Presentation: My Dad's Navy Days 3 (1)

My Dad's Navy Days, 1941 - 1945

By G. A. Harrison

Doug Harrison (left), Buryl McIntyre outside Wellington Barracks,
HMCS Stadacona in Halifax, 1941. Photo credit - D. Harrison

Introduction: I will be making a presentation in November, 2016 regarding my father's WW2 service with the RCNVR and Combined Operations organization, including information about raids and invasions at Dieppe, North Africa, Sicily and Italy. Some of the following posts will link to books, stories and photographs already displayed on the '1000 Men, 1000 Stories' website.

MY DAD'S NAVY DAYS

Part 3 - Halifax Training is Tough, Combined Operations Even Tougher

My father's training with the RCNVR in Hamilton ended with a parade ("a proud moment long remembered") and the following words:

"Our training (in Hamilton) was to stand us in good stead in Halifax. Because if Hamilton was tough, it couldn't hold a candle to Halifax."

That being said, as I read his notes about his time at HMCS Stadacona, Halifax I find there are only a few words about the type of training administered there, and more about his introduction to Combined Operations, the organization that was to shape and direct most of his World War 2 activities and adventures between November 1941 and September 1945.

Here are the few words about his training:

"Training was very severe in Halifax.... Can you imagine running outside in temperatures in the low twenties in T-shirts and shorts? We did, morning after morning."

Not much to it, is there? He actually says more about what someone else did to get out of training, i.e., the running part.

"O/D Seaman Ward of Niagara Falls was very heavy so he jumped on the street car and then met us at Stadacona's gate and fell in at the rear. Never ran a step, still no one ever squealed on him."

Here are a few other details about his training days in Halifax: His group was known as Effingham Division, they served under "the good old White Ensign" and "time passed quickly." After arrival in Halifax they "went six weeks before being allowed to go ashore" and after that they received "permission for a few hours leave every other night." His Rolex Oyster wrist watch was stolen, he was almost run over by a street car after sliding down Citadel Hill and he recalls seeing a sign in a restaurant window that read 'Dogs and Sailors not allowed'.

Dad may have written little about the physical training because it was similar to previous work in Hamilton, and some or most classroom work would not likely have held his attention. (He hadn't finished high school; a steady 'hands-on' job at the Norwich Co-op had fit his temperament better).

In William Pugsley's book, Saints, Devils and Ordinary Seamen, the following paragraph is found about training for new recruits at HMCS Cornwallis, N.S., 1942:

"I can see I'm going to have trouble with you guys," continued the Subbie (Sub-Lieutenant, a Divisional Officer or D.O.), grinning. "However, here's the set-up." He then went on to tell us about the course. There'd be field training and gun drill, then classes in ammunition, fire control, torpedo, and anti-gas. After that there'd be one week spent as working party around barracks, three weeks of seamanship, and finally one week at sea. (Page 19)

Pugsley goes on to write about the early morning P.T. that my father encountered "morning after morning":

A couple of days later our training routines began, and with them came our first real contact with the horrors of war. This was the early morning P.T.... At six o'clock every morning came that damn' bugle.... many sought to escape the P.T. They hid in the attics, behind lockers, etc. (even empty rain barrels).... The rest of us turned out resignedly in wispy cotton shorts and jerseys to patter in a herd before dawn through the cold, damp, windy streets of Halifax. (Page 19-20)

Caption: Evening in one of the older barracks: a time for catching up on

personal chores. Photo - Saints, Devils and Ordinary Seamen, Page 98

Finally, in memoirs written by Lloyd Evans (RCNVR, Combined Operations) of Markham, Ontario one can read these lines about early training for young Canadians in the Wavy Navy:

We spent a few months in (basic) training there (Ottawa) and then we were posted to Halifax, Nova Scotia. The new entry training there was at the ex-army Wellington Barracks (then C Block of HMCS Stadacona). The training consisted of knots and splices, rifle drill, semaphore, Morse code, ship and aircraft recognition, gunnery drill and parade drill. The highlight of the training was a one-day trip to sea on a Minesweeper for gunnery practice. The whole ship rattled and shook when the 4-inch gun went off. It wasn't all fun - one of our boys was so seasick he pleaded to be thrown over the side.

Little can be found about what these new recruits to RCNVR thought lay around the corner. Where would they be placed? Would they serve on shore or on a ship?

In late 1941, for about 90 new recruits including my father, the answer was to be found on a single 'Help Wanted' bulletin.

Part 3 (Halifax Training is Tough, Combined Operations Even Tougher), to be continued.

Please link to Presentation: My Dad's Navy Days 2