Our Brigade went to Germany.

Heroes Remember

Our Brigade went to Germany.

Transcript

It wasn’t the greatest, joyful thing. We just took it as part of the war and we were sort of geared up to it, or brought up to it. Because we heard news coming from the south, what was happening there. It would come down to us, you know, not officially but through word of mouth, you know. And we knew that it was going to happen. So when it happened and armistice was struck, it was sort of given to us to understand that the war wasn’t going to be long, because when we got up to Jamap (sp), it was over and it was nothing. But what happened was, everybody was happy. We got to go to the pub, but because there was no pub, there was no celebration, you see. But everybody was very, very, happy about it in their own way. Their was no throwing your hats in the air or anything of that type. There were just fellows that were very happy and who talked to one another saying, “Well, we’re soon going home.” It happened that we stood around this area around Jamap (sp) for about two or three or four weeks, I think, I’m not sure the date about that. It was a while, a few weeks, and then we had rumours come, and that came from the head for the officer, of course, in charge, that we were going to be on the army of occupation which was going into Germany after the armistice was all over and signed. So that was... our brigade went to Germany. So we started in and moved up to the bridge which was still there. I think it’s still repaired. And we got over the Rhine and we went on up into Germany and we stayed in Germany for about two or three months, maybe more. We were on our own. We were almost free there except our daily routine which was associated with our unit, of course. It was a friendly atmosphere. As I say, it was so friendly that we went out to this place to sort of a dance hall, I suppose, and we met young people there and one of them we talked to could speak English a little bit. And he spoke English and told us about things and how they were and so on, how glad they were to see us and so on and such like.

Description

Mr. Manson describes the subdued reaction to the armistice, and describes then joining the Army of Occupation in Germany, and in particular interacting with the local civilians.

Arthur Bennett Manson

Arthur Manson was born in Nanaimo, British Columbia on March 5, 1899, as the second of three children. His father worked as a lumberman, then became a provincial politician, moving his family to Fort Simpson and finally to Prince Rupert. The family moved to Victoria when his father became BC’s Minister of Agriculture. Arthur Manson’s older brother had enlisted as a machine gunner and had attained the rank of lieutenant. Mr. Manson enlisted at Victoria in March, 1917, stating that it was “the thing to do.” He trained in Petawawa, Ontario as an artilleryman, and did the same at Whitley in England. However, he was spared front line duty by being attached to 2nd Brigade Headquarters. After the armistice, Mr. Manson joined the army of occupation in Germany. When he returned to Canada, Mr. Manson obtained his medical degree and practiced medicine in British Columbia. When the Second World War was under way, he joined the Forces as a Medical Officer in BC in response to the perceived threat from Japan.

Meta Data

Medium:: Video
Owner:: Veterans Affairs Canada
Duration:: 3:09
Person Interviewed:: Arthur Bennett Manson
War, Conflict or Mission:: First World War
Location/Theatre:: Europe
Branch:: Army
Units/Ship:: 2nd Brigade Headquarters
Occupation:: Adjutant

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Date modified:: 2019-06-20