Post-War Duties

Heroes Remember

Post-War Duties

Transcript

Interviewer: So where were you when, when you heard that the Armistice had been declared? We, we heard, we heard it about three weeks before sometime like that. We heard we'd heard about the, there was going to be an armistice but we didn't pay too much attention to it. But the armistice came and our signaller was on duty, he took the last message. Interviewer: He did eh? Yeah. Interviewer: You must have been happy to hear that? Oh sure. Interviewer: Were there celebrations? Well we was in Mons ya see. We were in the Heyons, the Heyon was... joins on like a village... join on. So we, we (inaudible) celebrations there for about... cleaning up that and things to do for about four days. Then we started on the hike to Germany. 1st and 2nd Canadian Divisions moved in to Germany and the 3rd and 4th Divisions didn't go. So we, we had a long trip up there too. Interviewer: Did you walk to Germany? We walked half way then they put us, they loaded us... Interviewer: So you were part of the occupation force in Germany? Oh yes. Yes we were. Interviewer: And how did they treat you? They treated us fine. Interviewer: Did they? Yes. I, we were billeted in a place called Dunkirschen and it was a full days march the other side of Bonn. And we, we stayed there oh quite a few months I guess. It was a, a good trip back in there the Germans used to... I had to go on the exchange, the telephones, 4 o'clock in the morning. The Germans would come up and knock on our bedroom door, you slept right in the house along with them. Not bad people. They'd knock on the door and say "Jacob, Jacob, telephone, telephone." They'd come up and wake me up so I could get on to it. They were, they were, they were it wasn't the people it was the people that was running them.

Description

Mr. Fitsell remembers hearing word that the armistice would be signed . He goes on to tell of his post-war duty with the occupational force in Germany.

John Fitsell

John Fitsell was born in Hastings, England on August 11, 1898. He came to Canada in 1912 and enlisted in Barrie, Ontario with the 157th Battalion at the age of 15 years. He told the recruiting officer that he was 16. After completing basic training, he sailed to England and in three months was in the trenches of France.

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