussex Coast. It was an agreeable change to be billeted in a pleasant seaside town. The troops were housed in large seaside hotels which had been stripped of their furnishings for the duration. We were close to the south and close to tank and artillery units with whom we trained. Night training and advance to contact were stressed. But this important training was left to the CO's discretion. It should have been directed by the Brigadier and his staff.
On 17 December Col. Ralston, Cdn. Minister of Defence, visited the unit. He had service in WWI and was very popular with the troops. I have a letter in my papers which he wrote to my wife, afterwards, saying that he had seen me and the unit and that we were doing well. Ralston knew the score.
We had special Christmas cards printed emphasizing the King's presentation of Colours to the battalion. Christmas and New Years in the very pleasant city of Worthing would certainly be our last in the lengthy role of the defence of Britain and the preparation for invasion of the continent. Already the 1 Cdn. Division had joined in the invasion of Sicily and Italy. And we were supplying reinforcements for them.
January of 1944 saw the battalion moved to Rothesay, Scotland for EXERCISE FROSTY. This was to accustom soldiers to living aboard landing ships and to practice landing on a flat beach. Several very wet exercises were held, chief of which were KEDGE and TRIDENT from the landing ship, HMS St. Helier. Before leaving Dunoon the Scottish folk gave the Regiment a highly successful dance party. Our soldiers liked to go on leave to Scotland because they were so well received.
There was a change of command at Div. HQ. Major General Charles Foulkes took over from Major General ELM Burns as Commander of 2 Cdn. Inf. Division. On 28 Dec. he visited our unit and gave a short talk to the officers. He was destined to lead the division into battle and to guide its destinies throughout the most bitter part of its actions. The early part of February saw the companies going on separate five day self-contained schemes. And on 23 Feb. part of the battalion moved to the Limehouse district in London to carry out street fighting and town clearing training using live ammunition. This part of London was an area of broken buildings and rubble from German bombing.
On 9 March the King visited the whole 2 Cdn. Division. We were not massed but were in ranks along the old Roman Road to the south west of London. The road, now a highway, was very straight and had wide verges, but afforded opportunities for dispersal and some cover against German observation and air attack. It is interesting to note that the division had been warned that the King was suffering from an intestinal upset. So a series of latrines for his special use were placed at intervals along the long route. It is a testimony to King George's character that he carried on with his duty, even though he was "under the weather." The S Sask R Band supplied music for the Royal Salute at the King's arrival and also music at the luncheon after the inspection at the Division "A" Mess. General Officers and COs of units attended and were presented to His Majesty.
On 22 April the Battalion moved to Brome Park, the former estate of Field Marshal Kitchener, between Dover and Canterbury, for further and final training. This was our last camp in England. Because we were a follow-up division in the invasion, this build-up near the Channel helped the deception that the invasion would come from that area and directly across the Channel to the Calais area. Many German divisions were held there when they should have been sent earlier to Normandy.
In May Brigadier H.A. Young returned to command the brigade, and we were glad to see him back. At the Brigade Sports Meet the S. Sask. R. again took top honours and the Brigadier presented his Cup to me as CO of the S. Sask. R. The unit tug of war team also won the championship at the Division Meet. On 29 May General Eisenhower, Supreme Commander of the Allied Expeditionary Force, inspected the Brigade and spoke to the troops in an inspiring five minute address with the troops gathered around his jeep. He stressed that success depended on every man doing his part fully and well.
All vehicles had been waterproofed and tested. Loading tables had been prepared. All surplus kit had been sent to the Excess Kit Depot. The Battalion was ready for battle. Enemy air activity increased and the first VI German rocket bombs landed not far from Brome Park. In a few days these low flying rockets were a familiar sight as they chugged in over the sea coast, London bound. The RAF fighter pilots learned to fly beside them and tip the rockets with their plane wings to divert them toward the open country, rather than London. I had seen this happen several times. Then the Germans developed the Mark VII rocket which was shot much higher into the air and which travelled much faster and came down with little warning. They were a scourge to London until our troops over ran the rocket launching sites in Northern France.
CHAPTER IV: WE GO TO WAR
It was 6 June 1944. First the rumour and then the confirmation swept the camp. The long awaited "D" Day had arrived. Soon the regiment would be in the battle, alongside the 3rd Canadian Infantry Division which had landed in France that morning. All outside passes were cancelled except for short trips to Canterbury and Dover. We set up local ranges to keep troops familiar with their weapons. These last few days were filled with sports, route marches and final checks on all equipment. On 22 June I left as head of the advance party for 6 Cdn. Inf. Bde. Brig. Young was heading the advance party for 2 Cdn. Inf. Div. Major G.R. Matthews, my 2i/c would act as CO in my place and move the unit across the channel.
I landed with my advance party, and others, on the MULBERRY DOCK at Courcelles after a quiet trip from the Thames on 22 June. I played bridge most of my spare time with Lt. Col. Preston Gilbride, AQ of Div. HQ as my partner. On landing I was fortunate to link up with my jeep and driver-batman and kit. Brig. Sherwood Lett, Commander 4 Cdn. Inf. Bde., was not so fortunate. I invited him to stay with me in my little pup tent overnight, until his own jeep showed up. Brig. Lett had commanded the S. Sask. R in 1941. This started a close relationship which extended into the post war period. Brig. Lett had been a lawyer, but in 1954 he returned to duty to head the Cdn Commission to Vietnam. Later, he became Chief Justice of British Columbia. I became a guest at his home in Vancouver. More of him later. My job with the advance parties was to familiarize myself with the operations in Normandy and to reconnoitre assembly areas for the units of 6 Cdn. Inf. Bde.
I contacted my friend, Brig. Ben Cunningham who had commanded the Camerons of Winnipeg as a Lt. Col. when I joined the S. Sask. R. in 1942. He was then commanding 9 Cdn. Inf. Bde. of 3 Div. and had landed with them on "D" Day. He set me up to spend a day with each of his three infantry battalions. They were mostly in a defensive role while the build up was going on in the space they had captured. I did not see any action at any of these battalions. But, they had been dealing with counterattacks by the Germans. These counterattacks were not heavy because the enemy just did not have the resources at hand for heavy and concerted counterattacks. They did have divisions in the Pas de Calais area but were loathe to move them because they really expected the Allies' main effort to come across the channel the shortest way. Our deception in Kent was very important. Also very important was the width of our landing force, and the support the armies had from the air forces and the heavy guns of the battleships. I was even able to make a visit to the Bayeux Museum where the Bayeux Tapestry was displayed - an ancient depiction of William the Conqueror's conquest of England.
The S. Sask. R. received their movement order and the transport left Brome Park on 3 July travelling around London to their marshalling area on the north bank of the Thames at Tilbury Camp for embarkation. The marching personnel moved by train to the south coast near Lewes. After issue of embarkation cards and hard rations, all personnel were loaded on landing craft. On 6 July the S. Sask. R. were consolidated in Normandy in a secure area under my command.
On 9 July Lt. Gen. Simonds commanding 2nd Cdn. Corps visited the Regiment and gave a short talk to everyone on what the Cdn. Army had accomplished to date and what was expected of the S. Sask. R. At 0200 hrs. on 12 July the unit occupied its first assembly area east of Caen and proceeded to dig slit trenches for their own protection. Enemy planes flew overhead. The first overseas liquor rations were issued and paid for.
On 17 July after attending an orders conference at Bde. HQ, I held my own first operational Orders Group and issued tentative plans for our first battle with the enemy. This was to take place on 19 or 20 July. It was part of a Cdn. Corps attack, code named OPERATION ATLANTIC. Caen had been captured and we were attempting to extend our bridgehead and put pressure on the enemy. I must say here that the ground rose toward the south and there was little cover, if any. Moreover the enemy also had observation from the south west across the Orne River. Heavy bombers were to bomb that part of the enemy front, and across the rivers to the south west before the attack went in. The role of the 2 Cdn. Inf. Div. was to secure the right flank of the Corps penetration toward Verrieres. 3 Cdn. Inf. Div. were attacking on our left at the same time. On 18 July the company commanders and I checked the fire plan, made up the F (fighting) echelon of vehicles and A echelon (support) vehicles and figured out the LOB (left out of battle). This latter was a very sound arrangement which ensured that some officers and men would be ready for the next battle. During that evening, word was received that Brig. Lett, commanding 4 Cdn. Inf. Bde., had been wounded in the first phase of Atlantic. I was detailed, temporarily, to replace him and to finish 4 Bde.'s capture and consolidation of the village of Louvigny on the west bank of the Orne River. Major Matthews, my 2i/c, was to replace me in the forthcoming attack by the S. Sask. R. I must record here that I had been promised a squadron of tanks in direct support because of the length of the attack and the open nature of the ground. I was also promised a troop of 17 pounder A/Tank guns.
The 4 Cdn. Inf. Bde. had the first operational task of 2nd Cdn. Inf. Div. It attacked with the Royal Regiment within the triangle formed by the confluence of the Odon and Orne Rivers, and especially to clear the village of Louvigny and the west bank of the Orne River. I took over temporary command, after Brig. Lett was wounded from, Lt. Col. "Bud" Drury. The first assault by the Royals had not succeeded. Another attack the next day succeeded. This was my first experience of heavy German mortar shelling. It was horrendous. After we had cleared the Orne River, the 5th Cdn. Inf. Bde. attacked across the river and captured the villages of Fleury Sur Orne and Ifs. I finished the battle for Louvigny and visited the three battalions. I did not get too involved in 4 Bde. Gen. Foulkes had already picked a commander for 4 Bde. And he wanted me to get some experience with my own battalion. Except for the direction of the RHLI onto Verrieres later, he pulled me into Div. HQ to do some future planning for him, and I suppose, to learn something about me.
By this time the S. Sask. R. had gone into the attack, unsupported by tanks, had taken their objectives and then been overcome by a quick counterattack by German infantry and tanks. Major Matthews, his intelligence officer, and the Arty FOO were all killed by enemy mortar bombing. The two leading company commanders were killed and a third company commander was wounded. It was a debacle. I asked Gen Foulkes to reinforce and reequip the battalion as soon as possible and put them back into the line. I was amazed at how quickly they bounced back. I should add something for the record of the S. Sask. R. attack. Too many things went wrong. First, the brigadier had moved the tank support to the flanks of a three battalion attack. The S. Sask. R. never saw any tanks except the enemy's. Secondly, the 6 pdr. and 17 pdr. A/TK guns were shot up before they were in position. Thirdly, it was cloudy and raining, hence, no air support. Fourthly, the attack did not go in until mid afternoon. Fifthly, the reserve battalion, the Essex Scots, were in movement forward when the enemy counter-attacked. The Essex casualties were worse than those of the S. Sask. R. Sixthly, there was no communication after the Sask. HQ was knocked out. A badly mounted attack!
Brig.Young was given reinforcements to hold his front. The Black Watch (Infantry) was placed under his command. And, in addition to the Sherbrooke Fusiliers tank regiment, he was given another tank regiment, The 1st Hussars, to stabilize the situation and hold enemy attacks.
The S. Sask. R. were collected behind Ifs village, reinforced in numbers and reequipped. I was amazed when I visited the unit late on 25 July to see how quickly the unit had bounced back. We were in a defensive position on the division front, well dug in. But we took a heavy pasting from enemy shell and mortar fire and suffered many casualties. Nevertheless we instituted an active patrolling programme. In daylight we were under direct observation from the enemy on the higher ground in front of us. Every movement drew fire.
I should record that on 20 July a bomb attack was made by dissident officers on Hitler in his bunker.
The previous attacks and the one to come were strategically important to Field Marshall Montgomery because they forced the Germans to keep most of their armoured divisions on the British-Canadian front. The grand plan was that this would enable the Americans on the right to break out. What the enemy lacked in Normandy was more of the good infantry divisions which Hitler was reluctant to move from the Pas de Calais area.
The pressure by the British and Canadians continued with OPERATION SPRING scheduled for 25 July with the 4th and 5th Bdes., supported by armour and massive artillery support, preceded by a medium bomber attack. The first phase called for attacks on May sur Orne and Verrieres, and the second phase involved the capture of Fontenay le Marmion and Rocquancourt on the 2nd Div. front. The British 7th Armoured Division was to support both phases. First phase was to begin at 0300 hrs. 25 July. A degree of visibility was to be provided by artificial moonlight from search light beams reflected off the low clouds. The S. Sask. R., FMR and Regiment de Maisoneuve were to be in reserve under Commander 6 Cdn. Inf. Bde.
The RHLI of the 4th Bde., still under my command, moved off at 0410 hrs. on 25 July after some trouble at the start line. By 0750 hrs. the RHLI reported the capture of Verrieres after heavy fighting. It held the village during the next three days of enemy counterattacks. Its losses were tragic - 200 casualties of which 53 were fatal. The Royal Regiment then attacked toward Rocquancourt, but quickly encountered very heavy fire from hull-down tanks and lost most of a forward company. The attack was stopped. I recommended Lt. Col. Rockingham of the RHLI for an award of the Distinguished Service Order and it was approved.
On the right flank of the 2nd Div. attack, it was a disaster for the Black Watch (RHC). The story has been told in the TV series "The Glory and the Horror." The "Watch" were decimated. It seems that they had 307 casualties on 25 July. Except for the Dieppe operation there is no other instance in the Second World War where a Canadian battalion had so many casualties in a single day. The total battle casualties of Operation Spring are estimated at 1500, with fatal casualties of 450, suffered by the 2nd and 3rd Divs. Again, excepting Dieppe, it was the Army's costliest day in the Second World War.
At 1800 hrs. General Foulkes was considering, with his brigadiers, the orders for that night and the next day. Brig. Young, who would have to take on the next stage, stated that he did not think it would be successful and the General agreed. He went to Corps HQ only to find that Gen. Simonds had anticipated him. He had gone to General Dempsey at Army HQ. The Army Commander accepted his advice and the attack previously planned for 26 July was cancelled. I breathed a sigh of relief. Gen. Simonds is given credit for an idea which was revolutionary - a large number of tracked Priest self-propelled artillery tanks were converted to APCs (armoured personnel carriers).
The next operation was to be known as TOTALIZE. It should be noted that tanks were to be used in a night attack. The object of this was to have them available for the attack on the second line of German defence. The three battalions of the 4th Bde. were to be carried, along with the 8th Reconnaissance Regiment, in a four column attack supported by tanks. The three infantry battalions were mounted in Priest armoured personnel carriers. The RHLI was withdrawn from Verrieres and, along with the other 4th Bde. infantry units, had undergone a very short training period for their new role.
The S. Sask. R. had taken over from the RHLI in Verrieres during darkness. I moved my HQ into the small village with the four rifle companies mainly on the outskirts, and the Support Company platoons, the 3-inch mortars, the 6-pounder A/TK platoon and the Carrier platoon, with me in the village. It was "hell on earth" there because we were a forward salient of our division, under observation and fire from higher ground , from both east and south. Any movement in daylight brought down enemy mortar fire, 88mm.anti-aircraft fire and enemy tank fire. I remember one trip I had to make back to an orders group at Bde. HQ in daylight. I went in a tracked carrier and was sniped repeatedly by what I judged to be an 88mm.anti-aircraft gun. Fortunately it was only one gun and its fall of shot did not hit my carrier. We also suffered mortaring at night. On one occasion a soldier came to my dug out HQ to inform me that a slit trench about 50 yards had been caved in by an enemy mortar shell burst. We rushed to do what we could to dig out the occupant of the slit trench but, when we uncovered him, he was dead.
We had to patrol aggressively at night. This was both an offensive and defensive action. We had to keep enemy patrols away from our positions and find out as much as we could about the enemy's positions. I went on one patrol myself. Our Scout Platoon (mostly Indians from Saskatchewan) were so useful in these situations. And they were excellent as snipers and observers. The Germans did not like fighting at night and they have put their opinion on record that the Canadians were good night fighters. Another action I took part in at Verrieres was to get a daylight flight with one of our air observation pilots in a light plane over the ground in front of Verrieres to evaluate the terrain we should likely have to advance over. The pilot knew what to do, which, because of the threat of rifle fire, was to fly not too low and, because of anti aircraft fire, not too long over enemy ground. As you will appreciate any movement above ground in Verrieres or behind it had to be after dark, and without light showing. At this stage I think it would be appropriate for me to comment on some aspects of the two operations ATLANTIC and SPRING in which my battalion was involved. It was very apparent that senior commanders and staff and the fighting arms and supporting arms were deficient in the training necessary to attack and conquer an experienced and tenacious foe like the German Army. One hears a great deal of comment about the weaknesses of "Green Troops." In actual historical fact the troops learn their job more quickly than the higher command and staff because the troops are closer to the action. Our individual training, with some reinforcement exceptions, was quite good. But, in the close confines of the British Isles, we did not have enough opportunity or will to develop realistic all arms operations.
A few other comments may be appropriate:
a) German weapons, generally, were superior to ours. I even armed myself with a Schmeizer sub-machine gun, which was very much better than our very awkward Sten gun. Their machine guns, light, medium and heavy, had a higher rate of fire than ours. Their mortars out-performed ours. And, we had nothing to compare with the German 88mm AA gun.
b) Our Sherman tanks, although possessing good mobility, were under-gunned and under-armoured.
c) Our artillery was good and we had more guns than the enemy but cooperation was often lacking, especially in small operations.
d) We were more mechanized than the Germans. Some of their divisions still used horses.
e) Our air forces completely dominated the battlefield, both in numbers and in ability. The rocket firing Typhoons were a great support providing they hit the enemy. We never did, in my time, solve the problem of close air support. Like infantry-tank-artillery cooperation, we should have had more training on calling in air strikes and marking targets. We didn't even recognize the same target or friendly troop markers at the beginning of the Battle of Normandy.
f) The Navy did us well, and the heavy cruiser and battleship shelling were very important in the early days of the bridgehead.
g) The Germans did not like fighting at night. Our soldiers, who came from rural regions, were especially apt at it. We should have done more.
h) Communication between HQs and Regimental level were just not good enough. In all instances the facilities should have been doubled. In my opinion Brigade Commanders did not go forward enough.
It must be kept in mind that the Germans fought a good defensive battle in Normandy. The Allies had to fight up hill and, in the early stages, were always under observation. In the pursuit to the Seine River, after Falaise, the sturdy defence by small sub units of Germans, without officers, had to be admired.
We should record here that the Americans on the west of the bridgehead, having secured the Cherbourg peninsula during the first two weeks of July, had reached St. Lo from which they broke out in OPERATION COBRA on 25 July. West of Caen, the 2nd British Army had pushed their front 15 miles from the sea.
As for the Germans, on 3 July Field Marshal Von Runstedt was replaced by Field Marshal Von Kluge, who had won a solid reputation on the Eastern Front. Two weeks after Kluge's arrival, Field Marshal Rommel, who commanded Army Group "B," was wounded by an air attack on his vehicle. Then, 3 days later, on 20 July, Hitler had narrowly escaped assassination when a time bomb exploded while he was conducting a conference. By mid-July the German forces in Normandy had suffered over 100,000 casualties and reinforcements met only 10% of the need. There was the same shortfall in tank replacements and other sinews of war. During the latter part of July most of the German armoured divisions were concentrated on the British-Canadian front.
We should record that on 23 July, HQ 1st Canadian Army became operational and on 31 July 2nd Cdn. Corps came under command of 1st Cdn. Army with General Crerar as commander. At this time 4th Cdn. Army Div. entered the line and 3rd Cdn. Inf. Div. was withdrawn for a short period of rest. The Polish Armd. Div. also came under command of 1st Cdn. Army. And 1 British Corps also joined 1st Cdn. Army. In effect, 1st Cdn. Army took command of all the allied bridgehead east of the Orne River.
By 1 August the 1st US Army, in a week of heavy fighting (COBRA), had broken clear of the German left wing and was beginning to exploit its success. The 3rd US Army, under Lt. Gen. George Patton, entered the battle, and Gen. Bradley became commander of the 12th U.S. Army Group. Meanwhile, the 2nd British Army on our right was fighting forward to Vire through difficult and close country. Planning was in progress for a breakout operation by 2nd Cdn. Corps directed on Falaise, and a lesser advance by 1st Brit. Corps in the Cdn. Army's eastern sector.
On the enemy side, the German formations on the Caen front were transferred to oppose the Americans. There was also a movement of German infantry divisions to Normandy and the former great concentration of Panzer divisions south of Caen was slowly draining away toward the west to oppose the Americans. Some attempts were made to tidy up the Cdn. Corps front during the first week of August, but they failed to accomplish this.
On 29 July Gen. Crerar had ordered Gen. Simonds (2nd Cdn. Corps) to maintain an active front to prevent German troops from leaving the Canadian sector. He also asked Simonds to draw up plans for a major attack toward Falaise. Within 48 hours Simonds was able to discuss it in outline form with the Army Commander. Not one, but two, enemy lines of defence had to be broken. The first ran roughly from Martin de Fontenay, east along the Verrieres Ridge, across the Falaise Road to La Hogue. Repeated attempts to breach this line had been rebuffed. About five miles further south was another defensive position running from Brettville sur Laize (there is a large Canadian cemetery there now) across the Caen-Falaise Road to St. Sylvain. Should the first line be broken, Simonds felt the Germans would regroup on the second line and form another rock-hard position which they had already been preparing. Thus, he told Crerar, two break-in operations were required to penetrate the German defence.
At the time Simonds spoke to Crerar, the 1st and 9th Panzer divisions held positions across the Canadian Corps front. A week later these had been withdrawn, leaving the 89th and 272nd Infantry Divisions the responsibility for maintaining the German line. In reserve was the 12th SS Panzer Division. Thus, the number of enemy tanks tucked away in woods and villages south of Verrieres Ridge was less, but there were plenty of A/TK weapons which could pick off Canadian tanks as soon as they appeared in the open.
The tremendous advantage enjoyed by the enemy could be compared with that enjoyed by the defenders of a fortress in the 18th century. Their combination of observation and firepower could be weakened by bad visibility -"smoke, fog or darkness" - as Simonds described it. This was the reason for the Canadians' recent night attacks. Daylight attacks had frequently resulted in daylight disasters or, at least, too high a price for success.
The next operation was to be TOTALIZE. I have already described the four columns which would carry the 4th Cdn. Inf. Bde. (RRC, RHLI, and Essex Scottish) and the 8th Recce Regt. through the first German defence line and onto the second German defence line. The 2nd Cdn. Corps attack was to be on a front of 4000 yards by the 2nd and 3rd Cdn. Divs. The Caen-Falaise Road divided them and was to be a help in maintaining direction. The attack was to be preceded by heavy aircraft bombing. Our artillery would then provide a moving barrage in front of the advancing troops in the first phase. Zero Hour was to be 2300 hrs. on Aug. 7. As an aid to direction for the troops, artificial moonlight would be provided by search lights on clouds. Our anti-aircraft guns were to fire tracer as an aid to direction. It was a good plan.
The S. Sask. R. vacated Verrieres after dark to be behind our Start Line to the rear. This was a precaution against being hit by short bombs from the heavy bomber aircraft. It was 2 miles from the Start Line to Rocquancourt, our objective. I had briefed my battalion before the attack right down to section commanders. We were to attack two companies up, then my HQ and two reserve companies following, along with the carriers and the A/TK weapons. We had a plan for deployment in defence when we cleared Rocquancourt. I emphasized that our battalion was the key to the success of the whole operation on our divisional front, and that the leading companies must "hug" the moving artillery barrage which was to be continuous and lifted forward 200 yards per minute.
We crossed the Start Line at 2200 hrs. All went well until about half way along when enemy mortar shelling hit our attack. My wireless operator beside me was killed and I was hit by a fragment in the back at waist level. It knocked me down and I vomited. Fortunately, after the application of a shell dressing, I felt able to carry on. By following the barrage closely we got into Rocquancourt. The companies cleared their objectives and dug positions in defence. We suffered 60 casualties.
The capture of Rocquancourt was by no means a "piece of cake." We had to fight for it. There was some confusion amongst two of the armoured columns which lost direction in the night, and we were able to reorient another column after daylight. Events turned out as I had briefed my unit.
Early in the morning of 8 August we received word that the Camerons, who were attacking on our right, had been held up by a German battalion on their front. I organized a two company attack supported by our mortars and carriers and by tanks from the 1st Hussars. We identified a dug-in German battalion, which had been holding back the Camerons, and went right and left flanking at a safe distance.We then threw firepower at them with everything we had. The white flags began to appear. We captured the whole battalion. Almost 500 became prisoners. We wondered where all the white flags came from. We decided it was their underwear. Our only casualty of the action was Major Edmondson who caught a mortar fragment in his mouth. It resulted in a cut lip and a knocked out tooth. He was evacuated but was soon back for the rest of the war. Later, in Canada, we attended staff college together.
Later, on the 8th, General Foulkes (Div. Comd.) Came to see us in Rocquancourt and to congratulate us on our two successes. I was on the table in the HQ I had taken over and our medical officer was probing my back. Gen. Foulkes said I should go to hospital for X-Rays, even though my " plumbing" seemed to be OK and I could get about. I told the General, whom I now knew very well from my experience with 4th Brigade, that I did not want to leave my unit because I might be evacuated. He replied that he did not want to lose me and he would arrange to have me attached to hospital but not admitted, for X-Rays. That meant I could walk out when I wished. So Capt. Hayter, our medical officer, and I drove back to No. 8 General Hospital in the field, where my sister, Muriel, was a nursing sister. I was X-rayed. A piece of shrapnel, the size of the end of my little finger, had, obviously, bounced off my back bone and was lodged inside my left pelvic bone - no other damage! I was very lucky. We spent the evening with my sister and some officers in the Officers' Mess. The next morning we returned to our unit. Captain Hayter saw my wound daily, but it did not bother me.
I should say that, during the time we were in Rocquancourt, we were able to go back over the ground which the battalion had attacked on 20 July. It was a heart rending scene. Because of the heavy action in that area, very few of the dead casualties had been removed. They were lying as they fell. We and our padre, Captain Leslie Taylor, dug shallow graves and buried them with ceremony. They now lie in Brettville Cemetery.
We were in a defensive position in Rocquancourt. It was then on to Clair Tigon where we went into action on the 14th with a river crossing. We succeeded, but with some casualties, and then we had to beat off a counter attack. I should note that the Laison River is one of our battle honours, along with Borquebus Ridge (Verrieres and Rocquancourt). Falaise is another, which came two days later. We were pushing hard. That afternoon an Allied bombing attack fell short and our D Company was badly hit. There was no halt in the momentum of the big push. The weather was good for air support. On one occasion I and my HQ group had taken shelter in a stone barn when we were attacked by one of our rocket firing Typhoons. Fortunately no one was injured. We sought shelter by hugging the inside of the stone walls. It must be understood that, in a moving battle, it is very difficult for the Air Force to distinguish between friend and foe. My battalion was hit three times by our own Air Force during TOTALIZE. But think what these air raids did to the enemy!
6th Cdn. Inf. Bde. became the divisional advance guard with the S. Sask. R. and the Camerons out in front and the FUS.MR. in reserve. We captured the villages of Hamel and Villers Camount. We were now into the breakout. The heavy bomber attack had reduced much of Falaise to rubble. At1535 hrs. the S. Sask R. pushed off to attack Falaise. This was the birthplace of William the Conqueror.
We came under fire from machine guns, mortars and tanks. Fortunately we had our own tank support. By 1800 hrs. the Regiment approached the Ante River where one bridge into the town was discovered intact, but covered by a tank dug in and by big road blocks. By 1905 hrs. these obstacles were cleared and all companies were across the bridge and into the edge of the town. Brig. Young came up to see me after we had reported success. We were in the Cathedral Square. Fires were burning all around and hidden snipers were taking their toll. The Brigadier was being pushed to capture Falaise quickly. It was then still daylight. I suggested I should attack with my regiment to go right through the town after dark when the snipers and isolated posts could not see us. He agreed and left. I hastened him away because I did not want to see him sniped while he was with us. The tank squadron commander asked me to release his squadron. This operation, at night and amongst buildings, could not be helped by tanks. I agreed.
By about 2300 hrs. we were ready for what our regimental historian called "a rather unusual method of town fighting." The unit was formed up in order of march with the carrier platoon leading and the rest of the unit following. We moved right through the town on the main street with only minor opposition until we arrived at a large estate at the far side of the town. I had chosen this estate as our objective from the map. The leading company commander came back to me to tell me that the enemy were occupying the buildings. I ordered him to establish a firm base and send platoons right and left flanking the main house, supported by all the firepower we could lay on. They quickly flushed out the Boche and we took over.
My companies were then arrayed around my HQ in a good defence layout. And they dug in against counter attack or shelling. Later that night a message came from Bde. HQ that we were to move a mile beyond the town. I have always liked the security of stone and brick buildings in defence. I ignored the Brigade order (likely from the staff) because my men had been fighting all night and the day before. We had 42 casualties in the action, which was light for all we had accomplished. At times during the night there was some heavy enemy shelling and mortaring. German bombers even came over. We were right to stay where we were. Major Edmondson, my 2i/c and Captain Colgate brought up the "F" Echelon vehicles and a hot meal. Unfortunately their jeep struck a land mine and they were both wounded and evacuated.
Just after daylight we had a visitor. The Mayor of Falaise came to my HQ to thank the battalion for liberating Falaise. It was a great event to receive this honour from the town's chief dignitary. Falaise had been the key objective for 21 Army Group ever since Caen, and it became famous for the establishment of the Falaise pocket, which was full of enemy about to be captured. He also gave me a quart bottle of Calvados, a strong liquor brewed in Normandy. It is a traditional drink since Normandy, itself, is sometimes called Calvados. I must add the story of Captain John Kemp who commanded "B" Company when we broke into Falaise. John was brought out on a stretcher past my HQ at the side of Cathedral Square. An enemy sniper had put a bullet between his eyes and it came out behind his left ear. I went to the stretcher to see John. He was lucid and could talk. I wished him my best and an early return. I have since often referred to him as an example of a quiet man who became a lion when the chips were down. I should add that John recovered and had a good career in civil life. He was back with us on the S. Sask. R. tour of Europe in 1992, and I was able to tell the story of his wound to the Mayor and dignitaries who greeted us in Falaise.
On 31 March 1945, His Majesty King George VI signed a warrant authorizing my appointment to the Distinguished Service Order. The citation is based upon my part in the capture of Falaise. But the aspect which I cherish most about this award is that it was initiated by my own officers of the South Saskatchewan Regiment.
CHAPTER V: THE PURSUIT
The weather had turned clear and sunny. Much of the German Army had been caught in the "POCKET." The Air Forces had their field days, strafing and bombing, in a terrific destruction of men, horses and vehicles. It was estimated that 183 enemy tanks and 2179 enemy motor vehicles were destroyed in the "POCKET." Thousands of men and horses of the enemy were killed.
On 20 August the Regiment was on the move again to relieve the Glengarrians who were on our left. The change-over was barely complete when another move was ordered and marching started in a light drizzle which continued all day. The next day, 22 August, the advance continued but this time I had the companies take turns riding on "F" Echelon vehicles. We were under strength because reinforcements were not coming forward. The Camerons of our Brigade , who had been leading the advance toward Orbec, were stopped and the S. Sask. R. were given the task of a night attack on the town. The attack went in with little opposition but we had 25 casualties from harassing fire from machine guns and mortars.
Almost the entire route from Falaise to Orbec had been lined with wrecked vehicles and dead horses and men - mute evidence of the power of our air support dealing with those who had escaped from the "POCKET." But the price the Canadian Army had to pay was also high. Total Canadian casualties from the beginning of Totalize on 8 August to 21 August were 5,691 including 1,490 killed. Enemy prisoners taken by the Canadian Army in the same period numbered 18,381. In the meantime, General Patton's tanks had been running freely through France. General Le Clerc's 2nd French Armoured Division entered Paris.
In Orbec I was asked by the Mayor to accompany him to the wine caves below the town. He wanted me to assure the people in the passages below the ground that their town had been liberated and they could come out. I was astounded by the extent of these wine caverns and the number of people in them - 3,000. I walked with the Mayor, periodically shouting, "Votre ville, c'est libre." It was good to see their relief and happiness. We had 25 casualties in Orbec. At Orbec, on 23 August, I was informed that I had been promoted to Acting Brigadier to command 6th Cdn. Inf. Bde. Brig. Young had been notified that he was to be promoted to Major General and was to return to Canada to be Quarter Master General in Ottawa. I turned over command of the S.Sask. R. to my 2i/c and reported to Bde. HQ where Brig. Young fitted me out with the trappings of my new rank.
The S. Sask. R. captured Brionne the next day and had another 31 casualties. The enemy was retreating but making us pay for it - and suffering casualties themselves. They repeatedly fought rear guard actions which had to be dislodged. These were small parties, NCO commanded. We used to go quickly right and left flanking with our advance companies to save time. The Camerons and Fus.MR took turns leading our brigade advance.
I arrived with my mobile Bde. HQ on 26 August at the south bank of the Seine River near the castle of Robert le Diable, a relative of William the Conqueror. Nearby there was a tower which had been erected to commemorate the men of the region who had lost their lives in the War of 1870 when Germany invaded France. It also commemorated the veterans of WWI. On the S. Sask. R. 1992 Tour of the Battlefields, we found that WWII casualties had also been added. We wondered how many more conflicts would be added in the long sweep of history. And then we received warning that a German infantry battalion was marching toward us from the east on the road which followed the south bank of the Seine River, and the road was just below where we were standing. Either they were marching to a crossing place to escape across the river, or to an area to set up defence.
I called up a platoon of Toronto Scottish (medium machine guns) who were supporting my brigade. As a former machine gunner, of some ability, I asked the platoon commander's permission to act as No.1 (he fires the gun) on the left hand gun. As predicted, the head of the German battalion, in column of route, appeared a half mile away, marching directly toward us. They were an infantry battalion on foot in close order, officers on horse back and carts and wagons drawn by horses. They presented a very correct and military appearance. Obviously they did not expect to encounter us. When they were about 700 yards away, and we had the roadway covered length-wise by overlapping beaten zones of fire, with different ranges on the guns to cover the whole column, I gave the signal for rapid fire. It was a machine gunner's dream. The carnage and confusion were unbelievable - men and horses killed or wounded. Except for the human, animal, and vehicular debris, the roadway was soon clear. I had no way of knowing what the enemy losses were, but they were considerable. It was quite extraordinary that a battalion should be marching as they were without scouts in front, or on the flanks, for observation and protection. This is an aspect of German militarism which is now fairly well known - they were not inclined to pass information about the overall situation down to battalions. I think that those who escaped unscathed may have joined the German defences in the Foret de la Londe and made trouble for us later.
My instructions from the Divisional Commander directed my brigade to clear the Foret so as to remove this danger to the river crossing at Rouen. This we proceeded to do. We did not know at the time that the enemy had established a strong position at the north end of the Foret to prevent our crossing at Rouen. The S. Sask. R., supported by tanks from the Sherbrooke Fusiliers, took the first crack at it. Woods fighting is a dirty business, and even worse against a well established enemy. The S. Sask. R. debussed at St. Martin on the south end of the 8-mile forest which filled a horseshoe bend of the Seine River. It was soon established that the Foret was defended by high grade troops. They fought bitterly to hold their position. The S. Sask. R. attacked the wood first, four companies up. I must say here that the battalion had received no reinforcements for some time and companies were sadly under strength. The battalion, with tank support, established a firm base well inside the Foret and then attacked further from the base but were driven back. After a rest they tried again with artillery support but missed following the barrage. The enemy had even laid mines in the Foret. The CO, Major Courtney, and Captain Hadley, in a carrier, hit a mine and were both killed; the Signals Officer was wounded. The following day I planned to try again with the Camerons and the Fus. MR with even more support. However, General Foulkes came up to see how we were doing. I said we were in trouble and I doubted that we needed to do this operation since we had heard that a crossing over the Seine had been captured at Elbeuf, not far from Rouen. He agreed and directed me to establish my troops in defence.
I proceeded to do this in the morning of 29 August and stood down the infantry battalions. I was making my rounds when I saw the tank of the Sherbrooke squadron commander, Major Radley-Walters. I presumed he was in a safe position. I left my armoured car and walked down the slope to his tank. I was shot by a sniper in the lower right leg and fell down the slope. Radly-Walters shot up the bushes all around with his tank machine guns. Then he picked me up and carried me to my armoured car where we called for a jeep ambulance. I felt badly that I had this bad luck when we were going into defence and when the enemy was on the run. But this was war. It could have been worse.
At this stage I think it appropriate to include Lieut. Phillips' account of the actions within the S. Sask. R. This account applies to the 28th and 29th of August. Lieut. Phillips was the Intelligence Officer of the S. Sask. R. It was his responsibility to write daily accounts of the Regiment for the War Diary, which were verified monthly by the Commanding Officer and sent back to Army Records. His account is very well done, and it does give an accurate picture of what went on during two days at the end of three weeks of fighting and movement from the beginning of Totalize on 7 August 1944. The action in the infantry can, at times, be grisly. These two days are an example. The six figure location numbers refer to map references for positions. I must give full credit to the fighting spirit of the S. Sask. R. in spite of heavy losses, lack of reinforcement, and absence of information about the enemy. As to the latter, we were in pursuit. And when an Army pursues, it must charge on. If General Foulkes had not come up, the story could have been worse. Here is Phillips'story:
"On 28 August at approx. 0300 hrs. S. Sask. R. left to do advance to contact to high ground 115021, via X-rds. 087043 and railway bridge Square 0903. Order of March was C Coy. leading, followed by D, A and B. Coys. By daylight C.Coy , under command of Capt. V. Schubert, was within sight of RR bridges. C. Coy moved to the first RR Br. without any opposition. They then proceeded to cross the railroad and when approx. half the Coy (Coy strength approx. 35) had got across the first br. they came under fire from a sniper at 09433 and MG on the left flank. Coy HQ was set up at RR br. 094035. Capt. Schubert then sent one section right flanking to deal with the sniper. This section came under fire from the sniper and were unable to advance over the railway and withdrew to Coy HQ and it was thought they were ambushed soon after they left. The remainder of C Coy. under Lt. Jesson came under small arms fire which wiped out one section and part of Coy HQ, including Lt. Jesson. Lt. Cree, the remaining officer, was also killed by mortar fire. CSM J.S. Smith then took command of C Coy. and withdrew through D Coy.
The battalion then withdrew to area T. Junc. Sq. 0605 where they reorganized and took up a defensive position. C Coy with 13 men remaining were put, as a platoon, into A Coy. Dinner was brought to them at 1315 hrs. Troops rested during the afternoon and Major Courtney and Capt. Hadley attended a Brigade Orders Group where plans were made for the S. Sask. R. to try for the same objective following an artillery barrage.
The arty barrage started at 2000 hrs. and lasted to 2030 hrs. The Bn. was late in starting and did not get the full help of the barrage, but proceeded as planned. The order of march was A, D, BHQ, and B Coy. The Bn. moved along the axis of advance which included X rd 073045, X rd 088044 and rd. 098038. A Coy, under Capt. Williams, moved toward clearing 080044, past monastery 085455. D Coy moved along the road followed by BHQ and B Coy. As the leading troops of D Coy under Major Thomas came to X rd 088044 they were met with considerable small arms and mortar fire. A Coy took up a position by the monastery and D Coy got busy clearing out the MG and sniper posts. One mortar bomb fell close to Major Courtney's carrier which was on the road at 084044, knocking the CO's 22 set out of action and wounding the operator, L/Cpl. Dalziel. The carrier then moved back to a quarry at 083044 where they received another 22 set from HQ 6th Cdn. Inf. Bde. While the 22 set was being installed in the carrier, D Coy cleaned out the MG and sniper posts. At 2230 hrs. the advance continued with A and C Coys leading followed by D Coy, BHQ and B Coy.
The CO's carrier followed D Coy with Major Courtney and the driver, Pte. R. Curtis, in the front, and Lt. Fairgrieve on the 22 set with Pte. McLean on the l8 set in the back. Capt. Hadley and one section of scouts walked beside and in front of the carrier. When the carrier reached the place at MR 085044 it hit a German T mine which blew the carrier over, tearing a hole on the floor of the carrier where Major Courtney was standing. He was believed killed instantly and blown through the bush on the left of the road. Lt. Fairgrieve, Pte. Curtis and Pte. McLean were blown out of the carrier on to the road. They were evacuated to hospital with Lt. Fairgrieve suffering from phosphorus in his hair and slight shock. Ptes. Curtis and McLean had shock and cuts on face.
Major E.W. Thomas took command of the S. Sask. R. and the advance continued. A Coy moved forward to 093039 where they took up a firm base and dug in. At 2110 hrs. F. Echelon under Captain Colgate left at 2110 hrs. but on word from CO retired to their original position.
