this day we were all taken on a twenty mile march to Herndon Bay. From this

point we could see the English Channel filled with vessels of all kinds. The attack

on France took hold.

When do WE go over? The Third Canadian Division was in on the

landings on D-Day. The Second Division went in later. Following D-Day, Broome Park

became more relaxed. We were allowed to move around somewhat, but no passes were

offered to leave base. The mechanized units were allowed to do convoy exercises as part of

further unit training. On one such exercise my sergeant motioned for me to move forward

into the convoy which began to move. Because in his mind I didn’t respond quick enough he

became annoyed and responded in an angry manner. "What is the matter, do I need to write

you a letter?" he yelled. His look was worse than his words. I never forgot this man’s

behavior. He was the kind of person who carried a pistol in his holster on one hip and a

dagger strapped to the same belt on the other. His attitude conveyed the impression that

when he got into battle he would take on "The Hun" all by himself. His name was Sergeant

Brown. There is more to the story of this soldier later.

Being at Broome Park placed us in an area where enemy aircraft would pass over on

their way to London from bases in France. Night time was when most flights were made.

When this happened, powerful searchlights would illuminate the sky to zero in on the

aircraft. Sometimes several searchlights would converge on the enemy aircraft and give the

anti-aircraft batteries a target to fire at. Some nights the activity would be so intense that

there was a real danger from falling metal from the anti-aircraft shells falling back to earth.

We often slept with our hard hats on for protection.

When the V1 began flying – to ultimately drop on London - the anti aircraft activity

became a real danger to people on the ground. We witnessed the first V1. The V1 flew

without a pilot and dropped out of the sky at a predetermined time to hit its target. There

were many more to follow until Antwerp was captured and the enemy bases destroyed.

I remember that there was a total blackout law in England at that time. Buildings had

no lights showing. City street lights were shaded in such a way that light shone down on the

ground (not up into the sky). Vehicles had only a peep hole in their headlights. All other

lights were shaded. When driving at night, a person needed good vision and nerves of steel.