Round One with a man who trained with my father, 1941

I returned Allan A’s phone call on Wednesday evening (Allan is now 84 and had a few surprises for me), and after identifying myself (“You reached the right Gord harrison”) I didn’t have to say much before he launched into a meandering story that went back almost 60 years.

He’d grown up in Wallacetown in Elgin County and at a tender age (15 - 16) signed up for a youth training program in Hamilton that paid him about a dollar per day.

My father had mentioned once or twice that he’d lived in Hamilton for awhile as a young man and perhaps now I know why he had gone there. A dollar a day. Good money if there’s nothing else.


["A few notes while we chatted": photo GAH]

Allan mentioned he then went to Stadacona to train for special duty before volunteering to go to England and after I learned that Stadacona was a training center in Halifax I felt he had indeed taken the same path as my father.

I have old black and white photos from that time, said as much to Allan and we agreed on a time to meet the next day, Thursday.

He asked if I’d heard of a Robert McRae and I said I had a picture that he drew.

“Gash Bailey?” he asked.

“There was a Bailey that ended up in the water with dad near Irvine, Scotland, the time dad was stranded alone during a night-time training exercise. I’ll bring dad’s stories over, you can have a look.”

When he said he felt the Combined OPs team was a trail blazing unit I knew time spent with Al would be rewarding.

Thursday’s meeting proved to be interesting.

***

Another mile (yesterday's meeting) will be added to my Memory Lane shortly. I have to go for a wee check up.

.