Crossing the Atlantic on the Andrea Dora

Heroes Remember

Crossing the Atlantic on the Andrea Dora

Transcript

We were shipped back down to the East Coast and, and went out, out of Halifax on the Andrea Dora. It was a real old ship and we, we were escorted in with several other ships and it was quite a trip because we were not allowed to go up on deck and the mess. The boat is a round bottom boat and if you had been on the Atlantic, you know it's rough, ship doing this all the time, and by the time we got to the other side there was so much water in the mess hall that you had to lift your feet every time the ship rocked cause the water was running back and forth across the floor in the dining room. We slept in bunks in one of the halls and just hanging bunks, and you were in there so tight that you rocked with the boat too. Well, a real slow boat. It took forever to get over. I can't remember how long now, but it was a long trip. And I can remember we had what we called an "old fella", about thirty-three and he got tired of sleeping in the bunk and he went in the bathroom and slept in the tub. So we, we used to go in at night and pretend we were going to throw up all over him. He used to get up and get mad at us but he got over it all.

Description

Mr. Wonnacott talks about crossing the Atlantic in an old, slow ship.

Eri (Bill) Wonnacott

Eri Wonnacott was born in Edmonton, Alberta on September 16, 1919. He was the oldest of 3 siblings; one sister and two brothers. His family lived through some very rough times during the Depression. He joined the RCAF air crew and became a navigator. He also spent some time as a training officer. After leaving the service, Mr. Wonnacott worked for Lever Brothers and later become a CEO of one of their companies.

Meta Data

Medium:: Video
Owner:: Veterans Affairs Canada
Duration:: 02:10
Person Interviewed:: Eri (Bill) Wonnacott
War, Conflict or Mission:: Second World War
Location/Theatre:: Europe
Branch:: Air Force
Units/Ship:: Bomber Command
Occupation:: Navigator

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Crossing the Atlantic on the Andrea Dora

Heroes Remember