Language selection

Government of Canada / Gouvernement du Canada

Search veterans.gc.ca

Training

Heroes Remember

Training

Transcript
Oh, I was down in Sooke for a little while and then from there well I went back to Bay street and then I went across Canada to Debert, Nova Scotia. I couldn’t get over the flu, actually, I kept getting the flu and getting the bloody flu. I was in and out of the hospital. And they decided I wasn’t fit for the army, so I switched over to the artillery, I was glad I did. I prefer the artillery to the army by a long ways. Oh, at that time we had two sets of guns, we had the old 45 Howitzer and the eighteen pounder. Now we trained on both of them. Then when we got to England, we got the twenty-five pounder, which was a combination of both. Interviewer: What unit, what artillery unit were you attached to? 13th Field 78th battery. Interviewer: How long did you stay at Debert? I was there February, and we got out of there in early November. It was in November we got over to England. Interviewer: What do you remember about the boy at (inaudible) England. It wasn’t much good for us. We got out to sea about two to three days in the convoy. We got a submarine scare, and we were on the Louis Pasteur and the old skipper he threw a wide over trying to broadside the breezes and zigzag the hell out of there. It was cold. We were in our great coats and all the clothes we could get. The next morning we were in shirt sleeves.
Description

Ronald Allingham

Mr. Ronald John Allingham was born July 16, 192 in Vernon, British Columbia. He was the eldest child with 3 brothers. With his father being an orchard grower, Mr. Allingham spent most of his young life working in the orchard; reaching a grade 8 level of education. Growing up during the “Dirty 30's” Mr. Allingham understood the significance of war being declared and on August 1, 1940 made the decision to join the Army and enlisted as part of the British Columbia Dragoons, B Squadron. After receiving basic training in Vernon, Mr. Allingham travelled to Duncan, BC to obtain more training, however, had a setback and took very ill. As health improved, Mr. Allingham had missed his opportunity for service with the army and was made part of the artillery under the 13th Field 78th Battery; a choice that later proved to be very satisfying. Mr. Allingham went overseas and in 1945 discharged from the service.

Meta Data
Medium:
Video
Owner:
Veterans Affairs Canada
Duration:
1:51
Person Interviewed:
Ronald Allingham
War, Conflict or Mission:
Second World War
Location/Theatre:
England
Branch:
Army
Units/Ship:
Royal Canadian Artillery
Occupation:
Driver

Copyright / Permission to Reproduce

Share on Twitter Share on Facebook Youtube

Related Videos

Training a Gunnery Crew

Training a Gunnery Crew

Mr. Allingham describes the diverse training necessary to bring a gunnery crew to battle readiness.

Give and Take at Carpiquet Airport

Give and Take at Carpiquet Airport

Mr. Allingham describes the difficulty in neutralizing a German 88 field piece at Carpiquet Airport, and how new radar made the task easier in later engagements.

Friendly Fire at Falaise Gap

Friendly Fire at Falaise Gap

Mr. Allingham describes being nearly bombed by Allied aircraft, and then describes the devastation of the retreating German army by Typhoon bombers, all at Falaise Gap.

Date modified: