When we young fellows arrived in Aneroid Sask to join 60th Bty. RCA, we were some of the first arrivals and were billeted for a few days with the local people. This was due to not having tents or a kitchen set up. Then on the 23rd of July 1940, we were medically checked, and if we passed the medical we gave our oath of allegiance to serve then HRH King George to serve in the forces for the duration of hostilities and a year after as his Majesty saw fit. Now we had a regimental number, mine being L35064. The L signifing the Military district # 12.
Tents arrived and we no longer were billeted or ate in the cafe. Tents were set up in a straight lines, kit was issued, summer drill pith helmets, puttees army shoes, pt shoes, underwear, shirts and shorts, shaving gear, razor, shaving brush, shoe brushes, and down to the last thing you could use, even a house wife, which was sewing kit thread, wool for darning socks and needles, also spare buttons. Oh yes, we were four to a tent and we had blankets issued and a bag called a palias. This we stuffed with straw from a nearby farm for a mattress. The battery had some officers that were militia men, also some sergeants, and a first war sgt major. We now were truly in the army! Guard duty and kitchen fatigue were the start. Morning roll call! Training was not too much at the start, as men were coming in every day until we were up to battery strength of about 200.
The Mounties even brought a few so called hobos off the freight train to join up or be locked up for vagrancy. One of these was Finlander that was a so called tough egg who chewed up beer glasses even after he had his teeth extracted!
[ a side bar he was not that tough started a melee in Tommy Farrs bar in England and spent the war in a British jail. He may have killed a person or mained a person ] He used that to get out of action .
I am ahead of myself.
We route marched and drilled for a month at Aneroid getting to know who our fellow gunners were.
Also we thought we were pretty good and smart, so the local girls, which there seemed quite a few, we tried to outdo each other for their attention , Some of the fellows married local girls but after we left the girls went back to their old boy friends that they had before we appeared on the scene.
We had a good ball team here and I was the pitcher, and Orme, my school buddy the catcher. Now we were in shorts and short sleeved shirts but we wanted to get our battle dress that would show we were active service. Why in the heat of dusty dry hot Sask . we wanted the serge? Well we were issued it and I went to a dance to show it, the battle dress off and had the worst under arm scalding any one ever had.
So much for vanity.
Will write sooner next time
Gordie ...