During the night 28/29 Aug 44 the Bn. was under constant MG, mortar and rifle grenade fire. At 0005 hrs. D Coy. fought vigorously to get through but were unsuccessful. B Coy then did right flanking and got to 097038 at 0230 hrs. At 0303 hrs. the three coys were pinned to the ground by heavy small arms and mortar fire. At first light the Germans put in a counter attack and though the Bn. fought hard using all weapons including hand grenades when the enemy got close enough, they were forced to withdraw to area X rd 087043 where they took up a defensive position and reorganized. A Coy took up position at 086044, B-087504, C-089043, F-088044. Cmd. Post was set up in a quarry at 08344. Tanks in support took up position at X rd.
The Cams of C. took up a defence position along the road from 085044 to 080044, digging in on the side of the road. Cams of C. Comd. Post was also set up in the quarry. Brig. F.A. Clift, Cmd. 6 Cdn Inf. Bde. visited the Comd Post during the morning and held a Bde 0 GP. Plans were made to have the Cams of C. and the Fus. MR pass through the S. Sask. R. and continue along the axis of advance.
Brig. F.A. Clift then visited the forward coy positions with Major W.W. Thomas, Bde. LO, Comd. Fus. MR and Sgt. Fisher, Bn. Int. Sgt. When the Comd. Fus. MR had looked over the ground he was to go through in his attack, he returned to his Bn. The Bde. Comd. then gave orders for D Coy, SSR to move a section forward on higher ground. The Brigadier then visited B Coy posn. And, as he left the posn. and moved down the road, he was hit in the leg by a rifle bullet breaking his leg above the ankle. One of the tanks backed up and gave protection while Major Thomas went for a jeep with a stretcher. Brig. Clift had his leg bandaged by the Tank Sqn. Comd. and Sgt. Fisher. The jeep and stretcher arrived and Brig. Clift was evacuated.
The enemy had begun to withdraw. One section of the S. Sask. R. Scout Platoon rounded up 84 prisoners of war. By 2300 hrs. the Carrier Platoon patrol brought back word that there were no enemy sighted.
At 0730 hrs. on 31 August the S. Sask. R. received word that they were on one hour's notice to move forward and occupy Rouen. And the S. Sask. R. occupied a former German barracks in Rouen."
NOTES BY THE INTELLIGENCE OFFICER - Lt. M. Phillips, S. Sask. R.
"The month of August will long be remembered by those who were with the S. Sask. R. during the month. The Battalion moved from Ifs to Rouen, fighting all the way. During the month, the Battalion suffered a total of 47 Officers and 487 ORs casualties. 13 Officers and 81 ORs were killed, 4 Officers and 54 ORs missing, 28 Officers and 280 ORs wounded, 0 Officer and 37 ORs sick, 1 Officer and 37 ORs accidentally injured and 22 Ors suffering from shock and exhaustion. This brings the total casualties for July and August to 873 all ranks. The Regiment was sorry to lose Lt. Col. F.A. Clift as their commanding officer, but were pleased to see him get command of a brigade and very much pleased to see him become a Brigadier of 6 Cdn. Inf. Bde. As Commanding Officer, Lt. Col. Clift was liked and respected by all ranks in the battalion. They were sorry to lose him when he was wounded in the Foret de la Londe battle.
The battalion was also sorry to lose Major F.B. Courtenay and Captain N.H. Hadley who did excellent work in the battalion. Both these officers were honoured and respected in the battalion. Among the many who did good work was H/Major R.L Taylor, battalion padre who, in the heavy shelling at Ifs and Verrieres, was always among the men, cheering them up, and also among the wounded giving them a helping hand. H/Major Taylor also took care of the burying of those killed in action, a job that was well done.
Capt. F.W. Hayter, battalion medical officer, did his job exceedingly well and the boys in the battalion have great praise for him and for his work.
The month was also very hard on Despatch Riders, who did their jobs well at Ifs and Verrieres where the roads were always under shell fire. Many of the DRs were wounded while carrying out their duties. They deserve great praise for their jobs well done.
The Signal Platoon had a difficult time keeping lines in at Ifs and Verrieres as every time a bomb landed the line was sure to break someplace and they were kept busy night and day repairing the lines, most of the time under shell fire. CSM JA Smith of C company did a wonderful job during the month, as a number of times the Company was without an officer and CSM Smith reorganized the Company and carried on under the toughest of conditions. The men in C Company have a great deal of praise for him and consider him tops."
The Brigade and the 2nd Cdn. Division had a short rest and clean up near Rouen and they were embussed for the trip to Dieppe which had been evacuated by the enemy. The French people received the Division on their return to Dieppe, cheering, crying and praying. The battalion was brought up to strength with reinforcements. The Division did a grand parade in a march (6 men abreast) before General Crerar, Commander of 1 Cdn. Army, and French officials. Then the troops of the units had time to rest and visit before moving again up the Northern French coast toward the Low Countries heading for Antwerp. Gen. Crerar has been criticized for letting the 2nd Div. have this time off instead of keeping the enemy on the run. I think what he did was humane and deserved, after the heavy fighting that began on 7 Aug.
As for me, I was cleared through the Field Dressing Station and the CCS (Casualty Clearing Station). My lower third wound had broken my tibia and shattered the fibula. In other words, my right foot was flapping when I was carried out. I was filled with drugs and penicillin and my right leg put in splints. Then in mid-afternoon I was put into an ambulance which was supposed to take me, alone, back to Bayeux. I had asked to be sent back to No.8 General Hospital where my sister, Muriel, was a nursing sister. The ambulance driver had a difficult time. We spent the whole night looking for No. 8 General Hospital, only to find that it had recently moved forward. I was taken to, and admitted in, No. 10 General Hospital (Cdn.). I was put to bed and then taken to the operating room where they cleaned me up, x-rayed my leg and decided to put me in traction. In my case this almost seemed to be a medieval form of torture. The broken ends of the tibia they were trying to keep in juxtaposition kept slipping off. There was not enough bone to join the fibula. I spent two weeks rather uncomfortably at No. 10 until they could get sea evacuation for me. Maj. Gen. Rod Keller, former Commander of 3 Cdn. Inf. Div., was also in No. 10 from wounds from the heavy bombing on 7 Aug. Short bombs hit his HQ.
I was landed at Southampton and was put into the local General Hospital for two weeks, still in traction. Perhaps I should describe "traction." It means that one must always lie on one's back with the leg elevated and, in my case, the lower part of the leg attached to a rope which leads over a pulley to a weight at the end of the rope. This presumes that the ends of the bones which are supposed to be in close juxtaposition stay that way. In my experience it rarely happened. And you can imagine how uncomfortable one's body can get when one must always lie flat on one's back.
I asked to be moved to No. 9 General Hospital in Horsham, near where I had spent some months in 1941. I then had another two weeks in traction there because the chief orthopedic surgeon, Lt. Col. Noble, had gone to the continent for experience. The other doctors would not take my case. That was a very grim 6 weeks, all told. My whole body was sore from penicillin punctures and, in spite of frequent back rubs, etc., my back was sore. The broken ends of the fracture were not annealing and healing. Col. Noble returned and quickly pinned the ends of the broken tibia and I quickly healed with more penicillin and a bottle of English stout every day. Moreover I had a cast and was soon mobile. My close friends, the Deuchars, from Standon Farm near Ockley, brought me Tolstoy's "War and Peace" to read. The apple plant at Kirdford kept a box of Cox's Orange Pippen apples under my bed, from which I used to treat visitors. I began a daily routine of cribbage with Brigadier Booth who was also in hospital. And I signed up for two university classes, in German and psychology, with the Canadian Education Services. There is no doubt that I was fortunate that penicillin had been discovered. In World War I, I would have had an amputation.
It was not long before I was having physiotherapy and using crutches. I had asked for my surplus kit to be taken out of kit storage. And, of course, my staff at 6 Cdn. Inf. Bde. sent my gear from my caravan. I was surprised when I saw my things in the Quartermaster Stores. My caring and honest brigade staff had sent everything, including my binoculars and revolver. And, wonder of wonders, they even sent my liquor ration, including the bottle of Calvados I had been given by the Mayor of Falaise.
At the end of November I had a visit from Colonel Frank Fleury from Cdn. Military HQ in London. He had come to the hospital especially to inform me that, since promotions in the field were in acting rank, I should have to revert to my permanent grade of Lieut. Colonel three months after my wound. I said I had been expecting this and I thanked him for his courtesy in coming to see me personally. I also told him that, since the war was not likely to end before the spring and my wound was healing well, I should like to stay for the prospect of further service. General Crerar and General Foulkes had both written to me to assure me that there would be a place for me when I recovered. I worked hard on my leg and on restoring my strength. I was able to visit friends in Ockley, Kirdford and Arundel. I had given up my correspondence courses. I had no affection for the German language and the content of the psychology course was not inspiring. It was interesting to keep up to date with the army in the field from those who were wounded and spent time in No. 9 General Hospital.
By the end of February it was clear that it was just a matter of time before Germany had to give up and surrender unconditionally. I asked to be repatriated to Canada. I was posted to the Cdn. Repatriation Depot to await my transfer to Canada by hospital ship. While there, I was able to visit my friend, Brigadier Guy Gauvreau, who had commanded the Fus MR and who succeeded me in command of 6 Cdn. Inf. Bde. when I was wounded. He had been badly wounded when his jeep ran onto a mine in Northern France. Indiscriminate mine laying is a savage way to fight a war. The Germans laid far more mines than did the Allies. Gauvreau was not yet well enough recovered to go home. But he did recover well and became an important business man in Montreal.
In early March I went to Bristol to ship aboard the Canadian Hospital ship, Lady Nelson. Before the war this ship had been doing commercial runs from Canada to the Caribbean. It was a good voyage to Halifax, free of the submarine menace. From Halifax I went by train to Saskatoon and, after checkup at the local hospital, I was given several weeks leave. What a treat to be back with my family! Captain Roy Blake of the Sask. L.I. (MG) had also been wounded and was on leave. We did our daily therapy at the hospital together and then went swimming for exercise and rehabilitation at the YMCA pool. Captain Blake joined External Affairs and became an ambassador. We kept in touch until he died in retirement in Victoria.
My wife, Margaret, and I discussed at length what I should do next. There was still the war with Japan to be won, and Canada had agreed to fight alongside the Americans. Margaret agreed that I should continue in the Service, if they would have me. I expressed this wish to Brigadier Trudeau who was still the Commander of Military District No. 12 in Regina.
CHAPTER VI: BACK IN CANADA
Brigadier Trudeau expressed my wish for further service to Army HQ in Ottawa. In due course I was directed to report to Brigadier Howard Graham who was Deputy Chief of the General Staff. I knew him and he knew me. Several years later he became Chief of the General Staff and head of the Army. I went to Ottawa. I was walking with a cane then. When it was time to go into his office, I left my cane outside and walked in as smartly as possible. He sat me down, chatted amicably for awhile, and asked me if I felt able to command an infantry training battalion. I said "Yes."Then he said I would command No. 2 Pacific Infantry Training Battalion, part of a training brigade being set up in Camp Vernon, B.C., to train reinforcements for the division planned to fight alongside the Americans in the invasion of Japan. I accepted and my wife agreed. We decided we should try to establish our family near me, in keeping with the exigencies of the Service.
In April I went out to Camp Vernon. I had arranged to have Regimental Sergeant Major Roger Strumm, who had been badly wounded at Dieppe when he was RSM of the S. Sask. R., posted in as my RSM. He was a man of great character and force, and a legend in the S. Sask. R. I should say that, on our first parade, both the CO and the RSM were carrying canes and using them as little as possible. Vernon was a good camp of brigade size, overlooking lovely Kamalka Lake, which is at the northern end of Okanagan Lake. The Valley was lovely, the weather was good and the people in the Valley hospitable. We had good Officers and NCOs and men. Everyone was a volunteer for the Pacific Force. My battalion, No. 2, had men from the West. There was a battalion with men from Ontario, and another battalion with men from Quebec and the Maritimes. Brigadier Jim Jefferson, former Edmonton Regiment, was our brigade commander - a good, "down to earth" man who had fought in Italy and NW Europe. We got down to hard training.
Margaret came out to stay with me for the month of July. The children were with their grandparents on the farm near Spalding, Sask.
In August, three of us, the Brigade Major, Lt.Col. Roger Rowley of No. 1 PITB and I went to Camp Blandings in Florida, near Jacksonville, to observe US training with US arms because our Canadian Division would be equipped and supplied by the US in the Pacific. Camp Blandings was the largest army training centre in the US, capable of training 50,000 men at one time. It was situated inland on sandy, swampy ground. Without doubt it was the hottest major military installation in the US in summer. One could "go through one's shirt" several times a day.
The US Army operates somewhat differently from either the British or Canadian Armies. For one thing it is a massive machine. They do not have the regimental system to the same extent as we have in the infantry and armoured corps. Soldiers, as reinforcements, can be placed in units from any part of the country. Relations between officers are not as easy as the way we live together in our messes. Alcoholic beverages are more strictly controlled. And relations between officers are more formal. They salute whether they have a cap on or not. There is a great emphasis on the traditional comforts of Americans, like coca cola and ice cream abroad. The Americans tend to take their societal behaviour with them where ever they go in the world. The American Major General commanding at Camp Blandings took us three Canadian observers with him on his rounds. If he saw something he did not like, he would berate the officer in charge right in front of his men. This is the SOP (Standing Operating Procedure) where ever I have been in Korea or Vietnam. Some American Generals, certainly not all of them, have a fetish for public relations. Good examples were General Patton with his pearl handled revolvers and General Ridgeway with his hand grenades. These are small quirks. But on the whole, the Americans produce good fighting soldiers.
One of the most laughable examples of extreme public relations was a large, life size cartoon-like sign outside a divisional HQ office tent in Korea, of a warlike, thrusting figure in fighting pose, gnashing teeth, and weapons in his hands. Above the cartoon was the label, "This is your General." The lesson the US Army learned at Pearl Harbour was observed in Korea. Eleven months after the truce was signed in July 1953, the 3rd Marine Division was still holding their line with 1/3 alert around the clock. The hospitality at Camp Blandings was of a high order. We met many officers from the Southern States and discovered they had a warm feeling for the British and Canadians. Perhaps this was a holdover from the Civil War. In any event we had a good briefing during our visit on US equipment, weapons and methods of training. We returned to Vernon through Seattle.
As the summer progressed Army HQ had become concerned that there would not be enough reinforcements for the Cdn. Division in the Pacific Force. They planned another training brigade for Eastern Canada with two battalions in Camp Petawawa and one battalion each at camps in Orillia and Newmarket, where there were facilities. I was designated to command this new brigade and was to be promoted to the rank of brigadier. However, just before I was booked to go east, the Americans dropped atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Soon after, Japan surrendered and the Pacific War was ended. We breathed a sigh of relief.
The next Army HQ concern was for the orderly release of thousands of soldiers to civil life. The Canadian economy had expanded greatly during the war. There were jobs in civil life. After up to 6 years of service, soldiers were impatient for release. To take some load off the District Depots, which processed the releases, the idea was conceived of sortation units in brigade-sized camps which would receive the soldiers when they came off disembarkation leave, process their documents when received, and send a daily flow of soldiers with their documents all in order for a quick release at the Depot.
My unit, No. 2 Pacific Infantry Training Battalion, with its permanent establishment of approximately 200 Officers, NCOs, and Men were moved to an empty brigade sized camp just outside the town of Nanaimo. We had to take over the camp, clean it up and get all the services working, including the kitchens, quartermaster stores, etc. and to be capable of housing up to 4000 soldiers. Nanaimo was chosen because it was a 90 minute ferry ride away from Vancouver where No. XI District Depot, the final discharge unit, was situated on "Little Mountain" in West Vancouver. The site is now Queen Elizabeth Park.
We moved to Vancouver by train, then by ferry to Nanaimo and took over our new home. We were a unit whose permanent establishment of 200 were selected for their ability as trainers. Now we were to become an administrative unit sorting out men and their documents, and ensuring that priorities for discharge were followed. I should say that priorities depended upon length of service, particularly overseas service, and also medical status and compassionate factors. Generally speaking, it was "first in, first out." I and all my Officers and Warrant Officers and NCOs had to work every evening, setting up records and systems, with some help from experts from No.XI District Depot. We had to work closely with them. We also wished to ensure that our returning soldiers got a hospitable reception at our unit and that they were handled with care and consideration throughout their stay with us.
Our Sortation Unit was set up not a day too soon because the flood of returning veterans from Europe and the release of others in Canada was beginning. And thereby hangs a tale.
Army Headquarters decided that the documents of all overseas soldiers returning to Canada would be funneled through a documents centre at the former Officers' Training School at Brockville, Ont. Now, this Centre was staffed by long serving records clerks, most of whom had high points for release. When the points system for release was put out at this time, these high points clerks took their releases to get at the jobs in "civvy" street. The result was a slowing down of the processing and forwarding of documents to the sortation units. The soldiers, whose documents were sent to Brockville, had returned from overseas and each was given two weeks landing leave to spend with their families. Then those destined for BC were to report to No.XI District Depot in Vancouver. They had made their decision for place of release before they embarked from overseas. A soldier had the right to choose his province and depot for release. It is interesting to note that, because the 6th, 7th, and 8th Infantry Divisions had spent time on the West Coast and inland BC during the war for its defence against Japanese invasion, many soldiers had sampled the advantages of life in BC and wanted to be discharged there. After Toronto, the Vancouver Depot had the highest rate of discharge in Canada.
We just had time in Nanaimo to get ourselves ready. No XI Depot, which received the soldiers reporting off leave first, began sending them over to Nanaimo at the rate of 200 men per day on the morning ferry. The Depot did not have the accommodation to put up large numbers of men. We were to marry them up with their documents and, providing they met the points discharge figure at the time, to return them to the Depot in Vancouver for quick discharge. To begin with, we met them at the Nanaimo dock, loaded them into trucks and took them to our camp. There I talked to them, told them what we were doing, that we were really a hotel and a document sorting centre. I explained about the Brockville slow-down which most of them understood. I said we had no intention of "bitching" them around, but I would appreciate their cooperation and support, and we would do our best for them in spite of the restraints of the point system. I asked for the normal military courtesies we had all been used to. I reminded them that it was my responsibility to maintain good order and military discipline.
It was soon apparent to me that I had to take measures to ensure that we did not have too many idle men waiting around for their turn for discharge. I went to Vancouver to see Major General Frank Worthington, GOC of Pacific Command, my immediate senior officer. He was a fine man and a fine soldier who had been a legend to machine gunners in the Militia before WWII. He later formed the 5th Cdn. Armoured Division, but could not take them overseas because of age. He became a friend of mine in retirement in Ottawa. I had learned that MacMillan-Bloedel and other forestry companies were looking for help planting trees. I asked the General if I might canvass for jobs for soldiers who might be waiting for their documents. And I asked for the authority to send soldiers on two weeks leave again after reporting from their disembarkation leave and, moreover, the ability to extend leave another two weeks if necessary. He saw the need immediately and agreed to all I asked. This was fortuitous. Soon I had over ten thousand soldiers on strength of my Sortation Unit, and the camp, which would hold about 4,000 was almost full. I and these men owe a debt to my staff in the Sortation Unit who worked day and night to look after the best interests of the returning veterans. It proved the contention that I had always held that the Canadian soldier must know the score, be well led and he is hard to beat, in battle or where ever.
Later I changed our routine by meeting the morning ferry at the dock with my staff. The Depot was sending over by ferry 200 men per day. We would march them off the ferry to a quiet spot, sit them down, and I would explain the situation to them. I would then say they had their pick of three options:
a) They could go planting trees, and be paid for it in addition to their service pay and allowances.
b) I could give them, on the spot, two weeks extra leave, plus a travel warrant.
c) They could come to Nanaimo Camp and await their turn.
Most of them elected for extra leave with the option of extension if their documents were slow coming in. So most of them returned to Vancouver on the afternoon ferry. It should be understood that our bookkeeping was up to date for that very day, as a result of our evening work.
The Province newspaper in Vancouver heard of this "to-ing and fro-ing"and sent Clyde Gilmour (lately of TV fame) to find out what was going on. I met him at the ferry and 200 troops came off with him. He listened to my talk to the troops and saw how we processed many of them on the spot. He then came back to camp with us, had a tour of the camp, talked to soldiers staying there, stayed overnight with us, and then went back on the next day's ferry. He wrote the most glowing story of his experience and our competence. And the GOC was delighted. We had no problems after that.
I was on the point of bringing my family out to occupy a fancy log cabin which a brigadier had occupied during the war, when I received instructions to take over command of No. XI District Depot on "Little Mountain," as commander in my present rank. I welcomed the prospect because I could see the end of the sortation unit before too long. I do not like running units down. Another Lt. Col. (not to be named) took over from me. He was a pre-war regular officer and thought our regimen was too relaxed. He tightened up the discipline; before long there were several fires and buildings were burned.
My records show that I took over command of No.XI District Depot at the beginning of December. The Depot was a busy place. Soldiers were coming and going. There was a good and dedicated staff, of whom I can particularly name Major Charles Dawson, my 2i/c, Major Johnston, the Quartermaster, and Major Arthur Dobreimer, the head of Records. I believe I took RSM Strumm along with me, but I cannot be sure. We also had two companies of women in uniform - the Canadian Women's Army Corps (CWAC). They carried most of the burden of clerical work in the Depot. I had never been responsible for women under my command before and I was not sure of them at first. However, their efficiency and their dedication was so exemplary that I became converted. The presence of the CWAC in the Depot had a salutary effect on the men, who were tidier and better behaved. I did not have many cases of offending CWAC referred to me for discipline. Most of them broke down in tears and they got off lightly.
General Crerar came to the Depot while he was doing his last tour of the Army before retirement. We assembled the whole staff and the soldiers going through the discharge process in the drill hall just before lunch. And he made his farewell speech. I had a company of soldiers, organized for emergencies, which had earlier done the honours for him on the parade square. He had a special lunch with us in the Officers' Mess. And we gave him a quick tour of our processing facilities. Major Jack Mahoney VC was also on my staff at the time. General Crerar was a caring commander. I have a letter he wrote to me while I was in hospital in Horsham. I reminded him of it. He autographed a photo portrait of himself which I have had framed and it hangs amongst my memorabilia..
I should record an event which involved me. The old Hotel Vancouver was empty. A large body of discharged returned soldiers, unable to find accommodation for themselves and their families, decided to force entry into the hotel and take it over. A duty staff officer at HQ Pacific Command telephoned me about the occupation of the hotel. On behalf of the General Officer Commanding (GOC) he ordered me to send my special duty company to the hotel to establish order. I replied that, so far as I knew, the veterans were discharged from the Army, and I had no intention of subjecting former comrades to armed force unless I had explicit orders from the GOC himself. That finished it - no order from the GOC. The hotel became an emergency shelter for the veterans and their families.
Another incident of interest was the return of the remnants of two battalions of the Hong Kong Force who had spent long years of imprisonment in Japan under terrible conditions. They were brought by ship to Vancouver and were put up at my Depot for a few days before proceeding to their home sites. The two battalions were the Royal Rifles of Montreal and the Winnipeg Grenadiers. We had lots of warning of their arrival and we prepared barracks for their reception. Our responsibilities were to provide whatever medical attention they needed, to rekit them and to rehabilitate them as much as we could from the terrible time they had experienced as prisoners of the Japanese for several years. As you can imagine, we had an opportunity to learn of the indignities, deprivation and starvation that the Japanese had inflicted on them. The Japanese were not signatories of the Geneva Convention which governs treatment of prisoners of war. I have learned about the cruelties of the Japanese during my two tours in the Far East. Prime Minister Brian Mulroney tendered an apology to the Japanese for the way they were treated in B.C. during the war because of the threat of invasion. The Canadian Legion did not agree with this apology. And neither did I. We did our best to provide entertainment and relaxation while the remains of the two battalions were with us.
Major MacKay, who was on my staff, very kindly let me have the use of his house in Kerrisdale, an area of Vancouver, for a few days while I was moving my family to Gibson's Landing , across Howe Sound, where I had found accommodation. And I was able to go there on weekends. My children were able to attend school there. They were starting their military travels.
In 1946 the Canadian Army was organizing the Regular post-war Army. I was 38 years of age, the Army had been my hobby before the War, and I had a good record of service. I thought I had something to contribute. There is nothing more satisfactory in life than working full time at one's hobby. I went to see General Worthington to get his advice. He did not paint a good picture of my prospects based on his own experience of the pre-war Army. He thought I might be accepted as a captain and might make it to major before retirement, if the politicians shut down the post-war Army the way they had done the pre-war Army. Nevertheless he would be glad to forward my application and recommend me. I discussed it with Margaret and she said, "Why not?" She felt I would be disappointed if I did not, at least, put in an application. I did. My application was accepted in the rank of Lieutenant Colonel. Later I was informed that I was to be sent to the Canadian Army Staff college for the first post-war course in 1946. It was to be for a full year and was to be at the RMC campus in Kingston, Ont.
CHAPTER VII : THE STAFF COURSE, KINGSTON, OTTAWA, WINNIPEG
The first postwar Staff Course was held in the buildings of the Royal Military College in Kingston, Ont. from June 1946 to June 1947. The Directing Staff consisted of 13 instructors in the rank of Lt. Col., Colonel Rothchild as Director and Brigadier Desmond Smith as Commandant. We, the students, were 65 in number, including 2 from the UK and 2 from the US. We were all veterans of WWII who had not had the opportunity to attend staff college, before or during WWII. We had all been accepted into the Regular Army. We were regarded as a rather "Bolshy" bunch because we tended to talk back. Some of us had more field experience than some of our instructors. However, to make any kind of a career in the Army as an officer, it was essential to earn the initials "psc" (passed staff course) after one's name in the graduation list.
Before the course HQ Western Command at Edmonton ran a 2 weeks pre-staff course study group for Western officers, and it included a visit up the North West Highway System based in Whitehorse, Yukon. The highway was under Army control. Major General Vokes set up the course, and he felt we should know something about this important installation. We also got to know each other.
I managed to find a small furnished cottage in Kingston for my family. Our furniture in Saskatoon was put into storage and our house rented. A month or so later Brigadier Smith had persuaded Army HQ in Ottawa to allocate the CWAC complex across the highway from the Signals School in Barriefield for accommodation for 13 married officer students and their families. I was called into Brig. Smith's office and he informed me that I was to be the chairman of the group who were to occupy these quarters. In recompense for my responsibilities I was to have the officers' quarters in one wing of an "H" hut. No alterations were required for the quarter allotted to my family, which was the largest of the group. We were delighted to move out of the tiny house we had already rented. The rent in the new quarter was ridiculously cheap at $13.00 per month. As there was no furniture in this accommodation, we had to rent it. We had to stoke the furnace of the central heating system, and I had to set up a roster amongst the 13 apartment dwellers. It was coal fired but the coal was supplied free. Now every quarter, other than mine, required partitions, etc. and washing arrangements had to be shared. Student officers had to make their own alterations. The RCE (Royal Canadian Engineers) would provide materials, but they were absolved from supplying labour except in an emergency. Of course, this "do it yourself" carpentry and painting had to be done at night or on weekends. Those students who were single or who did not want to move their families because of the tight housing situation after the war stayed in the students' rooms at RMC, which I had done until my family arrived.
Very soon Brig. Smith found another job for me because I had been a school teacher. There was a need for a local school to serve the families of the Signals School and the RCEME School nearby, and for our thirteen families in the former CWAC quarters. I was appointed Chairman of the Barriefield Military School Board, the first in the Cdn. Army. Two Other Rank members were appointed from the military schools. This was a first for the Cdn. Army and my Board were pioneers. The promise was that, in due course, money to support the school would be made available by Army HQ. For alterations for a building to serve as a school, we could call on the RCE . Our Board decided to set up a four room school and have it furnished as soon as possible. We leaned on the local school inspector for advice and advertised for teachers. We were very fortunate to find four experienced women. There was the problem of paying the teachers' salaries. The manager of my bank loaned me the money until Army HQ sorted out the problem. We had a good school.
Before Army HQ had started to pay the bills for our Barriefield Military School, I was over $5000 in debt to the bank. As a parent of three children, Barbara, Gerald and Garth, aged 13, 11 and 9 years, I was greatly pleased with the results. The children were happy and my wife and I were so pleased that this school was so close and so well conducted by our devoted teachers. I must say that when Brig. Smith dumped this responsibility on me I knew that it would take many hours of my time, which I expressed to him. But, he replied "you are the best experienced to take this on, and certainly you do not need to worry about your results on the staff course."
The Staff Course was a first class educational year. We had to learn to talk and write succinctly and to the point. We even had part of the Dale Carnegie course on "How to Win Friends and Influence People." War is such a diverse operation that it requires trained staff officers to assist commanders at all levels. And, of course, the commanders must know what they can expect from their staff. The instruction was in the seminar system in which we, the students, guided by the staff, studied the different operations of war. We were required to produce papers on military subjects, to give lectures, to take brief instructions from a commander and turn them into a carefully coordinated operation order for a mixed force. We were coached in the issuance of verbal orders, which is essential in these days of wireless communication. We also had access to the very good library at RMC to study our profession in depth. I remember giving a lecture on General Sir John Moore, the genius of the light infantry approach to battle. I also gave a lecture on the North West Highway System, which we had visited during our two weeks pre-course at Western Command. I also learned to sail dinghies at RMC, and I skied to the College in the winter. I bought my first post war car at Staff College, partly with my re-established credit and our savings bonds. It was an 8 cylinder Pontiac. It did us well and gave us flexibility through our next three postings.
I was graded a high "B" at the end of the course and I was given a very good posting. I was to be Deputy Director of Military Training at Army HQ in Ottawa. I had a tip from Army Personnel that there were other considerations for my future and I should not buy a house or take a long lease. So we moved to Ottawa at the end of June and found a short term furnished lease in Ottawa West. The DMT at that time was Colonel R.W. Moncel, whom I had known before and who had commanded an armoured brigade in Normandy and beyond.
After staff college, my less than three months tour as DDMT was an excellent introduction to the working of the staff at the highest level. I, and my family, got some knowledge of Ottawa life and how political considerations affect the operation of an army, even though my first tour was during the "Silly Season" (also known as summer holidays). One learned how important it was to check the operational and training initiatives with the "A" (administrative and personnel) and the Q (Quarter master and supply) sides of the staff.
My records show that I was posted to be Colonel in charge of Administration at HQ Prairie Command in Fort Osborne Barracks in Winnipeg from September 1947 to July 1949. Prairie Command included the provinces of Saskatchewan, Manitoba and the North Western part of Ontario including Thunder Bay. We moved by car to take over the former GOC's house in the Barracks. It was a large Victorian brick house with a heated garage for the prairie winters. We moved our furniture from storage in Saskatoon and put our house there up for sale. We had to buy more furniture to fill the large Winnipeg house. We were able to enter the children in Winnipeg schools at the beginning of the fall term. My Commander was Brigadier Geof. Morton, a gentleman of the old school, a gunner and with service in WWI and the Permanent Force between the wars. He did not see action in WWII..
The sub-command in Prairie Command was Saskatchewan Area which was commanded at Regina by Colonel R.E.A. Morton, a brother of my GOC. Colonel Morton had commanded an armoured regiment in Europe in WWII. He was also permanent force between the wars. The Mortons were grandsons of General Otter who commanded one of the attack columns in the Rebellion of 1885. Gen. Otter was the first native born Canadian to reach the rank of full general in the Canadian Army. There is a stone memorial at the side of Highway 4 in South Clinton, Ont. where he was born. The Mortons were proud of their past and dedicated to the Service, but they were "different." In effect I had joined a family party. It was interesting.
The two senior staff officers in HQ Prairie Command were myself as Colonel i/c Administration and Lt. Col. James Ritchie as GSO I, in charge of Operations and Training. We both had access to the GOC. This meant that the GOC had to coordinate his staff or call me in, or the GSO I, whenever a decision was taken. I persuaded the GOC that my designation should be changed to Chief of Staff to provide a straight line of staff responsibility, and to require the GSO, who was a former RCR officer in the permanent pre war force, to deal generally through me, a former Militia officer. The situation was not much better in Regina. The Area Commander was tied to his desk coordinating his staff. The two Morton brothers felt that relations had not been good for some time between their two staffs. The other problem was that the former Permanent Force officers and Militia officers had not yet learned to live and work together. The best cure for it was the straight line staff responsibility which we had introduced in Winnipeg. As Chief of Staff I was able to take part in the operations, training and administrative fields.
The important Army installations in Prairie Command included Camp Shilo, near Brandon, which had the Artillery School and an RCA Field Regiment, and very good range areas. There was also the Joint Air Training School at Rivers, Man. where parachute troop training was done. Then there was the Northern Training base at Fort Churchill on Hudson Bay. In Sask. Area there was the good training camp at Dundurn near Saskatoon. The RCAF had its Air Training Command based at Winnipeg and several air stations in Manitoba and Saskatchewan. We were also responsible for the maintenance, equipping and training of the Militia units based in main centres throughout the Command.
I felt it incumbent on me as Chief of Staff to spend 6 weeks at Camp Rivers to earn my parachutist qualification. I obtained agreement from the GOC, and also for Lt. Col. G.L.M. Smith, Director of Medical Services at our Command HQ to accompany me. There were two reasons for my taking this qualification. First, it was to indicate our HQ interest in this important training school. Secondly, I could see no other way of raising my medical category from L4 to L1. I wanted to qualify for field command.
Col. Morgan Smith and I enjoyed a complete physical change for 6 weeks. We worked hard at it. We were put with a platoon of recently joined soldiers from the Royal 22nd Regt. ("Van Doos") And we had to endure the grunt and grind with them toward the super fitness required of a parachutist. I will confess that I had to do some treatment under the heat lamp. Because I was in my fortieth year, the corporal in charge, on distance runs, would order me to drop out on occasion. I did the jumps from the tower, which seemed to fail a number of the younger soldiers, and also did the five required jumps from an airplane by parachute to qualify for my wings which one wears above one's decorations and medals. And there was no doubt from then on as to my medical category being "one across the board."
Unfortunately, there was no study of the tactical and strategic employment of air landing forces which would have been useful to senior officers. Instead, Morgan and I played bridge in the Mess in the evenings and rested our strained muscles. We spent the weekends in Winnipeg with our families, and with the responsibilities of our appointments in the Headquarters. I suppose the attainment of "wings" did something for our "bubbles of reputation" especially in view of our seniority. Nevertheless we both felt the experience was valuable. We enjoyed every bit of it.
Winnipeg was a good military city. I got to know well Brigadier Richard Malone who was the local Militia Commander. He was the publisher of the Winnipeg Free Press, the most prestigious newspaper in the West. Later he became the publisher of the Globe & Mail. The Communist Party had some strength in the city because of its ethnic diversity. Malone persuaded me to attend a meeting of the Winnipeg School Board on which sat two avowed communists as members. The Communist Party in Canada was 'soft' on Soviet aggression at that time. Malone wanted to make public the communist negative approach to Canadian Cadet Training. I did it with the permission of the GOC. Malone's paper made something of it for some time.
My two years in Prairie Command were busy. At various times I deputized for the GOC at the opening of the Legislature, supporting and assisting the Lieutenant Governor. I made duty trips to Fort Churchill, Camp Shilo and Camp Dundurn, as well as Camp Rivers, aside from my course there. I deputized for the GOC in visits to militia units throughout the Command, especially Melfort (my old "C" Company), Saskatoon (Sask. LI MG) and Weyburn-Estevan (S. Sask. R.). Because I went to Winnipeg when the Army was changing over to peacetime conditions, I was faced with many problems which required study, solution, and recommendation to our GOC. I set up committees amongst my senior staff and the heads of services to study these problems. One of them, for instance, was the problem of life insurance for our soldiers and dependents. The newly set up Army had no plan for insurance except for service hazards. We recognized a plan which covered this need at low cost. Of course we had to be very careful not to appear favourable to a particular underwriter.
We received a new GOC during my tour in Winnipeg. Brig. Morton was promoted to Major General and given command at Quebec Command with HQ in Montreal. He was quite bilingual. Brig. Paul Bernatchez was a success in Winnipeg. This switch was an effort toward bilingualizing our Army. I had a good rapport with Brig. Bernatchez, and I hope I was useful in showing him the local form. He had married a former Anglophone nursing sister and she was a great help to him in Winnipeg.
My next posting covered the period July 1949 to September 1951. I was posted back to Ottawa to be Director of Military Training. This was a good and prestigious appointment, and I looked forward to it because I had already had about three months in the directorate. I had a good reputation as a trainer. So our family packed up again. We shipped our furniture and travelled to Ottawa by car. We decided to stop for the weekend at a holiday spot near Kenora on the Lake of the Woods. We took three rooms at a hotel located at the end of a jetty extending out over the water. We were OK for the first night and enjoyed fishing and swimming off the end of the jetty. The second night there was a heavy thunder storm. The jetty caught fire at the shore end. We were awakened by knocking at our door and told that we should get off as soon as possible into the water. I woke the children and told them to grab what clothing and things that were important and be prepared to jump into the water. This we did, and we got to shore. The whole jetty hotel was ablaze, almost to the end where our rooms were located. The car, with most of our things, was parked safely ashore. We watched the whole jetty destroyed by fire.
We drove into Kenora where I contacted Lt. Col. Bill McLeod who commanded the Medium Artillery Regiment (Militia). It happened that his family was at the cottage and he offered me the use of his home so that we could get ourselves organized for the rest of our trip. We had to buy some replacement clothing in Kenora. Fortunately, we had a comprehensive insurance policy which paid for our losses when we claimed in Ottawa. Then we took off again. One of the many good things about the Service is the "free masonry" which all good soldiers practice with each other.
We had some time before I had to report as DMT. We went south across the border around Lake Superior and through Western Michigan. We stopped and rented a cottage at Lake Gogabec for a couple of days. Then we went through the "Soo" and followed the highway through Algonquin Park to Ottawa. In Ottawa we found half of a double house on Holland Ave.
Our children were now 16, 14 and 12. We arranged for Barbara to be enrolled at Glebe Collegiate, and the two boys at Fisher Park School which was nearby. Already, it will be noted that my postings were relatively short, but I had interesting jobs which were challenging. I should record now that our children experienced the educational systems of five provinces and Great Britain. In Canada I would obtain a copy of the provincial course of study and assist my children in the evenings. They were good students and seemed to profit from the variety. I think perhaps our family life was closer because of the frequent moves.
I had a running start as Director of Military Training, having been the Deputy Director for three months in 1947. Margaret became a good soldier's wife. She was interested in people and encouraged the formation of women's clubs on all our stations. The DMT Ladies' Club organized a formal ball at one of the local armouries in an attempt to get something going in the rather loose Ottawa community. And Margaret even began to enjoy the changes and look forward to them.
My responsibilities as DMT were very broad. In addition to all the special aspects of Army training, which were coordinated by sections of the Directorate, such as (a) Training, generally, and with the Army Schools (b) Officer training (c) Trades training (d) Militia and Cadet training (e) the film and photo section, etc. I had to do a great deal of travel to familiarize myself with the Army schools. I travelled to Newfoundland with a team of senior officers when Nfld. joined Canada to appreciate and advise on their problems. I fostered and attended meetings of the Defence Associations. I was their sponsoring officer for grant purposes and had to find answers to their questions, and tell them what we were doing. The Defence Associations are still an important part of our democratic society, trying to keep our country's defences up. There was also a big Northern exercise along the North West Highway System up to the Yukon and beyond by the US Army, on which I had a watching brief. This was at the time when Russia had become our "Cold War" enemy.
The biggest excitement for my Directorate was the start of the Korean War on 25 June 1950. The forces of the Communist state of North Korea launched a sudden invasion of South Korea. There were six North Korean divisions supported by tanks, artillery and aircraft. The South Koreans had eight divisions but they are armed only for border protection and internal security. On the second day of the action the United Nations Security Council met. Due to a disagreement, Russia was not present. The Council passed a resolution demanding the immediate cessation of hostilities and the withdrawal of the North Koreans to the 38th Parallel. At the same time they called upon all UN countries "to render every assistance in the execution of this resolution." Before the end of June the United States, Britain and Canada had pledged forces to assist the South Koreans.
