161 The Royal Canadian Legion MANITOBA & NORTHWESTERN ONTARIO COMMAND www.mbnwo.ca OBERG, Fredolf Ernest “Fred” WWII Fred was born in District of Hilltop, Manitoba in 1916. He enlisted in Portage la Prairie with the RCEME in April 1942. He was 25 years old and employed by the CPR as a fireman at the time. Following his basic training at Portage in August 1942, he was posted to Barriefield, Ontario for advanced training, gunnery, gas training, and machine guns. He also took some training in electrical mechanical work. In December 1942, he went to Halifax and straight overseas aboard the Queen Elizabeth. After disembarking in Greenock, Fred and his fellow soldiers took the train to Martinique, part of Camp Borden in the south of England. There they had more training in small arms, putting in time until they were posted to their units. In March 1943, Fred was posted to the 4th Canadian Brigade, 2nd Division (same Division as the Essex, Scottish, and Hamilton Light Infantry and Calgary Highlanders). His next posting was Bognar Regis, still in the south coast area, to the 4th Brigade workshop. They did all the work for the three Infantry Brigades. Together, they had war games and travelled all over the country. The EMEs worked on 16 pounder guns, 19 pounders, small arms, machine guns, rifles, and fine instruments. They had been posted to this unit as reinforcements after heavy losses of men at Dieppe. Fred was put in charge of technical stores (fine instruments for the maintenance of guns and small arms). They had more advanced training on rifle range, training with machine guns, hand grenades and bayonet fighting. The whole brigade moved quite often, about every three months, to different locations in the south of England, to avoid German bombers. They had some very close calls when London was bombed. Towards 1944, Fred and his unit took a waterproofing course for their vehicles. They knew then that they’d be going over to the Continent soon. About a month after D-Day, they took off from Southampton and landed on the coast of Normandy. From there, they followed the infantry of the 2nd Division up into Caen, where there was heavy fighting, then on to the Falaise Gap where they took a lot of prisoners. There were heavy losses on both sides. They had some pretty close calls but advanced as the front advanced. They were attached to the 21st Army Group under British General Montgomery. They advanced in staged from Falaise Gap into Antwerp, Belgium. North of Antwerp at Kapiullum, in October, Fred was wounded with shrapnel caused by a V2 rocket. Several men were killed. Fred was admitted to hospital in Antwerp for two weeks. “After I was discharged from the hospital, I got a leave for four days. I went into a café and had ice cream. It was the first ice cream I had had for a few years.” Fred returned to his unit, and they eventually landed at Nijmegen, Holland in the later part of November where they spent the next three months. As Fred recalled: “The front was quiet during the winter of 1944.” In February 1945, they advanced into Clevecalgar Forest in Germany having crossed the Rhine. They got as far as Oldenberg when the war ended. Fred’s units, and others, were dispersed in Holland and went back to England before sailing back to Halifax. Fred was discharged in January 1946 and spent two months in Deer Lodge Hospital recuperating from his war wounds. His medals include the Canadian Volunteer Service Medal, Defence Medal, France, and Germany Star, 1939-1945 Star, War Medal 1939-1945 and the French Legion of Honour Medal awarded in 2017 by the French government. He returned to work for CPR in July 1946, back in Minnedosa. Fred and Norma Sharpe (of Minnedosa) were married in July 1947. Norma died in 1950 in childbirth. Fred married Jean McIlmoyl, and they had a son and a daughter. Retirement in 1977 meant Fred and Jean could enjoy travelling and spent many winters in the States. As Fred said: “Golfing, gardening, a little fishing, and involvement in the Covenant Church all helped to make life more meaningful and enjoyable.” He was a life member of The Royal Canadian Legion Minnedosa Branch 132. Fred passed away in 2019.
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