The Return to Canada

Heroes Remember

The Return to Canada

Transcript

Yeah I was in hospital in England for some months. I guess I went in in August, and I got back to Canada just before Christmas of ‘44, came back on the hospital ship. And it was interesting because it was the middle of the war, towards the end of the war actually, but the boat was lit up like a Christmas tree, because it was a hospital ship. And you just hadn't seen that on the water, you'd been living in blackouts and certainly trying crossing the ocean. And we took a route down through the Azores over to Bermuda and up, which was rather pleasant and then got back to an awful snowstorm here in Canada. I got home, actually just got home, my family lived on Well's Hill, and Isabelle, my wife, and new baby Ken were living there. My luggage didn't catch up to me for about 3 days. But having to go to bed, without your clothes and not having seen your wife for a long time, wasn't the greatest tragedy in the world. And I was in and out of hospital for some months I guess. It was Christie Street Hospital, the old Ford Motor plant in those days, and the rehab hospital out in Scarborough. But I had to sort of rest everyday, and went to work for my father's firm, who's in the insurance business. No one is going to hire someone who has to take a couple hours sleep after every afternoon, which I did, on the couch in my father's office.

Description

Mr. Danson describes his return to Canada as a wounded soldier just before Christmas in 1944. He remembers the difficulties he encountered trying to return to normal work as a result of his injuries.

Barnet J (Barney) Danson

Mr. Danson was born in Ontario, 1921. Before the war, Mr. Danson worked for Columbia pictures. As a Jewish man, he was aware of the political situation in Europe. His instincts told him that war was imminent and he felt a sense of urgency to fight. As a result, he joined the Army during peacetime in hopes of being trained and ready to serve if war broke out. Mr. Danson was an Infantry Officer with the Queen's Own Rifles of Canada. In the Fall of 1944 he was wounded, thus ending his war effort. After the war, he had a successful business and later entered politics where he served as the Minister of Defence in the Trudeau Government.

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