Wartime Sacrifices of Canadians at Home and Abroad

Heroes Remember

Wartime Sacrifices of Canadians at Home and Abroad

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For a country that had the minimum of people under arms at the initial stages of the First, the Second World War. Maybe having about maybe six to ten naval vessels and maybe ten or fifteen planes that might be considered worthy of fighting in a war, and the manufacturing operations that were down to a low web. We’ve just come through a Depression. And when you put it all together it took a little while for the country to unwind and realize the facts. But when they put it all together there was a tremendous effort by all Canadians to... But when you look at over a million people under arms, man and woman. And most of them were volunteers that went overseas, of their own free will, to preserve freedom, there’s no question. And the people behind working in the factories. They worked their butts off, there were two shifts. Seven am in the morning to seven at night and then seven at night to seven am in the morning, it was a twenty four hour effort, right across the country. It’s unbelievable. And the number of vessels that they built, the number of planes that they built. And they were able to send tanks to Russia, it is extraordinary for. It became the opening of the doors to Canada becoming a great industrial nation as it is today, no question about it. It’s a hard way to advance into prosperity and live in a higher range of economics, but those things happen during wartime. But I think the Canadians made a tremendous effort and we’re all grateful.

Mr. Ross speaks of the contribution made by all Canadians - at home and abroad - to the victory in Europe during the Second World War.

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.