153 The Royal Canadian Legion MANITOBA & NORTHWESTERN ONTARIO COMMAND www.mbnwo.ca HOPKINS, Hayward Charles WWII Hayward was born in 1922 and raised on the family farm in Clanwilliam, Manitoba. When he left school, he took a correspondence course in diesel engineering and on completion had to take six weeks practical training in Chicago, which he did to get his certificate of merit. When he returned home at the age of nineteen, a draft call was waiting for him which he honoured on May 5, 1941. He took basic training in Portage, Shilo, and Winnipeg. Following this, he got a short harvest leave to help at home. When he returned, he was to go to the west coast. That is where the Jap scare was on. On arrival there, he decided it was time to break the ties at home and deal with Hitler and Mussolini. So, he joined the active forces on May 5, 1942, and remained stationed where he was for a time with a Search Light Battery and attached to Ordnance Corps for special training which led to trades pay and a fitter’s qualification. After this special training, he went overseas in the fall of 1942 on the Louis Pasteur with a light Ack-Ack Regiment. He landed in Liverpool and travelled by train to Aldershot. He spent the winter in various camps in the area: Hindhead, Ludshot, Bramshot, Hazelmere, and Godleming to name a few. During his time in England, he had leaves in Edinburgh, Glasgow, and various local places. London was close and easy to get to. He got caught in a few air raids, too. Then, one day, they were out on parade, and they were to have a kit inspection and had to turn in some of their clothes. They were then issued with khaki shorts, bush shirts, and a mosquito net and were informed that they were confined to barracks until further notice. It was obvious that they were going somewhere soon, and it was a very big draft. Days went by and one night they were on the go. They went by trucks to a railroad just outside of London. There was a big air raid on London that night. The sky was red and yellow and very smoky. The whole horizon looked like it was on fire. They were sitting around on the grass beside the track waiting for the train which couldn’t run until the air raid was over. An hour or so later it came. They climbed aboard and travelled to Liverpool where they then boarded the Durbin Castle – a luxury liner compared to the Louis Pasteur. From there, they sailed to Greenock, Scotland and sat out in the harbor for the next two or three days. When they took off, the captain spoke and informed them that if they made the trip without mishap, they would be the first to do so. Then he read a short passage from St. John’s Gospel and off they went. Their first stop was Algiers and then on to southern Italy. The whole voyage took fourteen days. It was wintertime. In the Mediterranean, they laid smoke and depth charges along the way. There were 28 ships in their convoy. (continued)
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy MTM0NTk1OA==