Dad's Navy Days: 1945 - VE-Day, Vancouver Island (34)

"Everything went mad and uncontrolled"

Dad's days in the Navy may have felt to him like a long haul at times. He went from being a young man to mature veteran in only four calendar years but because they were also war years, 1941 - 45, the journey may have seemed endless at times.

The same can be said for this series of posts that celebrated the seventieth anniversary of significant WW2 events in my father's life, detailed some of the trials and tribulations he faced as 'a man of the barge' in North Africa, Sicily and Italy between November 1942 and October 1944, and recounted tales from his memoirs and news articles about his two years on the west coast of Canada at a Combined Operations training base.

Long years finally concluded, for many but not all participants in the great war, in a fitting celebration and fast return to civvie street. But before my father gets back to work at the Norwich Co-op, there are yet to share two final excerpts from his many stories.

The first is from The Norwich Gazette, circa early1990s:

I was on the navy softball and hardball teams and we played as many as six games a week.

[Doug Harrison, third baseman, sitting on fender, far right"] 

For a diversion when we had liberty on weekends a bunch of us sailors would go into Courtenay for a show, beer or dancing at the Sons of Freedom Hall. One man went in advance if possible and booked Room 14 at the Riverside Hotel. 

['Sons of Freedom Hall': Exterior sign reads Native

Sons Hall. Rare building still stands": Photo GH, 2012]

["I fell in love with the original timbers": Photo GH, 2012]

There was a good reason for doing so. Room 14 had a low window which faced onto an alley and late Saturday night and early Sunday morning after a long night on the town, many sailors retreated through the window to sleep wherever space was available, piled like cordwood, as many as 12 in a room for two.

["Riverside Hotel, Courtenay, late 1940s": See below]

[Hotel destroyed by fire in 1960s: Photos compliments

of former deputy fire chief, on duty at time of fire"]

The second is from father's memoirs, written in 1975:

Then one day, the day we had been waiting for came - V.E. day - and what a celebration. They poured beer in my hair, there was no routine, but nothing untoward happened*.

["VE-Day parade in Norwich: Uncle Arthur Catton,

boy at right side of photo, unravels toilet paper"]

The fellows were just so glad, that it gave us time to think back and count our blessings. No, I cannot recall anything unusual happening to write about. It had a sobering effect on most of us who had been in Combined Operations under the White Ensign.

Of course, I said we were very very happy, but we were also very very lucky and knew it. Soon we went to H.M.C.S. Naden, with none of us volunteering for the Japanese theatre of war, although we were all asked by a recruiting officer.

A naval photographer took a picture of six of us: L/Sea** Watson, L/Sea Warrick, L/Sea Rose, L/Sea Westbrook, L/Sea Spencer and myself, L/Sea Harrison, because we all joined the same day, went through twenty-three months overseas together and were going to be discharged all on the same day too.

Back row: Donald Westbrook, Charlie Rose, Joe Spencer

Front row: Joe Watson, Doug Harrison, Arthur Warrick

I travelled to Comox and Courtenay in 2012, saw the Combined Ops training grounds (from a distance) at The Spit, stayed just down the street from The Riverside Hotel's former location and met two widows of men who had been in the Navy with my father. I also freely wandered about the Native Sons Hall, camera in hand, and it was there the former deputy fire chief, with an old photo album under his arm, found me.

I even sat down beside an old-timer who knew a lot about VE-Day. He was there at the time and had a newspaper on his lap to prove the tale. I wish I could have matched his smile.

I returned home with many questions answered, and inspired to travel west again.

I'm already savin' up.





*the following words were crossed out, for some unknown reason, between the two phrases - everything went mad and uncontrolled

**Leading Seaman

Link here to Dad's Navy days: 1944 - Comox (33)

Photos by GH unless otherwise stated