Joining the Allies in France

Heroes Remember

Joining the Allies in France

Transcript

Interviewer: How long was it before the Calgary Highlanders were to take a position in the line? Our first attack was at, I can't remember the name of the place but it was a city along the coast that had been bombed by the RAF we had watched the bombers go over when we were on the boat before we even got off the boat and so the actual geography was it, we were, had to, the Germans were located here and here and here, and we had to organize our troops the best way we could and this was the colonels job of laying out the plans that we had to follow to carry out that deal. And he was a Highlander, and he was proud of being a Highlander, and he was, his name was Maclaughlan (sp) and he formed us up, or formed the troops up. I wasn't in it myself, I was the adjutant at that time but he, they formed the troops up and they marched through this wheat field with the bagpipes playing. And as somebody dropped they just kept going and finally reached their objective up at the top of this next ridge, and so on that's where they dug in, and that's where we, when I first met them, or at least after bringing the tail end of the thing up to where the colonel was and so on and that's where they were and that's where we started off for the next phase.

Description

Mr. Robinson remembers how the 2nd Infantry Division joined the rest of the Allies on the front lines approximately one month after the D-Day landing.

Sherwin Robinson

Sherwin Robinson was born in Innisvale, Alberta on April 5, 1915. He was a member of the 15th Alberta Lighthorse (Cavalry group) prior to the Second World War. As the Cavalry was not being used at the outbreak of the war, he joined the Calgary Highlanders on September 12, 1939, at the age of 24. During his service, Mr. Robinson moved through the ranks and occupied various positions. Following the war, he took a job with the Veterans Land Administration (VLA), eventually taking a position in Ottawa, where he remained.

Meta Data