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Never Rush It

Heroes Remember

Transcript
Well you got to have your mind very much set on everything you're doing. No messing, no talking about anything when you're doing what you're doing because what you're doing is, you're looking for something hidden behind that bush up there, maybe an 88mm gun ready to blast you right off the road. So, you know there is nobody between you and the Germans and all the time it's coming through on the wireless, "Carry on, carry on," telling you to go quicker because somebody way back at the brigadier is telling your commander they are looking for some information as to how far the Germans are gone back from their last attack and they're wanting to know what's going on. Well, I would never let this interfere with my thoughts. I would never rush it. If I thought there was... Like, for instance, one time we were coming along doing nothing, as it were. Well we know the Germans are just in front of us, somewhere. I, we pulled into a farmhouse. I ran upstairs on the second or third floor, it was a big house, to look over this hill that we'd stopped, just before a hill in the road, where we went in. Now if you look from this window and look down and sure enough there was two German motorcycles and sidecars. The sidecars had machine guns on them, waiting right there just over the brow for us to come over. So that's the sort of thing that you see I would do.
Description

Mr. Tee tells us why he would never rush things even though he was being instructed through the wireless to go quicker.

Ronald Tee

Mr. Tee was born in Portsmouth, England, on December 1, 1919. His father served with the navy in the First World War and after retiring from the service moved his family to a small village called Pinner in Northern London. At the age of 20, Mr. Tee found himself being "called up" to the British Army. In February 1940 he joined the Queen's Royal Regiment and was posted to Newcastle. He later volunteered and joined the Reconnaissance Corp. Regiment (later part of the Royal Armoured Corps.) and became a member of the 56th Reconnaissance Battalion. He remained with this unit until the end of the war and held rank as Troop Sergeant. Mr. Tee received an honourable discharge from the service on September 11, 1946. In 1953, Mr. Tee and his family moved to Canada to start a new life. They now reside in Kingston, Ontario. Throughout his lifetime Mr. Tee has been known for his determination, courage, enterprise and his enduring motto of "Keep your chin up mate!" He has written a book sharing many stories and experiences he had as a British soldier during the Second World War.

Meta Data
Medium:
Video
Owner:
Veterans Affairs Canada
Duration:
2:02
Person Interviewed:
Ronald Tee
War, Conflict or Mission:
Second World War
Location/Theatre:
Europe
Branch:
Army
Units/Ship:
56 Recee Unit (Armoured)
Rank:
Troop Sergeant
Occupation:
Armoured Car Commander

Copyright / Permission to Reproduce

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