The Korean War was on! This was the first military action authorized by the UN. Early Canadian naval and air support was made available quickly. On 7 August the Prime Minister of Canada announced the raising of an infantry brigade plus supporting arms to be made available for use in carrying out Canada's obligations under the United Nations' Charter. At that time, only five years after WWII, we had only three infantry battalions, not even up to full strength. We had run down our resources in weapons and equipment to such an extent that the promise of a brigade force created quite a problem. Moreover, there was the problem of preparing other units as replacements if the action continued for some time. It was decided to set up a new component of the Army - the Canadian Army Special Force (CASF). In the case of the infantry we would form second battalions sponsored by each of our infantry battalions, to be trained and equipped at the regular battalion stations. The supporting arms would be handled the same way.
As DMT I was involved in the training of the CASF units. I must say that the induction of men for the CASF units did not go smoothly. The element of haste inspired the Minister of National Defence to order that all comers should be accepted and enlisted. This created turmoil because in shortening the process for enlisting and induction and trying to cut corners, we ended up with men who had to be released later because of unsuitability. I must interject here that Ministers of Defence should have some military background. We were fortunate, however, in being so close to WWII that many former veterans enlisted in the CASF. Former commanders like Brigadier John Rockingham, Lt. Col. Jim Stone and Lt. Col. Jim Dextrase made themselves available. They were topnotch officers. My job was to assist the new units to train themselves for war and to help them to acquire the weapons and resources necessary. It will be hard to believe, but it was true, that we had disposed of weapons and equipment after WWII, that we had to set up "County Fair" exhibits of weapons, etc. and to pass these weapons around among soldiers on a short term basis. It was 1939 all over again, to a certain extent. Will we ever learn?
The first Canadian unit selected to serve in the Far East was the 2nd Battalion Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry (PPCLI) commanded by Lt. Col. J.R. Stone. The unit left from Seattle by ship on 25 Nov. 1950 and were landed at Pusan in Korea. After further training, they joined the 27th British Commonwealth Brigade by mid-February. In the meantime the Chinese had intervened to help the North Koreans.
Back in Canada, the remainder of the CASF Brigade, under command of Brigadier J.M. Rockingham, was based in a US Camp (Fort Lewis) near Seattle in late November 1950, to be able to train in a snow free climate. As DMT I visited the Brigade at Fort Lewis. In April 1951 the Brigade proceeded to the Far East by ship and docked at Pusan, Korea on 4 May. By 25 May the Brigade was in action. At this time the third battalions were being formed and trained to rotate in Korea the following year.
CHAPTER VIII: IMPERIAL DEFENCE COLLEGE
In the summer of 1951 I was informed that I had been selected to attend the Imperial Defence College in London, England for a year's course beginning in Jan. 1952. This course was for senior officers and was intended to broaden them for higher responsibilities. It was the senior course in the British Defence Forces. It was a great honour to be selected for this course. I should also have the right to take my family with me. This would be a wonderful experience for them too. Our children were now 18, 16 and 14. I went to talk to the Chief of the General Staff, Lt. Gen. Simonds, whom I knew quite well. I told him of my family's educational problems and asked him if it would be possible for me to go over to Britain in September so as to get my children established in school at the beginning of the fall term. He asked me about my replacement as DMT. I told him that DGAP (Director General of Army Personnel) had informed me that Col. Roger Rowley was to replace me, and he could take over in September. General Simonds agreed with my proposal, and then said that I could do a job for him from September to December. He wished me to visit all British Army training schools, interview students there, and then write a report on my experiences for him. He said I and my family should be on full overseas allowances because of this task. He said, further, that CALE (Canadian Liaison Establishment in London) would provide transportation for me to carry out these duties. I had always found Gen. Simonds to be a very humane man. And this was a good example of his humanity. So we sailed overseas on the Empress of Scotland, first class, in good weather. We had stored our furniture and effects in Ottawa and sold our car. We had 6 large shipping boxes made for the trip, in addition to our trunks and suitcases. The boxes were mostly filled with food because Britain had not recovered quickly from the war under the Labour Government.
On arrival in Britain our priority was a place to live. We started off with rooms in Ennismore Gardens. We looked at the tall, thin, 5-floor house my predecessor on the last year's course, Brig. Allard, had rented. It was just around the corner from Seaford House which housed the IDC (Imperial Defence College) in Belgrave Square. We decided there were too many stairs, and it was not really suitable for our family. Then we found a fully detached house on Putney Hill, a suburb of London south of the Thames. It had a large double lot and was supposed to have central heating. That turned out to mean an electric heater in the downstairs hall. There were, however, gas fireplaces in most of the rooms. This was much better than average. So we leased it. The house was not far from Upper Putney Underground Tube Station. Another advantage was that it was within walking distance to the Roehampton Club (golf and tennis) and Richmond Park. There were also good bus connections. We were very happy there. I had heard that Brig. Allard had to pay high damages on his house because he had not checked the house carefully when he moved in. I turned the task of doing a written house check over to Gerald and Garth, and I gave them the benefit of my experience in war time of "marching in and marching out." They did a superb job, listing every breakage and scratch. They did the job so well and were so useful in helping us to take care of the house and property that, when we did the "marching out" check 15 months later, we did not have to pay a penny in damages.
The next problem was education for the children. Barbara had finished her senior matriculation at Glebe Collegiate with "A"s across the board. She wanted to attend the London School of Economics. Dr. Orville Ault, who was also a student at the IDC with me, had been head of the Educational Services Overseas for Canada during the war, and he was a great help. The LSE requires a baccalaureate degree, but they accepted Barbara to attend first year courses without credit.
She also had access to seminars and social activities at the LSE. Her connection with LSE enabled her to claim "attachment" in her Curriculum Vitae later. For an additional skill we enrolled her at a secretarial school to learn typing, and related office skills.
The boys were another problem because we were in London only for one year and I could not get them into a private school. I then tried the Wandsworth Grammar School which had a good reputation, and I had a talk with the headmaster. Because I was a former teacher and a soldier, he wanted to help. We agreed that the two boys would attend in different classes, suited to their age, for two weeks while he assessed them. I made an agreement with Gerald and Garth that, if they did not feel comfortable at the Wandsworth School, we would try something else. And they agreed to give it a "good shot." To make a long story short, I must say that the British school system terrified them. Caning was still in vogue. In the meantime I had been advised to try a tutorial school. And with the help of educational advisors I found a good one. This was a rather informal day school which was conducted in a building in St. George's Square by Messrs. McNalty and Burrows. They were Scottish teachers who tutored the sons of the rich and famous for Eton, Harrow, and other well known British schools. They were a wonderful, kindly pair who were very interested in helping our sons. Both boys thrived there. I had brought courses of study and texts from Canada. McNalty and Burrows did their very best to enrich the boys' educational experience. The Dolphin Square complex was nearby , and the boys could get lunches and have swimming privileges. The Thames River was nearby. Each morning the boys caught the tube with me at Upper Putney Station to Victoria and they changed to St. George's Square. It was expensive but very worthwhile. I should say that we were fortunate, while we were in London, that the exchange rate was very much in our favour.
I then undertook my visits to the British Army Training Schools. Most of them were in Southern England, except for the Signals School at Catterick in Yorkshire. A car would pick me up in the morning at our house and I would try to arrive at 1000 hrs., meet the Commandant, be given a tour of the school, have lunch with the Commandant, meet Canadian Army officer students, discuss their problems, if any, meet the Commandant again and leave by mid-afternoon. I tried to visit two schools each week. When the visits were completed, I wrote a voluminous report to the CGS in Ottawa.
My wife Margaret, meanwhile, had to get used to British shops and to find her way in what was still a difficult period for rationing, and obtaining other goods. An election had just taken place. Mr. Atlee and his Labour Party were beaten and Winston Churchill and his Tories were back in power. What a change! Everything seemed to improve economically. Margaret and I established a routine early on, which saw the family visiting the interesting and historical sites of London, and the museums and art galleries. I must repeat that the Canadian dollar traded high against the pound and we had good allowances. We joined the Roehampton Club for tennis, golf, and other activities. We attended the local Anglican Church and became friendly with the rector. We decided that the family should see one play each month and that we should dine out as a family at least once each month. I enjoyed a membership in the Belfry Club, a restaurant just off Grosvenor Square which is even more famous now, which had been converted from a church. In 1951 and 1952 London was not as expensive as it is now, comparatively. I had time to help our children adjust to their new educational system. We even tried to rehabilitate the small glass greenhouse in the back of the garden. What a wonderful experience this was for our family!
We made contact with Tommy and Dulcie Deuchar, my war time friends near Ockley, Surrey. I hired a car and we drove out for lunch. They returned for a meal with us later. Tommy Deuchar was of the Deuchar whisky family in Scotland. His wife, Dulcie, was a former Australian actress and very outgoing. The Deuchars lived on a 200 acre dairy farm just a mile south of Ockley. Tommy ran the dairy farm during the war. But he had several men working for him. They lived in a lovely Elizabethan house. They were a second home for me in England during the war, and, after the war, on my visits to England and Europe. Tommy's operation didn't look very economic to me. However the Deuchar fortune looked after them. Their house was filled with originals of the French Impressionists - a hedge against post-war inflation.
Margaret had close friends in Rosyth, Scotland. Kitty Manson and her son came to visit us early on. Kitty's parents had migrated to Canada, Naicam, Sask., after WWI where her father had a jewelry business. The Curries moved back to Scotland during the depression. The son, Bertie, became a doctor and Kitty married Manson, an accountant, who had died before our London sojourn.
The Imperial Defence College opened for the 1952 course shortly after New Year's Day. The College had a very prestigious location at No.37 Grosvenor Square. The building was known as Seaford House. It had once been owned by the Earl of Seaford. Its chief claim to fame is the fabulous onyx staircase which leads from the ground floor to the first floor. Forty years ago the staircase alone was estimated to be worth hundreds of thousands of pounds. The house had a huge dining room where we lunched, and a large banquet hall where we had dinners and dances on festive occasions. There was a large library, well stocked with defence literature, and other books and we were encouraged to use it. The former bedrooms were used as syndicate rooms. It was a comfortable, gracious school. According to the photo I have of the house and the occupants, we were 70, which included the Commandant, General Sir Frank Simpson, the directing staff and the students. The latter were senior officers (Colonel and above) from the Navy, Army and Air Force from Britain, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, India, Pakistan and the USA. There were also senior civil servants from all of the above countries. When Betty, my present wife, and I were in London for two days in September 1992, we took a taxi over to see my Alma Mater and to sign the book. Unfortunately, the house was under renovation and the College, now known as The School of Strategic Studies, had moved to the Earl's Court area of London temporarily. We will try again another year.
I still have my course papers from the IDC. The year (1952) I spent with IDC was the most fantastic learning experience I have ever encountered. For my wife and children , and myself, it was also the best year of our lives. The course started 7 Jan. 1952 and the year broke down as below:
Spring Term 1952 - to Easter Break, 10 April to 26 April.
Visit to Fremington (Combined Ops. Centre) - 15 to 18 April.
Our family, in a rented car, toured up the east coast to Scotland and visited Kitty Currie, Margaret's friend, then back down the west coast.
Industrial Tour (in my case, Wales) - 27 April to 2 May.
Visit to Old Sarum (AIR) - 5 May to 9 May.
Summer Term - Return to College 12 May - Summer term ends 31 July.
Summer break and Foreign Tours - 1 Aug. to 21 Sept.
Winter Term starts 22 Sept. Course ends 12 December.
The College programmes were Monday to Friday. We convened at 1000 hrs. each morning and we had a lecture starting at 1015 hrs. which might go on for 2 hours including questions. Then we broke for drinks at the bar before lunch. We were able to talk informally with the lecturer. After lunch we went to our syndicate rooms. We were in groups of 7 or 8 officers with a member of the directing staff who was a major general or equivalent.
The four members of the directing staff each looked after 2 syndicates and they were supported by assistant DS who were of the rank of Lt. Col. Throughout the course we worked on a total of 14 problems. The object of the College was , "To study the main military, political and economic factors affecting future strategy." Dozens of very senior and eminent lecturers came to enliven our consideration. In the Army field they included Field Marshal Lord Alanbrook, Field Marshal Lord Montgomery and Field Marshal Sir William Slimm. When we studied Communism, Arthur Horner, the Secretary of the British Communist Party, and John Golan, Editor of the Daily Worker, came to talk to us. Other fields of study were represented by outstanding men. We had the opportunity to question them without reservation.
It will have been noted that the so-called "breaks" included industrial tours and service installations. The one I asked for in the summer break was the 33 day tour of the Middle East. By RCAF plane, 14 students and DS travelled over 13,000 miles. The itinerary included Malta, Suez Canal, Cyprus, Istanbul, Ankara, Baghdad, Bahrein, Socotra, Aden, Nairobi, Salisbury, Bulawaya, Livingston Falls, Juba (Uganda), Khartoum, Fadi Halfa, Tripoli, Malta and back to London. In 1952 the British Empire was very much in command in all this region. I stayed with British Governors in Bahrein, Aden and Uganda. We had no less than three demonstrations of skits of the British training of local natives in what they called, "From the trees to the parade square."
In the Arabian peninsula we met the ruling sheiks at all our stops. We toured the Rift Valley and the Game Park in Kenya. We toured the Kikuyu reserve just 6 weeks before the rebellion (which the Chief of Police had predicted). We did not go to Cape Town because South Africa had just defected from the Commonwealth. We were visiting while history was being made. We were received by the grandson of the Mahdi in Khartoum. I must say that it was just a this stage that heat rash caught up with me. I had a wide area around my middle at the belt. We had lost one British naval officer in the Arabian peninsula. He had to return to Britain for the same reason. I stuck it out. It seemed that, as soon as we saw the green fields of England at the end of the tour, my heat rash vanished. It does seem sad that the Africa which we saw with so much promise for the future should have deteriorated so badly in forty years under self government. I remember the reception Admiral Lord Mountbatten and his wife gave our party in the Governor's Palace in Malta before our return to Britain. I hired a taxi to visit the Knight Templars' Shrine in Malta.
The IDC arranged special visits for us in the evenings or on weekends. These included the wine caverns under the Thames, a visit to the Royal Docks, a boat tour down the Thames to Greenwich, a visit to an Honorable Company (The Drapers), witnessing a night printing of the Daily Telegraph, and visits to both the House of Commons and the House of Lords. Barbara, our daughter, was presented as a debutante with others at Buckingham Palace, and we also attended a Trooping of the Colour by the Brigade of Guards. What a city is London! So much colour and variety and humanity! I never get enough of it.
I should also note that Barbara had to leave us at the end of August to return to Canada for her first year at Queen's University. Margaret, the boys and I hired a car for a few days and crossed to France at Calais and visited Dieppe where the S. Sask. R. had a bloody battle in 1942. We followed the line of battle from the landing beaches of 1944 to Falaise and beyond. In seven years there was still much wartime destruction unrepaired or unreplaced. The reason was that the French had hoped to have their destruction replaced by defeated Germany. But Germany was also on its back, economically.
Before I left Britain to return to Canada in December of1952, I paid a visit to the Canadian Brigade in Germany. Amongst other events and tours, I was conducted through an "elimination" (Jewish) camp. What a horrible offence this was against humanity!
General Sir Frank Simpson, who commanded the IDC, lived just a few blocks from us on Putney Hill. He was very neighbourly. One day, in the spring, he and his wife took our family on a tour of a lovely, expansive English garden to see their display of rhododendron and azaleas. What a beautiful display!
We did family tours outside of London to Kew Gardens, to Hampton Court and Windsor Castle.
Hiram Walker and Gooderham and Worts provided Canadian students at the IDC with Canadian whiskey at bargain prices.
We did quite a bit of shopping and collecting in Britain - prices were so reasonable, and the Canadian dollar was so strong. We equipped ourselves with clothes. I had a complete set of uniforms made by Saville Row tailors. We brought our six wooden chests back home full. Because we were overseas long enough, they were treated as settlers' effects, and therefore duty free!
CHAPTER IX: FIELD COMMAND
Before we left Britain after New Year's 1953, I had been gazetted as a Brigadier to command the 2nd Cdn. Inf. Bde. at Camp Wainwright in Alberta. We returned on the Empress of Britain to St. John, N.B. and then proceeded by train to Edmonton, Alberta. We occupied a large house in Griesbach Barracks. By this time our children were growing up and embarking on their educational careers. Barbara was 19½ years and well settled in Queen's University in Kingston. However, I had to arrange for the education of Gerald, 17 ½ years, and Garth, 16 years. I went to see the principal of the largest high school in Edmonton. He was sympathetic to our problems. Since I was a former teacher, I asked him what the object of education was in Edmonton. He said, quite bluntly, "To train students to work for Imperial Oil." I didn't argue the point with him. At least he had a clear objective.
I had reached the age of 45 years by 17 May 1953. It was apparent that, if the Korean War did not wind down, that I should likely be commanding the 25th Cdn. Inf. Bde. in Korea on the third rotation in June of 1954.
Since I had reached general rank and would always have a secretary, I began to save my personal and confidential files as a record of my service. The result is that I have very complete records of the last ten years of my military service. Moreover, because of my absences from the family while I was on duty, and the separate lives of our children in education and other interests and my mother and my wife, I began to write the Family News Letter in January of 1955, and carried this through until mid-1973, a total of 18 ½ years, until my involvement in farming became too much.
The period from January 1953 until June 1954 became a very busy time. My family, except Barbara, was based in the house in Griesbach Barracks in Edmonton. But, my HQ of 2nd Cdn. Inf. Bde. which, for practical purposes, was also referred to as 25 CIBRG (Cdn. Inf. Bde. Reinforcement Group) was located at Wainwright Camp, 130 miles to the east of Edmonton. I reported to Major General Chris Vokes, the GOC, Western Command, in Edmonton. He was a wonderful man to work under. He had fired the former Commander of 2nd Cdn. Inf. Bde. and had accepted me in his place. He knew I was a good trainer and he left me alone and supported me. On my part I kept him informed. I needed his support to get action out of Army HQ in Ottawa to flesh out the units of my brigade for the third rotation to Korea.
Wainwright was a good camp, with a large training area and good buildings. I was also the Camp Commander. The services of the camp reported to me. I also had to train my Bde. HQ staff. And then I had to travel back and forth across the country to visit the units which were to come to Wainwright in the spring to be trained under my command. In all I made three trips back and forth across the country, mostly by train. I made one trip to all five commands in the spring of 1953. This meant calling in on the GOC of each command, both going and coming and, in addition, the Commanders of each area which had third rotation units in it. It sounds involved and it was. These commanders had responsibility for the units under their commands and I could only report and suggest. And, when I dealt with Army HQ, it had to be through my GOC. It may sound unreal, but this is because of the geography of Canada. I made another round of trips in the autumn of 1953, and the third in Jan. and Feb. of 1954. The units I visited were based in Camps Gagetown, Valcartier, Petawawa, Kingston, Ipperwash, Shilo (near Brandon), Sarcee (just outside Calgary) and Chilliwack. I think, because of the appointments I held during my service, I must be one of the most travelled officers in the Canadian Army.
The most serious problem was the recruitment to full strength of the three infantry battalions which were raised by converting Militia regiments to active duty as part of the CASF. The three chosen units were The Canadian Guards, The Royal Highland Regiment( Black Watch) and the Queen's Own Rifles of Canada (QORC). Each of these regiments was supposed to be recruited and trained to a strength of over 1000 all ranks (including first reinforcements and training wastage). By late February, 1954 the QORC had a strength of 788 all ranks and the 4th Canadian Guards 586. The 2RHC had gone to Korea the previous October. Because these units were newly activated it was a continuous battle to obtain enough soldiers to fill the infantry positions and to ensure there were enough skilled tradesmen for their vacancies. We finally had to accept that no soldier would be posted overseas who had not completed his recruit training. Not a very good situation for Canada's support of the United Nations. The problem was not nearly so serious in the artillery regiment, the armoured squadron, the signals, or the services because their numbers were less in an infantry brigade.
On all my liaison visits I was acting as an inspecting officer with a staff officer, and we made up detailed reports which were circulated through GOC Western Command to all the other GOCs who had the responsibility to train the units under their command. Aside from individual statistics I was concerned with sub-unit and unit training in preparation for the concentration of the units in Wainwright in the summer of 1953 and for their tour overseas in Korea in the spring of 1954. A fighting unit of any arm or service is never fully trained. Because of wastage caused by postings, ill health, or accidents, training for action is never finished. And even if finished it must be continually refreshed.
Our concentrated training period in Wainwright Camp was to be from 1 May 1953 to 1 Sept. 1953. My plan for training was somewhat unusual. In spite of the fact that the concentrating units would be wrestling with problems of individual training, I superimposed on the programme a schedule of brigade exercises which started on 26 May and ended on 31 July. There were four phases: a) movement, b) defence, c) withdrawal, d) night attack. I selected these as the operations which should be learned, especially for Korea. General Vokes approved my schedule. Each of these phases was started by a demonstration. Then there was the sand table exercise followed by a brigade tactical exercise without troops (TEWT) for the officers on the ground, and then a full scale exercise with troops. We had a number of demonstrations at the end of July, covering: a) administration in the battalion, b) administration in the field, c) all arms day, including, infantry signalling targets to tanks, infantry cum tank attack with supporting arms with live ammo, and fire power of a rifle company with normal company, battalion and supporting arms. The concentration finished with two major exercises in August: Exercise CATTALO - a five day brigade exercise employing advance to contact, defence, withdrawal, river crossing, day and night attacks and pursuit; Exercise BUFFALO 1V - a ten day divisional exercise run by the GOC and his command staff.
The exercises listed above were not perfectly performed but, at least, they exposed units to the larger picture and gave a background for individual training. In addition, I emphasized several other aspects of training concurrently. One was Skill at Arms with full use of the good range facilities at Wainwright. We developed a new Range Record Book which could be incorporated into a soldier's paybook. Another was a two week Mountain Training Course at Rocky River (near Jasper) through which every infantry company was processed. This was important to accustom soldiers to the stresses of moving and fighting in mountainous country. And finally, extensive Field Training to make use of the excellent facilities at Wainwright.
I must say that the programme was enjoyed by the soldiers and it made a great impact on the professionalism of the units even though they were not up to strength at the time. Most soldiers love field training. I should also say that we ran courses for NCOs, specialists and tradesmen concurrently throughout the programme.
We had an active sports programme and opportunities for swimming. We even brought in entertainment such as wrestling and stage shows. It was a full summer. The 2RHC left for Korea in October, 1953, fortunately at almost full strength. The reminder of the brigade spent the winter at home stations and proceeded to Korea in early spring of 1954. I left for Korea to take over command of 25 Cdn Inf. Bde. from Brigadier J. V. Allard on 15 June. I had spent part of the spring seeing my units off to the far east from Seattle by ship. The rest of service time was spent with my staff preparing the 1954 concentration for my successor at 2nd Cdn. Inf. Bde. (25 CIBRG), Brigadier George Kitching.
As for my family, Margaret and I decided that she should move to Ottawa. Barbara had completed her first year at Queen's University, and had come to Edmonton. Gerald had taken a basic training course at Camp Dundurn and decided he liked the army. He had applied for College Militaire Royale and he was accepted. Garth had been accepted for a summer job on the Northwest Highway system. We enrolled him in Alberta College, a private school in Edmonton for the fall of 1954 to complete his junior matriculation.
I should note here that an Armistice had been signed between the warring parties in Korea in July 1953. I should also note that a Peace Treaty between the warring nations was signed on 27 July 1954.
One of the interesting incidents of my tour of command in Canada was the arrival of Major General Horatio Napoleon Murray (nicknamed NAP ) who elected to go to Korea to take over command of 1 Commonwealth Div. by crossing Canada and the Pacific. Of course I was designated to meet him and conduct him during his tour of Canada. We did not have much time, but I escorted him first to Quebec City where we called on Governor General Vincent Massey at his summer suite in the Citadel. We had tea and a tour of the Citadel. General Murray was most impressed by Vincent Massey's patrician presence and kindness. Then we went to Ottawa and General Murray met the CGS and senior members of the Army HQ Staff. I conducted him to Petawawa Camp where John Rockingham was in command and we stayed overnight. During the night I assisted John in dealing with a skunk which was roaming around outside his house. We had stayed overnight with the Rockinghams. This was all the time Gen. Murray could spare before his takeover in Korea. He flew to Vancouver from Toronto and then to Japan and Korea. It was good to have this experience with Gen. Murray before I came under his command.
In the fall of 1953 I had made a visit to Korea, accompanied by Brig. George Kitching who was to succeed me at Wainwright. We did the long air trip from Vancouver to Alaska and the length of the Alaska chain to Tokyo and then to Korea. In Korea the front had been quiescent for over a year. It was a good opportunity to learn the role of our brigade and see the terrain for a week and then return to Canada over the North Pacific again.
CHAPTER X: KOREA
I flew to Korea in early June 1954 from Vancouver via Tokyo. I made my courtesy calls in Tokyo which included the Canadian Ambassador, who had grown up in the same city in Saskatchewan - Prince Albert - as my mother. And I called on General Wells (an Australian) who was the Commander of BCFK (British Commonwealth Forces in Korea). Then I crossed to Korea and to HQ 25th Cdn. Inf. Bde. which was part of the 1 British Commonwealth Division. Brigadier Jean Allard was to hand over to me on 15 June. And he was very hospitable. I attended with him the goodbye obligations he had to do, including a farewell mess dinner in our brigade mess, goodbye march pasts by the units of the brigade, honour guards at higher headquarters where he said his goodbyes; these occasions also gave me the opportunity to be presented. Of course all the units then in the brigade had served with me at Wainwright in 1953 and I had visited them several times in their home stations in 1953 and 1954. So, in effect, we were coming together again.
I should say something about the 1 British Commonwealth Division. It was formed on 28 July 1951 and became a shining example of Commonwealth cooperation. The British provided most of the troops, some 10,000. Canada was next with 5,000; the Australians had 2,000; the New Zealanders 1,000. India provided a field ambulance company. The staffs and services were amalgamated. The Divisional Commander in my time was Major General Murray. With a Scottish background and Yorkshire upbringing, he had a happy gift for command. He ended his career as General Horatio Napoleon Murray, commanding the Northern Area of NATO based in Scandinavia. Being named after an illustrious sailor and a famous general, how could he miss? He was a joy to serve with. Later, when I was commanding SW Ontario at London, Ont., in 1960, we had the pleasure of hosting him and his wife at our quarters in Wolseley Barracks. He was then the Colonel of the Regiment of Gordon Highlanders and was visiting their affiliated unit in my area, The Perth Regiment at Stratford.
Since the countries which formed the Commonwealth Division had such close affiliations in WWII, with the same military traditions and wartime experiences, staff procedures and weapons, this was an appropriate and easy amalgamation. The spirit and morale were first class.
I should also bring us up to date with the events of the war. After the initial surge of the North Koreans in 1950 to force the South Koreans and a few US forces into a small perimeter around Pusan, the US decided to play a larger part after the United Nations declared the North Koreans the aggressors. General MacArthur was put in command of the UN forces. On 10 September 1950 the 10th US Corps made a landing at Inchon and quickly captured Seoul, the capital. The UN troops in the Pusan Perimeter also attacked and the North Koreans were driven back. The 8th Army linked up with the 10th US Corps. They drove the North Koreans beyond the 38th Parallel, and elements of the ROK (Republic of Korea) Army had advanced some 60 miles into North Korea. At this point, the UN General Assembly met to consider what action should follow. The Soviet Bloc contended that hostilities should cease and all foreign troops quit the country. Most of the nations which had supported the intervention favoured a British resolution that, "All appropriate steps be taken to ensure conditions of stability throughout Korea.." By this resolution, which the General assembly accepted on 7 October, the UN Commander was, in effect, authorized to carry on operations north of the 38th Parallel. On 9 Oct. American troops crossed this line with an advance on Pyongyang, the North Korea capital. The 8th Army, including ROK divisions, attacked up the West coast and, on 26 Oct., reached the Yalu River, the north boundary of North Korea. Resistance by the enemy increased, and they counter-attacked, resulting in a general withdrawal by the UN Forces to the Chongchon River, about 10 miles south of the Yalu. Then China, when it saw its border threatened, intervened with considerable forces.
On 24 October 1950, General MacArthur started a general offensive intended to end the war. On the 26th the Chinese launched massive attacks on the west and east. By Christmas the 8th Army was forced to withdraw and was holding positions along the Imjim River, 200 miles south of the Yalu. The New Year opened with another crushing offensive by the Chinese. The 8th Army's right flank collapsed forcing a further general withdrawal. Seoul again fell into the hands of the Communists on 4 Jan. 1951, and the UN forces fell back to a line 4 miles south of the capital. While these events were taking place the newly arrived Canadian Battalion (2 PPCLI) was undergoing further training near Pusan. It joined the 27 th British Commonwealth Brigade in mid-February in the line of battle.
At about this time the UN were considering naming China as an aggressor. The Communist bloc in the UN countered by trying to name the US as an aggressor. In any event the UN Forces began pressure to drive the Chinese back. By early April the UN Forces had advanced beyond the 38th Parallel. Gen. MacArthur favoured pushing for a complete victory in North Korea and even extending the conflict beyond the Yalu River. An alternative to this policy was military stabilization coupled with further negotiation. The latter prevailed. On 11 April Mr. Truman announced that MacArthur had been relieved of his command. The war settled down to almost static defence for the next two years with attacks by both sides for limited objectives, while attempts were being made to solve the problems by negotiation. It should be understood that, in the mountainous country, the tactical advantage is to capture and hold the high hills. So we ended up with a series of hilltop redoubts opposing each other. The war became a patrolling battle. A platoon attack could only be authorized at Bde. HQ. A company attack could only be approved at Corps HQ. In the meantime, negotiations for a truce went on for two years.
Brig. Rockingham and the remainder of 25th Cdn. Inf. Bde. arrived in the Far East in early May 1951. By the end of May the whole Cdn. Inf. Bde. was to be positioned across the 38th Parallel. Back in Canada, the next rotation was being assembled as the third battalions of the three regular infantry battalions. They were to be trained with their parent units and later, in winter, at Fort Lewis near Seattle. Then the first battalions of the regular infantry battalions became the third rotation. Finally, for the fourth rotation, militia battalions would be transferred to the CASF (Special Force) and trained at home stations and at Camp Wainwright in the summer of 1953. This is where I came into the picture. The three battalions were the 4th Cdn. Guards, the RHC, and the QORC.
After Brig. Allard departed, I started immediately to reconnoitre the three sets of brigade positions which were my responsibility. My brigade had the task of holding the divisional front north of the Imjim River. There was a US Marine Division on our right and a US Army Division on our left. My brigade had two sets of brigade defensive positions north of the Imjim River. The most northerly, the Wyoming Line, overlooked the Demilitarized Zone, which had been set up by the Armistice of 27 July 1953, between the Chinese/North Korean forces and our own UN forces. The zone was 4,000 yards wide. There was a second fall-back set of positions known as the Welland Line.
My first priority in June was to do a complete reconnaissance on foot of the Wyoming and Welland Lines. I had with me my staff and recce group (Artillery and Tank Commanders plus Engineers and Signals) with the COs and Company Commanders of the three Infantry Battalions in turn. We reconnoitred down to platoon areas.
Since a company position was generally on a hill or the side of a hill, there was a great deal of climbing and walking, with only the occasional jeep ride, in this reconnaissance. If I was to fight a withdrawal battle, it was essential that I and my staff knew the ground intimately. My brigade had to keep itself intact so that, if strongly attacked, it could withdraw from these two lines, across the Imjim River into our positions in the Kansas Line, to the south of the Imjim, where the Divisional Commander expected to fight his main battle, if necessary. We finished our reconnaissance of the DMZ, Wyoming Line and Welland Line by the end of June. By that time, I had walked and climbed many dozens of miles and was in a very fit condition, as a photo of Generals Wells and myself shows.
I had the responsibility for sending a monthly report to the CGS, General Simonds, in Ottawa and I have reviewed copies of these reports. Some of the main events I noted are as follows:
10 June A divisional parade in celebration of Her Majesty's birthday. Each inf. bn. provided a 100-man guard.
14 June The first sod was turned for the school being sponsored by the Brigade in the village of Chin Mok Chong.
A parade, with detachments from all units of the Brigade Group, was held to mark the change of command from Brigadier Allard to Brigadier Clift.
15 June Summer hours of work came into effect
(a) for staffs and services - 0700 hrs. to 1300 hrs.
(b) for training units - 0600 hrs. to 1200 hrs. with "enforced rest" until 1600 hrs., and sports afterward.
17 June I visited the GOC, 1 Comwel Div. And discussed points affecting my brigade.
19 June The brigade was visited by Lt. General Mark Clarke, Acting Army Commander accompanied by our GOC. They wished to see training and our methods. And they did.
21-23 June Practice manning exercises for 2QOR of C, 2RHC and 4 Cdn. Gds. in that order each day. In addition, the usual practice manning was called by HQ 1 Corps during the morning of 21 June. I had training and administrative conferences with the COs and senior officers of the infantry bns. during these afternoons and inspected their permanent positions. Later in the week I had similar sessions with 3RCHA, D Squadron RCD and the Commander of the Royal Artillery (Div.).
25 June With CRA (Commander Royal Artillery) I visited BULLSEYE artillery range and watched 3 RCHA doing troop, battery and regimental shoots.
27 June Church parades were held throughout the brigade group as part of our observance of Dominion Day. In the evening, D Sqn. carried out night-firing on the tank range of 5 R. Tank Regt. assisted by the mortar platoon of 4 Cdn. Gds. who fired para-illumination bombs.
29 June Training Instruction #6 was issued covering the period 1 July to 30 September.
The Divisional Boxing Championship Meet was conducted in the gymnasium at Maple Leaf Park. Four Canadians were in the finals of whom two won their bouts. All bouts were very well contested and the standard of fitness was remarkably high.
30 June I toured 28 Brit. Inf. Bde. Kansas Line positions with Brig. Murdock, the brigade commander. He was an Australian.
1 July The programme of sports which had been arranged in celebration of Dominion Day had to be cancelled due to the heavy rains of the past few days. All Canadian units were in their camps in the late afternoon and buffet suppers were served. At Brigade HQ Officers' Mess we had Lt. Gen. Bryan, Commander, 1 US corps, our GOC, and his principal staff officers, and Commanders of Arms and Services, 1 Comwel Div. and many of the UN component commanders.
At 1930 hrs. a Retreat was beat at Maple Leaf Park by the Pipes and Drums of 2 RHC with Honour Guards from 4 Cdn. Guards, 2 QOR of C. and 2 RHC. This ceremony was attended by many of our guests at dinner.
July Activities Planned - as of 1 July
5 July Tour of 29 Britcom Bde. Kansas positions with Brig. Bray.
7 July GOC's conference.
Our Brigade coordinating conference with Bn. COs, Arty. and Tank COs for the screen and Wyoming fire plans for CONTINUE ('continue' was the code word for defence versus the enemy attack).
6-9 July Reconnaissance with Inf. Bns. and Sup. Arms of the KANSAS LINE positions in detail.
25 July Divisional Parade commemorating the third anniversary of 1 Commonwealth Division.
26-30 July EXERCISE OMNIBUS, a Command Post exercise based on OPERATION CONTINUE, down to and including Bde. Hqs from 1 Corps HQ.
At this stage I should say that 28 or 29 Britcom. Bdes. were charged with the responsibility for preparing deep and permanent concrete positions for their defences on the KANSAS LINE. 25 Cdn. Inf. Bde. escaped this task because of our mobile screening responsibilities on the WYOMING and WELLAND LINES, and because if the battle reached the KANSAS LINE we would be in reserve for counter-attack. I should also say that I had changed the roles of my battalions in the forward screen by directing that each battalion would rotate one company at a time for two days in forward observation and patrols. I was doing the most I could to refresh our approach to training. This Korean adventure was the best training situation I had ever been in. I wanted to make the best of it.
It is interesting to note that the 3rd. US Marine Division on our right manned their forward positions at 1/3 strength during the whole Armistice, and even afterwards. This was most destructive to any training programme. But, the Americans were determined not to be caught out again as they were by the Japanese in Hawaii. Our Canadian battalions followed training programmes. However, the Americans must have sent their units and soldiers out more fully trained than ours were. We Canadians were so used to "scratching the bottom of the barrel" that we had trouble finding trained soldiers to face the enemy. I feel rather strongly on this because of my recollections and experiences of the training of the first brigade to go to Korea in 1951, when I was Director of Military Training. For instance, 4 Cdn. Gds. in Korea was always under strength by almost a third. However, since we were approaching the end of the Armistice on 27 July these shortages were not considered serious, and it did seem that peace would be declared.
During July and August we emphasized training. This included weapon training and the use of the 25 yard ranges. Weapons coaching courses were run in all units. We had to train specialists, like driver mechanics, and run Junior NCO Schools. These were to make up the deficiencies brought to Korea. Sub-unit training in the occupation of defensive positions, withdrawal and counter-attack were also conducted. We did not trust the Chinese and North Koreans. In August my brigade was allotted the NIGHTMARE RANGE for nine days of battalion and company "dry" and "wet" (live-firing) exercises with tanks, artillery and engineer support. Brigade and Division exercises were scheduled for September to practise defensive roles. A Divisional exercise was to be conducted in November. But, this did not take place because we were then enjoying the peace, and preparing our units for return to Canada.
After the Peace was signed we were asked to provide more land for South Korean occupancy of the vacant lands north of the Imjim River in our Brigade area. The Chok Mok Chong school was finished with due ceremony. We established another village called Hwason Dong nearby. I should note that before the Korean farmers moved back in, the paddy fields had become a haven for pheasants. General Murray would call me and suggest he would like to organize a pheasant shoot. His officers would come along with beaters from the British units, who knew all about putting pheasants up. I distinguished myself on one occasion when a single pheasant flew through the air, and I brought it down in full sight of all the shooters with a single lucky shot. My reputation as a hunter was established. By the way, we had shot guns and ammunition which had been provided for close defence during the patrolling period, before the Armistice.
During the run-down, in the early fall, there was a great deal of socializing amongst Hqs and Units. We had a Turkish Brigade in Korea on the UN side. They were hardy looking soldiers. The Turkish government allowed wives to accompany officers. Bordellos were provided for the men.
I propose to quote from my monthly reports to Army HQ in Ottawa, since over 40 years have gone by since then, and to give some idea of our activities in the Brigade during the period from July to November.
August 1954 Report:
GENERAL - This report covers activities of 25th Cdn. Inf. Bde. for the period of July and early August 1954. The weather for the first half of the period was dry and warm. During the second part of the period, heavy monsoon rains became the order of the day. Serious flooding developed toward the end of July, and the temperature and humidity have greatly increased. Extreme physical activity must be avoided during mid-day.
OPERATIONS - All ground north of the Imjim River for which the Brigade is responsible in its covering role, and of positions south of the river in the main divisional battle positions were reconnoitred by the Brigade Commander and officers of all arms down to company commanders and equivalent, during the first four weeks. Adjustments have been made in the WYOMING LINE, the WELLAND LINE and in the KANSAS LINE. These changes have been approved by the Divisional Commander. The Div. Commander has issued new instructions clarifying the role of the Brigade north of the Imjim River, in the event of a renewal of hostilities. OPERATION CONTINUE, which refers to the latter, is being rewritten at Div. and Bde. level. Units were set the task of making complete reconnaissance including pegging of weapon pits and provision of range cards by 31 July for WYOMING, WELLAND and KANSAS positions. This task has been completed and all units have occupied their positions by sub-units.
TRAINING GENERALLY - See Training Instruction No. 6-1 July to 30 Sept.
a) Weapon Training-Units are building 25 yard ranges in considerable number. Coaching classes are being run in all units.
b) Driver Ops. Courses are being run on a brigade basis during the summer period.
c) Driver Mechanic's courses are being run for two weeks by 3 Tpt. Coy. RCASC until September.
d) The capacity of the Junior NCOs School has been increased by one platoon.
e) Sub-unit training in the occupation of a defensive position, withdrawal and counter-attack, is being conducted within the context of our operational role. The opportunities for this training are first class and right at hand. I am very thankful that the role of this Brigade does not commit us to heavy programmes of digging, as is the case in other brigades.
EXERCISES AND SPECIAL TRAINING -
A cloth model Tactical Exercise Without Troops (TEWT) to exercise staffs on the withdrawal was conducted on 21 and 22 July. This exercise will be repeated at the company commander level in a brigade TEWT on 5 August.
1 Corps Command Post exercise, down to brigade level, took place from 26 to 29 July. The exercise practiced the role of the Corps in OPERATION CONTINUE. Very heavy rain and near flood conditions prevented HQs moving, as was intended, and the exercise was played out in our permanent locations. The exercise brought out certain lessons which will be studied at a conference at HQ 1 Corps on 10 August.
