LEST WE FORGET 165 Harry Forbes was born in Maple Creek, Saskatchewan, on April 11, 1918, exactly seven months beforeWorldWar I ended, on November 11, 1918. In World War II, he applied to enlist in the fall of 1941 but was not accepted. In late March 1942, he got a call for basic training in Regina to start in April. On May 1, 1942, he enlisted as a Driver Mechanic for heavy artillery (25 pounders that fired a 25-pound shell) in the 14th Regiment 4th Division.When the 14th Field Regiment left Regina to go to Italy, Harry was in the hospital with the mumps and could not go and never saw them again. When he got out of the hospital, he was sent to Petawawa, Ontario, for driver training. After driver training, he was sent to a town near Kingston, Ontario for a motor mechanic course, where he made 98% on the exam; then to Montreal for a Fitter Mechanic Course. When finished, Harry was given a fourteen-day embarkation leave to see his family before going overseas. At home, he sent a message that he would be two days AWOL waiting to see his mother when she returned from the hospital. Back in Petawawa, the Major was really giving this guy hell for being two days late, but he had no excuse. When Harry came in, he pulled out his credentials and said, “Did you see your mother?” Harry said, “Yes.” He said, “How was she?” Harry said, “Good”. He said, “That is good” and passed him out. He must have had a mother too. But for being late Harry automatically lost his Lance Corporal stripe, but he only had one mother. They had lots more stripes. Harry never forgot that Major. Harry got a miserable old Corporal from World War II to get his overseas equipment. He belittled him and made a rat out of him all morning, then after dinner, started in on him again. Halfway across the empty parade square, lots of room to run, his fuse blew. Harry stopped and said, “This is as far as we are going together.” He said, “What do you mean?” Harry said, “I am not taking any more of your crap.” He said, “You will do as I say.” Harry said, “Not anymore.” He said, “I will put you up on orders.” Harry said, “I don’t give a damn what you do.” Harry was mad. They were standing toe to toe. Harry weighed about 135 pounds. He weighed 175 pounds, waiting to see who moved first. But he backed down. Had he put Harry up on orders, he would have likely gotten thirty days of detention. When you came out of there, head shaved, lean, belittled, obedient, the most primitive soul, you would have made the best husbands in the world, Harry and this 42-year-old corporal did not get along at all. You were not supposed to get overseas for active duty after forty years, but when Harry got overseas, there was that 42-year-old goat again, but he never bothered him again. On the train trip from Petawawa to Saint John, New Brunswick; where the tide in the Bay of Fundy rises and falls thirty feet; they boarded the ship, Mauritania, for the trip to Liverpool, England. On the eight-day, two-thousand-mile trip, some days the sea was quite rough. At dinner time one day, the old ship took a heave over left, then back over right and then up.The wide dinner stairway, half emptied with stomach heaves for a slop container. They did not get their six meals that day, three down three up. From Liverpool they went by train to an army camp in Aldershot, near London, England, in the fall of October/November 1943. One dark winter night in November 1943, about 10:30, a German bomb hit their search light dead on. From the concussion, the guy above him came down, bedding and all, on top of him. He thought the wall had fallen in. Next morning from the direct hit all there was left of the search light was a hole in the ground. The fall and winter of 1943-44 the Allies bombed Germany steadily until about March 1944.The Allies now had the largest air force ever seen in this world. Every morning about 9:30 fleet after fleet of Allied bombers flew over them, headed for Germany. In the afternoon they came flying back. The war manufacturing third of Hamburg, Germany, was wiped out completely. It was said the draw in draft from incendiary burning bombs was so intense it could draw a person into the fire, or a baby from a mother’s arms. About April 1944 some of the Canadians were billeted in Coventry, which had been badly bombed. One morning about 5 o’clock, one of Hitler’s VI self-propelled (not too accurate) doodle bugs came directly over their station but exploded a distance beyond. Their launching pad was discovered in southwest Germany, and a Canadian squadron lead by a Canadian pilot, circled round after round until there was nothing left, killing about eight of Germany’s top war technicians. FORBES, Harry WWII (continued)
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