Incessant Bombing

Heroes Remember

Incessant Bombing

Transcript

We were stationed around Antwerp, I remember that, and at that time I think the Canadian Army was all around that area and tried to take that area, and we were the Signal Corps at that time. And we were stationed in sort of a big... oh a big station. I don’t know it looked more like a big house to tell you the truth. But we had to stay with signals 24 hours a day. You would work 8 hours on and 8 hours off, sending and receiving messages and that never stopped. And 9 times out of 10, the Germans were trying, they knew that and they were trying to knock us out. And we would get bombed whatever shift you were on, we would get bombed during the day, during the afternoon or at night. And that night, of course, was the worst. They sent bombs over there, that created a lot of glasses, windows breaking and everyday they swept up the glass like we sweep up the snow and that went on for quite a while. One thing that... that surprised me of all the bombings that happened during the time I was there in Antwerp, we never received a direct bomb on the little office where we were sending out our signals. I was really surprised at that. But I heard that the place where we had been staying at, after we left, the English group that replaced us, well of course they were all killed so, the Lord was my saviour. And my mother was saying a lot of prayers for me back home in Montreal. So I guess it helped!

Description

Mr. Husbands describes how his communications post near Antwerp was under constant German artillery attack, and how lucky he felt that they never received a direct hit.

Lloyd Husbands

Lloyd Husbands, one of nine children, was born in Montreal, Quebec. He worked in an asbestos shop to help support his family, and admits that constant irritation from the asbestos led him to enlist in 1942. After basic training, Mr. Husbands became a telegrapher and took advanced training at Kingston, Ontario. He served in post D-Day France and Belgium as a signalman. After the war, Mr. Husbands joined the CNR, his career lasting thirty-eight years.

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