Blood for the Invasion
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- Medium: Video
- Owner: Veterans Affairs Canada
- Duration: 1:50
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Details
Blood for the Invasion
In the city of Liverpool, the army collected blood from the public in preparation for the Normandy landing. The Nabob went to sea in order to prevent the Germans from intercepting the supplies arriving from America.
Guy Jobin
Mr. Jobin’s father was a chemist for a mill in Chandler, in the Gaspé. During the Depression, his father left to go work in Masson, in the Outaouais Region, and the family joined him 18 months later. They settled in Buckingham and when war was declared young Guy Jobin, a lover of ships, wanted to enlist in the Navy. He did his basic training in Québec and then went to Halifax to learn to fire guns before being sent to British Columbia. His group of Canadians left on the British aircraft carrier HMS Nabob. The ship went down the Pacific coast, crossed the Panama Canal and stopped in Virginia before arriving in England, at Liverpool. There they found the remains of a city damaged by 9 days German bombings. The Nabob was active in the British Isles throughout the war. During a mission to Scapa Flow in northern Scotland, the boat was hit by a torpedo. Upon his return to Canada, Mr. Jobin was hospitalized for awhile.
Transcription
Blood for the Invasion
One fine day the Red Cross arrived. “What’s going on?” They were coming to get blood from each one of us guys. They were getting ready for the invasion. It took blood for the invasion so they came to meet us in Liverpool. Everyone gave blood which they sent to prepare for the invasion. And the city of Liverpool was full – everywhere – the parks, fields – tanks, trucks, ammunition, and when they came to, . . . y’know, here in Hull, the parks were full. The next evening, we went out. The told us, “It’s your last evening.” And there was nothing left in the parks. The trucks, tanks, everything, the guns, they were all gone. We said, “They’re getting ready” and they came from the Red Cross wanting blood. We said, “The invasion isn’t far off.” As a matter of fact, we received an order not to go out anymore and we went to sea. Then during the invasion, we patrolled the coasts of Ireland, The Irish Sea, Isle of Man, around there. And then, because the allies were afraid that the Germans could come in planes and cut off the supplies that were arriving from America, from Canada and the United States, they said, “They’re gonna come. The invasion has started. They’re gonna come and cut off the supplies.” They weren’t able to. The invasion was too strong. We didn’t see a thing, we sailed around there during the invasion.
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