Interested in War

So I was always interested in wars. So I could never get enough books or things to satisfy myself. So I decided I would join the Air Force. So I hung back a little bit. So it was in July 1940 when I signed up. So anyway they, I had to get my birth certificate and a whole lot of stuff and I would have to pay my own way to Quebec City and to find out if I'd be accepted. So, I got tired of that. So they were, they were recruiting for the army then, not the Royal Rifles. So I said, “I'm going to join the army.” So I joined the artillery, anti-tank, the 57th Anti-tank. So after a while we, they got us on the trains and took us up to Quebec City and we were stationed there for a while. So after, first thing there were some big shots came in. They were officers now forming this new regiment, the Royal Rifles. So a lot of us fellows said, “Well let's, we should join that outfit.” So we transferred, maybe 25 of us. And we were the original Royal Rifles from down the Gaspé coast all along there and Campbellton, New Brunswick in that vicinity But once we got up there, we were all country fellows. We were all familiar with firearms so we said, “That's the stuff for us.”

Mr. Ross describes his recruitment path which eventually saw him join the Royal Rifles of Canada.

Lancelot ‘Lance’ Ross

Mr. Lance Ross was born in Lac-Megantic, Quebec on October 7, 1911. His father was a carpenter and a family farmer. Mr. Ross went to work at the age of fourteen, holding many odd jobs that paid $1.00 to $1.50 a day. Impatient with the wait for joining the air foce, Mr. Ross joined the army and went overseas to Hong Kong. He was captured and spent time in POW camps. During this time, Mr. Ross kept a diary that was used for the prosecution of Japanese war crimes. After the war, he was active in getting recognition for Hong Kong Veterans.