Mines in the English Channel

Heroes Remember

Mines in the English Channel

Transcript

While we’re crossing the Channel, we came to an area where, while we were getting closer to France, we spotted mines floating on each side. The mine layer, the mine sleepers, we didn’t know this until later way later, that they had swept an aisle in between the mine field and we had that mine field all the way to France. All the way, when we landed. We arrived there, but behind us, whenever there was a splatch between the other vehicles or the other ship or landing craft then the navy were firing on some of those mines and setting them off. Boy, I tell you, you were glad that you didn’t hit one of those. But we didn’t know that they were going to do that, make a path to go right through to the beach.

Description

Mr. Champoux describes the mines he experienced in the English Channel as he was going over to the D-Day landing. He also describes how the Navy cleared a path to the Beach for them.

Robert Arthur Champoux

Mr. Champoux was born in Hull, Québec on March 21st, 1921. He lived there until the age of 8 when his father, a First World War Veteran, moved the family to Ottawa. Mr. Champoux had three brothers and four sisters; he was the third oldest child. When the war broke out he was attending Ottawa Technical High School. He left school, after his first year, to join the Army after failing to join the Navy and the Air Force (who were not yet recruiting). He left for Europe July 17th, 1940 and ended up stopping in Iceland where he remained for the next 10 months. Mr. Champoux’s wartime service saw him fighting on D-Day and in the Falaise Gap. He also fought in Calais and later on in Holland where he was wounded. Mr. Champoux got a job with the Mint upon returning to Canada. He joined the army again in 1948 retiring in 1965.

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