145 The Royal Canadian Legion MANITOBA & NORTHWESTERN ONTARIO COMMAND www.mbnwo.ca MOFFAT, John Henry WWII John enlisted in the Army on June 3, 1942, in Portage la Prairie. He was 26 years old and had been farming with his father south of Minnedosa. After basic training in Portage, he was posted to Camp Borden for about four months, taking tank driver training. In December 1942, he was drafted overseas. He went over on the Queen Elizabeth from Halifax. The trip was uneventful and took five or six days, zigzagging to avoid enemy subs. There was a big six-inch gun at the rear of the ship that they had to maintain by cleaning and greasing it; otherwise, the sea salt water would cause the gun to rust. They docked at Greenock, Scotland, then took a train to Aldershot where they took further training. At the time of the invasion of Sicily, he was sent to North Africa with the Canadian Armoured Corps. The ship was the Empress of Russia. They headed straight for Italy where John was sent to the Calgary Tank Regiment, to H.Q. Squadron. He drove the supply truck and hauled water tank trailer. He used to drive the Colonel around in the Scout car which was heavily armoured. They advanced straight up Italy to Florence. The Germans were retreating so fast they could not catch up to them. At Cassino, there was quite a mountainous country. It rained or snowed nearly every day. There were lots of dead Germans all over the place, not yet gathered up. John’s entire infantry was all Indian troops: Gurkhas, Muslims, and Sheiks. They rode on top of the tanks when they crossed the Seine River. The engineers built a Bailey Bridge in sections for the tanks to cross on because the bridges had been blown up. At Monastery Hill, the people were monks and priests. In the winter of 1943, the fighting at Ortona was very heavy. Shells were flying around all winter, and the Germans were still retreating. At Leghorn, in 1944, they loaded all of the equipment onto T.L.C.’s (Tank Loading Craft). There was a big area on the T.L.C.’s – tanks on the bottom and trucks on top. The T.L.C.’s drove onto the beach as far as they could and then unloaded using two big doorways and a tamp. They then headed for Marseilles at the bottom of France. From there, they advanced to Belgium. That was a long hike. The tanks were all loaded onto low beds. At Arnhem, Holland, a big battle took place. Many of the Allied airborne troops were killed, having landed in enemy territory. Once at Leeuwarden, the war was declared over on May 8, 1945. John had a good collection of about 25 German revolvers, some brand new – P.38’s, Barrettes and others. He left most of them behind, but took a couple to England and sold them, and brought three small ones home. After leaving Leeuwarden, they went back to Aldershot in England. Three months later, they left for Canada. They landed in Halifax on the Empress of Scotland just before Christmas in 1945. In Halifax, John was transferred to the Ontario Regiment. After arriving in Winnipeg, John had 30 days leave then went back to Winnipeg for his discharge at Ft. Osborne Barracks, #10 District Depot, on January 23, 1946. After leaving the army, John worked in a garage in Winnipeg, then came to Minnedosa where he worked at Metcalf’s Garage and then Wilton’s Garage. At Metcalf’s Garage, the boss traded John a gravel truck for his car, a brand new 1949 Meteor. That was the beginning of John’s gravel business that was later taken over by his two sons. In 1952, John married Alice Dalgarno from Newdale. They had two sons and one daughter. He was a member of The Royal Canadian Legion Minnedosa Branch 138 for 38 years. John passed away on May 12, 1995, and is interred in Minnedosa Cemetery. He received the Canadian Volunteer Service Medal and Clasp, Defence Medal, France and Germany Star, Italy Star, 1939-1945 Star, and War Medal 1939-1945.
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