St. Nazaire to Singapore: The Canadian Amphibious
War 1941 - 45, Volumes 1 and 2
People interested in the history and role of Canadians in Combined Operations (commandos and landing craft operators under P. M. Winston Churchill and Lord Louis Mountbatten) will not find a better collection of stories from WW2 veterans, e.g., members of the Royal Canadian Navy Volunteer Reserve and also of Combined Ops - the men who were in it up to their eyeballs - than in these two 'hard to find' volumes.
Hard to find but not impossible. They can be viewed online, page by page, at Our Roots - Canada's Local Histories Online .
I must confess I am particularly attracted to these books not only for raw, gripping, informative stories by veterans but also some by my father. I am allowed the rare opportunity to get to know him better by numerous stories he left behind, and because of certain facts and details (he had a pretty sharp memory) I will one day be sipping rum in the same pub in Irvine, Scotland where he was fed, warmed and 'rummed up' after being left behind - up to his armpits - in a nearby bay during training exercises.
(See pg. 46, Volume 1, Exercise Schuyt 1: Marooned on a
Submerged Sand Bar for more details.)
Long lists of stories are poignant reminders of the hardships of war by men who were fortunate to come home.
Lt. Robert McRae, RCNVR and POW (captured at Dieppe) provides eye-witness accounts of the Dieppe landing and subsequent, brutal events. He was there when a man from London, Ontario (my home city) went down, never to come back.
["AB Lloyd Campbell, No. 17138, London, Ontario, burial - Berlin,
as compiled by Doug Harrison, L/Sea, RCNVR, Norwich"]
["The drawing of my experiences as a POW pianist."
Robert (Bob) McRae]
Robert (Bob) McRae]
Highly recommended books for students of WW2.
Photos by GH
More WW2 Recommended Reading
No comments:
Post a Comment