War is Declared

Heroes Remember

War is Declared

Transcript

I just joined the active service, Canadian active service force on September 7th and they had me sent up to Barriefield, Ontario which is the headquarters of the Signal Corps and I qualified as an operator in Group A and Group B so I was in charge of the signal office in Barriefield, Ontario til I was sent overseas in early June of 1940. And I was on the high seas when I was listening to Lord Haha, as they called him, British defector who was broadcasting for Germany and he was saying, “You Canadians aboard the Duchess of Athol and the Duchess of Richmond and the Samaria, the revenge is your escort, the battleship Revenge. You will never make it to Liverpool because now that Dunkirk has fallen our subs will be looking for you.” That was the context we had, we were about five hundred miles out of Liverpool.

Description

Mr. Hart shares his story of where he was when war was declared and his journey to Liverpool, England.

David Hart

Mr. Hart was born in Montreal, Quebec on July 8, 1917. One of seven boys, Mr. Hart joined the army reserves and high school cadets later graduating from college as an accountant. Joining with the Fourth Divisional Signals in 1937, he then joined active service August 1939. Mr. Hart continued on with his service as a signalman with the Royal Canadian Corps Second Divisional Signals taking part in The Dieppe Raid as a sergeant. For his part in this historical event, Mr. Hart received the Military Medal for bravery, awarded to him by His Majesty King George VI at Buckingham Palace. Upon returning to Canada, Mr. Hart continued on with his accounting career. Having great pride for his service, Mr. Hart has returned to Dieppe six times and with this being the 75th Anniversary of the Dieppe Raid, along with his wife and son, he will be joining the Canadian delegation in recognition of this commemorative event. At 100 years of age, Mr. Hart continues to enjoy life with his wife of 99 years of age, still residing in their own home. Mr. Hart continues to promote the importance of the Dieppe Raid so that Canadians will truly understand the sacrifice that was given during this battle. He and his wife now reside in Montreal, Quebec.

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