Nova Scotia/Nunavut Command of The Royal Canadian Legion www.ns.legion.ca 87 continued ... died, Carl and Blair got injured again. Ambulance stretcher-bearers picked up Blair. I went back to where they were. They were crying like babies. Herbie mostly, you see he was only eighteen. I didn't cry. I was too scared to cry. A Red Cross jeep picked us up and put Herbie and Carl on top of the jeep. The fellow driving said he'd pick me up next or if I felt like sitting, I could sit in the seat next to him. I said I'd sit in the seat. We drove a long piece into two little French towns, Authie and Buron. You see it was called the Battle of Authie. There I was put into a hospital of sorts. In Hospital Then I was put on a plane back to England and was admitted to hospital. I kept passing out until they operated on my head and removed shrapnel. By then I regained quite a bit of movement on my left side, mostly in my hand but my whole left leg was still paralyzed. In August, 1944 I was given a One-Way ticket to Truro. I remember I was on a stretcher and they were going to carry me onto the ship, Lady Nelson. I told them I walked off the ship that brought me here and I'm going to walk on the ship that will take me home. And I did! It was 18 August 1944 when I arrived back in Halifax and then took a train to Truro. My Mom met me. Before we left for overseas, Herbie, Blair, Carl and myself made a pact. If any one of us made it home we were to go visit the other one's family. Since I was the first one back, I went to see Herbie's Mom and Dad. They were sure glad to see me, sure was. They asked me how he died. I also went to visit Blair's family. After a month of just fooling around, I went back to Debert and got discharged on 25 September 1944 due to my wounds. One day back home, I went back to the woods to visit my Mom who cooked at the mill. The boss needed a man to work in the mill and he hired me. In March 1948,1 married May (nee Welch) from Pleasant Hill. We had three children, all boys. Today two of my children are living and together we have five grandchildren, nine great grandchildren and one great great grandchild. I went to work for Riversdale Lumber in 1950 and was there 32 years when I retired. Would I do it again? Yep, we felt we were needed. I was scared, but not all the time. Mostly when the bombs were dropping. What discouraged me about the war were the young kids fighting and girls as young as 13 in England - pregnant - probably by soldiers - but not by me that's for sure! I didn't mind the rations but the rain - I never thought I'd get warm again. I never got any mail. We were advanced too fast for the mail to get to us. No, I never received any mail. Mom sent letters and parcels but they never got to me. Some of the letters were waiting for me when I got home but we never saw the parcels. I saw a lot of killing, a lot more dead Germans than Canadians. I almost have to say I had the same feelings for them because most of them were just kids like us. I've been a member of the Royal Canadian Legion for 42 years. I was active on the Sick and Visiting Committee for Branch No. 26 until recently when my health made it difficult for me to get out and about. Something that is hard to believe is many years after the war, my wife and I went to a North Novies Reunion in Amherst. It was there that I met up with the doctor who signed my release papers from England when I had my head operated on. What a coincidence! Hiram Spencer Delaney - 2005
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy MTM0NTk1OA==