Description
Mr. Sperry talks about VE Day and the things that happened, for example, girls getting their heads shaved because they talked to the enemies.
Bishop John Sperry
Mr. Sperry was born on Leicester, England, in 1924. He joined the Royal Navy in 1943 and served until 1946 on Destroyer, Escort and Convoy Duty. Upon completion of his tour of duty, Bishop Sperry immigrated to Canada in 1960, serving parishes in Kugluktuk (formerly Coppermine) and Fort Smith. He served as diocesan bishop from 1973 to 1990 and is the author of <em>Igloo Dwellers Were My Church</em>, a memoir of his ministry in the North. An accomplished linguist, he was involved in the Inuktitut Bible translation for the people of the Western Arctic. In retirement, he works with health and volunteer organizations and is Chaplain of the Canadian Forces Northern Region. On July 5, 2002, he was named to the Order of Canada.
Transcript
We were assigned to take a Scotch regiment onboard to Norway with Prince Olaf and we, we sailed in, the Atlantic...after...the poor guys, it was rough and they weren't very well, on the deck right at the field and we went into Oslo. Now, I was saying, Navy never, never see crowds of people relieved like in Holland or anywhere else, but this time we were right there. We went right into Oslo, the piper on the bridge, the skirling, and the men lined up and we were there. We could stand outside on the deck, and we saw the excitement of a city relieved after the war, after a terrible time. And girls that fraternized, shaven heads.