Family HIstory Moment

Over the past year, I have written stories of our extended family. And I have shared these stories with my family.

This one is not focused on one person, but a group of people.the Canadian soldiers of WWII, some of whom were members of our extended family. This is addressed to my children, but it may be of interest to your family as well.

Family History Moment

We have recently watched some World War II documentaries. Your grandfather, Ernest Kinney served in this war, as did several other members of the family. My father volunteered but he was rejected as medically unfit because of a hernia. My uncles Walter and Charlie Ing, Albert Lidgett, and Evans Carson were soldiers. So were your mom's uncles Charlie Hippard, and Walter and Ralph Teale. Ralph died in the battle to liberate Brugges, Belgium. Walter's unit ran out of ammunition and were then taken as prisoners of war.

They almost never spoke of the war and the horrors they experienced.

My impressions were that Canadian troops basically served as part of the British Expeditionary Force. But their role seemed to be much more than I thought. I know that every year the Dutch remind us that the Canadians liberated Holland. I had read that on D-Day, when the Canadians landed on Juno Beach, they were the only one of the five allied armies able to take all of their objectives that first day, but I am not sure what factors were involved. I don't remember ever hearing the story of the Canadians' role in liberating Denmark. It was an interesting story, Hitler had just committed suicide, and the Soviet troops were advancing rapidly through the collapsing German armies. There was a concern that if the Soviets reached Denmark first, they might never leave. So two Canadian battalions, supported by a Scottish tank company were dispatched to head off the Soviet advance. They reached the German port of Wismar, and prevented the Soviets from advancing further towards Denmark.

Wikipedia's summary is https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wismar “In World War II Wismar was heavily damaged by Allied air raids. At the end of the war in Europe, as the line of contact between Soviet and other Allied armies formed, Wismar was captured by the British 6th Airborne Division's 1st Canadian Parachute Battalion on 2 May 1945. This prevented further Soviet advance into north Germany and Denmark. On 7 May 1945 Field Marshal Montgomery and Marshal Konstantin Rokossovsky met in Wismar. On 1 July 1945, due to the occupation zone agreements of the Yalta Conference making Wismar a part of the Soviet Zone of Germany, the British troops departed and Soviet troops took over.”

The documentary told how these Canadian troops encountered civilians and German soldiers fleeing the Soviet front. There was relatively little shooting involved. Most of the German troops realized that the war was over, and were looking for an opportunity to surrender. The advancing Soviets were very unhappy to find allied troops already in Wismar, with tank destroyers blocking their path, but they did not attack the Canadians. This all reminded me of a conversation many years ago with our neighbors from Germany. “As the eastern front collapsed, our German troops were under strict orders. If you encounter British or American troops, surrender immediately, If you encounter Soviet troops, fight to the last man!” They had no expectation of any mercy from the Soviets, and any delaying of the Soviet advance would give more Germans the chance to escape.

My generation escaped the horrors of war. It is my hope and prayer that your generation may enjoy the same blessing too.

Love,
Dad/Grandpa/Bill