Description
Mr. Stanway recalls his parents reaction to his enlistment, and how his peers had joined as well, making it easier.
Frank Stanway
Mr. Stanway was born in Britain, and relocated to Montreal, Quebec with his family at a young age. Mr. Stanway joined the Non Permanent Active Militia (NPAM) along with friends, 8 months after Canada declared war. Shortly after basic training finished, their unit went active, so they joined the active forces in August 1940. Mr. Stanway shipped out to Scotland in 1941 and was transferred to Italy, along with the rest of the 5th Battery, in May 1943. They remained stationed there until a few months before the end of the war (February 1945) and returned home shortly after the war ended.
Transcript
Well my mother was quite upset, you know, and my dad, he knew it was kind of inevitable that we would be going and you know they weren’t, my mother was really upset that I was going to do this. But because I went in with my peers, I think the other three families I think it made it a little easier. Because they can get on the phone you know, Ronnie’s done this, Harry was there, they talked they were all from Montreal NDG and so it was one of those situations where if I had of been, done it on my own, just gone down and said I want to join the Air Force or something on my own and come back I might have had some other. But because it was a joint effort I think this kind of eased the trauma.