Fragments of War. Joyce Hibbert
FRAGMENTS OF WAR
Stories from Survivors of World War II
by Joyce Hibbert
with a Foreword by Earle Birney
Dundurn Press
Toronto London
1985
© Joyce Hibbert 1985
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise (except brief passages for purposes of review) without the prior permission of Dundurn Press Limited.
Editor: Bernice Lever
Design and Production: Green Graphics
Typesetting, printing and binding:
The Coach House Press, Toronto
The Publication of this book was made possible by support from several sources. The author and publisher wish to acknowledge the generous assistance and ongoing support of the Canada Council and the Ontario Arts Council.
J. Kirk Howard, Publisher
Dundurn Press Limited P.O. Box 245, Station F Toronto, Canada, M4Y 2L5
Canadian Cataloguing in Publication.
Hibbert, Joyce, 1923-
Fragments of war: stories from survivors of World War II.
ISBN 0-919670-95-4 (bound). – ISBN 0-919670-94-6 (pbk.)
1. World, War, 1939-1945 – Personal narratives, Canadian.
2. Canada. Armed Forces – Biography. I. Title.
D811.A2H52 1985 940.54'81'71 C85-099331-8
British Cataloguing in Publication.
Fragments of war: stories from survivors of World War II.
1. World War, 1939-1945
1. Hibbert, Joyce
940.53 D743
ISBN 0-919760-95-4
ISBN 0-919760-94-6 Pbk
In Memory of those who did not survive the hazards of WWII
A conference of senior officers at First Canadian Headquarters, Amblie, France, 4 August 1944, (left to right) Lieutenant General H.D.G. Crerar, Air Marshall A.M. Coningham, General Sir Bernard Montgomery, and Air Chief Marshall, Sir T.L. Leigh-Mallory.
Contents
3 Sinking of the S.S. Sinkiang.
7 Here and There with a Hasty Pee.
8 Lost Dentures and Un Peu de Bren.
11 With First Overseas Draft of the CWACS.
12 Joking in the Face of Death.
13 Biscuit, Book, and Candle in Hong Kong.
16 Headaches for a Fusilier Mont-Royal.
20 Canadian Girl in the A.T.S..
23 War and Love – A Soldier’s Lot.
AIR 24 Special Squadron, Special Duties.
25 Close Shaves and Steady Nerves.
26 Red-Letter Memories of an Air Gunner.
27 RCAF (Women’s Division) One of the First.
28 Sand and Flies and Spitfires.
Foreword
These memories of more than thirty Canadians separately caught up in the struggle against European fascism and its allies disprove Walt Whitman’s sceptical dictum that “the real war will never get in the books”. Certainly a remarkable