Duties After Enlisting

I had taken a course at Union Commercial College in Charlottetown and when I finished the course there wasn't much work. And two of my friends, the three of us, we said "Let's join the army." I guess we didn't know what we were getting into. But we joined. We went down to the armouries and joined, and within two weeks I was on the train going down to Halifax. When I arrived in Halifax we went to St. Joseph's Hall, I remember, on Gottingen street. And we marched down Gottingen street everyday for dinner. And I can't remember where it was we went to. We had civilian clothes, we must have been a sad looking sight on the street. But I was there at St. Joseph's Hall about a week or ten days and then I went to barracks. I didn't have a uniform yet. And then I went to barracks and it was New Wellington I believe. And from New Wellington I went to Cathedral barracks. And then I went . . . well before I went to Cathedral I went to work at headquarters on Spring Garden Road, MD6. Interviewer: And what did you do there? Office work. I was in the book room. And we had all the pamphlets and books and maps for the forces that were going overseas. We supplied them all. I was there all the time I was in the army.

Ms. MacNeil tells us the reasons why she joined the Canadian Army. She also describes where she worked and the duties she performed.

Kathleen MacNeil

Ms. Kathleen MacNeil was born on the 4th of August 1923, in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island. Her father, a Veteran of the First World War, worked as a harness maker and delivered the mail. The family home was in Loyalist and she walked the 1.5 miles daily to attend a one room school house, grades 1-9, in Springvale. Ms. MacNeil and a couple of friends completed a course in Charlottetown where there weren't any job prospects so they decided to join the Canadian Army. Ms. MacNeil was stationed in Halifax, Nova Scotia, for the duration of her service in the Armed Forces serving with MD6 Head Quarters on Spring Garden Road. While in Halifax she met her future husband who was a member of the Royal Canadian Navy. They married in 1944. After the war Ms. MacNeil stayed in Halifax until 1946. After her discharge Ms. MacNeil moved with her husband to his hometown of Dalhousie, New Brunswick, where she had four children and immediately went into service with the Royal Canadian Legion, a service that would later see her receive a medal of commendation from the Minister of Veterans Affairs for service with the legion.

Medium:: Video
Owner:: Veterans Affairs Canada
Duration:: 01:52
Person Interviewed:: Kathleen MacNeil
War, Conflict or Mission:: Second World War
Location/Theatre:: Canada
Branch:: Army
Rank:: Sergeant
Occupation:: Office Clerk

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