Post War Reaction on a Bus Ride

Heroes Remember

Post War Reaction on a Bus Ride

Transcript

The war was over. I got back home, oh gee whiz, sometime around Christmas, November sometime. Everybody was home and had all the jobs, there was no work to do. No trouble to get a job, I couldn’t get one. So anyway, that was it. Interviewer: So what was it like to return back home? What was that feeling like? Like you’re lost. I remember my mother was down on Water Street. I don’t know if you know Saint John’s any good. But we lived on Field Street that was up on top along this hill up on top. So I met my mother and she had a lot of parcels, so I walked up with her now. We walked up so far she said, “I’m going to get the bus,” and I said, “Okay, we’ll get the bus.” So we got in on the bus, and we’re going up this hill, and someone rang the buzzer for to get off, and I was down to the door before he had a chance to stop the bus, like a flash I was there. He said, “Are you getting off here?” and I said, “Oh no, I thought I seen someone I knew.” Interviewer: Just the reaction. Yeah. So scattered night then I used to wake up and go nuts wanting to jump out through the window and stuff. But anyway, I got over it.

Description

Returning home from war, Mr. Starkes speaks about an unexpected reaction by the sound of the buzzer on the bus when traveling home.

Charles Starkes

Mr. Charles Starkes was born in Greenspond, Newfoundland May 24, 1922. Mr. Starkes joined the Royal Navy under the British Forces from his home province of Newfoundland. He trained as Torpedoman on board a British aircraft carrier and took on the roles and responsibilities of an electrician. Mr. Starkes was part of the D-Day invasion and holds great pride for the service he provided during this time 75 years ago. After the war, Mr. Starkes returned to Newfoundland and obtained a Master Electrician license and worked in that field until retirement. Mr. Starkes now resides in Saint John’s, NL with his family.

Meta Data

Medium:: Video
Owner:: Veterans Affairs Canada
Recorded:: June 4, 2019
Duration:: 1:54
Person Interviewed:: Charles Starkes
War, Conflict or Mission:: Second World War
Location/Theatre:: France
Battle/Campaign:: D-Day
Branch:: Navy
Rank:: Torpedo Man

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Date modified:: 2019-04-03