FUTURE MAJOR ACTIVITIES -
a) Bde. cloth model TEWT on the Withdrawal on 5 August.
b) Nightmare Range - This brigade has been allotted this range, 35 miles to the east of here, for the period 10-18 August. Battalion and Company "dry" and "wet" (with live firing) attack exercises with tanks, artillery and engineer support, will be run in each three day period.
c) Bde. Exercise-second week of September. This exercise will rehearse OPERATION CONTINUE.
d) Bde. Exercise-26-30 Sept. The exercise will be directed by Div. HQ which will exercise and test the brigade in its OPERATION ROLE.
e) Div. exercise-conducted in November to exercise the division in Withdrawal, Defence and Counter Attack. To last at least a week and over considerable distances.
UNIT STRENGTHS AND EFFICIENCY -
All units except 4 Cdn. Gds. are manned at effective strength. The 4 Cdn. Gds. are 300 under strength, but there are indications from Army HQ that extra drafts will be forthcoming in September. The Officer, NCO, Specialist and Tradesman state in all units is satisfactory and, in most units, excellent. The 4 Cdn. Gds. has only half of its complement of junior NCOs but this is due to their deficiency in rank and file.
COMMENTS ON INDIVIDUAL UNITS -
1) 3 RCHA-This unit has a great deal of individual talent, more, I am told, by the Comd. Royal Artillery, than any of his other units. They are getting plenty of opportunity to use the ranges with increased allotments of ammunition (normal training allotment per field regiment in this theatre is 480 rounds per month). Lately this regiment has been emphasizing drills to correct deficiencies of training which have shown up on the ranges. By next month they should be a fully effective shooting regiment.
2) D Squadron, Royal Canadian Dragoons-A well integrated unit. Need more field firing and crew drill. They have been working with the infantry whenever possible and have done familiarization training with all infantry units. Their personnel have been out on company exercises on foot with the infantry. The squadron will take over the DMZ commitment from the infantry battalions when the latter go to NIGHTMARE RANGE, and will, in addition, provide a troop of tanks in support of the field firing exercises. The CO and Officers of this Squadron are aggressive and cooperative and their progress in training has been most satisfactory.
3) 4 Cdn. Gds.-This unit would be more effective if they were closer to establishment in strength. I have required the CO to reorganize his company commanders to provide a more battle worthy organization. His most field experienced major has taken over as battle adjutant and OC Support Company. The unit is somewhat inflexible and is "slow off the mark" in the field, but events of the next few days will shake them out. The unit is keen. Discipline is good and they are working hard at making themselves into guardsmen.
4) 2 QOR of C-This unit is well organized, has capable company commanders and an imaginative and energetic CO. They have adapted themselves very quickly to this theatre and are very apt indeed in the field.
5) 2 RHC-This unit is now the veteran unit of the brigade because they came out in the fall of 1953. They have a most effective organization, many good officers and a good slate of WOs and NCOs. The basic training of their men is in much better state than that of the other infantry battalions. They enjoy a good reputation with the GOC, and acquitted themselves well on exercises last spring. They are a fully effective field unit.
NOTE-In all our infantry battalions I find that the standard of leadership in the infantry section leaves much to be desired. Drills for taking cover, making use of ground and application of fire are not automatic, nor are automatic drills for various situations in the field well known and quickly applied. I have been giving serious consideration with my COs to instituting short courses on a bde. basis for platoon and section commanders to establish principles of battle drill which will instill some confidence and aggressiveness in our junior leaders. I shall have a better idea of what is required when I have seen all my units through the attack exercises at NIGHTMARE RANGE (10 to 18 August). I foresee starting junior leaders' courses when the weather is more favourable, perhaps September and October.
6) 3 Sqn. Royal Cdn. Engineers-I am not satisfied with the integration of this unit. They occupy four separate troop locations in a very poor area north of the Imjim River. I have agreed with the CRE and the CO. Div. Engr. Regt. to move them to a first class site south of the Imjim where they will live with the Engineer Regiment and benefit from the improved training facilities and associations in the officers' and sergeants' messes which they will enjoy there.
7) Other Divisional Units-I am not prepared to comment on the efficiency of these units separately except to say that the heads of Divisional Services are very happy with the attitude and progress of their Canadian units. The calibre and training of Officers, NCOs and men compare most favourably with other components of the Division.
8) Base Units in Japan-My policy is to bring senior officers of CANBAFE forward to assist us in Brigade problems of personnel, institutes, weapons, equipment and stores. I visited all units at Kure toward the end the end of August. I set up an Institute Supervisory Board headed up by Lt. Col. J.R. Allen, OC of Not. 2 CAU which has already spent a week here in Korea establishing terms of references and working procedures for Brigade institutes.
9) Vehicles and Equipment-HQ,BCFK (HQ in Japan-Gen. Wells) is establishing scales applicable to Korea. Div. HQ is establishing uniform scales of defence stores surplus to G1098. In the meantime surplus stocks of canvas, clothing, weapons, accommodation, stores, etc. are being back-loaded to Ordnance.
We have just been warned that replacement issues of "M" series vehicles will no longer be available in the theatre. Moreover the supply of spare parts is drying up. Tires are very scarce with no future provision. We will do what we can to restrict use of vehicles and avoid loss through back loading. All of this is part of the adjustment to the future rundown of our operation.
10) Accommodation-Considerable effort has been put into improving accommodation and camp sites generally and this work will continue until the autumn. The new tents detachment marquees (TDM) which have double roofs (the inner layer is white) and an extra inside netting wall, are replacing squad and MUG tents. However, replacement issues are slowing down because the life of tents in this theatre is less than the planned rate. The Division is experimenting with Korean traditional type housing (called TRADS or DOCHIE). Costs compare most favourably with tentage of a TRAD (24 ft.x24 ft.) at a cost of $1200.00. A Quonset hut costs $1750 and up, and a TDM approximately $1,000 without winterization kit.
11) Leave-US airlift from Seoul to Tokyo was removed during the IndoChina supply effort. However, this will not prejudice our R and R too much since a major rotation took place at that time. We have to establish adequate means of travel to three centres in Japan - Tokyo, Kobe and the Makata (Kyushu) and we attempt to persuade the men to report to the leave centres in these cities. The last two leave centres are run by the Americans who asked us in. We also send men for short periods to the Divisional Rest Centre at Inchon, the seaport of Seoul.
12) Health-
a) Health of Canadian troops is excellent. Admissions of troops to divisional medical units for the four week period 29 May to 25 June was as follows:
UK CDN AUST NZ
560 215 153 83
If these figures are compared against the strengths of components in Korea, roughly, British, 10,000; Cdn. 5,000; Aust. 1,600; NZ 664 the following comparative rates per 10,000 result:
UK CDN AUST NZ
560 416 458 664
b) Venereal Disease continues to be a problem. Comparative rates per 1000 for the same period quoted above are:
UK CDN AUST NZ
212 416 458 395
I have been giving some attention to this problem with my COs. "D" Sqn. RCD avoided any cases of infection for two months after arrival. Some credit for this must be given to the CO who stressed anti-VD education with his men.
13) Discipline-The incidence of serious crime among Canadians is low. Main offences are traffic offences, being found in Korean villages, and insubordination. There have been very few offences against the civil population. The fact that the Cdn. Brigade is mainly north of the Imjim contributes to the latter. However, we now have two Korean villages in our area, and most checks against movement of civilians have been relaxed.
14) Morale-All available sources of information indicate that morale is very high in spite of the hot and wet weather. Our troops are busy and interested. They are generally well turned out, are soldierly and well conducted. Saluting by Canadians is without doubt the best in the Division. Amenities, welfare, etc. will continue to improve as time goes on.
NOTE - End of Report ............................ Signed by F.A. Clift, Brigadier, Commander of 25 Canadian Infantry Brigade.
I consider it appropriate to my story of my command in Korea that I also include my last Report to Army HQ dated 1 Dec. 1954. It covers the period October to November 1954.
MONTHLY REPORT OF 25 CDN. INF. BDE. ACTIVITIES OCT.-NOV. 1954
To CGS ARMY HQ, OTTAWA, CANADA
GENERAL
1. The Report covers the period 15 Oct.-1Dec. 1954. Activities during this period were mostly related to planning and execution of the run down of the force, and the transfer of accommodation stores of departing units to Ordnance and the remaining units, 2 QOR of C. and 3 Cdn. Fd. Ambulance. Construction and preparation of these two sites is well underway. 3 Cdn. Fd.Amb. moved to its new site 15 Oct. 2 QOR of C moved into theirs 22 Nov.
2. Brigadier Ware, Military attache at Tokyo, arrived on 5 Nov. and remained with me until 13 Nov. He is now fully conversant with the method of the run down of the force, the continuing commitments, both operational and administrative, and all the implications involved in the run down of the Base Units. On his departure from here, he proceeded to Kure to visit Colonel Elwood, the Base Commander, and to obtain from him first hand information on the progress of the run down of Base Units.
3. I am leaving Korea on 2 Dec. and my HQ will close on that date, except for a staff officer and rear party. I will leave Japan on 9 Dec.
4. Effective 3 Dec. Col. Elwood will be responsible for all Canadian troops in Korea for discipline and purely administrative matters. Effective 9 Dec. Brig. C.B. Ware will become Senior Canadian Officer, Far Eastern Theatre.
5. Col. Elwood visited me from 22 to 26 Nov. He toured all remaining Canadian units, and he is fully acquainted with all aspects of the continuing force and the run down of the remainder of the force.
6. The weather during this period has been extremely pleasant, characterized by clear, cool days and frosty nights. Rain fell on only two days during this period, and the weather, on the whole, has been much drier than normal. Frosts, which first occurred on the nights 11,12,13 Oct. have continued, growing steadily lower, and are now occurring almost nightly. Visibility at first and last light is very poor due to heavy fog and mist, especially in the low areas. This is caused by slow cooling of land and water when compared with the rapidly lowering air temperature during the night. By 0900 hrs. the sun has usually dispelled the mists, and visibility remains excellent during the hours 0900 to 1600 hrs.
7. The cloud base is now at an average height of 5000 to 7000 feet and winds have gradually shifted from WNW to NNW or North blowing between 5 and 10 knots. Several days of gusty winds up to 30 knots have stripped the countryside of its foliage, leaving the hills looking dry and dead.
OPERATIONS
8. All operational changes mentioned in my last report have now taken place. Bde. HQ, 4 Cdn. Gds. and 3 RCHA became non-operational at 1200 hrs. 8 November. 2 QOR of C and 3 Cdn. Fd. Ambulance passed to command of 29 Brit. Inf. Bde. at the same time. 28 ROK Div. became operationally responsible for the right sector, previously occupied by 2 RHC and 4 Cdn. Gds. but did not take responsibility for the security of the DMZ until 1800 hrs. 10 Nov. This commitment was carried by C Coy. 1 RIRF in the 2 RHC sector and by a Coy.from 1 Northampton in the 4 Cdn. Gds. sector. They had been under my command and reverted to command of 29 Brit. Inf. Bde at 1200 hrs. 12 Nov.
9. ROK personnel from 28 ROK Div. commenced their reconnaissance of this sector early in Oct. and commenced building their defences between the hours of first light and last light daily from 15 Oct. These personnel were not permitted to remain in the area overnight in view of the incidents related in my last report. However, they have been found easy to deal with, except for the language barrier.
10. My HQ remains in its present location until disbandment at the end of the month. Although we are surrounded by ROK sub-units we have had few incidents. A stray bullet went through the side of my jeep one night, but I was not in it and no damage was done.
11. 2 QOR of C relinquished its DMZ commitment to 1 RIRF at 1100 hrs. 10 Nov. to permit this latter unit to train its personnel in duties of this nature, because of their imminent departure for Kenya. Brig. Musson, who commands the remaining brigade, plans to rotate his units of the new 1 Comwel Brigade in the DMZ task for periods of two months at a time to improve the standard of patrolling and observation in all units. The release of 2 QOR of C from this permanent commitment should permit this battalion to carry out more training at the sub-unit level to correct the deficiencies found during their period at Nightmare Range in August.
12. 2 QOR of C have a somewhat similar role in the 1 Comwel Bde. to what 25 Cdn. Inf. Bde. had in the former division. On the initial alert they are to be employed as covering troops on the north side of the Imjim River. Then, once the Kansas positions are fully manned they are to withdraw to a close bridge garrison at the Teal Bridge. At present, 1 Comwel Bde. has two extra battalions which they will lose in January.
13. In view of the increase of petty thievery in the past few weeks, units have increased their guards and pickets to ensure tighter control of all sub-unit areas. The tendency is to blame the 28 ROK Div. personnel. However, in only one case , three personnel were caught trying to gain entry into our lines. This occurred in 3 Tpt. Coy. RCASC lines when three ROK personnel were caught between two protective wire fences in their A Platoon area. These culprits were challenged twice and attempted to escape. The sentry opened fire and wounded one of the trio in the buttocks. The other two escaped. An investigation ruled that the sentry was completely justified in having opened fire. In all other cases the thieves were not caught. I believe that our indigenous labour are the most likely suspects, since the items stolen were invariably items of which the culprit had already established the exact location. We have little luck in catching these thieves, as it is so easy to cache their booty in the hills.
14. Korean UNSG personnel of the Bde. Field Security Section were returned to the div. Provost Company on 1 Nov., thereby reducing the number of road patrols in the Brigade sector.
The increase in unit security guards and roving patrols more than compensates for this dubious
loss.
15. Sightings from OPs on the Bde. front have dropped an average of some 25% of the normal totals. Although Communist activities have decreased on our front, the reduction in sightings is more than likely the result of using new observers from the two British battalions who are not so familiar with the ground or as well trained in these duties as our own personnel who have had the benefit of several months' experience.
16. TRAINING-Units have made an honest effort to fulfil the requirements laid down in my last training instruction which was appended to my last report. The Brigade Classification Range was used to the maximum up to departure time by both 4 Cdn. Gds. and 2 RHC who left the theatre with a high proportion of personnel having fired their annual rifle and LMG classification. 4 Cdn. Gds. produced very praiseworthy results in view of the restricted use of the classification range and left the theatre with 75.3% of their personnel qualified in Part III of rifle classification and 57% in Part III LMG classification. 2 QOR of C already have 77% of their personnel qualified in rifle classification and 61% on the LMG. The Brigade classification range has reverted completely to their use from 20 Nov. and will permit further firing to be carried out each day.
17. The training of specialists and tradesmen continued throughout the period, and there was a gradual increase in all units.
18. 2 QOR of C have been completely tied up in the construction of their new site. Although their tempo of training has slackened off during the period, they participated in a skeleton wireless exercise with their new Bde. HQ on 18 and 19 Nov. An exercise designed to rehearse their new withdrawal plan, prepared by Brig. Musson, is to take place 27 Nov. By this time they should have been settled in their new area and have found their places in the new Brigade.
LESSONS LEARNED FROM KOREA -
19. General-During my time in Korea the Canadian Brigade has been employed tactically as covering troops for the main divisional positions and then as divisional reserve, when withdrawn. Canadians were not employed to dig, occupy or maintain the main KANSAS line of defence positions except when work parties were provided to assist the other brigades. The Canadians participated in a number of battalion, brigade and divisional schemes including all phases of war and the following lessons are worth noting, especially for mountain operations.
20. MOBILE OPERATIONS -
a) GENERAL-The hills and ridges are the keys to mountain fighting, as in Korea. The roads have no value as lines of communication until every hill dominating them has been cleared. The principle, laid down by the divisional commander, is that second best ground is not good enough. In most cases this means that the attack must go along the highest ridges and aim at seizing the highest peak. This demands a very high standard of physical fitness. Vehicles can seldom move far off the roads. This means that the infantry and FOO parties must be prepared to operate a great deal of the time without vehicles. Most features have a number of ridges running up to the top. It is necessary to attack along as many of these ridges as possible, otherwise a company or battalion may find itself attacking on a front of one man. General Foulkes used to warn about this in Normandy, and it is a good axiom in all infantry fighting.
b) Communications are very difficult in hilly country. This necessitates Headquarters well forward at all times either in vehicles or on foot, as the ground dictates.
21. DEFENCE
a) GENERAL-Again, in defence, it is necessary to occupy the best ground available to allow for a good defensive position and to deny the high ground to the enemy. This means sitting with the bulk of one's forces on the peaks in fairly close quarters.
b) KANSAS LINE-The preparation of the KANSAS LINE was based on the experiences of the formations which were fighting when hostilities ceased. At that time, the Chinese could produce very heavy artillery concentrations on an area, and then assault with mass formations of infantry. The KANSAS LINE was built to deal with this form of attack.
c) BUNKERS-
1) The bunkers were constructed of heavy timbers and cement with 6 feet of overhead cover. They took a great deal of labour and material to prepare. Men, cables and helicopters were used to get these defence materials into positions on the high hills. Some battalions expected to fight entirely from these bunkers, which were like underground fortresses. Other units supplemented them with crawl and fire trenches so that the infantry could get out and fight offensively when necessary. The combination of bunker and trench seemed to be the best solution.
2) These bunkers would provide excellent protection against any kind of shelling, and would also provide some protection from atomic blasts. They are, however, most expensive in time and material to construct. The KANSAS positions in our divisional area took four months and a tremendous amount of timber, cement and wire to construct.
d) No mines were used in the KANSAS lines because the enemy had not used tanks offensively against us and also because they would restrict our offensive actions and patrolling. Wire was used very extensively. Three complete belts were laid around most areas.
22. TRAINING
There was every opportunity for all kinds of training. Classification and field firing ranges were good and the training scales of ammunition very generous. Several divisional competitions were held including platoon marching and shooting. Mortar and machine gun competitions were organized. There was keen rivalry between units and nationalities and much value was gained from this competitiveness.
With a few exceptions the standard of musketry and weapon training was very low. This did not just apply to the Canadians, but to all units of the division. I must say that the Range Record Books, which we had developed at Wainwright for each soldier to carry, helped us a great deal. Army HQ sent out thousands of copies to us in Korea. There is a tendency for units to forget all about weapon training when they go on battalion, brigade and divisional exercises. Commanding officers must resist the tendency to assume that weapon training is good because they did well on a field exercise. They must get back to weapon training and range practice at every opportunity.
Operations in hilly country require a high order of section and platoon leadership. The training must ensure that all levels are fully effective and imbued with spirit and aggressiveness.
23. CONCLUSION
Training conditions in Korea were ideal. All units were equipped to full G1098 scale. Training areas were good, ranges adequate and ammunition plentiful. All ranks had an opportunity to learn their own jobs in the field and to see and appreciate the jobs the other arms and services were doing.
Officers and NCOs received good practical training in commanding and administering troops in the field, and valuable experience umpiring Commonwealth and American formations on their exercises.
During the three months (1 July to 1 Oct.), in the four major units of the Brigade, records show that 318 specialists and tradesmen were trained in Divisional and Brigade schools.
ADMINISTRATION
24. Movement of personnel from FAR EAST to CANADA--
I propose to include a recapitulation of sea and air drafts, Far East to Canada, 1 Oct. 54 to approx. 23 Dec. 54. In each case we found that our original estimates for sea drafts were optimistic. We did not anticipate so many last minute deletions from the sea drafts. These reductions were necessary for a variety of reasons, the chief one, by far, being personnel under treatment for venereal disease. The result was a reduction in the numbers moved by sea and a corresponding increase in the numbers moved by air. It was necessary on two occasions to request additional air spaces if the individuals concerned were to be in Canada for Christmas.
RECAPITULATION OF SEA AND AIR MOVES
DATE DETAILS OF DRAFT PLANNING STRENGTH EMBARKATION STRENGTH
3 Nov. 2 RHC-EXFE/SEA/32A 852 795
Misc. " " / 32B 123 115
14 Nov. D. Sqn. RCD.EXFE/SEA/34A 189 180
4 CDN.GDS. " " /34B 581 626 (incl. GDS.BAND)
Misc. " " /34C 33 38
27 Nov. 3 RCHA " " /34D 656 627
27 Nov. 3 Fd.Sqn.RCE " " /35B 183 172
3 Tpt. Coy. RCASC " /35C 232 235
Misc. " /35D 359 281
30 Nov. Air-Tokyo-Vancouver 163 166
23 Dec. " " " 269 344
Totals-----------------------3640 3579
25. DISPOSAL OF VEHICLES AND EQUIPMENT- The disposal of unit vehicles and equipment has gone very well. Units were responsible for sorting, packing, crating and delivery to Ordnance disposal units. RCOC teams assisted with advice and expediting of packing materials. Lt. Col. Findlater prepared the plan for disposal of all vehicles and equipment and he has done an excellent job in supervising the whole programme. It is interesting to note the good US Army assessment of the vehicles returned to their depots. In this regard, much of the credit is due to the units responsible for the turn-in of vehicles and equipment. They made every effort to obtain the highest possible financial return for the Canadian Treasury.
26. ACCOMMODATION - The units remaining in Korea are well advanced in the construction of their camps. 3 Cdn. Field Ambulance appeared to be well settled in at the time we left. 2QOR of C had moved two rifle companies, but still had to move HQ and Sup. Coy. They should be moved completely by 15 Dec. 1954.
As to our traditional buildings, the GOC informed me he was having any surplus torn down. He asked me what I wanted to with them. I said I should like to leave something for the Koreans who had so little. He said it was my decision.
27. HEALTH - A review of the reports indicates that the general standard of health in the Canadian units was excellent. However, venereal disease is still a major problem. In this matter I am convinced that a more realistic approach is required. More attention should be given to anti-VD training in the recruit stage, and before the soldier proceeds to a foreign station.
Reported by,
Brigadier F.A. Clift
Comd. 25 Cdn. Inf. Bde. In the field, Korea, 1 December 1954
It is obvious that I was busy day and night. The social obligations are considerable in a multi-national force that was assembled to aid the South Koreans, and even more so with our very interesting 1 Comwel. Div. The latter was like a family party after the Peace Treaty was signed as of 27 July. I had organized a week's holiday touring in Kyushu with my artillery commander and my tank commander. We had planned to go by train, just we three, without interpreter, around this second largest Japanese island. We would have stayed at local inns and seen the local sites. However, the rush of run-down events forced us to cancel.
I made two separate visits of inspection to my base in Kure and stayed with the local commanders, Colonel Willis Moogk and, later, Colonel Eric Elwood, at the Commander's house. Kure is near Hiroshima. The Japanese have maintained a space at the centre of the atomic explosion, with what remains of the ruins. The size of our base had grown during the hostilities because individual training of reinforcements was carried out there. On my second visit I scheduled an inspection of the Japanese manned transport unit, which serviced the base. I had two staff officers to assist me and we really gave them the "once over" twice. We could find nothing wrong. This was Japanese efficiency at its best. The men and vehicles were spotless, the records and buildings in first class order. And I was glad to tell them so.
During the one year armistice period, hutted or tented accommodation became normal for troops and HQs. To stimulate interest in their surroundings, units were encouraged to build officers' and sergeants' messes and recreational buildings. The officers of 3 RCHA built a very fine mess building with their own hands, and the help of a Korean carpenter. This was a spare time activity. We had financial help from the GOC's fund which came from profits of a series of tea houses on the road to Seoul. I had some discretionary funds which I also dedicated to these spare time efforts. I should add that, when it came time for us to leave, I had a discussion with the GOC. He thought that our soldier erected buildings should be pulled down when we left. The tented and hutted accommodation would be returned for credit to the Americans. I said that I preferred to leave our privately built structures to the Koreans who had so little. We had two villages, Chin Mok Son and Hwason Dong in the Cdn. Bde. area, and we had built schools for the children. I hoped that the villages would benefit from the buildings we left behind. The GOC said it was my decision and we left our buildings standing. I heard later that the GOC was right. The deserving Koreans did not benefit, but the "sharpy" Korean contractors did.
In 1954 the British and Russians had negotiated the Geneva Agreement which separated North and South Vietnam at the 17th parallel of latitude. An International Commission for Supervision and Control of the Agreement was set up with India chairing the Commission, Poland representing the Communist world and Canada representing the West. I was asked to provide 12 officers from my Brigade to be sent quickly to Vietnam to cover Canada's initial responsibility. This was an interesting peace keeping development and we sent good officers. This interested me in Indo-China. At the end of my career in the service I spent a year there as the head of Canadian troops and as alternate delegate to the Commission.
I should like to record what a pleasure it was to serve in the Commonwealth Division with the British, Australians, New Zealanders and Indians. At the same time we got to know the Americans very well, especially the Marines, who still follow many of the customs of the British. Our Corps Commander was Lieut. General Bryan, US Army. He had married a Canadian wife. And he took a great interest in the Canadians. We drew mostly US rations. Brig. Allard had acquired an ice cream machine which lacked parts. I spoke to Gen. Bryan as to what I should do. He said, "Forget the machine. I'll put you on our ice cream rations." When he left Korea General Bryan became Commandant at West Point.
General Maxwell Taylor, the scholarly, well set-up, Commander of the Eighth Army made a point of inviting Brigade commanders and Regimental commanders (equivalent to a brigade in the US Army) to his headquarters near Seoul for dinner, an evening in the mess and a stay overnight. Maxwell Taylor became Chief of Staff of the US Army in Washington - a most impressive man! I met him again in Saigon in 1962 when he visited Saigon doing an "on the spot" assessment of the Vietnam situation for the President of the US.
I left Korea on 2 December. The US Army flew me by helicopter to Pusan. Here I boarded a small vessel for the trip to Kure on the Inland Sea between Honshu and Kyushu. I shall always remember that voyage. It was an overnight trip. I was up at daylight to watch the landscape on both sides of the Inland Sea. We landed at Kure and said our goodbyes to the base. I had some staff travelling with me. One of them was Major Bill Slater, our Entertainment Officer. He had arranged visits to Osaka and Kyoto. In the former city we attended the Takarasaka Review, a Japanese production based on US musical show business - very colourful, and well done. We were overnight in Kyoto (the ancient Capital) and the Secretary of the Chamber of Commerce took us in charge. We were put up in a traditional Japanese Inn. We were told that a prince of the Royal House stayed there. We had a Japanese bath (all in together). Then a Japanese dinner was served around a low table. And, finally, at night we slept on tatami mats on the floor. The next day we were given a tour of the fine old city. It included, among stops at temples and public buildings, a tour of a Cloisonne factory where they make the beautiful enameled vases. I have three of them.
It was then on to Tokyo where I had to make courtesy calls. The first was to General J.E. Hull of the US Army who was Commanding General of United Nations Forces in the Far East. I walked into his office, saluted and he asked me to sit down. Then he lit into me by saying, "What does Canada mean by pulling out its troops so early?" I could only reply that it was not my idea but came from our government. He then said that there was a continuing need for United Nations representation and presence in this part of the world, that it was not fair to expect the United States to carry the whole burden. I said I should report his opinion to the head of the Canadian Army when I returned home. After this blast Gen. Hull appeared to have made his point, and he became affable. He thanked me and my troops for our service and presented me with a framed testimonial of my service in the cause of human freedom in the Far East. This testimonial has a place of honour among my souvenirs.
I also called at HQ British Forces Far East to say goodbye to Lt. Gen. Sir Henry Wells of the Australian Army who had visited our brigade in Korea. A couple of years later I had the pleasure of entertaining him when he was visiting Ottawa.
My last important call was to the Canadian Ambassador to Japan. Mr. T.C. Davis had been raised in Prince Albert, Sask. where my mother grew up. So we had something in common. I also saw Brig. Cameron Ware who was military attache, and who was to take over as Senior Military Officer Far East after my departure.
I flew from the airport near Tokyo to Canada on 9 December 1954. I had been in Korea and Japan for a full six months.
CHAPTER XI: DIRECTOR GENERAL OF ARMY PERSONNEL
I went direct to Ottawa. Margaret had rented a house on Hamilton Ave. It was not a large house - big enough for Barbara and her.
My first official responsibility was to report to the Chief of the General Staff, Gen. Simonds. I had already been informed in the Far East that I was to be Director General of Army Personnel. I said to the CGS that my experience was in command and training and I wondered if I was the right person for the post of DGAP. He replied, "We picked you because we think you will do it well." What more could I say but, "I will soldier on." General Simonds reminded me that I was entitled to 30 days leave before I reported to duty. He wished me a Merry Christmas and thanked me for my reports from the Far East. I had always considered Gen. Simonds to be a considerate leader, and my opinion was reinforced during my many contacts with him in Personnel. I was glad to have a break after the busy six months I had in the Far East before I got involved in DGAP.
We had a good Christmas and New Years' with our three children. And we were able to contact other family and friends. I bought a new Buick. Margaret and I left for Florida on 9 Jan. 1955. We touched at places like St. Augustine, Palm Beach, etc., stopping at motels and playing some golf. It was not swimming weather so we kept moving south along the Atlantic Coast through Fort Lauderdale and Miami. Then we decided to go all the way to Key West to find warmth. We stayed there for 5 days at a good motel with an outdoor pool. At last we could swim! We then started back through the Everglades to the Gulf of Mexico coast and worked our way slowly north through Sarasota and Tampa. Then we drove over to the Atlantic Coast and up through Fort Munro to Washington where we visited friends. We have never been back to Florida, except passing through Lauderdale. Our experience, searching for warmth, turned us toward the Caribbean Islands later. On our return from Florida we were fortunate to be able to buy a house in the Glebe, overlooking the park around Brown's Inlet, and were able to close the deal on 11 February. But we were not able to move in until mid-April.
In my job as DGAP I was responsible to the Adjutant General and the Chief of the General staff for the career management of all officers and soldiers of all branches of the Canadian Army. It was a wide-ranging responsibility. The task required a high level of discretion and a wide knowledge of all parts of the Army. Moreover, the DGAP had to make himself available to anyone who wished to discuss his career. I tried to follow the example of Maj. Gen. Brennan, who had moved up to Adjutant General. He was a wonderful man! I should note here that I gave almost 40 addresses during my many tours around the country and abroad to officers to make clear how my sub-branch kept the records and confidential files on everyone, proposed appointments and promotions with the help of confidential reports on our Army personnel, and looked after retirements when the time came. It was a vast and interesting endeavour. I had a staff of 400 to help me, and they were handpicked by the Director of Personnel and myself. I started something new. I instituted a formal Annual Review of all officers. This was done over a period of some months in the fall and winter, in company with the Corps Directors and my senior staff. The text of the address I used to give to officers will be with my papers.
My first year as DGAP was very busy. Fortunately, starting in Jan. 1955, I started to write the Family News Letter (FNL) on my portable typewriter with copies for every member of our immediate family, every second week. The object was to keep contact with our scattered family - two grandmothers, one in New Westminster, B.C. and the other in Melfort, Sask., and our three children, Barbara, Gerald and Garth. The former two were at Queen's University and College Militaire Royale respectively. Garth was finishing his junior matriculation at Alberta College in Edmonton and, later, by correspondence at 68 Craig St., our new address in the Glebe. During my first year as DGAP, with my 2 ½ months of travel, Barbara and Garth put out the FNL.
I have been reading the FNL for the period Jan. 1955 to Jan. 1956. What an interesting year it was! I took over as DGAP at the beginning of Feb. 1955. We were then living on Hamilton Ave. We were able to buy our next house, on a double lot for $20,000, most of it mortgaged. The house had been owned by the Grays. He had been Superintendent of the Ottawa Experimental Farm. The house and grounds were in good shape. What a joy it was to have our family reunited on holidays and some weekends! Moreover, Garth came to live with us on 30 June, and he continued his Senior Matriculation by correspondence.
I should make clear that my job as DGAP required me to travel a great deal. In my first year I had to do the following trips for a total of 2 ½ months on the road:
a) To the Brigade in Germany plus side visits to Antwerp, London - 15 May to 15 June, 1955.
b) To the West (3 weeks) - Winnipeg, Fort Churchill, Rivers, Regina, Calgary, Edmonton, Whitehorse, Vancouver, Victoria. I travelled thousands of miles and talked to thousands of officers and soldiers.
c) To Quebec City (5 days) for the arrival in November and departure of four ships involved in the rotation to and from our Brigade in Europe. Think of 300 mothers and 600 children on the Franconia and 400 mothers and 650 children on the Frederica. Approx. 10,000 soldiers, wives and children will have moved back to Canada, and an even greater number will have moved to Germany - all in the space of two months. I also did my "personnel managing" in Eastern Quebec Area including Valcartier Camp.
d) Maritime Tour - 22 Jan. 1956 - ten days - Fredericton, McGivney, Gagetown, St. John, Utopia, Sussex, Debert, Aldershot, Halifax. This put me into all the stations in New Brunswick and Nova Scotia.
Generally speaking, the desirable posting period for personnel is in the late summer so as not to interfere with summer training, and to make it possible for families to move before the fall school term starts. My career reviews would take place in the fall and winter, and the posting programme would be put together by the spring, with all the necessary approvals.
Ottawa is a very interesting place, socially. Moreover we had close friends who were posted to Ottawa during our stay - the Morgan Smiths, the de Fayes, the Rowlands, the Annetts, the Fusons the Aults, and my brother Edgar and his wife. Edgar had joined the Permanent Force about 1930 in the Signal Corps. He was ingenious and, during the War, was a Warrant Officer in Signals Research and Development.
By the middle of March 1955 I was awaiting the return of the CGS and the AG to settle some of the early decisions affecting senior officers of the Army. The planning procedure works from the top down where promotions and postings are concerned.
Margaret had become a member of a ladies' bridge club during my absence in Korea. She carried on with this interesting activity during our stay in Ottawa.
The best part of the Ottawa posting was to have our family with us or close by. Gerry was in his last year at CMR, before going to RMC. Barbs was finishing her third year in Queen's and had another year for her Honours BA. Garth came to us in June and was with us until the following February, when he returned to Alberta College to finish senior matriculation.
It was pleasant that we had a house and location that we all enjoyed. Barbara spent the summer of 1955 working for Statistics Canada. Later, when she had finished at Queen's, she joined Statistics Canada as an officer and had a prestigious career with them.
There were interesting contacts in Ottawa. Dr. Orville Ault and Mrs. Ault had been with us at IDC. He was a member of the Civil Service Commission. He knew and helped Barbara. Major General Hayoud Din had also been at IDC with us, and returned to Pakistan to be Chief of the General Staff. He was later appointed Military attache to Washington and Ottawa. Margaret used to shop with his wife in London, England. The Dins visited us. John Hunt had been a civil service instructor at the IDC, and he and his wife were posted to the British High Commissioner's office in Ottawa during our tenure there. General Sir Henry Wells, who was head of the British Commonwealth Forces in the Far East when I was in Korea, came to visit the Australian High Commissioner in Ottawa, and was a guest in our house also.
Grandmother Clift and my sister, Gladys, came from Melfort to visit with Edgar and me and our families. My cousin, Alice Hopkins and her son, James, from Melfort also came to visit her daughter in Ottawa. And we were with them.
There was a weekly festival, in summer, at the McKenzie King estate, 600 acres in Gatineau Park.
Gerald made the College Militaire football team as a running back, then suffered a broken ankle in a pile-up. For most of the winter of 55/56 he was in and out of Queen Alexandra Hospital in Montreal.
We had a quiet summer in Ottawa except for a visit I made to the Staff College in Kingston to discuss careers, and other personnel matters. Ottawa has a lot to offer scenically - the Driveway, the Houses of Parliament, the Ottawa and Rideau Rivers, the Canal, the parks of the Gatineau and the numerous lakes of that region. At the same time we were enjoying our own prospect at Brown's Inlet, with the park across the road, and our own garden which, because of the Gray's interests was a source of beauty and culinary delights. Garth and I had a busy programme of house refurbishment. We installed shelving for 400 books in the small sewing room. We cleaned and painted the kitchen and started work in the basement. We also painted outside trim.
There was the annual conference of the five GOCs of the Commands in November 1955, and we attended the social occasions. At the Ottawa Garrison Ball, in the Chateau Laurier, we had a table for six with the Smiths and Annetts. The Governor General was at the head table. Margaret organized a tea party at 68 Craig St. for between 40 and 50 wives of the Directorate.
Garth had a Christmas job working on the mail. Dr. Ault warned me that the Civil Service would be hiring. This led to Barbara's career with Statistics Canada.
We had an excellent and colourful Christmas with the family. By this time, we had installed a TV in the sun room. Of course, New Years' brought the custom of touring the many Officers' Messes in the city. Early in the New Year I had my tour of the Maritimes on duty. And, in early February, Garth joined Alberta College in Edmonton to finish his senior matriculation. I did my first walk along the Canal to Army HQ in 35 minutes. It was a delightful way to start and finish the day, and it got me into shape for cross country skiing. I should note that friends in Edmonton sent us 10 ducks, all plucked and drawn.
In early 1956 I was firming up the posting plans for the summer and completing our formal reviews of officers' careers. Margaret was re-covering our sun room furniture. We were out to the Royal Ottawa Golf Club as guests of Brig. and Mrs. Hunter (he was the Director General of Medical Services). The Sheridans of Saskatoon stayed with us for a week on their way to Scotland. We painted two rooms of our house on weekends and in the evenings.
General Gruenther, Commander of NATO, paid a visit to Ottawa and was feted. In conversation with him he asked me about the Canadians who had served on his staff. As DGAP I knew where they all were.
I went to Europe for 16 days in the early spring, my second annual visit, to call on all our Brigade Units near Soest, Germany. Then I visited Colonel Forbes, our military attache at Bonn. I made an official visit to our European Base at Antwerp. And I stopped in London for more personnel business there. I also went to Ockley, Surrey, to see my friends, the Deuchars.
Back in Ottawa we had to take care of the results of my trip. Then I was also painting screens for our house. Margaret had gone to New Westminster, BC to visit her mother and to stop in Edmonton to see Garth while I was away. I "batched" for a week before Margaret returned. But I did not suffer because our friends and neighbours took me in for evening meals.
Invitations came in for Closing Ceremonies at CMR on 12 May, and for a ball at Government House on 16 May. We accepted for both. Then I visited at Camp Petawawa for two days on personnel business. Margaret returned with the news that Garth was to go up to Whitehorse for the summer on the Northwest Highway System.
At the CMR Closing Ceremonies Gerry was not able to march with the cadets because of his injury. But he did help "Keep the Rostrum." Gerry passed his year in the top quarter of his class. We had lunch with the Commandant of CMR who was a friend of ours from Staff College days. Gerry was to go to RMC at Kingston after summer training.
The Balls at Government House were on two separate evenings - 800 guests each time. Very colourful! Vincent Massey was a charming host. There was champagne and a buffet supper followed by dancing. At 1 a.m., His Excellency and his staff departed. We had attended with the Morgan Smiths. Not long afterward Edith Smith and Margaret went to Government House to sign our names up for next year's Ball.
On 5 June we attended the Militia Parade and Inspection at Lansdowne Park, within walking distance of our house. There were 1500 on parade from the local area. The Governor General's Footguards and the Cameron Highlanders were in full dress uniforms, and so were the others. General Graham, our CGS, conducted the inspection.
Then there was the Army Ball, with 500 couples attending, in the RCAF gymnasium at Rockcliffe. We were part of the Adjutant General's table.
I went to Montreal to visit HQ Quebec Command and Longue Pointe Depot. I now had only Central Ontario Area and SW Ontario Area to visit to complete my first tour of all Army HQs and Units.
I should record that Barbara had passed all her subjects with at least a "B" grading which meant that she had only to complete her thesis to have her Honours BA degree.
Margaret and I visited the Spring Flower Show at the Experimental Farm. It compared very well with Kew Gardens in England. We also visited the Edward's house across the Park and Inlet - a tragic case! The daughter was confined to her bed with advanced arthritis, completely helpless, weighing 40 to 50 pounds. Her 89 year old mother was her sole caretaker. Nevertheless they were bright and cheery. Their windows, from 100 yards away, looked directly on our house. Our comings and goings were their daily entertainment. Apparently, Marion's baths were timed from my leaving for work in the mornings. Margaret called in frequently.
Our garden was very lush because of the moisture with good raspberry and strawberry crops. Bert and Helen Annetts came over for dinner. They were off to England to attend a Victoria Cross Reunion. Her brother was Alan McLeod VC. Helen was next of kin. They were going to decide whether they should retire in England or in Canada. They decided on Canada.
Barbara is to be a bridesmaid at a wedding in Pembroke. Gerry is training infantry men at Camp Borden.
We had 15 senior officers, and their wives, in to say good-bye to my chief personnel staff officer, Lt. Col. Millar and his wife. He is going to command the Signals Regiment. His wife was in real estate and was responsible for getting 68 Craig St. for us.
We have caught up with our posting programme for 1956. And we will now start on 1957. This is what Field Marshall Montgomery used to describe as "making the enemy dance to one's own tune." In other words, get in there early. I spent four days at Kingston and Picton and, aside from interviews and personnel matters, gave three lectures on career officer management to officers.
