Training a Gunnery Crew

We did a lot of, oh, different types of shoots and as it went along we got more and more training, eventually got us trained up so, like with a gun crew of six. I was a driver and everybody could take everybody else’s position. Take the sergeant’s position and so on just in case we had a casualty so everybody knew how to handle things. By this time, as I said, we got ourselves trained up pretty good. I remember one shoot we were on in Alfriston. What they called a predicted shoot, and our officer, Captain Moore was his name. He was in charge of the shoot. So he fired one round and they set up, oh it was a tank, water tank probably three feet across maybe 10 or 12 feet long. That damn thing landed right in the centre of it. We had surveryors. They went in and surveyed and did all the mathematics and what have you for it and then all you did was fire on it. It was a whole bunch of us in that, not just the gunners, the whole battery was involved in a thing like that. We were mobile but we got awful handy, you know getting in and out of positions and all that stuff, and then, oh I guess, in the latter part of ‘43 and ‘44 they started giving us quite a bit of unarmed combat training and that sort of thing, you know, so we had quite a lot of it.

Mr. Allingham describes the diverse training necessary to bring a gunnery crew to battle readiness.

Ronald Allingham

Mr. Ronald John Allingham was born July 16, 192 in Vernon, British Columbia. He was the eldest child with 3 brothers. With his father being an orchard grower, Mr. Allingham spent most of his young life working in the orchard; reaching a grade 8 level of education. Growing up during the “Dirty 30's” Mr. Allingham understood the significance of war being declared and on August 1, 1940 made the decision to join the Army and enlisted as part of the British Columbia Dragoons, B Squadron. After receiving basic training in Vernon, Mr. Allingham travelled to Duncan, BC to obtain more training, however, had a setback and took very ill. As health improved, Mr. Allingham had missed his opportunity for service with the army and was made part of the artillery under the 13th Field 78th Battery; a choice that later proved to be very satisfying. Mr. Allingham went overseas and in 1945 discharged from the service.