More Reaction To Hitler Youth Actions

Heroes Remember

More Reaction To Hitler Youth Actions

The next night we were getting prepared to send out another patrol, you know, and by now we have British officers up and they’re in our company headquarters and they had dug a shallow slit trench and they were told to dig deeper, you know, but anyways, that particular night, the Jerries laced us with everything they had. I was alone in the fire position, the other two fellows were in the, who I was with, they were in the, the trip trench below the tank tack, and I was up in the observation spot and we had a piece of sheet metal over the top with an opening, so, and my web was up in the top. They opened up and then they shelled us for over two hours, tremendous shelling, and the three British officers were killed and hit around headquarters, we lost our company runner there, and Harry Moon, our two in the Bren gun, he got hit with shrapnel in the back and the rest of us come through it alright. But next morning, the slit trench was just vibrating for, continually, you know, with the bursting of the shells and concussion close by and my web had thirteen holes through it. So it was devastating. They decided to move us back and put another company up forward, so we went back to Bretteville, and as we’re walking back, you know along the road and, the German fighter come over and there was three Spits after him, and they shot this German plane down and he come down the parachute and he’s coming down towards our lines, so as you were referring earlier what happened to the prisoners, they didn’t give this fellow a chance coming down the paratrooper. Our Bren guns opened up and the Germans got fair warning there what the outcome was, with their murders of our prisoners.

The account of the night patrolling is concluded with a grim reference to the murder of Canadian soldiers and a reaction to the actions of members of the Hitler Youth.

Joseph William Ross

Mr. Ross was born in Montreal on February 15, 1925. His father served during the First World War and was seriously wounded at the second battle at Ypres. When Canada declared war on Germany in September, 1939, Mr. Ross was only 14 years old, working as an office boy for six dollars a week. Later, he worked as an apprentice fitter in the aircraft division of Vickers, near Montreal. Mr. Ross enlisted in the Army on his 18th birthday in 1943. After training in Quebec and Nova Scotia, he was sent as part of the reinforcement troops to England where he was assigned to ‘C’ Company of the Queen’s Own Rifles of Canada. His overseas action included landing at Juno Beach on D-Day, and serving throughout both Normandy and Northwest Europe (Belgium and Holland). During an encounter with German forces, Mr. Ross sustained injuries from flying shrapnel.