A new green roof now replaces the red roof, which we didn't like, on our house. It was 35 years old. Time for a change. We also have a new washer and dryer. And new copper piping has made the water flow better.
We had a good long letter from Garth, describing life on the survey, and the hazards. He now has senior matriculation, plus.
In August I met George Weaver, MP for Churchill, on the street in Ottawa. He came to our house for an afternoon and evening. I had last seen George in Flin Flon, Manitoba when I was Chief of Staff, Prairie Command. George and I grew up together in Melfort and we passed our Senior Matriculation together. He went to RMC. I joined the Royal Bank. George did not enter the Army after RMC, but went to South Africa as an engineer. He came back to Canada when the war broke out and joined the Signal Corps. He never rose above the rank of lieutenant. He used to look at me and say,"I can't believe it! Here I had RMC and all the advantages, yet you, with none, have far outstripped me." My reply was, "George, you joined the wrong Corps. Why didn't you join the Infantry?"
I attended a reception for the touring Imperial Defence College. I met a brigadier who was a student and whom I had met in Rhodesia, on our 1952 IDC tour. Small world!
Maj. Gen. Hayoud Din and Mrs. Din came for tea at our house with the Smiths and the Rowlands. We were at the IDC together. We attended a dinner and reception for them at the home of the High Commissioner of Pakistan. We were into August and the cocktail season.
We have picked 40 quarts of raspberries from our patch. Barbara and I have been out for tennis. I had a weekend as senior duty officer for Army HQ. I could do this by telephone. The Ottawa Exhibition, which we like to attend, was on. Which reminds me that our solid mahogany dining room suite won first prize at the Ottawa Exhibition in 1922. It was made in Hespeler, Ont. We still have it. The Dominion of Canada Rifle Association was about to have its annual contests at the Connaught Ranges. We put in an appearance.
Gerry was at home for 12 days before reporting to RMC. I had hired him by the hour (much below union rates) to paint the outside of the house with me. And I had taken a week's holiday to work with him.
General Maxwell Taylor, Chief of Staff of the US Army, had come to town. I served under his command in Korea. I attended a luncheon in his honour. Margaret and I were invited to a dinner at the Royal Ottawa Golf Club, hosted by General Graham, in his honour. I had a good conversation with him. I had been an overnight guest at his Mess. He was a great man!
Garth had been to Dawson City, and to Dawson Creek, nowhere near Dawson City, but at the south end of the NWH System. Barbara was doing a publication for Statistics Canada. On a more humble note, she had painted our front porch. We had lots of tomatoes - more canning for Margaret. In September we found social activity hectic. We had been out socially six nights out of seven in one week.
I took Gerald to RMC to join the fall term. We also had with us the secretary to the President of Pakistan. He wanted to see Kingston. He met the President of the University and the Head of Engineering. Mr. Annim wanted to send his son to Queen's to study engineering.
On 1 Oct. Margaret and I, and Major and Mrs. Laidlaw (he was on my office staff) started a two-week trip in my own car to finish off visits to Central and Western Ontario. It was, first, to Camp Borden, with all its Army schools, for 3 days. Then to Camp Ipperwash, where a battalion was stationed, then to London for 2 days. Then we went with Brig. and Mrs. Gibson to Hagersville, where the storage depot for the Army's spare vehicles was located. We toured Niagara-on-the-Lake and Niagara Falls and then returned to London. We then went to HQ Central Command in Oakville and then to a large ordnance depot in Coburg. We had excellent weather and saw and talked to many of our service people. In Toronto we called on my sister Muriel, and Harry. So, now, I had visited every Army installation of any importance throughout the whole of Canada. I should think I had seen more of this huge country, during my tours as Prairie Command Chief of Staff, Director of Military Training, Commander of Wainwright, Supervisor of Training for the 4th Rotation to Korea, and now Director General of Army Personnel, than any other soldier I know of. And I was only half way through my present tour. Obviously, because of my travelling, I owe a great deal to the patience of my wife and family.
We had a beautiful autumn in 1956 that lasted well into November. We attended Little Theatre in Ottawa. Gerry brought a fellow cadet for a weekend. I bought a cut-down No. IV Mk. Lee Enfield .303 rifle, made into a hunting rifle, from Simpson-Sears for $30.00. Other than target practice, I have never fired a shot, and I still have it. War had stilled my urge to shoot wild animals.
We had a Directorate cocktail party to welcome Colonel and Mrs. Geo. Wattsford, the new Director of Personnel, who was to be my deputy. We had them and two other couples for dinner afterward.
Britain's problems in 1956 at the Suez Canal also caused problems for my sub-branch. I and my Directorate spent Thursday to Sunday planning for the Canadian part of the UN Emergency Force. Camp Canada was still causing nationality problems for years afterward.
Garth cut his leg with an axe, fortunately not too seriously. He came home early in December.
There was another annual GOC's Conference with the CGS, along with a reception. General Gruenther made a final visit to Ottawa on retiring from NATO. We house-warmed my boss, General Brennan, who had remarried and returned with his bride from their honeymoon.
We put on two parties to discharge our social obligations before Christmas. Barbara had made reservations for a trip to Europe the next spring on the Empress of England. Brig. Phil Reynolds, a former Sask. LI member from Saskatoon, had come to Ottawa as Chief Pensions Advocate. Charlotte Whitten was NOT running for Mayor of Ottawa! The Middle East problem had become less. We had been Christmas partying. We looked forward to Christmas with our family.
On Sat. 15 Jan. 1957 we had neighbours in for the evening and, on Sunday, the Annetts and the Morgan Smiths plus two students from National Defence College in Kingston, who were staying the weekend with Morgan, came for tea. Morgan was now a student at NDC.
Margaret went into hospital on the 16th for a gall bladder operation done by our neighbour, Dr. Beattie. It was successful. Margaret's hospital room was full of flowers. I had been cross country skiing. Barbs, Garth and I painted the living room in Margaret' absence.
I had been voted a privileged membership in the Royal Ottawa Golf Club. The fee was only $200 annually for full privileges, because I was a soldier and itinerant. Hereafter, I shall refer to the Royal Ottawa as the "Club." Army HQ still did not have an Officers' Mess in Ottawa.
Barbara and I took Garth to the Club for dinner on his birthday on 22 Jan. Barbara was running the house in Margaret's absence with the help of Garth and myself.
On 27 Jan. we brought Margaret home from hospital. She had recovered well and Dr. Beattie agreed. It was good to have our surgeon living next door.
The reduction in infantry battalions after Korea had caused some adjustments for us in personnel.
I was planning to go to Europe the last week of March. Margaret would go to the West Coast while I was away. Barbara would go to Europe at the end of May. Garth was to be off in February to Edmonton and the North West Highway System. On 2 Feb. Margaret was recovering and was up and dressed. Garth was remodeling the kitchen cupboards, and had checked all the electrical fixtures.
I was off on a special plane trip to El Paso, Texas to visit the US Fort Bliss Guided Missile Range. It was a senior officers' tour to keep us abreast of recent developments. The El Paso Chamber of Commerce gave us a reception and lunch. The Secretary happened to be a Canadian. He advised us to avoid tequila , the national Mexican drink. He told us that the Mexicans gathered the juice of the cactus by sucking it from the plant with a long straw, then spitting it into a goatskin bag. That turned us off tequila. Perhaps they have a more sanitary way for harvesting cactus juice now.
It was fascinating to see how far along our allies were in the guided missile phase of war. They showed us everything and answered all our questions. I was reminded that Churchill had said, "Once upon a time war was cruel and glorious, now it is cruel and squalid."
Garth was not going west until the end of April so, on 3 March, we planned a complete revamp of the kitchen. Barbara was working on her thesis and hoped to finish it before she went to Europe. Margaret was recovering her strength.
I was considerably pressed with the planning of moves for the coming summer. We worked down from the top levels to the lowest ranks. A lot of thought goes into every move. It took a lot of juggling before one gets it right - perhaps I should have said, as right as possible. The result was never perfect in every case. But we tried to ensure that every officer's career was well balanced. Since I was to go to Europe in 2 ½ weeks there was some urgency. Unfortunately, the Adjutant General had to go into hospital for two weeks.
Margaret and I were off in different directions. She went to New Westminster to assist her mother in selling her house. She would then bring Grandmother Smith back to live with us.
This year, 1957, was a big one for us in Personnel. We were to rotate the NATO Brigade after two years. We have already notified people where they were to be posted on return. The purpose of my visit was to ensure that the people affected were satisfied.
My trip went off well, except that I got the usual cold - a result of exposure to too many people, the pace, and late hours. We stopped for two days in London on the way over. I required this time to have measurements taken for a suit and uniform. I also had preliminary business. It was also helpful to get sleep habits adjusted after the quick 5 hours change in time. We had two weeks in Germany with the Brigade. There was poor weather at first. Westphalia can be dank and unpleasant. But the second week was delightful, and so it remained for the rest of our trip. We visited all the units of the Brigade and the hospitality was good. The total of soldiers, wives and children moving both ways in this rotation will be about 25,000 by sea lift.
We travelled by car to Amsterdam, then over to The Hague to call on our military attache. He was Colonel Willis Moogk, who had commanded the base units when I was in Korea. We visited the famous Kukenhoff tulip gardens. It was then on to our Cdn. Base at Antwerp in Belgium where we spent three days. They dined us there and we spent an evening at a Belgian music hall with the Crosslands. Major Crossland was an officer at the base. When I was principal at Pleasantdale School, he was assistant clerk in the township office.
We then returned to London for a few days. London is always pleasant especially in fine weather. We finished up our business there, which involved Army staff and students at British Army Schools. We saw "Damn Yankees," and the Royal Ballet at Covent Garden. I went to Ockley to visit my friends, Tommy and Dulcie Deuchar. To give you some idea of the financial problems which were still affecting Britain 12 years after the war, Tommy asked me if I could spend the equivalent of $500.00 Cdn. in England. I said I could. I arranged to give him $500 Cdn. And he gave me the equivalent in British pounds. They were planning a trip to Italy and this would ease their trip.
Garth has been as busy as a beaver building the counter and cupboards in the kitchen during our absence.
General Brennan, the Adjutant General, gave me a very amusing order on 16 May, before my birthday of the 17th. I was ordered to make a reconnaissance of the Royal Ottawa Golf Course. And he detailed three others to accompany me. So we had the afternoon off for golf.
I sent my son, Gerald, my own advice to a platoon commander as follows:
1. Be interested, willing and cheerful. "You catch more flies with sugar than with vinegar," both with superiors and subordinates.
2. Look after your men. If you are fair, just and human, they will never let you down. Lead them more than you drive them.
3. Study your profession. Read and re-read your pamphlets.
4. Don't be afraid to ask for advice, now and then, from your platoon sergeant.
5. Be absolutely loyal to your Commanding Officer, your Company Commander, and your subordinates.
6. Learn to give good, crisp, clear orders.
On 23 June, we picked up my brother, Edgar, at the Health Centre. We took him to see his wife who was not well at home. Then we had him for dinner at our house and returned him to the Health Centre.
30 June - Margaret had 20 ladies in to say goodbye to Edith Smith. Morgan has been posted to command the RCAMC School at Camp Borden.
7 July - We have General Loewen, Adjutant General of the British Army, coming to visit Ottawa. He was a Canadian graduate of RMC and was offered a commission in the British Army. He has done well.
22 July - I did my annual visit and lecture to the Staff College in Kingston. Barbara writes that she and Janet have travelled 3,000 miles in Britain in 2 ½ weeks. Gerry is half way through the troop concentration in Wainwright. Garth has been to Haines in Alaska.
28 July - I was working up a speech on personnel administration in the Forces, which I was to give in September to the Civil Service Senior Administration Course at Kemptville. Orville Ault persuaded me to do this.
11 Aug. - Barbara and Janet were touring France and Northern Italy. Gerry was getting experience in the adjutant's office and the QM Stores. Garth wrote from Dawson Creek.
8 Sept. - We took Gerry to RMC for the fall term. Margaret and I decided that Barbara should come home and go to work for Statistics Canada. I wired her passage home. She had enough travelling.
15 Oct. 1957 - I was detailed by the CGS to look after General Sir Henry Wells who had become CGS Australia. I had known him in the Far East. It was my responsibility to meet him at the airport in the name of our CGS. I took him to our house for refreshment after calling on General Graham. I took him up to Camp Petawawa where the General and I stayed with the Rockinghams. Gen. Rockingham had also known Gen. Wells in Korea. Gen. "Rocky" and I were out at 02:30 a.m. shooting a skunk which had invaded their garbage can. We got it and evaded return "fire."
We spent some time with Gen. Rockingham and his staff and toured the camp facilities, which Gen. Wells very much wanted to see. We witnessed the farewell parade of the Royal Canadian Dragoons who were off to Europe on rotation. We were wined and dined wherever we went. The colouring at Petawawa was at its peak. What a time to take a drive! Gen. Wells was impressed. Among other events back in Ottawa, I suggested a golf foursome at the Club. Col. May (Australian Military Attache in Washington) and I challenged the two CGSs, Gen. Wells and Gen. Graham. May and I made the tactical error of beating our seniors at the last hole. Gen. Wells left the next morning. I had much enjoyed being his "bear leader."
I should now record the furniture changes within the Clift household. As the result of our haunting auctions and want and for sale ads, in the last two weeks we have a acquired a large mahogany dining room suite. We bought the suite from a doctor who was moving to a modern house. We still have the suite, which won first prize at the Ottawa Exhibition in 1922. We also bought living room furniture in French Provincial. The house is now well furnished and we are ready for our next move.
Garth was near Mayo, the farthest north yet. He was enjoying hunting. We delayed Thanksgiving until both Barbara and Gerald would be at home.
20 Oct. - Barbara came home on the Empress of France after a rough crossing. The normal 6 day crossing stretched to 8 days. Barbara was seasick 3 days but the other woman in her cabin spent practically the whole crossing in bed.
The big news, apart from Barbara's return, was the Royal Visit. Margaret and I went to the government reception to meet the Queen and Prince Phillip. We had been presented to them before, in 1952, in London. We went with our neighbours, the Wansborough; he was a brigadier and head of the Army Dental Corps. We were among the first 50 to be presented. About 1200 were presented. It meant two solid hours of hand shaking for the Royal couple. They were charming and captured all hearts. Prince Phillip said to me, as he said to most everyone, "What do you do?" He does this in a very interested and open way. Certainly he is a very appropriate consort. The Queen was lovely. All the arrangements went off without a hitch, including the weather which was superb. The Royal couple were able to drive about to their engagements in open cars. Apparently, they were to have a very hectic programme in the US.
27 Oct. - I have started on the basement recreation room. I decided to do it myself. I have made an opening in the south concrete wall for a large window to overlook the back garden. The result will be a room 12 feet by 25 feet, insulated, and the walls finished in knotty pine with an asphalt tiled floor, and an acoustic ceiling.
Although 11 Nov. was a holiday, there was a fair amount going on. We went to church at 0845 hrs. for our garrison service. Then there was the service at the Cenotaph at 1100 hrs. It was well attended.
Barbara was dickering for a job at Statistics Canada. She could get in but must re-qualify through examination because of a 9 month absence. Garth wrote from Edmonton. He was staying at Alberta College and taking a course in trigonometry prior to university entrance next fall. Gerry has been telling us of the raiding back and forth between the students of RMC and the girls of Adelaide Hall in Queen's.
I was planning a trip around the West after New Year's Day. I should have gone this last fall, but political and government action developed. It had become apparent that there would not be any sweeping changes. I was pushing on with planning our postings and fitting them into careers for the next year's moves. There was never a dull moment in Personnel.
8 Dec. - The GOC's Conference with the CGS was one of these active times, and the staff were at the alert. What a competition the Western World was having with the Russians in rocketry and satellites! Too bad the US rocket and satellite did not soar up into space. The Russians were also giving our hockey teams lessons in hockey.
We had a letter from Grandmother Clift; Aunt Anne from Lethbridge had died of a heart attack. She was my mother's younger sister.
22 Dec. - We had a call from Brig. Reynolds to say that Maj. Gen. Potts from Kingston had dinner with them, and Phil asked us over - a pleasant evening and a late night! Gerry took charge of erecting the outside Christmas tree and Barbara did the inside tree. We spoke to Garth on the telephone. He would be staying at Alberta College. I should be seeing him in January when I visit the West. We had about 20 in for Christmas cheer, mostly neighbours. Then we were over to the McKibbons on Boxing Day and met their neighbours. What a busy Christmas! We had cards and notes from a host of friends and well wishers.
5 Jan. 1958 - Air Canada fouled up my flight. I should have been arriving in Winnipeg. The delay enabled me to print the first FNL (Family News Letter) of the year. My trip west took three weeks and I called in at all units and HQs - at HQs both coming and going. In addition to all the other stops, I visited Whitehorse and Fort Churchill, and I called in at Wainwright, Camp Dundurn and Saskatoon. I also got up to Melfort to visit Mother and Gladys. I was with Garth twice in Edmonton. He had Christmas with his friend, Jim Edwards, and had received our parcels. He hoped to enrol in engineering at the University of Alberta. I had assured him we would see him through university financially. This was the last time I saw him for 36 years. He was 21 years of age and it was obvious that the north had him under its spell. This was not uncommon, as I had been told by acquaintances in the north. I kept track of him through friends in NWHS. My wife, Betty, was responsible for establishing contact in the early 1990s. He was remarried to a very good woman. We have been together three times in the last five years. And, as of 1999, we keep regular contact.
2 Feb. - It was pleasant to be back at home again after a strenuous trip. There was better weather in the west, except in Vancouver, where they had 19 days of rain.
Back in Ottawa, there was the problem of clearing up all the points raised during my trip and, in addition, dealing with current matters. Invariably this meant carrying a brief case home for a couple of weeks. The electricians had finished with the basement. So I could complete the rec. room. However, Margaret insisted I get out my skis and have my first training run of the season.
We had letters from Gerald. He was the manager of the RMC basketball team. Margaret and I were having the halls and dining room papered by a contractor.
Events of yesterday saw the commencement of a Federal Election. The Americans had success with rocketry and a satellite.
16 Feb. - We had started preparing for a move. Margaret had been covering chairs and doing petit point, and painting everything in sight. My move had been approved by the AG and the CGS. I had made the point that I had been over 3 ½ years in a very exacting job. We were determined that our house would be ready for a tenant. We didn't want to sell yet. Instead of playing golf this summer, I painted the outside of the house for the second time.
Gerry has ordered his uniforms and other military accoutrements for his day of commissioning, and I presented him with his sword.
25 Feb. - Gerry has come home for the weekend. He and Barbara have been playing table tennis in the rec. room. They also did their stint of painting. I had boxed and finished the two windows last week. We had a letter from Garth. He had a job until he went up north again. He told us that he had registered in Mechanical Engineering at the University of Alberta for next fall.
This was a busy week with completion of our planning for another year. To top it all, there will be a week long HQ exercise next week. This will be a reaction to a nuclear holocaust which, with the strained relations with the Russians, had to be a possibility we must prepare for.
Our HQ Officers' Mess opened last weekend. This was a group organized effort - no load for the taxpayer! We officers have been making contributions for some years, amounting last year to over $50,000. With this, some loans from members and a sizeable mortgage, we had a large house which used to belong to the Frieman family, the big department store family. The building was not as large as we would have liked, but it was a start. It provided a rallying place for Army officers stationed in Ottawa.. Margaret and I went down for an evening.
2 March - It appeared that March had come in like a lamb. But it was a near thing. Friday, 28 Feb. was the wildest day here in Ottawa for some time. It has been mild and pleasant yesterday and today. On Friday evening we had Wes Aikenhead, an old Grade 8 school friend of mine from Melfort, and Bill Edmondson, a former S. Sask. R. member from Victoria, in for supper and the evening. They had been at Arnprior for a week's course in civil defence. This is another instance of the concern about nuclear attack by Russia. I had my "annual" medical examination for the first time in almost three years and I was told that I was still sound in mind and limb. In fact, the doctor said that whatever I was doing in the way of living, to keep right on doing it.
9 Mar. 1958 - Our HQ Exercise ended Friday morning. During the exercise, I had to get up at 05:45 hrs. for a meeting, and then attended two other meetings after midnight. I am just getting caught up with my sleep. We listened to the hockey game between Canada and Russia. Canada may have saved the day for the Western World - an important prestige victory! It is coming to quite a state when a game can cause such concern between nations. Well, better the battles are waged on rinks and playing fields than on battlefields. Kruschev did threaten , "We will bury the West." Hence our HQ exercises and the tactical nonsense we began to indulge in.
I have now gone through this intensive posting planning for four springs. It is not an orderly process, no matter how hard one tries to make it so. When you are dealing with human beings so directly, and where it affects their hopes and fears to such an extent, there are bound to be unknown facts which crop up at the last moment.
18 March - I stayed home from the office last weekend on Friday and 1 ½ cubic yards of pre-mixed cement arrived at 10 a.m. Barbs and I spent the weekend getting it spread and leveled over 300 square feet. We had it in good shape by Sunday. It had to set for four days before we could tile.
Our move in the summer can now be announced. I am posted to London, Ont. where I shall be the Commander of Western Ontario Area - 14 counties, including the Bruce Peninsula, Windsor, Simcoe, Brantford, Paris, Guelph, Cambridge, Kitchener and Stratford. It is a very fine command in a very pleasant part of the country. We will have a very large military quarter there in the old building known as Wolseley Hall. We will take over on 15 August. Margaret was with me on our tour of the Area, and she is happy.
We had mail from Gerald and Garth last week. Gerry has only four months left to final exams. Garth is looking forward to going North very shortly. He was driving a delivery van for a fill-in job. He has been negotiating with the university about entrance next fall.
I shall be off to a three day civil defence course at Arnprior next Monday. I have since formed up my plans for the annual trip to the NATO Brigade in Europe. Barbara hasn't heard from the Civil Service Commission yet. She has become quite a concreter. I should have been hard put to do the job without her.
Sun. 25 Mar. - I am off to Arnprior (40 miles north) to attend a Civil Defence course this afternoon. It will last three days. However, it will be quite a unique meeting of many of the senior officers of the Regular Army and the Militia to thresh out our policy for Civil Defence. This is because of the nuclear threat again. And the course will be of great use to me in my future job as an area commander.
Next Wednesday evening we, senior officers, will have a farewell dinner for General Brennan who retires at the end of this month. General Brennan joined the Army as a boy soldier 36 years ago. He has risen to his present rank on sheer ability and personality. We will miss him as Adjutant General. Then, on Thursday evening, we are putting on a branch reception for him.
Last evening Margaret and I attended a cocktail party at the Wattsfords. Then we took Brigadier Ted Brown to the new Mess for dinner and, afterward, to our house.
Good news for Barbara. She has received notice that she has been accepted as an economist in the Research Division of the Dominion Bureau of Statistics. She was a statistician last year. An economist philosophizes on the work of the statistician. Barbara starts off at a very handsome salary and receives regular increases every six months for the first two years. She likes the prospects of her new job and starts work 1 April. She was a great success and later held senior appointments.
I omitted to tell you in the last FNL (Family News Letter) that we had been to the auction sales again. There is a trend of English and Scottish artifacts being shipped to Canada for sale. This is because of the problems the British have had for some years due to the disrupting effects of financing their big part in the last war. We bought a pleasant little oil painting by a Scottish artist, a carved barometer in good condition, and a brass wall plaque. They are all in our rec. room at 250 Bingham Drive, Goderich in 1998.
Margaret had a busy week with her close friend, Edith Smith. They were out to teas and coffee parties and shopping every day last week.
We met the Gibsons, from London, last evening, and they were describing the layout of our new home, next August. There are four rooms downstairs - large living room, dining room, sitting room and kitchen. Upstairs there are five bedrooms and three bathrooms. Two bedrooms are en suite with baths. This quarter used to be the Officers' Mess in the old days.
The History of the South Saskatchewan Regiment by Lt. Col. Bruce Buchanan has been published. It is a good effort. I was able to help in the process.
Margaret attended an evening in honour of Brigadier Klaehn from Saskatoon. He was a fellow officer, with me, in the Sask LI (MG). I joined them after the farewell Mess Dinner for General Brennan.
News of our move to London has now appeared in the papers.
Sunday 30 March - Tomorrow is Federal Election Day.
Sunday 30 March - I am off to Germany, Belgium and England on Easter Monday. I shall return on 25 April. This will be my last tour to Europe on duty.
27 April - I arrived back from my NATO tour after 18 days, door to door. It was a very hectic 18 days. I have been catching up on my sleep time since I returned. I visited every unit in the Brigade, sat down with the Commanding Officer to discuss his personnel, interviewed any individual who wanted to see me, and also had some kind of social get-together with almost every unit. The latter can be very pleasant, but can be tiring when it goes on day after day. The weather was not good for the first part of the tour. It rained every day, but improved toward the end. The tempo of soldiering over there is at such a pitch that it makes one long to be commanding a brigade again.
At Antwerp the Belgian General who commanded the district insisted that I must visit the World's Fair. Indeed, he escorted me there and outlined a brief tour of the grounds for the hour and a half before I was to catch my aircraft to London. The Fair was an architectural dream. From what we saw in the few buildings we were able to enter, there was more concern for the artistic side and the display of cultural merit than the traditional display of goods. The work was not all complete and won't be for another month. The King of the Belgians had opened the exposition the day before we were there. It should be even better in a month's time. Thirty years later in 1992, during our S. Sask. R. Tour, many relics of the 1958 Fair could still be seen, including the huge Cyclotron.
We encountered some lovely weather in England. I got out of the city to avoid making myself a social responsibility for my friends in the Army Establishment in London. However, all that was after I came back and started my business. We had four days of the most perfect spring weather. I was able to see only one show during that time. England and Europe were very busy. Building was going on everywhere. No signs of recession except some worry of the effect of the American recession upon the economy over there. This trip touched down at the Shannon Airport both coming and going. It was the first time I had set foot in Ireland, even though my two grandmothers came from Ireland. We explored Ireland in later years, privately.
I was glad that Gerald was at home when I returned. He had finished his exams, but goes back for three weeks before formal graduation. We had a letter from Garth from Whitehorse. He hopes to go north on survey work this week. Barbara is working hard at her new job. Margaret is well but had a touch of the flu after I left. Grandmother Smith was having neuralgic trouble in her face.
We are having a fine weekend. The leaves are more advanced than they were in England, which is surprising. The hyacinths are in full bloom, the daffodils also, and one lovely tulip has thrown out a bloom.
Sun. 11 May - We are waiting to get through to Melfort to wish Grandmother Clift greetings on Mother's Day. This has been a wet weekend but Margaret and I attended parties on Friday and Saturday evenings. Aside from that we have a big project on. We got the tiles for the rec. room floor. First, we cemented down four foot panels of pressed pulp board onto the cement. Then we cemented felt paper on top of that. Then we laid 450 tiles. The floor is finished except around the walls. It looks and feels good. Margaret and Barbs had heated the tiles in the oven, and I put them down with cement.
Grandmother Smith goes by air to Regina tomorrow where she will be met by her son George and taken to Spalding. She will return to us when we are settled in London.
Gerald graduates from RMC next Friday. We are going for the ceremony. Gerald will have a few days before he has to report to Camp Borden for his last practical phase. I discovered last week that he had been approved for a year's tuition at Queen's University, starting next fall, to obtain his Honours BA. He will likely major in English. I don't know whether Gerald has learned this yet. I have my own sources. He will have this year at university in the rank of lieutenant (two pips up) and he will rate full pay and allowances for his rank. A very good deal for a serious student. Among the cadets this is known as the "gravy year."
Sun. 11 May - In spite of the basement project we have been managing some work on the garden. Margaret has onions, lettuce, spinach and radishes up. Daffodils are a good show, and we have hundreds of tulips just coming into bloom. The park across the road is lovely just now with the new green leaves, the red bloom on the birches, and the yellow bloom on the maples
Barbs is enjoying being an economist. And she finds it challenging. Gerry telephoned for Mother's Day. We haven't heard from Garth lately.
Margaret has been busy with her circle and her friends. We have a busy time ahead to get ourselves moved. And there are a number of tasks for the house before we rent or sell, likely the former. We think we should make our base in Ottawa for the present.
Ottawa will be busy this spring with lots of senior visitors. Field Marshall Montgomery arrives this week. Parliament also opens.
1 June - I have been moving all sorts of equipment - rifles, pictures, sports gear, etc. - to the rec room to provide the proper atmosphere. Except for small things, the rec. room is finished! We are now tidying up the stairs and the vestibule in front of the rec. room door.
Helen, Edgar and Anna were in today for tea. They all look well. Edgar has checked out of the Health Centre and will be at home at least until winter. They are busy finishing off their cottage in the country.
Margaret and I did not go to the Ball at Government House on Friday evening. We didn't feel up to it. There is a garden party at Government House to which we are invited on the 14th.
We had a letter from Garth in Fort Nelson. They are running a survey for a road through the town. Garth sent congratulations to Gerald for successfully passing RMC.
The Dr. Beatties next door have their house up for sale. They started trying to sell it themselves at $28,500.00. It is now in the hands of a real estate firm for $26,500.00. The neighbours are watching for the result as an indication of the value of their properties. So are we. We are taking our time about renting our place. There are still almost three months before we move. I am in a good position to find a tenant in the service. We are more concerned with reliability rather than a high rental.
22 June - We were invited to the Garden Party at Wolseley Barracks. Margaret and I drove to Oakville on Thursday afternoon, stayed at a motel and then drove the 100 miles to London the next morning in time for lunch with the Gibsons on Friday. Then we were part of the receiving line. There were 500 guests on the lawn under the walnut trees, in front of our quarter to be. It had threatened rain all afternoon and finally let us have it at 15 minutes to 6 PM. Everyone rushed for their cars or the Officers' Mess across the lawn. The Gibsons had us in for drinks and we then went to the Mess for dinner. Then we went back to the Gibsons' and the party went on until 2AM. The next morning the Area Engineer Officer came to find out what repairs were necessary. And we saw our new quarters to be. We left at 11:45 hrs. the next day and drove through to Ottawa with stops only for gas and food. We liked the people we met at the Garden Party. The Gibsons were very kind.
We fixed times for moves. The Gibsons will vacate 18 August. I am going to see the Cadet Camp at Ipperwash on 14 or 15 August. This camp will be my summer concern - 1500 cadets from all over Ontario plus the staff. I expect to move into London by the end of August.
Sun. 6 July - We can now rent our house since we know our timings. Margaret and I have been busy, in our spare time, painting and finishing projects prior to our move. Barbara has been away to Woodstock as bridesmaid at a wedding.
July 1 got a bit more notice than normal. The Government deserves credit for brightening up Dominion Day (or is it Canada Day?) celebrations. Barbara went along with me. I attended Parliament Hill in No.1 uniform with sword. The 1st Canadian Guards put on a good show. What with the Seaway Opening and Trans Canada TV circuits being inaugurated, it was a special day!
Gerry paid a flying visit - home Saturday and back Sunday to Camp Borden. We have heard from both Grandmothers Clift and Smith who are both well. It has been very dry in the Prairies.
Sun. 20 July - The FNL (Family News Letter) is going to press on the back lawn. Barbs and I picked the usual 1 ½ gallons of raspberries from the patch this afternoon. We have never had such a crop before.
We haven't yet rented the house. The movers have been around to assess our furniture for the move next month.
We had a letter from Gerry who was on field training at Camp Borden. The last phase of training wound up with a 60 mile march during hours of darkness and largely across country. Gerry survived.
The current Middle East crisis hadn't any personnel business for us since we found an extra ten observers for Lebanon. The situation out there is getting more serious with each succeeding crisis. Meantime the Russians go from one barefaced "Big Lie" to another. There is no doubt we live in age of "brinkmanship" as Dulles of the US State Department described it.
Barbara and a friend, Dale Elliot, have found a flat at 366 Driveway. They move in on 15 August. Dale has to leave her flat on 31 July. She will live with us until then. Barbs is talking about buying a small car.
Sunday 5 August - We have rented our house to Brigadier Pierre Tremblay from Montreal who takes over as Director General Of Medical Services. He takes possession of our house on 15 Sept. The Tremblays have two children in university. The Tremblays will be caring tenants of the house, but I don't think he is a gardener. Rent will be $165.00 per month. So now we will have a "pied au terre" whatever happens after our London posting.
I picked up Edgar at the Health Centre. Helen had found she couldn't handle him in her present condition. Edgar enjoys having dinner with us. He has had cancer of the brain. He is only 48 years of age and retired on pension. The future for him is not good, and it is sad.
Princess Margaret arrived in Ottawa yesterday afternoon.. She attended church this morning and will spend two days up at Harrington Lake in the Gatineau. She is to present colours to the Highland Light Infantry at Galt, Ont. This is to be one of my Militia regiments in SW Ontario Area. We had to send our regrets to an invitation to attend the ceremony.
Along with the rush of getting ready to move we have the goodbye parties. We were out to four the week before last and we attend two this week. Then there will be the welcoming parties at the other end.
At the Farewell Party given us by the "A" Branch, the Vice Adjutant General, Brigadier WAB Anderson, who was temporarily head of the branch after General Brennan's retirement, complimented me on the results of my tenure. He said that I had achieved a high level of objectivity and care for the officers and soldiers of the army, and that it was a revelation to him. In my reply, I thanked him for his kind words and said that I was leaving a post which had required more "round the clock" consideration and homework than any post I had held in the army. I looked forward to the day when I could discuss my job freely with my wife.
CHAPTER XII: SOUTH WESTERN ONTARIO
I had already visited SW Ontario Area to see the facilities there. I had also spent a couple of days at Ipperwash Cadet Camp, a concentration of 1500 senior cadets for a six week course, which would be an activity I would head each summer, in addition to my other responsibilities.
I must confess that I had asked to be posted to London, Ont. and SW Ont. Area because, in my opinion, it was the best area command in the country. It was the home station then of the Royal Canadian Regiment. It had a long military tradition, having been in the last century a garrison town for British units. Its 14 counties contained interesting cities and towns. It had a good climate, tempered by the great lakes, and the best agricultural land in the whole of Canada. My wife and I were also looking for an area where we could retire.
We left Ottawa on 1 Sept. 1958 and drove to London, arriving about 7 PM. The van had already arrived with our furniture and effects and they had been unpacked. Our home was to be Apartment 4 in Wolseley Hall. It was a huge apartment with 5 bedrooms. It had been the officers' mess of the Royal Canadian Regiment before WWII. The engineers had done some renovations for us. We had a large living room and dining room. Our furniture fitted beautifully and Margaret was very pleased with her new home. We also inherited our batman, Cpl. Abgrail Presniuk, who hailed from the interlake region in Manitoba. He was most conscientious and pleasant. And he was a great help to Margaret, as well as looking after my clothing.
My first public appearance took place at the end of the week when I was to review a parade of the Canadian Corps Association and to address them in Victoria Park afterward. I was rather taken aback by the President's introduction of me as the guest speaker. He started off by recounting the problems he had getting a reviewing officer. He said, "We tried to get the Minister of National Defence, but he was not free. Then we tried for the Chief of the General Staff, but he was not available. But we did get Brigadier Clift, and here he is!" My friends of the London Club thought this was hilarious, and we had good laughs about it.
Margaret became as involved in the social rounds in London, in her own fields. She set up the custom of having regular At Home days once a month in our suite, when the ladies of the garrison could come to pay their respects and have tea in the afternoon. She was named Honorary Regent of the local IODE Chapter and she became involved in several other women's organizations.
I have very detailed records of our activities in London and the area because I had started writing the Family News Letter (FNL) at the beginning of 1955 and this carried on for over18 years. The need was to keep contact with our dispersed family, on the average of about every two weeks. Copies went to three children and to the two grandmothers. One copy went to file. I shall quote from the FNL of 27 Nov. 1958 to indicate how busy our routine became:
11 Nov. - Remembrance Day ceremonies
12 Nov. - Nursing Sisters' Assn. Dinner
13 Nov. - Dinner, "22 Associates" at Hunt Club
14 Nov. - Mess Dinner 1Hussars in London
15 Nov. - Saturday - free
16 Nov. - Cocktails at the Prestons
17 Nov. - Visit to 56 Fd. Regt. RCA at Brantford and Paris
18 Nov. - Visit 2 RCR
19 Nov. - Cdn. Club Luncheon; Mess Dinner at 99 Fd. Bty. in Wingham (80 miles away)
20 Nov. - Trip to Ipperwash to spend day with 1 RCR
21 Nov. - Mess Dinner with E and K Scots at Chatham (60 miles away)
22 Nov. - Mess Dinner with Windsor Regt in Windsor (120 miles away)
24 Nov. - Speech to Kiwanis Club at their noon luncheon
- Margaret went with me to Brantford to attend a Reception, Dinner and Preview of the Dieppe film, "A Most Gallant Affair." I spoke after the film, took a march past and then went to the Mess of the 56 Fd. Regt. before returning home.
25 Nov. - Cocktails at Wolseley Sgts' Mess to meet 200 NCOs
- Attended Little Theatre play, "The Lark" in the evening
26 Nov. - Dinner at Wolseley Officers' Mess with AVM Plante who later spoke to meeting of London United Services Institute
27 Nov. - Margaret attended lecture with me this morning to hear the Secretary of the Army Benevolent Fund talk to the troops.
- I officiated at RCR Swim Meet in the gymnasium pool.
- Evening free - hence the letter (FNL)
Margaret has been busy with her clubs. She acquired another: The Salvation Army Village Auxiliary.
NOTE: I shall continue the practice of quoting from the Family News Letter and will use a date at the margin. The timing and grammatical tense will be related to the marginal dates.
7 Sept. 1958 - This was my first week in harness. I went to the Headquarters which was an old customs building at the corner of Richmond and Queen Streets, a very prestigious location, across the street from the old post office on the west, and across the street from the London Club on the south. It was quite wrongly situated in front of St. Paul's Anglican Cathedral which is a fine old historic church. London did not lack for public spirited citizens. Several of them bought the old customs building, after my time, and it was demolished and the land given to the cathedral. It is interesting that the wrought iron motifs which decorated the building and fence, were purchased by Peter Ivy. He used them as the main motif in the decoration of the Ben Miller Inn, 2 ½ miles east of Goderich.
During my first week I made official calls on the mayor, Allen Johnson, Bishop Luxton of the Anglican Diocese of Huron, and Bishop Carter of the Roman Catholic Diocese. I also occupied my office in the Area HQ and toured the building to meet my HQ staff. I made the rounds of the Wolseley Barracks units and of the Royal Canadian Ordnance Depot, which was quite a large unit and a full colonel's command, and the Royal Canadian Electrical and Mechanical Engineers' Repair Depot. These last two units were in close proximity to each other on Highbury Ave. London was the home station of the Royal Canadian Regiment, senior infantry regiment in the Regular Canadian Army. Normally one battalion and the training depot of the Regiment were based in Wolseley Barracks.
Another responsibility of mine was to command and train the Militia in my area. It was represented in all the cities and most of the towns. Historically, the Militia had been regarded as the main land arm of our defence organization. The problem always has been, and will likely continue into the future, that we do not take seriously enough the defence of the longest coastline of any country in the world. We have been used to depending on Britain militarily in emergencies, and increasingly, lately, on the United States. We are a privileged people and nation to have this protection. Some day we will have to face up to our own responsibility.
The other large commitment in the area during my command was the Royal Canadian Cadet Corps. There were Corps in most high schools in the area and they had a training population of some 12,000 cadets. Teachers in the high schools were the officers. There were programmes for training and uniforms were issued. The Corps was regarded as a good form of citizenship training. Some schools even had rifle ranges.
The Central Command Cadet Camp operated for 6 weeks in July and August at Camp Ipperwash and was an important part of the provincial cadet programme. Its purpose was to train officers and NCOs for the local cadet corps. Unfortunately, in the late sixties, militarism and military training became unpopular. The Ontario Dept. of Education ceased to support this activity. The school Corps were disbanded, except in private schools. As a result, cadet training in Ontario is now conducted in volunteer corps outside the school system, but supported by Militia units, Legion branches, etc. Of course, the total number of cadets in training is nothing like the thousands of cadets we used to have in the provincial education system.
