Nova Scotia/Nunavut Command of The Royal Canadian Legion www.ns.legion.ca 77 Aubrey Roy Spidle was born in Mahone Bay and joined the Canadian Army in 1943. He trained as an infantryman and arrived in England in August of that year. Aubrey was in an infantry re-enforcement unit when a call came for volunteers for the Cape Breton Highlanders (CBH). He would later remark, somewhat jokingly, that he opted for the CBH because too many of his schoolteachers were officers in the West Nova Scotia Regiment. The CBH were part of the 11th Infantry Brigade, 5th Canadian Armoured Division and landed in Italy in November 1943. Aubrey’s first combat action took place north of Ortona when the CBH were in a fierce fight from 9 to 15 January 1944. It was shortly after that fight that a call came for Canadian infantrymen, in Italy, to volunteer for service with the First Special Service Force – a highly trained American-Canadian commando force. In the preceding 5 weeks of action, in the mountains south of Rome, the FSSF had suffered 77% casualties during the Battle of Monte La Defensa. The call for Canadian volunteers emphasized that the men must meet the FSSF medical standards and have proven ability to effectively close and engage the enemy with speed and violence. Aubrey volunteered and was soon wearing a USArmy uniform as a member of 6th Company, 2nd Battalion, 1st Regiment FSSF – he was now one of the ‘forcemen.’ Private Spidle was amongst the FSSF troops that took over the Mussolini Canal sector at Anzio in early February. The FSSF had adapted their fighting tactics for nighttime raids that emphasized “stealth and violence” and the silent killing of the enemy. German units quickly pulled back about a kilometer to avoid the aggressive patrols of the ‘forcemen.’ It was during one of those nighttime operations that one of the forcemen brought back the diary of a dead German soldier. Part of the diary noted "The black devils (Die schwarzen In July 2010, I was preparing to return to Afghanistan for my third ‘go-round.’ I took some time to visit Aubrey Spidle at his home in Mahone Bay. I had met the gentle warrior a few years earlier and had had a few occasions to talk with him about his wartime service. I knew his health was failing and it was doubtful if we would meet again. As we spoke that day, Aubrey related some of the ‘darker’ actions that he had done, or had to do, in closequarter combat. I remember him saying “I don’t know if it was the right thing to do, but I figure that I shall find out soon enough.” Here is some of Aubrey’s story. - Gary Silliker Aubrey Spidle – Highlander and Forceman continued ... FSSF arm patch
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