Cotton Baton
Heroes Remember
Cotton Baton
Transcript
Artillery gun being fired.
what we went through. What did we use for our ears? Cotton baton. We threw away our first field dressing, had a little pocket here stuffed full of cotton baton. That's what you'd put in your ears. Interviewer: How did you sleep? I could sleep on a tack. I could . . . you got so tired and you got so used to getting up, running to the guns and then those planes that left France were picked up sometimes on radar and sometimes they like put spotters and that, but they may not come within your sector and that's when you learn the new out language. Rather than be thankful and not to fire. The language was to get you up out of bed, get you down to the guns, get every thing uncovered, getting ready for fire and then the planes wouldn't come within firing distance of your target. You could stand around, but anyway that was it.Description
Mr. Knox speaks of how they would put cotton baton in their ears to protect themselves from the noise of the guns.
Thompson Knox
Mr. Knox was born in Northern Ireland on November 1, 1921. At the age of 6, he and his family came to Canada and resided in Heatherdale, Prince Edward Island, where his father began farming. Mr. Knox is the second oldest from a family of three brothers and two sisters. Eager to join the army, Mr. Knox went to enlist only to be advised that he was underweight by 15 lbs., therefore, was not accepted.. Determined to join the army Mr. Knox increased his weight by 10 lbs. and tried again- this time he was accepted and became a member of the 2nd Heavy Anti-Aircraft Regiment, 8th Battery, C Troop. He held rank as a Gunner serving as a member of the gun crew After receiving his basic training in Petawawa, Mr. Knox found himself travelling overseas on the Louis Pasture, a French luxury liner that was gutted down for carrying troops. Although this liner was carrying over 6000 troops and the soldiers were packed in like sardines, Mr. Knox recalls his trip as a very enjoyable experience. He landed in Greenock, Scotland, and it was at this time that Mr. Knox now comes to the realization that he is at war. After the war, Mr. Knox received first aid training and became employed with Maritime Electric being part of the rural electrification team for the entire Island until his retirement. He and his wife raised a family of nine children and now reside in Sherwood, P.E.I.
Meta Data
- Medium:
- Video
- Owner:
- Veterans Affairs Canada
- Duration:
- 1:42
- Person Interviewed:
- Thompson Knox
- War, Conflict or Mission:
- Second World War
- Location/Theatre:
- France
- Branch:
- Army
- Units/Ship:
- 2nd Heavy Anti-Aircraft Regiment
- Rank:
- Gunner
- Occupation:
- Gunner
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