I was fortunate to meet again in London my former commanding officer, Brig. Dillon, from the Machine Gun Training Centre at Camp Dundurn. He had achieved the rank of Brigadier as Deputy Quartermaster General in Ottawa by the end of the War. He was head of an engineering firm in London. He was responsible for putting me up for privileged membership in the London Club, which conducted itself like a good English London Club. Another close friend I enjoyed in London was Brigadier Russell Beattie who was the Sheriff of Middlesex County. Brig. Beattie invited me on one occasion to sit at the bench with the presiding judge at a local court hearing of a minor offence against the law. We exchanged gifts on several occasions. I still wear a couple of silk pocket handkerchiefs which he gave me. Brig. Beattie commanded a brigade on the West Coast during the war. He had also been a veteran of WWI.
Early on I became a member of the Board of Management of Bishop Cronyn Anglican Church which was the home church for the Royal Canadian Regiment and Wolseley Barracks.
Margaret and I attended a welcoming cocktail party at the HQ and Services Officers' Mess of which I became the senior officer.
On our first Sunday we had a restful day. I attended Chapel. Gerry was with us and he, Margaret and I explored Storybook Gardens. This has one of the best arranged small zoos I have ever seen. There are extensive picnic grounds surrounding the Gardens and along the lovely ravine of the Thames River, so named by the first governor of Upper Canada. This has always been a very British city, and I expect it will remain so. In 1958 the official population of London inside the city limits was 101,000 people. But, when a current annexation plan was completed and approved, it had over 150,000. In 1993, because of growth and more annexation, the population had doubled to over 300,000. After further orientation driving, we three went to the Officers' Mess for dinner.
We heard from Grandmother Smith. She will come to live with us later in the month. Gerry goes to Kingston on the 18th for a 23 Sept. start on his Honours BA year at Queen's. Barbara planned to be in Philadelphia this weekend.
Sun. 4 Sept. - We were busy with parades, and other military functions yesterday. It was Warrior's Day at the Western Fair in London. Admiral de Wolfe, Chief of the Naval Staff in Ottawa, came to take the salute and give the address. The Fair Board gave us lunch. The three Services put on military displays in front of the grandstand. Then we went to a buffet supper at HMCS Prevost, the local Naval establishment. The London Lords football team took on the Detroit Raiders and won handily with Canadian rules. It was a full day!
We have had mail from the two grandmothers and from Barbara, but no mail from Garth for two months.
FNL, 7 Oct. - We are having trouble getting out the Family News Letter. Too much going on! On the weekend of 28/29, Marg and I went on a tour in our own car up into the Bruce Peninsula, the most north-westerly part of our Area. We went up Highway 21 to Tobermory. Not many tourists around. We had a merry dinner with the inn keeper and another couple. The next day we drove to Owen Sound (not in our Area), then through Grey County to Durham where we found the grave of my great grandmother, Anne MacLachlan Robertson, in the Presbyterian Cemetery. Then we drove back through Stratford to London.
We had asked Harry and Muriel, my sister, to come from Toronto and visit us last Sunday and they did, along with their two children, Sandy and "Tish."
Life builds up socially. We now have tickets for UWO football games, as well as the London Lords. We have become members of the Little Theatre which is very active here.
Grandmother Smith came by plane last Thursday. She looks well and is settling in. We have heard from Grandmother Clift, Barbara and Gerald. The latter two could not make it for Thanksgiving.
Margaret receives on Thursday. There will be many visitors. I must find a golf game. I exercise at the Sports Complex in the Barracks. And I also play badminton.
Mon. 15 Oct. - Margaret and I were out to church yesterday. After lunch we went for a drive around the London countryside. It was a pleasant sunny day and the fall colours alone were worth the trip, but, of course, these Sunday rides are part of local orientation.
Margaret had people in for tea three days last week, including her monthly At Home when 30 ladies came to call. I have started my visits to the Militia; I was out two evenings last week to visit four units in London. I also had a dinner with the United Services Institute. I have been elected Honorary President. This week we have an exercise to practise 2 RCR and Transport Command RCAF in assembling and moving an infantry battalion out of the country by air. We will be in the thick of it next weekend when General and Mrs. Sparling - he is GOC of Central Command - come here to see the exercise and to visit. Then, the same weekend on Sunday at 0530 hrs. the General and I drive to Windsor to see another exercise between the Essex and Kent Scots and a US Reserve Marine Battalion doing an airlift by helicopter. Our RCR airlift goes on into next week. It is all very interesting.
Margaret has been named Honorary Regent of one of the 29 local IODE Chapters. This is some indication of the local patriotic tendencies in this area.
Corporal Presniuk, our batman, comes home tomorrow after a month's leave. Corporal Peacock, my driver, has been helping very ably for the past month, driving me, keeping my uniforms in shape, doing the floors, and even helping with the shopping. It is such a help to have dedicated people with one.
Sun. 26 Oct. - The last week has been taken up with the visit of the GOC and Mrs. Sparling, and the exercise GLOBETROTTER. The Sparlings arrived at noon on Friday, the 17th. We had a Mess Dinner that evening and Margaret had a number of ladies in for dinner with "Babe" Sparling, at the same time. Later we joined the ladies at our quarter. The next day I toured the GOC around the city units in the morning. In the afternoon we played a round of golf at The London Hunt and Country Club. Mrs. Sparling and Margaret and others had lunch at the Club. In the evening we had a large cocktail party at our quarter to enable the Sparlings to meet again some of their friends. The Sparlings were here when he was Area Commander ten years ago. We went for dinner at the Mess afterward. We then had to arise at 0400 hrs. to get away to Windsor and Detroit for the helicopter exercise. We were back by early evening.
We had letters from Grandmother Clift, Muriel, Barbara and Gerry. Edgar is now in Ste. Anne de Bellevue Hospital in Montreal. Helen, his wife, is in hospital in Guelph hoping to find a cure for her nervous disorder. Problems!
Next month is a busy one, particularly with the Militia. We are planning to attend Little Theatre on Thursday, and we have a Halloween Dance, in costume, at the Mess on Saturday. Margaret will go as a Dutch girl and I will go as an Arab - putting my Middle East experience to some use.
Sun. 9 Nov. - Barbara came by car Friday PM and will stay until Tuesday; this is her first real visit to London. We had Barbs out for church this morning and I read the lesson for Remembrance Day service. We had lunch at the Mess and then drove Barbara around London including the campus of the University of Western Ontario. This occasioned an admission from Barbara that it put Queen's in the shade. We had turkey dinner that evening.
Margaret and I were caught up last night in the annual Hunt Club Ball which is the big social event of the season. We were guests of the Blackburns . He was the publisher of the London Free Press and owned the TV station. The Blackburn party included Major General Desmond Smith and his wife, the latter a sister of Walter Blackburn. Gen. Smith succeeded Gen. Brennan as Adjutant General just after I left Ottawa. Over 200 attended for a very fine dinner, a good band, and a splendid evening altogether. We had drinks with the Webbs at the Wolseley apartment before going to the Blackburns. The Webbs were in another party at the Ball. Webb commands the Ordnance Depot.
The Friday evening before I had attended the Remembrance Day dinner of the Vimy Branch of the Canadian Legion. Another remarkable evening! It is an officers' branch and had two meetings, with dinner, each year. Sir Robert Watson-Watt, the inventor of radar, was the guest speaker. The meetings of the branch were held in the gorgeous dining room of the old Hotel London, which has since been demolished. The branch organizes its own orchestra for these dinners. Brigadier Murray Dillon led the orchestra. The veteran who played the drums came back from Florida especially for this event. He was Col. Joe Thompson, the president of an oil and gas company. The whole evening was conducted in a light-hearted manner. I was a bit "light-headed" when I got home at about 4:00 in the morning. I spent a couple of hours reminiscing with Murray Dillon about Camp Dundurn in 1940/41. To add to the weekend we had the Militia doing an exercise yesterday and today. I had to put in an appearance.
Margaret was up to Kitchener with me last Monday. I had to visit a unit which was giving us some trouble. I then visited the other accommodation we owned in the city. One of them was quite extraordinary. It was a battalion-sized unit which had its armoury on the fourth floor of a building and a big freight elevator to give access. We had arranged to attend a performance by the British Grenadier Guards military band and the Pipes and Drums of the Scots Guards, at the local arena. It was a moving experience. We drove back the 70 miles to London at a half hour after midnight. I made it a practice to show up at the office the next morning by 9 a.m. even though I might have been on duty the night before. To accomplish this I had to have a driver I could trust. I always carried a blanket and pillow so I could sleep on the return journey.
Margaret has been busy with the Wives' Club and the IODE. She receives this week.
I spent part of the morning preparing remarks for a talk I am to give at the Remembrance Day Dinner of the Nursing Sisters' Association on Wednesday. Margaret is to attend with me. One spends a lot of time in the limelight as an area commander, with much coverage in the news.
Thurs. 27 Nov. - I have given my staff an indication of my November schedule. We have a formal ceremony tomorrow afternoon. Then I have a Mess Dinner tomorrow evening at Stratford, 40 miles away, with The Perth Regiment. On Saturday evening I go to Guelph, 80 miles from here, to another Mess Dinner with the Fd. Regt. RCA.
Sun. 15 Dec. - Winter has struck with a vengeance! On Saturday 29 Nov. Maj. "Jock" Anderson, my Protestant chaplain, and I were to attend a St. Andrews Dinner at the Highland Light Infantry in Galt, a distance of 80 miles. We got 30 miles down the highway to Woodstock when we had to telephone to cancel. It took us 2 hours to get back to London. Jock and I took turns walking in front of the car with a flashlight to show the way in places.
FNL #13, 27 Nov. - Gen. Sir Horatio Murray is over here as the Colonel of the Camerons visiting their affiliated regiment, the Perth Regiment, at Stratford, for St. Andrew's festivities. We were up to Stratford on Friday evening when we met the Murrays. He was my divisional commander in Korea. I dined with Gen. Murray and Col. Wyatt, the Perth Hon. Col., at a dinner in the Officers' Mess of the Perth Regiment. Mrs. Murray, Margaret, and other ladies, were entertained at the beautiful Wyatt mansion. The Murrays came to stay with us in London for a couple of days. We showed them the city and they met some of our friends. Gen. Murray was then the Commander of NATO Forces in NW Europe, based in Oslo, Norway.
Sun. 15 Dec. -This last week-end Margaret and I and Major Kennedy (my GSO II) and Mrs. Kennedy attended a military ball at the 11 Field Regiment in Guelph. A very pleasant evening! We ran into a snowstorm on the way home. Cpl. Peacock, my driver, saw us through. We attended a sports evening in the gym on Saturday evening. We went to church on Sunday.
We had the Quarter Master General,Gen. Geoff.Walsh, as a house guest earlier in the week. He was on a formal visit of inspection. We dined him at a Mess Dinner. Gen. Walsh was my usual golf partner in Ottawa at the Royal Ottawa Club.
The local Santa Claus Parade was held on the main streets on Sat. 14 Dec. The Army took part also.
We haven't put out our Xmas lights yet. Perhaps we ought to get them out to send a message to our neighbours. Our predecessors, the Gibsons, were not in favour of Xmas lights, we have been told.
I should add that, on New Year's Day, I did the traditional rounds. I must have called in at almost a dozen officers' messes, clubs, and institutes.
11 Jan. 1959 - A quiet weekend at home. This evening we had Mrs. Webb and her son Bert (2 suites away) in for dinner. Col. Webb, who commands the Ordnance Depot, is away on a three month's course.
The GOC ,Gen. Sparling, has been here. We were out with 1 RCR on Monday and Tuesday at Camp Ipperwash. Then on Thursday and Friday there was a GOC's conference at Oakville.
I am getting my winter gear in shape for a trip to Kirkland Lake to visit 2 RCR who are on winter training. I am planning on camping out overnight in the wilds with the troops.
Sun. 25 Jan. - Margaret and I were out to see the finals of the Western Ont. Badminton playoffs in the Naval Barracks. I have been turning out for badminton at the Sports Complex here fairly often, strictly for exercise.
Since our last letter I have been up to Kirkland Lake to spend 24 hours with 2 RCR on their northern training. I slept out in an unheated tent with temperature at 0 degrees Fahrenheit and was very comfortable. I had taken along my sleeping bag and safari cot. We did some visiting around the company camps with the CO at night. We were flown in by Otter aircraft from the base camp, and then out again the next day. The troops enjoyed the ten days out in the snow. It was something different and they do like being challenged. Kirkland Lake, the city, is in gold country. There are several cities of 20 to 30 thousand population in this part of Canada. They feel very strongly that the price of gold, pegged at $35.00 per oz., is too low. The price was set in 1934. Well, there has been a change! Now, in 1996, the peg is off and gold trades freely at close to $400 per ounce.
We have been busy socially. We were out to cocktails at the Conrons. He was President of Middlesex College and, later, Chairman of the Board of Governors for UWO. Because I fought with him in Normandy, I knew him well. And we knew his wife Caroline, too. She was a daughter of General Spencer who commanded the 1 Hussars at the beginning of the War. Gen. Spencer made his fortune in Imperial Oil. He was a fine, public spirited man. Even in his advanced years he enjoyed attending our Mess Dinners. I knew his son-in-law even better.
"Brandy" was a captain with the 1 Hussars (Armoured) Regiment. He supported me on more than one occasion in Normandy during the WWII. Brandy was wounded in Normandy but returned to his regiment for considerable action in the later stages of the war. It is interesting that he and I had the same decorations, DSO, ED, C de Guerre, and Mentioned in Despatches. Brandy left the Service at the end of the war to pursue a very successful academic career. When I took command in London he came to see me. He said he and his family had horses which needed riding for exercise. I took him up on his offer and was out at least a half dozen times before the winter of 1958/59. We saw each other often militarily and socially.
Sadly, in January of 1994, I wrote a letter of condolence to Caroline after Brandy's death. He died at the age of 73. A memorial service was held in his honour on 13 Jan. I had planned to attend but winter closed in. I still do not know the cause of his death at such an early age. He was a great loss to his wife and family, friends, and the community at large.
On Saturday, the 17th, Margaret and I attended a mixed mess dinner put on by the local Militia Manning Depot. It was a good evening and, incidentally, the first mess dinner Margaret had ever attended. The CO was Lt. Col. Sam Lerner.
Margaret's clubs have been meeting after the New Year. They had a big gathering of the Officers' Mess Wives in the Mess last week and raised money for the upkeep of the chapels in Wolseley Barracks. There is another big one at our house next week.
The National Ballet comes to London this week also. We will attend. The local organization is putting on a ball in aid of the Ballet in two weeks time which we will attend also. Speaking of music, Margaret has just received the Nine Beethoven Symphonies on records, played by the NBC Symphony Orchestra. Barbara has sponsored us to a record club and this was the joining offer.
FNL#3, Sun. 8 Feb. - We are recovering today from a busy week-end. On Friday evening we attended a dinner put on by the city for the French Ambassador and the French Consul General from Toronto. They were in London to attend an opening of an exhibition of French Impressionist paintings in the local art museum. After the dinner we went over to the museum to view the display and the opening ceremonies. Then we rushed back to the house to receive Brig. and Mrs. Shier. He is the former Director General of Medical Services and is now on retirement leave. The Shiers were in London to see their son who was attending medical school at UWO.
Yesterday we had all our staff officers and their wives and the heads of services and their wives, over 60 altogether, in for cocktails at our home. Then most of us went over to the Mess for dinner, and spent the evening in the Mess. I have represented the family at church this morning. We are going to a cocktail party this afternoon. So it goes!
Lent begins next Wednesday, but we are booked to attend four balls within 30 days. The first is tomorrow evening. It misses Lent. Margaret had her chapter, with over 30 members, of the IODE in for a meeting this week.
I am suffering from a badly pulled muscle. This happened a week ago at badminton because I had not properly warmed up before I started to play. I attend a dinner tonight.
I attended the military funeral of Major General Ross a week ago. I had persuaded the family to let us do military honours for this senior officer and they agreed. Gen. Ross was a former area commander in London. We put on a full military funeral. I limped along for 6 blocks.
I have recovered enough to be able to dance a slow waltz with Margaret to Guy Lombardo's music tomorrow evening. This is a Charity Ball in aid of the National Ballet. The Lombardos are coming back to their native city especially for the occasion.
Sun. 8 Feb. 1959 - Margaret has been having fun with the dressmaker. She has had two ball gowns and a cocktail dress made. She will need them in London.
The week before last, Lt.Gen. Simonds came to speak to the Canadian Club. I took him in charge for the afternoon and early evening. I treasure my memories of Guy Simonds. He was a good commander in Italy and in Europe. When he was commanding the National Defence College in Kingston and I was visiting Kingston as Director of Military Training, I was invited to the Simonds' house for "dinner a trois" with the General and Mrs. Simonds. It was a delightful, friendly evening. Later, when he was CGS, he approved my attendance at IDC and was most compassionate with my problems with regard to the education of my children, and he approved my going 4 months early and arranged for me to do special jobs for him in the British Training Schools. Undoubtedly, he selected me for command in Korea. He was still CGS for half my service as DGAP. I found him to be most considerate and knowledgeable about my problems, and compassionate about the individuals whose careers we were discussing. I often worked directly to him, with the blessing of the AG always. Biographers have been inclined to say that he was reserved and cold. I have never found him that way. On the contrary, he was always reflective, helpful and warm with me.
I spent an afternoon and an early evening at the university calling on the President, Dr. Edward Hall, and visiting our Officers' Training Contingent (OTC) on Wednesday last. Like High School Cadet Training, the OTC, as of 1990, has been discontinued, both for the same reasons. It is a pity because these organizations were very important to our war effort in WWII.
I feel I must comment further on the diminishing of our reserves. It was sad to see the cadet movement in the high schools of Ontario, and the COTC in the universities of Canada, discontinued. They were important constituents of the concept that the Militia was the main defence support of the Regular Services. Because our Regular Services were so puny at the beginning of WWI and WWII, the Militia, supported by the cadet movement and the COTC, were our main reliance in both World Wars. Now, in 1996, we continue to reduce the Regular Services and also to cut the allowed membership of the Militia from 30,000 to 23,000. I do remember General Foulkes making a statement during the height of the Russian menace that, "Only forces in being (i.e. Regular Forces) are of any use to counter the nuclear threat." I suppose he was using this argument to bolster attempts to increase our regular forces. But, it also served to denigrate our Reserves which have been so important in the past and will be so important, in my humble opinion, in the future. I am a product of a volunteer cadet corps and the Militia, and I was certainly more ready for service than many of my compatriots in September 1939. I found it hard to understand General Foulkes' statement because I served under him and respected his opinions in most things. He, himself, was a product of the cadet movement and the COTC.
Sun. Feb. 22 - The big news we have to report concerns Gerry. He has become engaged to marry. Last evening he and his fiancee and her parents came by car from Belleville, stopped off at Brantford, and then came on here at about 6:30 p.m. They had dinner with us and we stayed up until 2:00 a.m. They stayed the night and then left at noon today on their way back to Belleville and Kingston. This was a get-acquainted visit and to discuss plans for the marriage. Gerry's fiancee is Sherrill, or Sheri for short, Turner. She is 22, a graduate of Queen's and now an English teacher at Colborne High School. Sheri's father, Dr. William Turner, is the high school inspector at Belleville. Dr. Turner is to take over as Superintendent of Education at the City of Brantford this summer. He is an impressive man, 6 feet, 7 inches tall. He was born and raised in the Scottish settlement near Dutton, on the same line as John Kenneth Galbraith, who, by the way, was the same height. The Turners are a fine family. Sheri, according to Gerry, is "tall, striking in appearance, and very intelligent." We agree. Sheri is a most pleasant, sensible and well spoken girl. We are very pleased with Gerry's choice. They were talking about being married at Easter. Gerry has his posting instructions to 1QOR of C at Calgary when his term at Queen's is finished. Sheri has to complete her term at Colborne. Gerry will likely go to Germany with his Regiment in the fall of 1960.
FNL#4, 27 Feb. - Margaret and I are to host the Lieutenant Governor and his wife when they arrive for the Paardeburg Ball. They will stay overnight with us.
We attended a Tri-Service University Ball last Friday evening after a dinner at a private house.
Today I was invited to take part in a curling match. My host was the Chief of Police of London Township. Chief Stronach was a former RCMP constable stationed at Naicam, Sask. And he played defence for the Naicam team in the Big Four League, sponsored by Bill and Bun Cook who were stars of the New York Rangers. In summer they farmed near Lac Vert, Sask. I played defence for the Spalding team in the same league. The curling match turned out to be an encounter between the Chief's team and an Army team skipped by Lt. Col. Dalrymple. The Army rink beat the Chief's Police rink. I overdid my sweeping and felt the effects for some days.
There is a postscript to this. London Township became amalgamated in the extension of London. Gordon Stronach ran for Mayor of London at the next election and won. He became a good and long time mayor and died in office. Gordon and I became good friends and saw a lot of each other.
The week before last we attended the National Ballet Ball. Guy Lombardo was not able to be present because of weather. It was a good evening and raised $8,000. We had a monthly meeting of the United Services Institute in our Mess. We also had the Western Ontario Boxing Finals in our Sports Complex. Then there was a Valentine Party in our Mess. Quite a round, isn't it? This last week we had a dinner on Monday evening to dine out my chief staff officer, the A&Q, and to dine in his successor.
Tuesday and Wednesday I spent in Windsor making official calls. We lunched on Tuesday with the officials of The Hiram Walker Company in their delightful Victorian head office building. Then we had a tour of the liquor industry lasting an hour. We also toured the Ford Motor Company engine assembly line for an hour. I crossed the border to visit the US Commander of the Michigan Sector in Detroit. I called in at Assumption College, now the University of Windsor. I also visited my three units in Windsor: The Windsor Regt. (Armoured), the Essex and Kent Scottish (Infantry) and a RCEME Company.
Back in London, I gave a talk to the St. Paul's Cathedral Men's Club on Thursday evening on a brotherhood theme by linking it to comradeship in the Army.
FNL#5, 8 Mar. - Margaret and I got back last evening after what has become almost the "Weekly Ball" on Friday night. This one was the Central Command Ball at HMCS York in Toronto. It was put on by the Army and is their annual affair. We went by car to Oakville on Friday afternoon to stay with General and Mrs. Sparling. We had supper, changed, met some others for drinks, and then on to the Ball where we had an hour in the receiving line. It was a very fine evening with good music, a good dance floor, and many friends. There was an excellent lunch at midnight. We did not get to bed until 4 in the morning.
We did considerable visiting the next day. We were up at 10, had breakfast, took our leave of the Sparlings, who are always good hosts, and motored into Toronto for lunch with the Turners and Sheri. We were briefed on the wedding which is to take place in the Presbyterian Church in Belleville. After we left the Turners, we stopped at my sister, Muriel's, for a half hour. Then we drove to Alberton to visit my cousin May Donaghue and her husband, David.
More about the Donaghues. He had been my science and math teacher at Melfort High School where he met my cousin May, who was a student. He was about 20 years older than she. But it was a good marriage. He left teaching and entered the ministry with the Presbyterian Church. When we called in, only David, 72 years of age and retired, was at home. May and her mother, my Aunt Lizzie, soon returned from shopping and insisted that we stay for early supper. We were still able to go to evening church when we got back to London.
A week ago we were occupied with the Paardeberg Ball held in the Sports Complex by the Royal Canadian Regiment. It celebrated the Battle of Paardeberg in the South African War, which is an RCR Battle Honour. Marg and I were hosts to the Lieutenant Governor and his wife at our quarter. We met their train at 6 p.m., brought them to the quarter and had tea. They changed and we had other guests in for drinks. Then we went to the RCR Mess for dinner. After that there was a receiving line in the Ball Room in the Sports Complex, followed by a grand march. We danced a full evening, had late supper with champagne, danced more and then moved the official party to our quarter so that the other dancers could kick up their heels for the last hour. It was superbly organized with military precision and so colourful with the officers in red jackets, and the ladies in their lovely gowns. The MacKays were the most pleasant house guests. We escorted them to the train at noon the next day. The Lt. Governor was a highly decorated Lieut. Colonel in WWI. He and his wife enjoyed military functions.
FNL#6, Sun. 22 Mar. - We are having a quiet Sunday, actually Palm Sunday, after church this morning. I also had to spend some time with the COs of all the Militia units in the area. The conference is being held in Wolseley Barracks. We were hard at it all day yesterday, and it was followed by a late Mess Dinner. I am feeling like a quiet time today.
We spoke to Barbara on the phone to arrange about meeting her at the railway station in Belleville on Friday, and then to go to a hotel. There is to be a rehearsal for Gerry and Sheri's wedding at 5:30 p.m. and there will be a reception at the Deacons', friends of the Turners, that evening. The wedding was at 4 p.m. in the church on Saturday, 28 March, followed by another reception and dinner. All went well. Gerry and Sheri had planned a wedding trip to Lake Placid, and we arranged a car for them.
We drove Barbara back to Ottawa and saw our house and the tenants. There was some worry about the possibility of flooding of the Thames at London, which might have necessitated my return to London to direct Army assistance but, fortunately, that did not happen.
A week ago, on the weekend, the GOC went with me to Windsor to attend a Mess Dinner with the Essex and Kent Scottish Regt. on Friday evening. We visited our rifle range at Cedar Springs and then attended another Mess Dinner on Saturday evening with the COTC of UWO in London. We are into the spring function season.
My staff officers and I have been preparing a presentation of the "Nuclear Battlefield" for some time. We put it on for the Militia yesterday, 21 March. We will put it on again for the United Services Institute next Wednesday. I don't entirely agree, from my experience in battle, that a field army can sustain the kind of effort our policy is proposing against nuclear weapons on the field of battle. It is quite horrifying. But our policy thinking must start somewhere. The latest evidence of the horror has appeared in MacLean's Magazine in January 1994. It had the story of Canadian soldiers who were part of an American experiment with a nuclear explosion in close proximity to dug in and monitored infantry. Over thirty years later some of these soldiers were claiming damages against the government of ill effects from their nuclear experience.
Spring has been coming to London. The weather has been fine and sunny these last few days. Although it does not get very cold here, for example one has no need for a car block heater, it has been stormy. The snow has gone, but only 50 miles north of here it lies several feet deep. We are south of the "snow belt."
Grandmother Smith is leaving on 5 April for Spalding to spend the summer there. She may go on to the West Coast. It will be good for her. She seldom wants to go outside here. Margaret and I plan to take a months leave in September before she returns. Gerry is preparing for exams after Easter. You may have noticed that we have not been hearing from Garth. This is a concern.
I wrote an FNL in April, but my file copy had to go to a recipient.
FNL#8, 17 May - Margaret and I went to Windsor to do a cadet inspection. I visited two Militia units that evening and we did not get back to London until 4:00 a.m. Friday. Windsor is on slow time to keep even with Detroit. On Friday I addressed the Kiwanis Club at noon. It is interesting that, when I was invited to give a 15 or 20 minute talk to a service club at noon, I used to say that I represented the largest employment group in London which was the military. This is no longer true. The University of Western Ontario now has that distinction. In the evening we attended the closing events of the children's activities in the gymnasium. Last night, Saturday, we had our springtime party in the Mess. We had a number of guests in for cocktails and took four couples to the party. Today we had a dedication service for plaques donated by the different corps of the Garrison to our Protestant chapel. I read the lesson and we had a reception in the Mess afterward.
May is the month of cadet inspections, visits to the Militia units and field exercises. Of the latter we have had three battalion size exercises in ten days, each of two days duration. There are 60 cadet corps in the high schools of this area. The one I inspected in Windsor had 1,000 cadets on parade. Windsor is a very patriotic city. I don't inspect every Corps myself, but I do take on a half dozen each year.
One never seems to be finished with the Militia. It is a continual round of training visits and dinners, especially in the first year of one's command. I shall just have to say "no," or send an alternate, in many cases, in future. Lt. Col. Leighton of 4 RCR (Militia) paid me the compliment of saying that I gave TLC (Tender Loving Care) to the Militia. I must say that, because of my own lengthy Militia experience, I appreciated their problems. And they really responded. I made sure that they had good Honorary Colonels and good COs. The strength, certainly in numbers, of the Militia grew during my period of command.
We have an "Army Day" programme next weekend and hope for good weather. The next big event is the Garden Party on 19 June. Then there is the planning for the Royal Visit. Prince Phillip comes on 2 July to present Colours to the Royal Canadian Regiment. Then he returns with the Queen for her official visit to the city. We had the Commissioner's Party - Gen. Graham, former CGS, is the Commissioner - here last week to approve the details of our planning. We are also preparing for summer activities which includes the Central Command Cadet Camp at Ipperwash for senior cadets. Margaret and I move out to Camp Ipperwash for the 6 week duration of the camp. We will also have a Student Militia Battalion in Wolseley Barracks training NCOs and others.
I had a most interesting tour of the Stratford Festival Theatre last week. It was conducted by Tom Patterson, the local man who inspired it, and the tour was for my special benefit. I was in Stratford that evening after a cadet inspection. What a building it is!
FNL#8, 17 May - Margaret and I will attend the official Opening Night at Stratford. We will also attend the performance of "As You Like It" put on for the Queen.
Margaret is very busy with blood bank activities. She has another two days this week when the team works in Wolseley Barracks.
We had Gerry and Sheri in for the weekend two weeks ago. They have bought a car. Gerry had a weeks leave in Colborne with Sheri and then he left by car for Calgary and his Regiment, the Queen's Own Rifles of Canada. We were glad to have them visit here. They are very happy. Sheri has her term to finish. They will not be together until August because of the Wainwright concentration which involves the QOR of C.
Barbara phoned to congratulate me on my birthday (51st). She wanted to know if I felt older. I was able to assure her that I felt younger, if anything. We have heard from Grandmothers Clift and Smith. Both are well.
FNL#9, Sun. 31 May - This weekend has been Convocation Weekend at UWO. Margaret and I went yesterday afternoon. With good weather they have been able to hold it out of doors. Among others, John Diefenbaker and His Honour Lt. Col. MacKay, the Lt. Governor, received honourary degrees. There were 905 graduates. After the Convocation we were invited to a reception at the country home of the Chairman of the Board of Governors, Col. Douglas Weldon, in Arva. We met the MacKays again and Mr. Diefenbaker. He had moved from Grey County to Prince Albert. He was very interested to hear that my mother had done the same as a child. Colonel Diefenbaker also happens to be the Honorary Colonel of the North Saskatchewan Regiment which also includes The Saskatoon Light Infantry (MG).
I attended a Colour Party ceremony at church this morning.
Last weekend we were occupied with the Wolseley Tattoo. This is something I started this year for the first time. We were rained out on Saturday, so we postponed it until Sunday, the next day, and had a wonderful day! We had ten thousand people to see it and it was a first class show. The locals were loud in their praise. We had special guests into the Mess for tea afterward.
I omitted to mention that Dr. and Mrs. Turner were in London for Convocation. They had come to see the Director of Secondary Education for the Province receive an honorary degree. They came up to Apt. 4 on Friday evening with another couple.
The planning for the Royal Visit is taking quite a bit of my time. I have just finished writing a report of the Motorcade Committee which I chair.
We have finished cadet inspections for another year. We now have the militia doing attachment training with our regular units.
We are sending out invitations, about 700 so far, for our Annual Garden party. It will cost our Officers' Mess over $1,000. But we have been contributing to it for the whole of the year. This event helps to make our officers part of the social fabric of London. The Garden Party is for 19 June at 4 p.m. under the walnuts in front of Wolseley Hall.
Margaret has been returning calls of those who have called on her. So far she has returned 50 calls around the city! She really knows her way round now. And this quite an effort on her part.
We have heard from Gerry. He has command of a platoon in his regiment. They are awaiting the GOC's final parade and getting ready for Wainwright in July.
We have Colonel Fraser Rowland coming in to stay with us tomorrow night.
It looks as if we will have a place to stay in Ipperwash Camp, in the CO's quarters, which he is leaving furnished. We move there 4 July.
FNL#10,Sun. 14 June - Mercifully it has turned much cooler this week end, very pleasant compared with the very high humidity the whole of last week. Margaret and I were out to church this morning. After lunch we toured Story Book Gardens and Springbank Park in springtime. There were thousands of people out having picnics and touring the gardens.
Marg and I were to Detroit on Thursday to attend the Queen's Garden Party put on by the British Consul General, Sir James and Lady Easton. It rained and we were driven inside. We begged off a party that friends wanted us to go to after the Garden Party. Instead we stopped at the Elmwood Casino in Windsor, had dinner and saw the floor show. We had gone to Detroit by way of Sarnia where I had some business about an armoury.
We had our spring "Dining Out and Dining In" Mess Dinner on Friday evening for changes, caused by postings, in our mess membership.
We have our annual Garden Party on Friday next. There will be well over 500 guests. The next big activity will be the visits on 2 and 3 July by Prince Philip the first day and the Queen and the Prince on the 3rd. After that we will be caught up with the Cadet Camp for six weeks.
I have been playing the odd game of golf. Margaret has finished her calling and has visited some 60 homes. This is good public relations.
Gerald has been caught up in farewell affairs for General and Mrs. Vokes. They are retiring from the army, "having reached age limit." I much enjoyed my service under Gen. Vokes - a really down to earth soldier!
I have done another talk, this time to the London Rotary Club. I am also having a discussion with the local Board of Education on the future of Army Cadets in London High Schools. A lost cause I sense.
FNL#11,Sat. 27 June - We are having another hot and humid spell after two weeks of very fine weather. Last evening Marg and I were out to a dinner and dance at our Mess. We are spending today getting things ready for our move to Camp Ipperwash for the Cadet Camp next week end. We will live in Lt. Col. Klenavic's furnished quarter. He and the 1 RCR will be away at Petawawa on field training. Mrs. Klenavic will visit her mother for a month.
Last weekend over 600 guests attended our garden party. It was very colourful with a receiving line and a military band playing. We had a buffet and dance in the evening in the mess with 300 attending. The whole day was a great success. The weather was ideal too.
Last Wednesday we held our annual track and field meet which was successful, well attended and blessed with good weather.
I did my first studio appearance on TV at the local station last evening. I was interviewed about the Royal Tour next week. I am chairman of the parade committee.
On Tuesday Marg and I go to Stratford to see Othello.
FNL#7 July - On 2 July Prince Philip was here all afternoon to present Colours to the RCR. We had lunch in the RCR mess. There is an interesting story here. The RCR officers, at great cost, had laid carpeting for their anti-rooms and halls in the Mess, specially woven with the Royal cipher as the motif. I did not know about this until the carpet was finished. I didn't think it proper to be walking on the Royal cipher. But it was too late, and I was told that the senior officers of the RCR, in high places, had approved.. When Prince Philip entered the hall of the Mess it became obvious he had heard of the carpet. He began by doing a step dance around the motifs. He then said," I am trying to avoid stepping on my wife's hat." The ceremony for the presentation of new colours is an impressive one. The four one hundred men guards were made up of officers and soldiers from the three battalions of the Regiment. That evening the Royal couple attended a Royal performance of "As You Like It" at Stratford. Margaret and I attended also.
FNL#7 July 1959 - On July 3 the Royal couple came to London by their special train, from Stratford, to tour London for an hour. I was chairman of the Parade Committee. Margaret and I were presented to them. This was the third time we had shaken their hands. The first time was in London, England when we were at the IDC and the Queen had ascended the throne. As a matter of fact I was the first to greet the Queen when she stepped from the train, by wish of the Mayor. And I introduced the Mayor to her, who in turn introduced the other notables. The hour's tour of London went off without a hitch. Our committee congratulated each other on a faultless performance.
On 4 July Margaret and I went to Detroit to attend the closing ceremonies of Freedom Week, the annual event sponsored by the cities of Detroit and Windsor.
I went to Ipperwash on 5 July and Margaret moved in the next day. In spite of my having command of 1200 cadets and 500 staff, it was an exhilarating command operation with cadets of between 15 and 16 years. I should also say that the company commanders and officers were all high school teachers who took part in the cadet training at their schools. The officers were all very professional as leaders. They enjoyed this refreshing summer employment, under Army auspices, and they knew exactly how to lead their cadets under command. It was a happy experience for the cadets, who received a bonus of $100.00 for their summer.
There was, in the first week, what we referred to as "The homesick period" when the occasional cadet had trouble adjusting to the removal from his home. But, very few were affected. I introduced something new. I was able to procure dozens of folding assault boats which were used by the infantry during the last war in river crossings. We arranged an exercise which allowed all companies, in turn, to do a two day exercise up and down the "cut" from Lake Huron to the Ausable River, with a "sleep out" at the upper end. It was very popular and it gave training in watermanship.
FNL#12, 2 Aug. - Five weeks have gone by since the last FNL. I greeted the cadets coming in on 5 July. It was my responsibility to keep on top of the administration, inspect kitchens daily, tour the barracks weekly, watch training and exercise the direct responsibilities for such a large group. In addition, we had another battalion operation of boys somewhat more senior than the cadets, which we called the "student militia," in Wolseley Barracks, who were occupying the barracks of another RCR battalion who were doing field training at Camp Petawawa. There was also a senior instructors' course in Wolseley Barracks for high school teachers, who were qualifying to be cadet officers. I also had the responsibility to run my Area. This meant that I must go into London, 42 miles away, once a week, or have the staff bring problems out to me at Ipperwash, so as to keep the "paper flowing."
The camp was on 2500 acres on the shore of Lake Huron, 40 miles north of Sarnia. The area was taken from Indians at the beginning of WWII, in the early forties, to set up an advanced training centre for infantry. At that time the Government paid the Indian Band $50,000.00. Later, in 1982,
the Government made an ex gratia payment to the Kettle Creek Band, which included the Stoney Creek Band, of$2,400,000, which should have settled the Indian claim for all time. However, now more than 50 years later the Stoney Point Band, or their descendants, are claiming that they never received the payment of 1982, even though they had moved in with the Kettle Creek Band. Obviously, the whole thing has been badly handled by the Government, and the members of the Stoney Creek Band have moved in to possess the land forcibly. It is too bad that this excellent facility with its good buildings, ranges, and training areas is being lost.. We seem to be a long way from settling many other problems with the native peoples.
FNL#13, Tues. 25 Aug - This has been a busy and hot month. We are now in our 15th day of continuous hot and humid weather with the temperature above 80F each day, but on most days being over 90F at noon. As they say, "It isn't so much the heat as the humidity, " which has been over 80% most days. I moved into London late yesterday evening after a windup Monday at the Camp. We had our closing exercises at Ipperwash on Saturday. The Lieutenant Governor and General Sparling and their ladies came for it.
Lieut. Governor's Day started very hot and humid. We finished the parade square portion of our ceremony. The Lieut. Governor took the salute on the march past of the cadet battalion, played by our own cadet band. He presented his medal to the best cadet. Then we moved over to the Sports Field for the other activities. When two of the events had been completed, I thought it best to have His Honour give his speech before the rains came. We had accomplished this and started another event when we had a downpour and all ran for cover. It rained intermittently every few minutes after that. Unfortunately, the buffet and the buffet lunch had already started forming up in the orchard. We had to move it all into the Officers' Mess after some delay and carry on from there. His Honour and Mrs. MacKay, the Sparlings and ourselves held a receiving line. We then had food and completed the prize-giving in the Drill Hall. After a visit to the Sergeants' Mess, the Vice-Regal couple and the Sparlings left. They had quite a day since they had to start driving from Toronto at 6 a.m. to get to Ipperwash by 0945 hrs.
Our cadets did splendidly and I was proud of them and told them so. It was just unfortunate that we could not control the weather. That wound up my first cadet camp. It was an interesting summer and passed very quickly. Margaret came to the camp after we moved from the Klenavic House, each week-end. We would stay at a nearby motel
On the following Wednesday we had another closing ceremony of the Student Militia Battalion in Wolseley Barracks. Then there was the final boxing night for the same unit the following evening.
We have been planning our trip around the Maritimes and the Eastern United States, which starts next weekend.
As to our activities in general this summer, Margaret has been doing a lot of swimming in Lake
Huron. So have I. I have also golfed at the Oakwood course once a week. Aside from that I have been practising on the rifle range, and generally getting back to troops. If one takes the latter seriously, it means very full days.
It is quite extraordinary the problems that 1200 cadets can produce even after they have gotten safely over the "homesick period." We had quite a legal battle over our riparian rights to the beach at the Western side of our property on Lake Huron. The Dept. of National Defence own over a mile and a half of beach, which is considered one of the finest in the country. Camping has become very much the thing to do lately, and large numbers were squatting on our beach where there were no facilities. You can imagine the result. I finally had to use my powers under the Defence of Canada regulations to make a show of force for eviction. We then had to erect lots of signs. We won, without any interference from above. And no one questioned our rights at that time.
