Admiration for the “real combat soldiers”

Heroes Remember

Admiration for the “real combat soldiers”

Well, I think the thoughts that I thought when you fellows were coming up here… and I would say, “Why am I going to upset these fellows who come and interview me when all I did was be a member of a headquarters unit of heavy artillery?” When there were all the people before me, in infantry, field artillery, machine gunners and so on, that were actually in the war veterans zone. And I was there, sitting on this cushion in heavy artillery and I said, “I shouldn’t go and see these fellows. I shouldn’t have them come.” And if you notice the letter I sent to the original men, I was not very happy about coming because of that. It was the best thing to me, originally, to myself, to my selfish self, that I went to that unit and not to some of these units that are in the field of action all the time. And having heard about the Vimy Ridge and all the rest of the things through the grapevine and about what those fellows did and what the fellows that went from Prince Rupert did, what they were doing. They were in an infantry unit. They were the soldiers, of course, and I should think that it was a great, glorious thing that all those fellows did for the Canadian army. Because each one of them had a show, and they put on a good show.

Mr. Manson reflects on whether, based on his lack of combat action, he should even have been interviewed, despite having no choice in his deployment. He expresses his admiration for the “real combat soldiers.”

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.

Medium:: Video
Owner:: Veterans Affairs Canada
Duration:: 1:59
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:: 2024-12-30