Description
Mr. Stanway describes his position as a driver/mechanic for the 5th Battery Anti-Aircraft Unit.
Frank Stanway
Mr. Stanway was born in Britain, and relocated to Montreal, Quebec with his family at a young age. Mr. Stanway joined the Non Permanent Active Militia (NPAM) along with friends, 8 months after Canada declared war. Shortly after basic training finished, their unit went active, so they joined the active forces in August 1940. Mr. Stanway shipped out to Scotland in 1941 and was transferred to Italy, along with the rest of the 5th Battery, in May 1943. They remained stationed there until a few months before the end of the war (February 1945) and returned home shortly after the war ended.
Transcript
I was a driver mechanic. I was a driver that pulled the gun carriage and the crew from the gun. I could load the gun and do. We were like a little compact group and if I wasn’t there somebody else would take over the driving. But it was pretty tricky because some of the roads you’d have to go up, back, take the, unload the gun, go around, push the gun around sort of thing. You couldn’t go this way, you have to go up, back it up, the truck would go up there then you try and back up and pick up the, you know, each man and the crew was able, I operated the...
Meta Data
Anti-Aircraft Battery Driver / Mechanic
Medium
Video
Owner
Veterans Affairs Canada
War, Conflict or Mission
Second World War
Location/Theatre
Europe
Person Interviewed
Frank Stanway
Branch
Army
Units/Ship
NPAM / 5th Battery / Artillery
Occupation
Mechanic
Duration
00:57