Gerry and Sheri have an apartment and are well settled. Gerry has been doing rear party officer while the battalion was on leave as a group. Our friend, Colonel Tom Lawson, of the London firm of Lawson and Jones, was out in Calgary and called on Gerry and Sheri. Tom was at our closing exercises at Ipperwash and reported his visit to me. There are good reports from Melfort and Spalding. Barbara and three girl friends did a motor trip last week into the Laurentians and were camping. We haven't heard from Garth for some time, and I am trying to establish contact.
FNL#14, 6 Sept. - We are at Cavendish Beach, P.E.I. Our log shows we have traveled 1850 miles in a week. I should also note that this is our first full month of entitled leave since Jan. 1955, which is 4 ½ years ago. We drove to Ottawa 29 Aug., looked up Barbara and then checked into a motel. Then we were back with Barbara for a chat in her very pleasant flat on 4th Ave. The next morning we picked up Barbara. We visited 68 Craig St. Our tenants, the Tremblays, are a nice couple. They take care of the house but they are not gardeners. We visited our former neighbours and had drinks with the Wansboroughs. We had dinner at the Green Valley Restaurant, and then more visiting with the Smiths, the Annetts, the Reynolds and the Rowlands. We dropped Barbara at midnight at her own flat. The next morning we had business at the bank and City Hall. We then found Helen Clift at home. She is much better and Anna is working again. Edgar is slipping back in health. He is in Ste. Anne de Bellevue Hospital. It is doubtful if he will ever leave, except on accompanied outings.
Marg and I then drove to Hull, down No. 8 to Montebello and then to the Laurentians at Ste. Jovite. We turned off into Tremblant Park and finally put up at the Chalet des Chutes beside Lac Tremblant. It was next to a pretty waterfall. We stayed two nights. There was good French cuisine. There was a delightful holiday atmosphere, and the area was most scenic. What a relief it was to get away from the depressing heat and humidity of the last 18 days in SW Ontario! We swam, hiked and explored the whole time.
We packed up again, avoided Montreal by going through St. Jerome and then onto Highway 2 along the north bank of the St. Lawrence to Quebec City, crossed the river at Levis and then on to Montmagny where we spent the night at a very good hotel, a fine converted mansion. Montmagny was General Bernatchez' birth place. The Maitre D described him as,"A big shot who has his own car and driver when he visits Montmagny."
We started early the next morning to cover the 400 miles to the tip of the Gaspe Peninsula. It was a most interesting and thrilling drive along the River and Gulf. The road was quite a feat of engineering, and was good. Pretty little villages were at the mouths of every small river along the coast. There was a paint store in every village of any size, and people seemed to patronize them. Perhaps this is because of a fisherman's liking for paint. The basic occupations of the sea, the forest and the land seemed to be prosperous, and it showed in the villages and farmsteads. The other notable influence was the presence of huge Roman Catholic churches in every village. We should have liked to have taken more pictures, but it rained the whole way round the Gaspe.
The next day we set a gentler schedule through Cap Perce and along the Gaspe south shore to Matapedia and, thence, through Campbelltown and New Dalhousie in New Brunswick, where we found a pleasant motel by the bay shore for the night. The south shore was an anti-climax after the north shore. The road was in poor shape, and the people had not used much paint. New Brunswick, from Dalhousie to Bathurst, showed little evidence of the good life. Dependence here was on the forest and the sea. The scene improved when we reached the Shediac area. It was really lovely from there to Cape Tormentine where we crossed on the PEI ferry to Borden. And the weather turned fair again.
We then struck out for Cavendish Beach, near Summerside and Kensington. We picked a very good place to stay at the "Shining Waters" Lodge. Mrs. Andrews ran a good house. And could she cook! We were now in love with PEI and its gentle, friendly people, and its gently rolling countryside. It is so much like England. We decided to stay here for several days. We had a lot of loafing to do, and this seemed to be a good place to do it.
FNL#15, 15 Sept. - Monday, the 8th, was Labour Day. There was a golf tournament on at the Green Gables Club. We could see Green Gables House across the golf course from our motel. Marg and I chose to tour the fishing village of Tignish and the extreme NW end of the island. We circled Malpeque Bay, "the home of the best oysters in the world." We swam again at the Gulf of Cavendish Beach. The water was very comfortable. On Tuesday I was to get my 18 holes of golf and Margaret volunteered to walk around with me. However, she was absolved from this task when I picked up another lone golfer on the first tee. It was a beautiful course. The fairways were like the greens on most of the other courses I have played. We had a good round.
Wednesday we "upped stakes" and toured along the beaches, down to Charlottetown where we picked up forwarded mail. We saw the birthplace of Confederation and toured the town. It was then on to the SW corner of the Island. PEI looks like a large market garden. Its red soil was something new to us. There was an air of the quiet good life and prosperity everywhere.
We caught the Wood Island to Cariboo, NS ferry. It was a 2 hr. ride. We then drove through Pictou, New Glasgow, and Antigonish where we stopped for the night. St. Xavier University is here. The next day we drove to the Canso Causeway and crossed to Cape Breton Island. Then we drove through Inverness to the Normaway Inn which we had selected from a guide book. We had chosen well. We were half way up the Island and several miles off the Cabot Trail. Normaway was a large farm house which had been converted into a hotel; there were also four cabins. It had accommodation for 40. We arrived early last Thursday afternoon and we left Monday. If for no other reason, we had to move on to avoid putting on too much weight. The food was the best we had encountered so far. Normaway was also the most relaxing place we had encountered. We were surrounded by the high, wooded hills of the Cape Breton Highlands. These little valleys were truly delightful. They reminded me of the best of the Scottish glens. It is no wonder that the Scots have migrated here in such numbers. The Scottish Highland tradition was very strong.
We were in the famous Margaree Valley. We had never heard of it before, but this was only because we were not fishermen. The Margaree River is famous for its salmon and trout fishing. And, apparently, this has been quite something in the past. Most of those who come here are fishermen of long standing. By that we mean that they have been fishing for decades all over the continent. They are quite content to whip the stream for day after day in the hope that they will get one salmon. If that happens once in two weeks, the time has not been wasted. Apparently, it is quite an experience when it happens. Another guest talked of spending five hours playing a 12 pound salmon, before he landed it. Marg and I were encouraged to whip the pools, from the rocks and from the banks, but to no avail. We even bought some salmon flies. We got desperate and started stalking small brooks in hopes of catching trout. We found them willing but all small "throw backs". Anyway, we can say we have caught some fish. We have a long way to go in Nova Scotia yet, and who knows? We may yet catch a pan-sized fish. We hope to find streams which are not infested with myriads of fishermen - a dozen fishing in one pool is not uncommon. I should add that the real fishermen get into the stream with the fish, the ones they hope are there, in their waders and really work the stream for miles.
We have already voted this valley as a place to return to. It is most pleasant to relax in the open air. An affection for fishing helps. The weather has been perfect until today. It is really scenic in these lovely valleys where time seems to stand still. The local farmers don't seem to be bothered by the urge to succeed, and it is hard to imagine how they could be in more remote valleys; it's a real Shangri-La! We had quite a number of Cape Bretoners in the Army. They made good soldiers, as do most of those who come from rural backgrounds.
FNL#16 Tues. 22 Sept. - We are a little late with the FNL because I have been having too much golf. We have had 5 very pleasant days at Annapolis Royal. This is the site of the first permanent settlement in Canada, as the guide books say, the first north of the Gulf of Mexico. It is so pleasant here with an assist from the weather, and another assist from the lack of ferry accommodation. We have been very content.
We left Normaway in the Margaree Valley on Monday last week. The weather has been cold and wet. We drove around the Cabot Trail with rain every half hour. We found the Cabot Trail not quite as distinguished as it had been described. The roads were not good. The Cape Breton Highlands National Park at the far end was really only a rocky, hilly and swampy waste. We passed through Ingonish where it became pleasant again, and looked in at the Celtic Lodge, a manorial CPR venture. It was closing the next day. We kept on motoring along the Bras d'Or Lakes to Baddeck. It is simply lovely in this region! We put up for the night at the very picturesque and comfortable Inverary Inn. The next day we visited the Alexander Graham Bell Museum, which contains a very complete record of all his achievements. Bell owned a house near here and carried on most of his experiments with aviation. His assistants included Glen Curtiss and JAD McCurdy, both of whom later achieved fame. It was here that McCurdy flew the Dart. From Baddeck we travelled along the Bras d'Or Lakes to Sydney and then drove to old Fort Louisburg. There is a good museum there and some restoration has been done. Since then the complete restoration has been finished. We would like to see it again. From Louisburg we drove back to Sydney and then along the west side of the Bras d'Or Lake to the Canso Causeway and then to Antigonish on the mainland where we spent the night. The drive along the lakeshore and the seashore was something to remember!
The next day we planned to drive Highway 7 along the sea to Halifax. This took us, first, through the Lochaber Valley and then into the St. Mary's River Valley, which is famous for its salmon streams. The salmon season had closed. We then followed the seacoast into Dartmouth, and then into Halifax. It was early afternoon. So we continued on to St. Margaret's Bay. We stopped first at Peggy's Cove, a famous seacoast fishing village, for tea. We visited the studio of de Garthe, a local painter, who was preparing for an exhibition in Montreal. We bought two oils, one of the Bluenose and another of a dockside view of the Cove. We still have them. We then drove along the shore of St. Margaret's Bay, through Indian Harbour and the picturesque fishing villages. We were looking for accommodation, but had to drive back into Halifax to put up at rather second rate quarters. The next morning we picked up forwarded mail at HQ Eastern Command and started for the Annapolis Valley. Twenty miles out of Halifax we found Uniacke House. It was an experience. It was a fine, old, colonial home built in 1797 by a former attorney general of the province, and occupied continuously by his family until 1948 when the provincial government bought it complete with all its furnishings, including the family portraits and personal knick-knacks, from the survivors. Of all the historic houses we have seen on this continent which have attempted to recreate the past, this is the best example. In most cases, an empty house has been refurbished with contemporary pieces gathered from here and there. But Uniacke House is authentic to the smallest details. And it sits on 1500 acres of land and is in excellent condition. There are open fireplaces with iron cooking pots; the dresses of the women are on display. There is even the family carriage of the last century.
From Uniacke House we drove to Windsor, had lunch, and saw the restored house of Judge Haliburton of "Sam Slick" fame. This was a charming house, but not furnished to the standard of Uniacke House.
We stopped next at Grand Pre, the centre of the Land of Evangeline. The Acadians from here were transported by the British to as far away as Louisiana because they were deemed to be a threat to the Halifax colony.
FNL#16, 22 Sept. - We then drove to Kentville which is the beginning of the Annapolis Valley. It was a lovely drive among the orchards until we came to Annapolis Royal, where Fort Anne and the Habitation were located. We elected to stay at the Mountain Top Cabins at first. They had a private lake that was supposed to be stocked with trout. We stayed there two days and fished several times - well, you guessed it - we caught no fish. We found we could not reserve for the St. John ferry until Tuesday. So we moved to the Royal Anne Motel which was beside a nine-hole golf course. I played every day, including 27 holes on one day, and struck up an acquaintance with other golfers. We had explored Ste. Anne and the Habitation well in perfect weather. We caught the ferry for St. John, planned to call in at St. Andrews, cross into the US, and then return home through the northern row of states to Niagara.
FNL#17, 29Sept. - We arrived back safely at 6:15 p.m. on Tuesday. We had not expected to arrive back until tomorrow. But we had had enough of living out of suitcases, packing and unpacking the car. On the return journey there is always the urge to hurry along.
To pick up the thread of our travels, we left Ste. Anne and had a good crossing on the ferry, arrived in St. John at dark, but drove 70 miles to St. Andrews by 10:30 p.m. and found a good room in a hotel. We toured the local area next day. St. Andrews has a fine location on a land-locked bay, with many fine homes and, of course, the Algonquin Hotel with its own golf course. Margaret and I played 18 holes after lunch. We drove into St. Stephen for a lobster dinner that evening. We visited a lobster plant in St. Andrews the next morning and then crossed the border at Calais. The drive along the Maine coast was not too exciting until we arrived at Bar Harbour. This is a fantastic resort area. We took a room at the Wonderview Hotel. The property used to belong to Mary Roberts Rhineheart, the writer. Acadia National Park is here. The area is full of magnificent estates of summer residents, including the Rockefellers. Margaret and I tried for another round of golf, but were rained out after 12 holes. We then went shopping in the many fall sales.
Rather than stay the weekend we elected to start driving west on Saturday, with an early start, for 400 miles. This took us through Bangor on Highway 2, through the White Mountains in Maine and New Hampshire, which is an almost continuous mountain resort area for both winter and summer. Then we crossed into Vermont and the Green Mountains, an even more scenic area with resorts everywhere. We turned south at Burlington along the shores of Lake Champlain, around the lake and up the west side until we caught the road running west through the Adirondacks to Lake Placid. And we stopped at the first good place we could find for the night. Next day we explored the town and the lake area. This is a "tinselly" area with a most perfect setting around a lovely lake. There are two seasons, winter and summer. Lake Placid is the prestige resort town with the most extensive facilities of the huge Adirondacks Park. We drove for 150 miles just going through it. We are so used to seeing small resorts in Canada that it staggers one to see facilities on such a grand scale. Of course there is an enormous population contiguous to the area. We elected to drive slowly out of the park on Sunday afternoon so as to make time against the travelling quota for the next day. We stopped for the night just north of Utica, NY.
The next day we got onto the freeway at Utica and drove 190 miles to Buffalo and crossed the Peace Bridge at Fort Erie. It was a relief to return to Canada. The whole atmosphere seemed quieter and better ordered. Our records show that we drove 4724 miles in the 30 days we were away. We can understand why the Maritimers always want to go home. They live at a most pleasant pace. And they are so friendly and take such joy in their surroundings.
FNL#18, 12 Oct. - We are having a very pleasant Thanksgiving weekend with Barbara. She came from Ottawa by plane on Friday afternoon. I was in Windsor attending a dinner with the E&K Scots. I came home that night and arrived at 3 in the morning. Saturday, Margaret and Barbara went shopping while I caught up on my sleep. That afternoon we went to see an inter-university football game. Western beat Varsity. We had dinner in the Mess that evening. Sunday we went to church. We drove about the city that afternoon and had Thanksgiving dinner at home with my senior staff officer at the table with us. Lt. Col. Frank Wootten's wife was away helping to settle an uncle's estate. Frank and Barbara beat Margaret and me at four rubbers of bridge. We took Barbara to her plane on Monday.
I am back at the rounds again. Have caught up with events which took place during our leave. I did three visits to militia units last week and have two more to do this week. We have a busy fall ahead of us. Margaret has been catching up with her obligations also. She attended three teas last week. It is good to be back into the routine.
I have received some purchases from England, brought by an officer who returned recently. He brought Gerry's sword which I had made by Wilkinson's in Pall Mall, London. We have sent the sword to Gerry. It is our gift to him on joining his regiment. I had ordered another mess kit, an Atholl grey cloak for wear with No.1 and mess kit, and a blue serge lounge suit for informal wear. These items of clothing get a lot of use in the Area. One of the partners of my Saville Row tailors was here last spring and he had measured me. He did a first class job.
We had a letter from Gerry. He is a good correspondent. We also heard from Grandmother Clift. They now heat with natural gas, since the pipeline has been built to Melfort.
FNL#19, 25 Oct. - We had General Matthew Ridgeway from Pittsburgh here on Wednesday to address our United Services Institute. He arrived in time for lunch at the Mess. Then I toured him through the barracks and the university in the afternoon, and we had dinner with the Directors of the Institute in the evening. At the evening meeting, after dinner, he addressed an audience of over 400. I introduced him. He was a famous general and, somewhat in the American manner, he used to have a hand grenade attached to the front of his uniform when in action. He rather disappointed the audience because he read a very short speech, on a highly idealistic plane. I think people have begun to expect generals to be controversial like Generals Patton and MacArthur, or Montgomery. But we managed to have a good question period.
After General Ridgeway's visit I attended a two day conference at Oakville. I had to rush back on Friday to attend, with Margaret, the Navy's Trafalgar Ball. It was a very fine affair and was preceded by dinner at the London Hunt Club. Admiral Howe, retired, from Windsor, was the guest of honour. He danced every dance. I took off again for another conference of Militia Group Commanders at Oakville at 7 a.m. Saturday and returned by 1830 hrs. that evening. I slept both going and returning. It is the only way one can keep up with a busy schedule.
Visits to the Militia have taken me to Sarnia, Watford and Listowel the last two weeks. We have been to dinner twice last weekend, with the Elwoods , a lawyer, and the Somervilles. He was the great "Sandy" of golfing fame - the only Canadian ever to win the US Open.
We attended a London Symphony Concert with Brig. and Mrs. Dillon. Glen Gould was the guest performer. Mrs. Dillon asked us to dress up for the occasion. She suggested I should wear white tie and tails. When we had dinner at the Hotel London, Murray wore black tie. Mrs. Dillon was very apologetic. The only three at the concert in white tie were the conductor of the orchestra and, of all people, Glen Gould and myself. The evening was terrific. Glen seemed to put the orchestra on their mettle. And he kept his shoes on!
I was able to get two rounds of golf in last week. One was our Area Golf Tournament which has the motto "Everybody gets a prize" - this is much better than fishing! I won the prize for the hidden hole. Grandmother Smith came back to us a week ago. She is looking well. Gerry and Sheri have both written. Gerry has had an operation on his nose. He is taking a couple of courses by correspondence from Queen's. One of them is in German. The QOR of C are due to go to Germany on rotation. Aunt Gladys, my sister, had a growth removed and she is OK. Dr. and Mrs. Turner have bought a house in Brantford. So they are close by.
FNL#20, Sun. 8 Nov.- We are having a relatively quiet Sunday after a very busy week. We went to the Remembrance Day Service at church this morning. Dr. Thomas, our rector, is the best preacher I have ever heard in the Anglican Church. He was later called to New York. Regular soldiers were invited to attend in uniform and retired soldiers wore their medals. I read the lesson. Dr. Thomas preached a very good sermon. His theme was, "If you don't reinforce justice, we shall soon be justifying force." In the afternoon Marg and I went to the gym for badminton and a swim.
Last evening we were out to dinner with the Beatties, preceded by drinks, and dinner at Campbells. Bob Goulet, the singer, performed.
I continue busy on my rounds of inspection. I have visited and inspected three large regular units. and have three more to do. I have visited Walkerton, Wingham, Windsor and Kitchener on militia visits. Margaret went with me to Windsor. It was a change of command ceremony in the Windsor Regiment and it was well done. We got back to London at 2:30 a.m. I also attended a mess dinner with the Gunners in London.
Last weekend I went trap shooting on Saturday morning.
We had a house guest last Monday, Major General Kendrow of the British Army, who spent a day and a night. We took him to a big cocktail party given by Col. Gordon Thompson, of Supertest Corporation, in the Sunningdale Golf Club. I met and talked with Donald Gordon, President of CNR, at a reception in the London Club.
Our London Little Theatre put on its first production of the season last Wednesday. They did "The King and I." It was beautifully done. They have already played to ten sell-out performances. The local director, Peter Dearing, is a real pro. We have become quite friendly with Peter and Robin, his wife. The theatre had been completely refurbished some time ago. It is a real credit to the city. We kept our membership until 1994.
We had our annual fall dinner of the Vimy Branch of the Canadian Legion on Friday evening at the London Hotel, with our volunteer orchestra. Major General Harry Letson came from Ottawa as guest speaker. He added to the hilarity. It was pleasant to lunch with him and, later, at dinner. And, then again, with Brig. Murray Dillon, to have a midnight chat in his hotel room.
Margaret is busier on more good deeds. She is now working in one of our Bishop Cronyn church organizations and has "been caught" for committee work with the London Symphony. Our church had quite an affair last week. This was a supper attended by almost 600. It was the occasion for presenting the financial statements and the plans for next year's activities. I am now a member of the Board of Management.
We are having a great hassle in the papers these days on civil defence. In the meantime the Army is trying to get on with its special responsibilities. The trouble is that many people think the Services can do it all. It is a difficult public relations problem, and the Civil Defence Organization is caught in the middle. Almost 40 years later I recall how serious the threat was from Russian nuclear aggression. Bunkers were being built to ensure that governments could carry on. And private citizens were building safety bomb shelters in their basements.
Barbara is coming for Christmas. Gerry is recovering from his operation. And so is Gladys after her 2 hour operation. No report on Edgar.
FNL#21, Sun. 22 Nov. - I have had a week end long conference weekend, with my militia COs, chiefly on the subject of National Survival in the event of a nuclear attack (see my remarks earlier). This is a new concept which requires a considerable amount of adjustment in our training. It sets up new concepts, and this requires much missionary work, as does any new procedure. We were hard at it all day yesterday. Then we had a formal Mess Dinner in the evening. Then a long day of conferring today. All went well and I think we are making progress. Still, it is not easy. Let us suppose that a nuclear strike is made on London. In that event, London's immediate military resources would be destroyed or immobilized. Help would have to come from other centres. There would be the problem of getting it here.
I had been to Camp Borden last Monday afternoon. I spent all of Tuesday and Wednesday there at a conference and study session with the GOC and staff and other Area Commanders on this subject of nuclear survival. So, this weekend, I am presenting the results of our Camp Borden discussions to my Militia COs. Well, at least we are making a start at it. It is not an easy problem and we are dealing with entirely new concepts.
We had Brigadier Rothschild, the Director of the Regular Officer Training Programme, from Ottawa, as a house guest Thursday night.
Last week, on Sunday, Margaret and I went to Brantford to visit the Turners in their new home. We had lunch and a good visit and came home before dark. We have arranged that the Turners will have Christmas with us at London, and stay overnight. Barbara will be with us and Gerry and Sheri also.
The week before last was also busy. We had three evenings with the Militia out of town. Margaret went with me to the Change of Command ceremony of the Perth Regiment at Stratford on the 12th. I had two Regular Army formal inspections, out of town, at Hagersville and Ipperwash. And I had a conference with my Regular COs. I did a reconnaissance in the country for a Boy Scout camping ground. I am a member of the London Boy Scout Council.
Margaret has had her At Home. She also had a dinner party last week.
The Junior Chamber of Commerce staged their Annual Santa Claus parade yesterday. Over 100,000 lined the route.
We heard from Gerry. His nose has healed. He is working on his German studies ands also preparing for his Lieutenant to Captain exams.
We have Corporal Presniak, our batman, back on the job. He was away for three weeks in hospital. A piece of shrapnel from a war wound had developed a boil on his leg. He has this large piece of shrapnel as a souvenir of his war wound. My driver, Corporal Peacock, is away on a six-week course, and we miss his reliability and helpfulness. He is a great help in the shopping, and he has a good eye for a bargain. I have paper work to do.
FNL#22, Sun. 6 Dec. - Marg and I went to the DuMoulins for drinks last evening. We then went to the buffet at the Iroquois Club. After that we went to see the current Little Theatre production, "Bad Seed." The play was a somewhat grisly affair, but was well played.
Major General Bob Moncel, the Quarter Master General, was our house guest for three nights last week. I knew him very well; I was DDMT for 3 months when he was DMT in 1946. We had a dinner party for seven on Thursday evening. Then five other couples, besides us, came in after dinner for coffee and liqueurs. We had dined the QMG, whose responsibilities are related to supplies and accommodation, at the Mess the night before. So we gave him an intensive two day tour of his interests in my Area.
We had the Honorable Tommy Davis in for a drink along with the Elwoods. Mr. Davis was raised in Prince Albert, Sask. where my mother was brought up. He was Ambassador to Japan when I was in Korea. He lives in Victoria in retirement, but was here on business.
We also had the Judge Advocate General and his wife in that week. Ottawa senior officers must visit around to know what they are dealing with.
I have finished my inspections of regular units. The 2RCR were the last, and it took place in a mild blizzard. I have only two more visits to Militia units this month. Christmas is coming, followed by New Year's with its round of activities.
Margaret has been busy with her organizations. She looks as if she could do with a rest. However, she is into the Christmas cards. Barbara comes on 17 Dec. Gladys is back to work in Melfort. Grandmother Smith has her Xmas activities in hand.
This week, on Tuesday, Brigadier General SLA Marshall, former US Army, and his wife, will come to stay overnight with us. He is coming to address our United Services Institute. He is an authority on the US soldier and the battlefield. He is the military and foreign affairs commentator for the Detroit News. He has written a number of books. One of them is "Men Against Fire," another is "Pork Chop Hill." There has been a movie made from the last book. It is my job to introduce him. He should be interesting.
FNL#1, Sun. 31 Jan. 1960 - I have not written the FNL for eight weeks. I must have had writer's cramp, or I may have misplaced some copies.
In any event, we had a good Christmas at our home. Barbara came and Gerry and Sheri drove by car from Calgary and back without mishap. The Turners came from Brantford. It was a good Christmas! New Year's Day was a round of visits for most of the day.
Margaret and I were to Guelph to attend a Ball put on by the COTC, UNTD and URTF of the Agricultural College in the Armoury. We did not get back until 3 a.m. Then last night I had a dinner with the 56 Field Regiment at Brantford. We were inducting a new Honorary Colonel - Senator Ross MacDonald, the Liberal leader in the Senate. I had persuaded Senator MacDonald to take on this appointment. And he worked at it. Margaret went with me and dropped off at the Turners and had supper and the evening with them, while I did my thing at the Mess Dinner. I was able to get away at 11:30 p.m. and picked up Margaret for the return trip. This morning we went along to church and I was inducted as a member of the Advisory Board along with several others.
Last week we had a conference of Regular and Militia officers from the rank of major and up, along with a number of civilian officials to study our National Survival role. There were over 200 attending and the conference occupied all of Sunday.
The week before we had a Cadet Chief Instructors' Conference. About 50 attended and it occupied all of Saturday.
The next day, Sunday, I took off in my special aircraft to Timmins, Ont. I was then picked up by helicopter and flown into the winter training area of 2 R.C.R. near Kirkland Lake. I spent two days up there. I had one night in a tent and spent a day on snow shoes with the troops. I arrived home by train in my outdoor clothing, feeling like a sourdough. Fortunately the weather was not too cold - just above zero. The troops enjoy these rugged outdoor exercises.
Margaret and I tried to visit an A.Y. Jackson display of 90 of his paintings at the Art Gallery, but it was closed. I did meet Mr. Jackson at the London Club. A good experience. He is my favourite of the Group of Seven.
I have now been asked by the executive of the London Club to be a Special Member. This is a special mark of esteem and I accepted with pleasure. It is so handy to have a club just across the street.
We have notice that our tenant at 68 Craig St. has retired and will leave our house 28 Feb. Barbara will oversee. Gerry and Sheri drove back to Calgary, after a week with us at Xmas, in 2 ½ days. Fast travelling on good roads. Gerry is to take a recruit platoon through their basic training at 2QOR of C Depot in Calgary. Alice Hopkins hosted a Clift reunion in Melfort on 2 Jan. which Grandmother Clift and Gladys attended. As of 1996, there are now no male Clifts left in Melfort. The nearest are Alice Hopkin's two sons, my second cousins.
FNL#2, Sun. 14 Feb. - Margaret is due to attend a massed IODE service in Metropolitan United Church this evening. She has had flu and may have to cancel. We did not attend the Central Command Ball in Toronto a week ago last Friday because of Margaret's cold.
We were over to the Hunter's for a quiet evening. He is Major General Hunter, the retired Surgeon General. They have bought a home in Orchard Park. Ken Hunter intends to enjoy his retirement and is avoiding being involved, except in the London Hunt Club and Golf Course. On Friday I attended a regimental dinner at the 9th Signals Regiment, and I said a few words. After dinner we took Hon. Col. and Mrs. Blackburn to our Mess where there was a Valentine Dinner Dance. I had persuaded Walter Blackburn to assume the post of Honorary Colonel of the Signals Regiment. He agreed and he became a caring officer and took his duties seriously. We had another dinner of seafood at midnight. A bit much!
I have been attending an orientation course in Basic Survival and Light Rescue here in the Barracks. I am having all my HQ personnel take the course and thought I should set an example and take it myself. This focus has been caused by the ongoing concern with Russia. I am having trouble keeping up with my desk work and the odd evening at units. I went to Guelph to the field Regiment Mess Dinner. General Pearkes, Minister of National Defence, was a guest and spoke. I introduced him. I had known him when he commanded the 2nd Cdn. Inf. Bde. and, later, the 1st Cdn. Inf. Div. He was a good soldier, a Victoria Cross winner, and highly respected.
Muriel, my sister, has informed me that Harry has had an operation and is recovering well.
FNL#3, Sun. 28 Feb. - "The better the day the better the deed." I have been writing a speech I have to give three times next month on the subject of "The Army's role in National Survival." These talks are to be to Service Clubs. One has to very careful what one says and how one says it, without alarming people unduly.
We were out to dinner in a large party at the London Hunt Club hosted by Dr. and Mrs. Conron. He is the president of Middlesex College. The night before we attended the RCR. Paardeberg Ball in the gymnasium. A very successful affair! General and Mrs. Foulkes were guests of honour. He is Chairman of the Chiefs of Staff. He began his military career with the RCR. He was also my divisional commander in Normandy. The Foulkes came to London by special aircraft, stayed with us overnight and returned to Ottawa the next day. There were 350 couples at the Ball. It was the social event of the season. I had to go to Windsor the evening before for a formal inspection. A blizzard closed in and I had to return by train. I did not get back until 4 in the morning of the Ball.
The week before we had a mess dinner and entertained the city officials. I went to Guelph for a formal inspection. Margaret and I attended a dinner meeting of the Boy Scout Association.
I see that I did not tell you about our experience when we went to Brantford last month. The car stopped dead on the railway tracks just as we were coming into London. We could hear the train whistling around the bend. We were pushed off the level crossing by a car behind us. Then we discovered that our generator had given up. It had burned out for lack of oil. LESSON: Be sure the generator is oiled when the the car is greased.
FNL#4, Sun.13 Mar.- We are having what is regarded as cold weather in these parts, between zero and 25 above F. But it is sunny and bracing, a welcome relief from the storms of a few weeks ago. I should have been out skiing today. There is plenty of snow , but we had two couples in for lunch and it went on until 1530 hours. I had gone to church this morning. Margaret has another cold. I had almost continuous colds last winter, but have escaped so far this year. I put it down to regular exercise.
I had a couple of meetings yesterday. Margaret and I went to see the movie, "Carry on Teacher," which we enjoyed, early yesterday evening. Then we went over to the Mess to play bridge. I had good cards and won the men's high score prize. Margaret had bad cards and won the ladies' consolation prize.
Margaret has been very busy with a number of events: IODE meeting, monthly calling day, rummage sales, and so forth. We attended the "Pops Concert" of the London Symphony last week.
We have reserved our seats for the three opening nights of the Stratford Festival: Romeo and Juliet, King John and Midsummer Night's Dream. The Governor General is coming to Stratford for two nights. Stratford is also playing Gilbert and Sullivan in the summer.
I have been on the speaker's circuit lately. I did noon speeches at the Tilsonburg Lions Club and the St. Thomas Kiwanis Club on National Survival. I have also been doing Militia visits to Stratford, St. Mary's, Simcoe, St. Thomas and London. There never seems to be an end of the latter. It is all part of TLC (Tender Loving Care).
I have also had some more close negotiations with the London School Board on the subject of cadet corps in the London High Schools. We have been trying to settle an unsatisfactory situation for some time. It does seem important, when we are having all this concern about National Survival, that the Cadet Corps should remain as a useful organization.
Margaret and I attended a reception and dinner, hosted by the City, for Sir Saville and Lady Garner, the British Consul General in Detroit. Afterward we were at the opening of an exhibition of British painting of the 20th century. It was not an inspiring display. I suppose this is to be expected. As we use cameras more to record, we are certainly losing our ability to draw. The enthusiasts try to read all sorts of meaning into the most puerile efforts.
My Saville Row tailor, Mr. Robinson of Jones, Chalk and Dawson visited London, among other cities, the week before last. I ordered a lounge suit and a top coat. Since I have a bit over three years before retirement, I hope to have bought the last uniform, and can now concentrate on civilian clothes.
Barbara is wrestling with the national accounts as budget time approaches. She visits our empty house at 68 Craig St. regularly. They have had the heaviest snowfall in Ottawa for many years. Gerry is busy with his two university courses and promotion exams, as well as his normal regimental duties.
FNL#5, Sat. 2 April - Spring came to London last Monday. Margaret and I heard the Detroit Symphony play in the Grand Theatre that evening. It was a moving experience. We have since seen the Little Theatre put on "The Solid Gold Cadillac." It was a waste of an evening. It has very little merit as a play, and we have seen it done much better in Ottawa.
We had the GOC staying with us for two days while we had two conferences. We also had the Central Command Boxing Finals in our gymnasium. SW Ontario Area won very easily.
I went to Simcoe to talk to the Rotary Club last Monday. Next Monday I have another Rotary Club appointment in Windsor. I will also visit a unit and the university while I am there. Every evening this week has had a visit or a dinner. This is quite typical of most weeks in the spring.
Margaret is busy with her activities. The ladies are preparing a big rummage sale in aid of the London Symphony Orchestra. Grandmother Smith is leaving on Thursday to spend the spring and summer with her son and his family. We have heard from Barbs. This is the questioning time for Stats Canada to assemble figures on public accounts, employment, and other data. Barbs expects to be away at Easter in New York. Gerry is getting ready for promotion exams and has his nose to the grindstone.
Outdoor exercise is beginning. Golf courses are drying. We are erecting two tennis courts on the pavement behind our quarter.
Of course we are planning for the summer: cadet camps, militia camps, and other activities. We are having unit camps for the Militia again. This is very popular. However, we will be stretched to the limit to run them, what with the economic drive.
FNL#7, 5 June - We did not get a letter written last month. I was too busy and the copy of FNL No. 6 is missing. I am glad to have the hectic month of May behind me. For instance, I did 10 cadet inspections, all outside London. These were all very good corps. Margaret went with me to half of them. May is also the month when we finish off the sports finals. Then there are the dinners put on by the Regular and Militia units. It is also the month when visitors from Army HQ come to see how the troops are doing. Well, the above will give you some idea of May.
We have attended a Garden Party put on by Lt. Col. Douglas Weldon, Hon. Lt. Col. of the RCR., at his lovely farm home at Arva on Friday evening. After the Garden Party, the Beatties took us out for steaks. We attended Convocation at the University yesterday afternoon. We went to church this morning.
The last two weekends have been taken up with Detroit and Windsor. On the first weekend we attended the annual Commonwealth Day Service at St. Paul's Cathedral in Detroit. The Essex and Kent Scottish marched across by the tunnel to Detroit and then up Woodward Avenue to St. Paul's where Bishop Emrich of the Episcopal Diocese of Michigan was to take the service. There was an amusing incident here. The Governor of the State of Michigan arrived at the curbside. He was Mr. Williams of the soap making family. He was affectionately known as "Soapy." He was also a character. He stayed in his car at the curbside, obviously waiting for Bishop Emrich to come from the door of the cathedral, some 50 yards away, to greet him at curbside. Bishop Emrich stood his ground and later went inside. The Governor eventually entered the church.
The individual who was responsible for starting this pleasant ceremony between Detroit and Windsor was Colonel Berien Eaton of Grosse Pointe, Detroit. He was ex-US Army and was president of a firm which had factories in both US and Canada. He wore the OBE given by the sovereign for his services during WWII. The ladies of visiting officers were looked after by Mrs. Eaton at their home in Grosse Pointe. We continued to receive invitations after we retired from the service.
FNL#8, Sun.19 June - Margaret and I have just returned from Chatham,70 miles south, where we spent the weekend with Major (Dr.) and Mrs. George Cornell. He was the dental officer of the S Sask R during the whole my command. It was quite a weekend with two sessions of golf with friends of George, and we visited Colonel Hadley. George was good morale value to our unit, quite apart from his professional expertise. The weekend was such a pleasant break from my round of functions.
FNL#8, Sun. 19 June - The big event on Friday was the Garden Party. There was a heavy storm on Thursday evening, and it rained all Friday morning, but cleared at noon. We received from 4 to 6 p.m. There were between 500 and 600 guests who braved a somewhat chilly and cloudy afternoon. The punch was good, and everyone seemed to have a good time. We would have had closer to 1000 guests if the weather had been better. That evening we had over 300 in the Mess for buffet dinner. Bill and Helen Turner came from Brantford with Col. and Mrs. Brown of the Field Regiment RCA.
We have been attending other garden parties this last two weeks. The City gave a dinner for our Little Theatre which won the National Drama Festival competition in Vancouver. We attended the dinner.
On the work side we are getting the show on the road for our summer camps. I have chaired a study group on our summer training programmes. The barracks are strangely quiet this week. The two battalions, here and at Ipperwash, have gone to Petawawa for summer training. We have been doing a little gardening in the flower beds out front.
Good news from Barbara. She has been upgraded to an Economist II. To add to this she has a raise in pay. This is timely since she became the proud possessor of a Hillman car last Thursday. Barbs will drive to Ipperwash on 30 June. She is bringing two of her friends. We have also heard from Gerry. His depot platoon has graduated, and he is back with his unit. They were involved in regimental centennial celebrations. The QOR is one of the oldest Canadian infantry regiments. His unit goes to Wainwright Camp for field training soon.
FNL#9, Sun.18 Sept. - My busy schedule has kept me from writing the FNL for two months.
The Cadet Camp at Ipperwash was an even greater success than last year. The weather was not too hot and we had an interesting programme. We moved out there on 30 June. Margaret came along the next day to move into the Klenavic's house, which we occupied until 28 July. We had visitors every weekend. Muriel and Harry and the children came and stayed overnight. We had the Minister of Education of Ontario, John Robarts, come to act as inspecting officer.
We got back last night from attending a conference in Ottawa. It had all the GOCs and Area Commanders in for an intensive session on National Survival - 2 ½ days of it. I now feel saturated with the subject. We also had the opportunity to see friends whom we had not seen for years.
We had a dinner evening with the Smiths and another dinner evening at the Annetts. General Pearkes, Minister of National Defence, put on a reception for our group one evening, and there was a buffet dinner another evening. Margaret and I went to see an Argos vs Roughriders game on Wednesday evening. We also called on our tenants at 68 Craig St. The house is well cared for.
We left Ottawa at 1030 hrs. yesterday and arrived at Brantford before 6 p.m. We had dinner with the Turners and stayed until 2300 hrs. and then drove back to London. It was a good day to drive, but the landscape is very parched, with three weeks without rain. The Turners were in good heart, and Sheri and Janis were there. We were able to bring news to Sheri that she was booked on SS Homeric to sail with Gerry overseas on 5/6 Oct. I had sought the information in Army HQ. Today we have been unpacking, catching up, and writing this letter.
Margaret and I feel that we had a most relaxing short leave in the Muskoka before our trip to Ottawa. In fact, we went from the Muskoka directly to Ottawa. As to the leave, we left London on 31 August and drove up through Barrie and Orillia to Windermere House on Lake Joseph arriving by 1700 hrs. We stayed until the hotel closed for the season on 12 Sept. The weather was almost perfect for the whole period. We missed some very hot and humid weather in London.
Windermere is a large clapboard hotel in a lovely location overlooking the lake. It had the best 18 hole golf course of the area adjacent to it. I played 8 times - almost every morning. Then in the afternoon we explored the Muskoka, including the three lakes, Muskoka, Joseph and Rosseau. The meals were the best we have encountered for some time. There was lots to do - golf, tennis, boating, lawn bowling, shuffleboard, croquet, and a good library.. There were also movies. The time went all too quickly. We have voted Windermere as a place we should like to return to. I believe it suffered from a fire, some time after our visit.
My soldier's urge is to explore. We were all around the area., up to Parry Sound, Honey Harbour, Midland, Penetang, Port Carling, where we saw a performance of the Straw Hat Players, Bracebridge, Gravenhurst, and Huntsville. It is a lovely vacation area, and a very large one. On the way out we went through Huntsville and then through Algonquin Park, Renfrew and then to Ottawa. We arrived at Barbara's on Monday evening, so that I could attend the Army HQ Conference.
Our activities have been somewhat quickened since our return by the need to select and dispatch personnel to the Congo for peacekeeping. We are in a very mixed period of international relations. It should be very interesting to see how Kruschev and his henchmen conduct themselves at the UN Assembly meeting this week.
The London round bids fair to be a busy one as usual. It starts off with the Beaux Arts Ball on 28 Sept. I think I have allowed myself to be caught up into too many activities, and I think Margaret has also. Oh well, it won't last forever We are enjoying being at home and not too busy for the next two weeks. The autumn is lovely and open in this area.
Grandmother Smith should be returning to London soon. I have not mentioned that Gerry and Sheri had 30 days leave in August. They spent two weeks with us, and it was pleasant to have them. Barbs has been able to manage a week's holidays with us. She also comes down for the odd weekend with her car. We hope to see her at Thanksgiving.
