Cliffs of Dover

Heroes Remember

Cliffs of Dover

Transcript

But we were training very hard down there around the Straits of Dover. It was quite a good time for us in a way because we got great rations. They were trying to convince the Germans that we were the assault troops so they set up a big naffy there and they, they poured all sorts of groceries in there and liquor. And we discovered that they had eggs coming in, in big crate, big crates. I think they must have had 12 dozen in, in each layer, from Ireland and we went in and he said, "Do you want some eggs for your Regiment?" And I said, "No, I'm just here for a Battery." He said "Let's call it a Regiment." So, so he gave me all the eggs we could possibly eat. This was in May of 1944. Luckily, there were a lot of, lot of wild garlic growing around this place we were camped, just on the edge of Dover. So we had wild garlic omelettes for every meal until we got sick of eggs. But I also remember that they had cases of Victoria plums, which are beautiful, great, big, purple plums that, I don't know if they came from Victoria, Australia or if that was the name of the species of plum, but, I remember those. That's the first canned fruit I'd had for four years. And I think they wanted the German spies in the area to say, hey they're pouring, they're fattening up these guys. This, this division must be one of the assault divisions. In fact, it worked because the Germans held their, as you know, held their SS Armour Divisions right across there at Cap Gris-Nez for weeks after they should have been moved down to the real invasion site. So our activities down there were toughening mainly. We were playing volleyball all the time out in the open so that, although we camouflaged all the guns and trucks, the Germans could still count all these hundreds of volleyball courts. And they would think, "Those stupid Canadians! They didn't realize that we could see their volleyballs."

Description

Prior to D-Day, Mr. Smith's Battery, stationed near Dover, received excellent rations in a ruse to trick the Germans into believing they were an assault regiment and distract them from the real one.

Arthur Britton “Britt” Smith

Mr. Smith was born on May 13th, 1920 in Kingston, Ontario. His father was a lawyer, and Mr. Smith was headed to the law firm at a very young age to follow in his father's foot steps when he decided to branch over and become an army officer with the 32nd Battery at the age of 15. Mr. Smith climbed the ranks quickly, becoming a signal sergeant by his 18th birthday. Educated on what was happening throughout Europe, Mr. Smith was not surprised when he heard of the outbreak of war in 1939, and within a year of the declaration, his unit was overseas undergoing artillery training. While in Europe, Mr. Smith's unit became a vital part of the Normandy Campaign, fighting on the dangerous and unforgiving battlefields of France. After the Dieppe raid of 1942, Mr. Smith was promoted to Captain at the young age of 22, carrying the weight and responsibility for 85 men. Mr. Smith's military career was ended abruptly in 1944 when he was wounded in action on the Verriere Ridge in France. Upon arrival home Mr. Smith was awarded the military medal and was finally able to marry his childhood sweetheart Sally. Mr. Smith returned to law school and became a lawyer, creating a home for himself and his wife in Kingston, Ontario.

Meta Data

Medium:: Video
Owner:: Veterans Affairs Canada
Duration:: 02:13
Person Interviewed:: Arthur Britton “Britt” Smith
War, Conflict or Mission:: Second World War
Branch:: Army
Units/Ship:: 4th Field Regiment
Rank:: Captain
Occupation:: Gunnery Officer

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Date modified:: 2019-06-20