Armistice is signed

First World War Audio Archive

Armistice is signed

Transcript

On November the 11th, 1918 I was in the Royal School of Gunnery

Seven soldiers posing for a picture.

in England, with two other siege gunners from two other batteries in France. This morning, we heard that the Armistice had been signed. Well, we should have been elated, I know, but we weren’t. We were dumbfounded to think that after the length of time we’d spent with our units in France, that we’d be caught flat-footed in England and wouldn’t have a chance to move forward with our units through Holland and Belgium and into Germany. Matter of fact, we thought it would be much better than it really was. So, we even went into the adjutant’s office and asked him

Picture of two soldiers.

if it was possible to have us returned as gunners to our units. They were in conversation of course with CMHQ in London and they said no, they’d find out later what’s going to happen to us. So, we decided then we’d go to London, three of us. Still didn’t believe that the war was over. But when we got off the train in Waterloo, I took one look and I said, “The war is over.” The place was crowded with people, singing and shouting, waving bottles. But what drew my attention was a taxi cab out in front,

Six soldiers posing with a small dog and an artillery shell.

and there must have been a dozen people in it. Taxi wasn’t moving, of course, but sitting on the roof of the taxi was an English Brigadier General, one of the dugout types with a white mustache. And he had his arm around a land girl on one side and a WAC on the other. And one of them had his hat on, his cap on, and he had hers on. That to us was incredible. We had quite a night there. I remember the next, that night, oh, about half past three or four o’clock we decided, the three of us stuck together, and we decided we were hungry. We were at the Dorchester Hotel

Photo of soldier standing my himself.

and, of course, the place was packed with people and there were no such a thing as a restaurant service. The waiters were all tight, customers were tight. So we staggered down to the kitchen and we found a chef that we could, we could keep him on his feet. So we said, “Can you fry us a steak?” So he pointed to the refrigerator, “You get the steaks and I’ll fry them for ya.” So we went in and got ourselves three large steaks and brought them out and he cooked them for us and then one of us got up and moved a vote of thanks to the hotel for their hospitality, and we staggered off into the night.

Description

Mr. Conrad describes the disappointment of not being with his unit on Armistice Day, November 11, 1918, but making up for it by celebrating in London.

Frank Benjamin Conrad

Frank Benjamin Conrad was born in Sturgeon, Prince Edward Island on July 25, 1894. He enlisted in November 1914 with the 9th Field Ambulance and trained at Valcartier until June, 1915 when he transferred to the 2nd Canadian Siege Battery at Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island. He sailed to England aboard the S.S. Lapland on November 28, 1915, and arrived in France on June 1, 1916 as a signaler with the rank of Gunner. He saw action at the Somme, Vimy Ridge, Hill 70, and Passchendaele. He was wounded twice, was gassed at Hill 70, and won the Military Medal for maintaining communications under fire. After the war, Mr. Conrad married Florence Jessie Lantz on September 22, 1923 and established a wholesale food company in Charlottetown. He joined #6 Signals Company as Lieutenant, and eventually commanded the Company before retiring in 1938 as a Lieutenant-Colonel. He re-enlisted in 1940 as a Major with 3rd Divisional Signal Regiment, and served in England and Italy, commanding the Canadian Brigade Reinforcement Unit as a Lieutenant-Colonel. After the Second World War he was appointed District Administrator, DVA, for Prince Edward Island. Mr. Conrad died on August 13, 1986.

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