FNL#10, Mon.10 Oct.- This has been a glorious Thanksgiving weekend with blue, sunny skies for three days and warm enough to think of going to the beach. Barbara and her room mate, Carol Houghton, drove from Ottawa on Friday evening and arrived an hour after midnight. They left today at noon and will have a lovely drive along Highway 7 with all the autumn colours. We had our Thanksgiving dinner last evening. Yesterday, the girls and I played three sets of tennis outside our back door.
Grandmother Smith came by air on Wednesday. We had my secretary, Miss Elizabeth Pegg, in for supper and took her to the Little Theatre. We left the show after 10 p.m. to meet the plane. Grandmother Smith looks very well after a very good summer.
Gerry and Sheri sailed from Quebec City on the Homeric on Wednesday last. They should be nearing Southhampton soon. They go on to dock at Rotterdam and thence by train to Hemer in Germany. They have a suite waiting for them in a German house. Gerry is on the advance party, so they will be settled in by the time the main body of the battalion arrives. Gerry passed his psychology with Queen's this summer, and now has his degree with an extra subject, German, which he will find useful in Europe. Apparently, they had good weather on the ocean and didn't miss a single meal.
My fall inspections have started. I was to Hagersville on Friday. I have 5 more regular units to do this fall. I start my Militia visits tomorrow evening also. I was up to Central Command HQ at Oakville last week and have to go there for two days this mid week. Margaret starts her At Homes next Thursday. She is having 100 in for tea toward the end of the month for IODE. What with Mess Dinners, football and other functions we will keep ourselves busy for the next two months.
Grandmother Clift and Gladys have been travelling to Humboldt and Waskesiu Park. Barbs and I catalogued our record collection last evening.
FNL #11, Sun. 23 Oct. - The dry sunny weather of the last two months has changed. A cold front moved in last week and we have chilly, cloudy and, sometimes, wet days.
It has been somewhat hectic lately: Mess dinner Thursday evening, Trafalgar Ball, with 300 couples, at HMCS Prevost on Friday. There was a formal inspection of 1RCR on Friday at Ipperwash, and a formal opening of an Officers' Mess in London on Saturday afternoon. Margaret has been attending some of these with me.
We attended an interesting ceremony for the dedication of a new hall for the Polish Combat Association. Margaret was somewhat taken aback to be greeted very formally at the door by the president who did a heel-kicking bow and then kissed her hand. The Poles are the epitome of continental manners and hospitality. There was a programme of music and ballet before the meal and then many made speeches, including myself. We were four hours at dinner which began at 1400 hours. It was all different and interesting. I had attended courses with Polish officers in England during the war. In the field the Polish Armoured Division had lots of verve.
Had my last game of golf for the year with the retired General Hunter at the Hunt Club. It rained and even snowed halfway through the game.
I attended a two day conference the week before last at Oakville - more National Survival! I had a change of command parade and there is to be another this week. I go out to at least one Militia unit each week from 1 Oct. on. I am half-way through my inspections of Regular Units.
We have a new Minister of National Defence, Douglas Harkness. He was a major with me when we commanded sub-units supporting 1 Cdn. Inf. Bde. in England in 1941 and 1942. He should be a good minister. General and Mrs. Pearkes have gone to Government House in Victoria. He won the Victoria Cross in WWI. I am sorry to see General Pearkes leave his official connection with the Services. He was a splendid soldier and a fine man. He commanded 2 Cdn. Inf. Bde.which included Sask LI (MG)) in Canada in 1939. Later he commanded 1 Cdn. Inf. Div. in England. I followed him many miles over the South Downs when he was doing his tours of our positions. He was a tremendous walker and really challenged those who were not in good condition.
FNL#12, Thurs. 10 Nov. - We were caught up in tasks last weekend and the FNL did not go to press. This coming weekend we have a two-day conference with Militia Commanders. Tomorrow has its Remembrance Day activities.
Margaret and I are going up near Clinton tomorrow afternoon, after the Cenotaph ceremony, to look at a farm, advertised with a "magnificent, modernized stone house." Since we retire in 2 ½ years, we must look around. We go out to dinner that evening also.
The US election was very interesting to watch as the results came in over TV. I won $5.00 on the election. I think Kennedy may bring a better approach to world leadership. The stock market seems to think so too.
We were caught up in functions connected with the Governor General's visit on 28 Oct. Margaret and I were presented at a civic reception. Then we rushed out of the back door of City Hall where my car was waiting, and went to a luncheon put on by the university. We went through the receiving line again because there was no escaping it. We had a chat with His Excellency. He is a very frail but most impressive man. We then attended the Convocation to see His Excellency receive his doctorate. We then went to a reception at the home of the President of the University, Dr. Edward Hall. He had become a supporter of military activities because of his own background. And he became a friend also.
The biggest and most practical news, lately, has been the pay increase. We did very well. But, after more income tax and extra pension contributions, the net effect is not great. We are sure Gerry and Sheri will have welcomed the boost.
We were at the Little Theatre last evening to see "Dark at the Top of the Stairs" by William Inge. It was a successful performance. We went to opening night of the London Symphony with the Dillons, after drinks and dinner at Hotel London. We had "black tie" right this time. They had a guest violinist from London, England, who was originally from Winnipeg.
I have been to Simcoe and Stratford on informal visits, and to Meaford on Georgian Bay to spend a day with 2RCR on field firing. I got soaking wet.
Margaret had a huge tea lately in aid of the IODE. She also had her At Home today.
Barbara is in New York this weekend. She was in Montreal two weeks ago. We have had a newsy letter from Sheri and Gerry. They were 6 days in an hotel before they moved into a well-equipped suite. They live on the outskirts of Balve (pop. 20,000). Gerry is 8 miles from barracks. They are looking for a car.
I have been out shooting and knocked down a big cock pheasant. I was given 6 Mallard ducks on Monday evening.
FNL#13, Sun. 27 Nov. - I have just come from doing my turn as sidesman at Bishop Cronyn Church which involved helping with the collection, and other duties. Margaret did not attend church. She was preparing for our house guests tomorrow. They are General Sir Horatio Murray and Lady Murray. He is the Commander of NATO Forces, Northern Europe. Gen. Murray was my divisional commander in Korea. I much enjoyed my tour with him.
This last week has been a busy one. I have been out four nights - to Sarnia, Guelph, Windsor and Stratford, with a side trip to Strathroy. This is our busy season. Margaret has been on the go, too, with a big bazaar at the church and various other activities.
We were at the Winter Fair at the Coliseum in Toronto, as guests of Judge and Mrs. Brickenden. We saw the horse show, which was tremendous entertainment, and included the best horsemanship, and jumping. we have ever seen. We attended a reception in the Directors' rooms afterward. We stayed overnight in Toronto and returned the next day.
Two of my activities have been taken up lately with conferences. We had the Militia in for Saturday and Sunday, the 12th and 13th. Then we had the Canadian Infantry Association here on the 18th and 19th. At the latter event we had Mr. Pierre Sevigny, the Associate Minister of Defence, here on the 18th and I looked after him. I have a couple of conferences to attend next month at Command HQ in Oakville. These conferences are necessary to keep our policy in line. But they are a bind!
We had a letter from Grandmother Smith. Saskatchewan is adopting the county system of government which we have here in Ontario. This will reduce 300 rural municipalities to 65 counties which should be a great improvement. We need to do away with our township governments in Ontario. Gerry and Sheri now have a Volkswagon for mobility.
FNL#14, Sun. 11 Dec. - I must report on the Murrays. General Murray was here as Colonel of the Cameronians, visiting their affiliated regiment, the Perth Regiment at Stratford.. I sent my car to pick them up. We had a Guard of Honour ready for the General when he entered the Barracks. Then we settled them in a suite in our quarter. We had tea and changed. I took the General over to the Mess for dinner with the Directors of the United Services Institute. This was followed by a meeting which the General addressed, and a reception with all the members afterward. Margaret had four ladies in for dinner with Lady Murray. We joined the ladies at 11 p.m. The next day we toured the General around the Barracks and lunched at our Mess. Marg took Lady Murray for a hairdo, and then took her to visit the Crippled Children's Hospital. They lunched downtown and visited the Grand Theatre Building.
In the afternoon we all went together to see the University and the Art Gallery. Then back for tea and a swim. We had 60 couples in for cocktails, and had dinner afterward, with 20 around the table. The Murrays were very good company and easy to entertain. We had a showing of coloured slides and movies of Korea after dinner. They left at 9 the next morning for Toronto and Ottawa. They had not much spare time in London, but the General wanted Lady Murray to see as much as possible.
A few words about the affiliated regimental system might be in order. The affiliations, especially in the infantry and armoured corps, are very important and useful. We have seen how it worked with the Cameronians and the Perth Regiment. In my own regimental experience, we first encountered the benefits when the Sask LI (MG) received Christmas greetings from Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth, as soon as we arrived in Britain in Dec. 1939. She was the Colonel of the King's Own Yorkshire Light Infantry, with which we were affiliated in the British Army. In early January, General Deedes, who was an Honorary Colonel of the KOYLI , came to see us officially. We met him with a regimental parade. In March of 1940, Queen Elizabeth came to Farnborough to spend a day with us. We received her on parade as a regiment. She inspected us and lunched with us in the Officers' Mess. Later, in 1941, she presented new colours to the Sask LI. Both she and King George were with us for lunch. What a boost these attentions gave us ! Our CO was expected to keep her informed of the doings of the Sask LI.
The South Saskatchewan Regiment had two affiliations - to the Warwickshire Regiment and the Border Regiment, because of reorganizations and amalgamations in the Canadian Militia. The closest of these two was with the Warwickshire Regiment because Field Marshall Montgomery was the Colonel of the Warwicks. He visited the S. Sask R. in Jan. 1942. He was then Lt. Gen. Montgomery and commanded SE Command. When the S. Sask. R. was involved in the Battle of Normandy, Gen. Montgomery was in command of the whole Allied operation in Normandy. Nevertheless, he contacted me on two occasions when he was briefing down to the Lieut. Colonel level. He spoke to me and asked me about the Regiment. Our affiliation with the Border Regiment was not as close because their depot was at Carlisle in the north of England, and we did not serve near Border Regiment units. When I attended the Imperial defence College, I made contact with both these Regiments.
London civic elections take place tomorrow. The present Mayor, Allen Johnston, is being opposed by Chief of Police Gordon Stronach, who used to play hockey against me in the "Big Four" League on the Spalding-Pleasantdale line of the CPR back in the "Thirsty Thirties" in Saskatchewan. He was then a constable with the RCMP stationed in Naicam. Lately he had been the Chief of Police of London Township (pop. 40,000) which has been annexed into London's new status of a city of 165,000. I can now say that Gordon Stronach won the election and became a good mayor of the city. We became close friends.
My last weekend was hectic. We attended a ball on Friday evening. I drove to Oakville for a conference Saturday, then by light plane back for a mess dinner on Saturday evening. Then, back to Oakville on Sunday afternoon, and then by plane to Petawawa for a three-day conference, and return by three plane hops: Petawawa to Bonnecherre, Bonnecherre to Toronto, Toronto to London, by military aircraft. I had two dining out nights on Thursday and Friday. Margaret and I went to two parties last evening. You can imagine that we enjoy our quiet day today.
Barbs wrote. She is working weekends on quarterly accounts. Gladys has had to install a block heater. So has Barbs. Gerry and Sheri wrote.
Margaret and I were in Brantford; after dropping Marg at the Turners, I visited units in Paris and Brantford. We had dinner with the Turners.
FNL#15, Mon. 26 Dec. - 'Tis the day after Christmas! We (Marg, Barbs and I) have made two calls. One was to a party at the Bawdens in our row. The other was to our Rector's where we met some others. Barbs had arrived about 7 on Friday evening. She drove 400 miles alone, but had good weather to do it. She will be with us until 2 Jan. We had a good Christmas. The only rift was Grandmother Smith's inability to be downstairs with us. She kept to her bed with an attack of rheumatism in her knees. She is having great difficulty getting around.
The Turners, with Janis and Meechie, the pet poodle, came on Saturday evening and brought a feeling of Christmas gathering into the house. Barbs and I went to church for the midnight service and communion. The next day we started rallying about 9 and had all gathered around the tree by 10. Margaret had selected a medium sized Scotch pine. It was most attractive and doesn't shed its needles too early. We also had lights around our front door. Our downstairs rooms looked quite festive. Santa was very good to all of us. Margaret had the festive table set in advance, and we had the traditional dinner, with champagne supplied by the Turners. We toasted absent family and had a jolly time. The Turners had to leave after dinner for a Turner reunion at Clarkson.
Of course, Christmas is the climax of a lot of activity. We had been attending house parties, official receptions, unit parties, and other functions. Margaret and Mrs. Wootton took a parcel of gifts to the Old Soldiers' Home last week. I went along to help serve their Christmas dinner. We had a decorating party at the Mess last week. The Officers were At Home to the Sergeants. We still have the New Years' Eve Ball at the Mess, and the visiting that takes place on New Years' Day. We are doing our visiting this year on Mon. 2 Jan. This will leave a day of rest between the Ball and the visiting rounds. We are going to Brantford next Sunday to dine with the Turners.
I went into hospital last Monday evening and was released the next day at noon. This is a new way to give aging senior officers their annual medical examinations. I got a clear bill of health again and am allowed to play strenuous games to exhaustion, providing I keep doing it regularly. Well, I am keeping up my badminton and have signed up with the London Ski Club. Barbs went with me to the slopes on Saturday so that I could get my first runs on the nursery slopes.
Margaret and I were to Guelph to attend the Artillery Ball there. It was a good evening. The Lieutenant Governor and Mrs. MacKay and General and Mrs. Sparling attended. We didn't get back home until 4:30 a.m. after a four-hour drive on bad roads. Our Little Theatre presented their fall extravaganza, "Carousel," which we saw on 14 Dec.
We heard from Grandmother Clift on 18 Dec. All well there. Gerry and Sheri wrote on 11 and 14 Dec. Germany looks like a fairyland. The Germans really decorate for Christmas. They are enjoying the sights.
FNL#1, Sun. 8 Jan. 1961 - We had a very fine New Years' Ball with the RCE with 105 couples attending. And we had the next day quietly with the Turners in Brantford.
Monday, 2 Jan. was visiting day among the Messes and Clubs. The weather was perfect and about 500 called at our Mess. I did seven other calls.
Quite a blizzard blowing today (8 Jan.). I was out on Wednesday afternoon when our Army Ski Club was having its first outing. About 20 were out and we had a good afternoon on the slopes. There are two rope tows. I am not a parallel skier yet. But it will come.
We got word last weekend that Lt. Col. Wootton, my AA and QMG and chief staff officer, is to be posted to Germany to take command of 8 New Brunswick Hussars on 8 Feb. Rather short notice. I shall be sorry to lose him. He is a very good officer. In his place, Lt. Col. Ross Preston, now here at No. 7 Ordnance Depot, will take over. Ross was with me in Personnel in Ottawa, and I am pleased with his appointment. We are having a goodbye party for the Woottons, and for Major Watson, our retiring Area Ordnance officer.
There is always change in the Service, and especially so in the 1960's. The rate of retirement increases as the wartime officers reach retirement age. I remarked to Gerry that this is good for promotion.
I was out in No. 1 uniform to view a very impressive ceremony in the Cathedral: the consecration of a second suffragan bishop for the Diocese of Huron. He is to be known as the Bishop of Georgian Bay. This was Canon Appleyard of Brantford. I knew Bishop Appleyard when he was a chaplain with the Royal Regiment in 4 Cdn. Inf. Bde. There were 16 bishops present for the ceremony. It was most impressive, and lasted 2 hours exactly, but it didn't seem that long.
I also attended, in uniform, the inaugural meeting of the new city council for our enlarged London (population now 163,000). My friend, Gordon Stronach, with whom I played hockey in the "Big Four" League (that's Western exaggeration for you - total population of the "Big Four" villages added together would be less than one thousand) is the new mayor. He had been RCMP and was, recently, Chief of Police for London Township, now annexed into the city of London. He won largely on the protest vote of the annexed, but he also had a good reputation and ran a good campaign. He and the new council will have quite a task with a city so much expanded. But I believe they will do well. This whole area is expanding in population. There will soon be 2 million in the 14 counties that make up my command.
I start on the road again in a week's time, visiting the Militia with many other activities. I used this weekend to get all the confidential reports on Regular officers written or reviewed.
Gerry wrote on 27 Dec. with news of their holiday activities. They plan a leave to the Balearic Islands at the end of January. Barbs phoned.
FNL#2, Sun. 22 Jan. - It is good to be back by the fireside after three days at Camp Petawawa on Exercise Coldspear, our winter training exercise for 2 RCR. The exercise coincided with the coldest spell of the winter. It went down below -30F, although the unit swore they were able to find a low spot where it registered - 40F one night. I didn't sleep out on the trail this time but spent the nights in camp. However, I put in the days and evenings on the trail and got my share of fresh air. I spent last night and this morning in the conferences which wind up an exercise like this. I was able to get the RCAF to send one of their VIP aircraft to fly me back to London late this afternoon. The battalion had 600 on the exercise. Most of them had colds. We have very good equipment in the Army. It never ceases to amaze how soldiers can carry on in such good humour under such rigorous conditions, and over some very rugged terrain.
This is a very busy month with formal inspections and informal visits to Militia units. I also have my rounds of visits to Regular units.
We heard from Gladys. She had a sliding accident with her car, but not too serious.
1961 seems to be getting off to a good, hope-filled start with the inauguration of US President Kennedy. There is an active and optimistic stock market, but lots of international tensions.
FNL#3, Sun. 5 Feb. - This has been a quiet day at home. I went to church this morning, and was among those installed in church offices for the year - in my case, the Advisory Council. Margaret is not well, an aftermath of her attendance with me at the Central Command Ball on Friday evening. We had a conference which lasted all day Friday. Margaret arrived late in the afternoon. We stayed with General and Mrs. Sparling. Our new Minister of National Defence and Mrs. Harkness were guests of honour for the Ball. They arrived for dinner at the Toronto Military Institute which was also attended by all the Brigadiers, both Regular and Militia, and their wives, from Central Command in Ontario.
It was a splendid dinner. We then went on to HMCS York where the building was magnificently decorated for the occasion. There were 300 couples, most of the males in colourful mess kit and uniforms, and the ladies in lovely gowns. The band of the RCR, in their scarlet uniforms, provided music for dancing. There was a sumptuous buffet at midnight, as if we needed another meal! We didn't get back to the Sparlings until very late, and not to bed until 4 in the morning.
There is a spate of formal inspections with the Militia now. I have been to three during the last two weeks, at Sarnia, Woodstock and London. Also, I went to Fergus to open a new battery armoury. Our Militia is thriving these days.
February brings a spate of dinners also. I was to a mess dinner last week. Last weekend Margaret went with me to a mixed mess dinner. And we were out to dinner and bridge a week ago last night. This is the pre-Lent rush. We have two more balls to attend this month.
It is a busy time office-wise. The paper flows down from above after the holiday season. And the problems are still flooding up from below. We must settle our plans for the summer. Still, it is good to be actively occupied.
FNL#4, Sun. 19 Feb. - Barbs drove in this weekend with her friend, Betty, in Betty's car at 1 a.m.on Saturday. Margaret and I had been to the Tri-Service Ball at the University on Friday evening and we left at 11:30 p.m. to meet our visitors. We spent the weekend at home with one foray out in the teeming rain to visit the Small Car Show. Barbs and Betty left at 1430 hrs. Sunday to return to Ottawa. I won back the cribbage championship which Barbs had won at Christmas. Barbs will return for Easter.
Our comings and goings during the last two weeks have been limited, by the local cold and flu epidemic, to those things which have to be done. I have been to Kitchener, Wallaceburg and Ipperwash on visits and inspections. The Mess had a seafood Dinner and Dance a week ago Friday. I went over for three hours while Margaret stayed in bed with hot drink and medication. January was a lovely, crisp month, but February has been dark and dismal.
General and Mrs. Sparling are away for two weeks in Jamaica. I am sitting in for the General in his absence. However, this has not been a very serious responsibility since there have been no "flaps."
FNL#5, Sun. 5 Mar. - March came in like a lamb this year. The snow has been gone for a week, and the temperature has risen into the 50s F.
On 27 Feb. Margaret went with me to Windsor for my last formal inspection of the winter. It was with the Essex and Kent Scottish. We had supper with the CO and his wife, did the inspection, and had a reception afterward. This meant a return home by 3 a.m. It was a good show!
Last week was the Paardeberg Ball with the RCR. General Foulkes, the Honorary Colonel of the Regiment, arrived on Thursday and I had the evening with him at the Institute of International Affairs, along with some reminiscing afterward. On Friday the Lieut. Governor and Mrs. MacKay and their aide arrived, were received by a guard of honour, and then came to us for tea. We changed, had some guests in for drinks, and then went over to the RCR Mess for dinner. And then on to the Ball. It was a great success with 350 couples. We left with the MacKays just before 2 a.m. The Ball went on until 4 a.m. We sat in our living room and chatted until 3 in the morning when the MacKays retired. They left the next morning after breakfast at 10:30 hrs.
The MacKays are such a nice couple. He is 72 years of age and going blind. He has a most impressive personality. He is a Shakespearean and Scottish scholar. He had an extraordinary military record in WWI. He goes out of his way to support military endeavours and is universally respected and loved.
Mrs. MacKay is much younger than he. She is a beautiful woman with a warm and outgoing personality. In fact, she radiates the same kind of charm as does Queen Mother Elizabeth and the present Queen, even to the "peaches and crea m" complexion. The MacKays have three boys; the older two are at boarding school in Scotland, and the youngest is at home. They are a remarkable couple. We are now on a Keiller and Kay, Margaret and Fred, basis with them. The Sparlings were also down for the Ball and were with us on Friday evening.
Margaret and I attended our annual Boy Scout Council Dinner meeting on Monday evening. Quite an affair! Because the hall at the lodge will only seat 250, the meeting was repeated two more evenings to full audiences. Scouting is very active in London - almost 5,000 scouts or cubs.
Tuesday evening we attended the Little Theatre production of "The Reluctant Debutante." The Little Theatre here is another extraordinary London institution. There are over eight thousand supporting members. In the 1960s it was semi-professional. Each play did nine performances. It owns the former Grand Old Opera House, which has since been refurbished and is the right size, provided London does not grow too big. The National Ballet starts a two week run in it next week. In the 1990s the Grand has gone completely professional.
We have applied for our First Night tickets at Stratford. This year we will only attend two First Nights.
The University is fostering the Cleveland Symphony and Rise Stevens in three performances next month and we will attend. We heard Rise Stevens in Florida in 1955.
We had our Area Boxing Tournament last Wednesday. We took guests to it and the gym was crowded.
I did visits to three units in Kitchener on Thursday evening. I arrived home at 3 a.m.
I went to the Sergeants' Mess for dinner on Friday. So it goes!
FNL#6, Sun. 19 Mar. - Margaret and I were out with the Pay Corps Assoc. last evening. We also had a conference of paymasters which I opened yesterday morning. On Thursday we attended our Mess St. Patrick's Day Party. We took along the Beatties and had a good evening. Our Mess committee had arranged all sorts of events and games.
The National Ballet finished their two week stand but didn't play to full houses. They over booked. We went on Monday evening for a mixed presentation of Chopin, Tchaikovsky and Schubert. It was very good.
The week before I had my fill of mess dinners - three in a row. The first was at Kitchener with the Scots Fusiliers and Col. Pierre Sevigny, Associate Minister of Defence. The next was at Guelph with II Field Regt. Col. Douglas Harkness spoke. The third was at Brantford with 56 Field Regt. where Gen. Sparling was guest speaker. Because of the seniority of all the guest speakers, I had to attend all three, and get well filled up on defence policy. Margaret went with me to Brantford, and she dropped off at the Turners for the evening.
I have been able to push my exercise more consistently with four separate sessions of badminton.
Margaret has been busy with another rummage sale for the Symphony Guild. She also in charge of setting the tables for an early breakfast at Bishop Cronyn Church. She had to be there at 0730 hrs. They have a modern kitchen in a new addition to the Church which cost $125,000. So they have some debt to retire. She has also been occupied with IODE, and the Officers Wives Auxiliary.
Barbara will be here for Easter. Gerry and Sheri are planning a weekend in Holland at tulip time.
We are getting a sales tax of 3% starting 1 Sept. It is too bad we have to resort to such a nuisance method of raising taxes, but I suppose we can't have the welfare state without paying for it.
Mavor Moore has sent us invitations to attend the opening night of "Spring Thaw" at the
Grand Theatre tomorrow evening. We are going to the Latin Quarter Restaurant after the performance.
FNL#7, 2 April - On Thursday evening we had the London Badminton Finals in our gym. I presented trophies. We were out to church this morning and took communion. Barbs took enough days at Easter to make it worthwhile. She is sewing clothes and brought her sewing machine. We keep up our cribbage rivalry.
Our big news is that I have received my posting instructions for a year's tour of peace-keeping in Indo-China, starting next September. I had asked for this tour as a finale to my Army service, because it is an adventure in another part of the world, and I can share it with my family at the end of my tour. The sharing goes further than that. I have promised Margaret that we will make it into a round the world tour for her. I am due to report in Saigon, South Vietnam on 20 Sept., going out by Vancouver, through Tokyo and Hong Kong to Saigon. I propose to return the other way at the end of my tour through India, Suez, England with a stopover in Germany to visit Gerry and Sheri. This will be my last posting since I have enough accumulated leave after Indo-China to complete my service to age 55 on 17 May 1963. This will be a good way to end my service on an active note. I shall be Senior Canadian Military Officer in our three-nation truce commission in that part of the world. I shall also be alternate delegate to our Canadian Ambassador on the Commission.
I am looking forward to the posting as being different and exciting. This was a very early attempt at peace-keeping. The ICSC (International Commission for Supervision and Control) was set up in 1954 by agreement between Britain, led by Anthony Eden, and Russia. They were the supervising powers. It was NOT a United Nations effort, even though Britain and Russia were members of the UN Security Council. When I was Senior Canadian Commander in Korea in 1954, I was asked to send 12 officers quickly to Saigon to get the operation started for Canada. I found 12 good officers who welcomed the challenge. Later, when I was DGAP, I selected officers for postings to the Commission. So I had a built-in interest.
Although we have much enjoyed our stay in London, and I had asked for it, three years of baskets of problems one encounters in a busy area was enough. Margaret and I have not spared ourselves during that time. It should be apparent that we are already looking forward to retirement in this very pleasant part of Canada.
Margaret will move to Ottawa to occupy our house there, and we will move at the end of August after we have wound up the Cadet Camp. I should say that General Clark, the CGS, was kind enough to suggest that I could stay another year at London, and then go to Indo-China. This was supported by General Sparling. From my own experience in Personnel I knew that I should only be blocking someone's promotion by staying a year beyond my retirement date. In any event I was ready to try something else, and then to organize ourselves in retirement.
Margaret likes the idea of returning to our house at 68 Craig St. For our retirement plans it is a good thing to have ourselves based in Ottawa. We can then claim a move to any part of Canada, and can dispose of the house more easily if we are occupying it. We don't know yet what we will be doing. I have already had an offer in London from the University. Before we commit ourselves it would be better to look around a bit.
I went to Hagersville, Ipperwash and Oakville. I was up at 0530 hrs. on Thursday and did not finish until midnight. The weekend before we were going steadily all of the weekend; the barracks had three separate groups of officers in on different exercises.
FNL#8, Sun. 23 April - Another active weekend. Margaret and I had attended a 27 COD (Cdn. Ordnance Depot) party in the Mess, and then stayed for dinner. The dining room was full. Last evening I was to dinner with the Elgin Regiment in St. Thomas for their annual dinner on St. George's Day. It was a big affair. General Worthington was there to address the Regiment. We had the General in the Barracks yesterday. I had served under him in Vancouver. He recommended my application to join the Regular Army in 1946. We toured the Barracks, had lunch, and I then took him on tours of the installations and Militia facilities in London. Gen. Worthington was a legendary figure in the pre-war Army. He formed and commanded the 5th Cdn. Armoured Division, but did not take it overseas. He ended his service as GOC Pacific Command in Vancouver. I was fortunate to serve under him when I commanded the Sortation Unit in Nanaimo, and then No. XI District Depot in Vancouver. When I was DGAP in Ottawa in 1955-58, he used to drop in to see me and, occasionally, to lunch with me. His son, Peter, was an officer with the PPCLI but left the Army to become a well-known journalist.
Margaret and I were out with the Navy to their Spring Ball on Friday evening. We went with the MacLachlans for supper, then to the reception, and finally to the Ball. It was a full evening and a pleasant one. The night before I had attended our own Mess Dinner to dine out the members who are retiring from the Service this year. It was not an early evening.
April is the month for mess dinners. I had two change-of-command ceremonies also. One was in Guelph. Lt. Col. Fred Metcalf was retiring. He was in communications and became publisher of Maclean's Magazine. The other was in London. Margaret went with me to both.
A week ago we had Brigadier Bill Anderson, who commands RMC, in for overnight. He was in London for the annual RMC Dinner. I had three uniform occasions to attend on Saturday.
Margaret and I attended the production of "Mary Stuart" by the Little Theatre. It was well done.
We have our share of conferences these days in preparation for the summer training programme.
Margaret is busy with her part in the Symphony Rummage Sale. This is an almost daily effort until it comes off two weeks hence. She had also been busy returning hospitality. Margaret went to Hamilton with five others last week to attend, for one day, the provincial conference of the IODE.
Very important news from Melfort. Grandmother Clift had gone into hospital in Saskatoon for an operation. It was very successful and she went home on the 15th.
We had a long letter from Gerry as of 12 April. He had returned from the spring training jaunts. They had been to Putlos Camp on the Baltic Sea opposite Denmark for range practice and field firing. Then they had spent time at Haltau Camp, 50 miles away from their home base, for range practices. He reports absolutely lousy weather - cold with rain and snow. They got thoroughly wet a number of times but, of course, this is all part of field training. He and Sheri were away over Easter. Gerry reports that he has been appointed to be the Intelligence Officer. This is a unit staff job, and a very important one in a unit which is serving abroad and has operational responsibilities. We congratulate him on this important appointment. It could well mean the beginning of an inclination toward the staff. In peace time an officer must train himself as broadly as possible.
We heard from Barbs as of 9 April. The house, which contains her apartment, is up for sale. This should make it easier for her to move to 68 Craig St. next September.
Grandmother Smith, in her 90th year, left from Windsor on 11 April for Saskatoon and Spalding. We drove her to Windsor Airport.
Since news of my posting has become public, there have been many observations on our leaving. It is pleasant to see so many people genuinely sorry to see us leave. We threaten to return. No word yet of my successor.
FNL#9, Sun. 7 May - This is a lovely spring day after the storm yesterday. The chestnut tree out in front has decided it is safe to put out its leaves, and they have burst their buds today. It has become very warm and we have all the windows and doors open.
Maj. Gen. Bob Moncel , with another officer, was forced down during the storm yesterday, just before noon, at London Airport. They picked up an American private pilot, who was also forced down , and the three of them came into the barracks for lunch. We had them for tea and then for dinner. We took them to the Little Theatre to see the play, "The Heiress." They had breakfast at 0730 this morning and then took off on their separate ways. General Moncel stayed with us overnight, and we arranged to put up the other two for the night. We were quite taken up with our unexpected guests. Bob Moncel has always been a friend of mine. I was his deputy for three months when he was Director of Military Training, in 1947, in Ottawa. The American was the president of the Sinclair Glass Company of Chicago who flies about in his private plane on his selling missions. A very pleasant man. Bob Moncel qualified as a pilot last year and was flying a L19L four-seater Army aircraft out to Calgary on a tour of inspection. He is now Quartermaster General (QMG) in Ottawa. He is flying because the Army is procuring 26 aircraft this year and his trip was part of the General's effort to become air conscious.
Last weekend we had the University Spring Festival. They brought in the Cleveland Symphony Orchestra, Rise Stevens and a pianist by the name of Leon Fleischer. There were three concerts, Saturday evening, Sunday afternoon and Sunday evening in the University gym. We attended all three. On Saturday evening we were at cocktails and then a dinner in the Great Hall of the University before the concert. The US Ambassador, Mr. Marchant, came from Ottawa for the event. We really enjoyed the series, a bargain at $30.00 per ticket for all the concerts. The artists were in good form and there were good crowds out for all performances. The Symphony was especially good on Sunday evening with a Beethoven programme. The Cleveland is one of the best orchestras on the continent.
We played Exercise Tocsin 1961 on Friday. We sounded as many sirens as we had installed. It was an all-day affair designed to alert people to our national survival warnings against nuclear attacks. The Army controlled the sirens wherever we had troops.
We are into the annual cadet inspections this month. I was up to one in Kitchener, but it was rained out. It had to be held inside with partial participation. I have two more to do this week at Guelph and Kingsville. Margaret completed her rummage activities with the Symphony Orchestra last week after several weeks of preparation. They cleared almost $6,000.
We received notice of my successor last week. He is to be Colonel K. McKibben, now chief administrative officer with the brigade in Germany. He will be promoted to Brigadier on 1 Sept. when he takes over. I have written to him to discover his dates for return to Canada.
Gerry wrote as of 25 April. They had been to musical evenings in Essen and had been active socially. The 101st Anniversary of his Regiment has prompted some activity. Barbs has been to Toronto to visit friends.
We are wrapping up our winter season at the Mess with our Spring Ball next weekend.
I have my first French record from the Globe & Mail and have ordered the other three. This is to sharpen my ear for French which is the lingua franca in Saigon.
FNL#10, Mon. May 22 - I had my 53rd anniversary last week. I feel twenty years younger and intend to keep up my activities, physical as well as mental. This the doctors agree with, providing the activity is continuous or, should I say, daily.
This Victoria day holiday, Barbs came on Friday and left at noon today. It was pleasant to have her here. We three went driving Saturday afternoon to Port Stanley on Lake Erie, had tea at the Hillcrest Inn, then to Port Bruce and back to London via Aylmer. It was so pleasant with the trees bursting to full leaf and everything so green after the recent rains. We dined in state round our own table. Barbs and I had a session of tennis, behind our quarter, before dinner. Then, after dinner, we resumed our continuous tournament in cribbage.
Margaret and I motored to Windsor and Detroit to attend the annual Commonwealth Day service at St. Paul's Cathedral in Detroit. The Essex and Kent Scottish, for the last thirty years, have marched through the tunnel and up Woodward Avenue for this most impressive service. It features a march past where the Governor of Michigan takes the salute as the parade passes the "Circus" on Woodward. The Governor is a very young man in his upper thirties and he looks ten years younger. He is a double amputee, both legs off below the knee caused, no doubt, by a mine, from WWII in France, but uses no canes. It was a coincidence that the Honorary Colonel of the E and K Scots, Lt. Col. Tilston, VC, was also a double amputee, and he was also on the reviewing stand. St. Paul's gave us a buffet supper in the parish hall. We attended the march past and then returned to the Cathedral for the service which lasted almost two hours. It was complete with consecration of flags, marching on of colours, and playing the lament, and was very impressive in this fine old Episcopalian Cathedral. Our own Bishop of Huron preached the sermon. He must have picked the wrong sermon from the barrel. He gave us a scolding on various forms of weak-kneed Christianity which, no doubt, we needed but hardly fitted the occasion. After the service we went up to the Sparling's hotel room for a quick drink before attending a reception in the E & K Scots' Mess. We managed to get home by 0230 hrs. our time.
Last weekend we had the Ed Youngs in for lunch on Sunday. He was a full Colonel in the Medical Corps and was in Korea as Director of Medical Services at HQ I Comwel Div. when I was in Korea.
My cadet inspections are finished. I have been to Kitchener, Guelph, Galt, Kingsville and Wallaceburg.
I had a letter from my successor following on my letter to him. The McKibbins are sailing on 9 July. So we can get away quickly when the Cadet Camp is finished. We must get established in Ottawa, and I have a deadline of 20 Sept. in Saigon. My French language practice is coming on well.
There were letters from Sheri as of 2 and 15 May. They tried a trip to Holland but found the roads crowded and accommodation difficult because of the German tendency to travel on holidays.
Margaret complains of tiredness from too much activity. She looks forward to a quieter time in Ottawa. We are to have the CO's quarter at Ipperwash again this summer.
The next big affair is our annual Garden Party. We have sent out 500 invitations. We are also being involved in goodbye parties now that our time for leaving draws near.
FNL#11, Sun. 4 June - Marg and I are in the throes of being seen off. A week ago we were guests of honour at a cocktail party put on by the RCR. Marg was presented with a bouquet of roses. I was dined out by the Home Station RCR Mess on Thursday evening. It was a good party. I was elected an "Honorary Subaltern" of the Regiment and carried home to our door steps by the subalterns, with champagne, at 2 a.m. Everyone in our row was awakened. After this conviviality and good fellowship, I was greeted by a most unamused wife who was awakened by the hubbub. Well, it was all in good feeling and good fun.
On Friday evening we dined with "Brandy" and Caroline Conron. I had been riding their horses. General and Mrs. Spencer, Caroline's parents, and Colonel and Mrs. Gordon Thompson and others were there. It was a lovely evening in their beautiful home.
Last evening Marg and I went to the harness races. We wagered modestly. We almost thought we had picked one winner when the horse was nosed out in the last 50 feet, and lost in a photo finish verdict.
We went to church this morning. Then this afternoon we went to tea at the Robinsons. He will be traveling in China and the Far East when I am out there. Several other couples were there also and it was another goodbye party.
I have had my Headquarters and Services out on the range at Ipperwash qualifying on the C1 Rifle last week. I was able to qualify myself on the first use of the rifle.
We are planning for Ipperwash Camp again. We are to have the CO's house for the whole summer, furnished. We will likely move out the last week of June.
This last week has seen a rash of inspections. I have inspected my static units on parade and tramped through all their buildings. I have officiated at a Junior NCO's Graduation Parade. And I have also taken a large RCR Depot Graduation Parade. It is good to get away from the paper and out with the soldiers.
Gladys wrote as of 6 May. She had the misfortune to be side-swiped by another car. Not too serious. She and Mother are both well.
Gerry wrote as of 22 May. They had a week-end in Dusseldorf, the "Paris of Germany." They did some shopping. They have also been speaking to our successors, the McKibbens.
I must start having my "shots" for the rabid East. We are following the news from the Far East. We hope that an agreement is reached in Laos, so that they will stop throwing lead about. There is not much satisfaction in being a soldier when one is armed only with a white flag.
FNL#12, Sun. 18 June - We have just returned, this evening, from a buffet supper at the Bailey's. He heads the National Revenue office in London. We assembled at 17:30 hrs. and had the whole evening "al fresco" in the Bailey's pleasant back garden. We were the guests of honour. Margaret had a corsage and I had a white carnation. There were about 25 there. We stopped at the band shell in Victoria Park to hear a concert on the way home.
Last evening we were at Sparta, a village 7 miles south east of St. Thomas, to attend a barbecue put on by the Elgin Regiment. They invited us to say Good Bye at the same time. They barbecued 300 pounds of beef over an open pit. We had square dancing. We called in at the Metcalfe's, he is Hon. Lt. Col. of the Regiment, on the way home. We didn't get to bed until 3:00 a.m.
We were out on the town the night before also. We went first to the McCabes, our area senior doctor, for cocktails. Then the MacLachlans came to take us to an "undisclosed destination." It turned out to be the Iroquois Night Club. We had dinner, saw the floor show, danced a bit, and then went to have some bridge at the MacLachlans.
A week ago, Friday, we held our Annual Garden Party. It was very successful except for the weather. There were between 600 and 700 present. Although it was overcast most of the day and there was a slight sprinkle, we did not have to run for shelter. We had two bands in attendance. It was a colourful afternoon and the punch was good. After the party we had about twenty - those who came from a distance - in for a buffet supper.
Margaret has been attending farewell parties of her organizations. The Officers' Wives Club presented her with an engraved silver rose bowl. And she has received other tokens of esteem.
FNL#12, Sun. 18 June - A week ago we attended the church service of 1 Hussars, followed by a march past when I took the salute. Then there was a reception. I said good bye to the Regiment.
I have started getting myself ready for the Far East. Had my eyes tested and picked up some light summer clothes. I will buy tropical military kit when I pass through Hong Kong on my way to Saigon.
We had a letter on June 8 from Grandmother Clift. Colonel Moogk, Comd. of Sask. Area, was in Melfort for the presentation of kilts to the Band of B