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Description
Mr. Chisholm recalls the first night of the battle of El Alamein.
William Lawrence (Red) Chisholm
Le père de M. Chisholm était chef de gare à Berwick (Nouvelle-Écosse) pour le Dominion Atlantic Railway. Il a déménagé à la gare de Windsor (Nouvelle-Écosse), puis a quitté les chemins de fer pour s'acheter un magasin à Kentville (Nouvelle-Écosse). M. Chisholm a terminé ses études dans le système scolaire à Kentville. Après avoir obtenu son diplôme d'études secondaires, il a travaillé pendant une courte période pour son père, puis il est allé travailler comme serre-frein pour le Dominion Atlantic Railway. Après s'être enrôlé dans l'Aviation royale canadienne en 1940, il suit son premier entraînement à Toronto. Il fait ensuite partie des 500 membres environ qui sont envoyés aux premiers cours, d'une durée de deux mois, donnés à l'école de formation de Regina dans le cadre du Programme d'entraînement aérien du Commonwealth. On l'envoie ensuite à l'école d'aviation de London (Ontario). M. Chisholm devient par la suite un as pilote et reçoit la Croix du service distingué dans l'Aviation (DFC), avec barrette.
Transcription
Battle of El Alamein Begins
Mr. Chisholm: I, I can still remember the night that the Battle of El Alamein started. We had been told there was going to be the biggest artillery barrage the world had ever seen, and so we were all sitting outside of our tent that, we were fifty miles from the, from the front lines. But all of a sudden, the sky lit up with flashes and it went on, and on, and on, the barrage that the British laid down against the Germans. It was, it was something unbelievable, the flashing and banging and you could hear everything and desert, the sound carried well on the desert, and we, we were just tickled pink. The next morning, we were sent out to, on a reconnaissance and there was burning tanks all over the place, some British I expect and German, and there was just a, the battlefield we were flying over was just a shambles; burning tanks, upset guns and quite a, quite a sight.
Interviewer: Did it appear to you that the German army was retreating?
Mr. Chisholm: Oh yeah, well at that particular time it looked like they might, and we hoped they would, but the battle went on for several days before the Germans decided to get the hell out of there. They were, the Africa Corps was a pretty good army. I don’t think there was ever an army any better than the, the Desert Rats, the British 8th Army. I think they were just a fabulous outfit.
They were very, Commonwealth too, you know, they had Australian divisions, New Zealand, South African, and probably fifty percent British regiments. But they were just a fantastic bunch. They lived under the worst possible conditions, yet they’re in there fighting and never gave up. They were just tremendous guys.