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Description
Mr. Laird recalls when the leadup to war hit home.
Transcription
Mainly, my good neighbours to the south of us, which was half a mile south on a quarter section. My good friend there, he was six or seven or eight years older than me, but he always came through our place and made sure everything was all right, give me a hand there. Joe Smith, his name was. In 1937, they gave it up. They were English, they all went back to England, and the first thing that really hit me was that it was still in September of 1939, we got a letter from his mother in Manchester, England, and Joe, my friend, had been killed in an action, not in action, he'd been killed training in Scotland, where he, he was in the commandos. That really drove it home, I know, hey, couldn't believe it.
Interviewer: What did you think at that time?
Oh, it was horrible, of course, I was only about, I'd only be about 15 then or so. Was a real shock, too, because we didn't have many friends on the farm. Cause everybody's so isolated in a log house. No electricity or water or nothing like that, but to think Joe was dead was hard to imagine.