Interviewee: Sheppard, Earl Herbert, b. 1916

Rank: Lieutenant.

ABSTRACT: Lieut. Earl Herbert Sheppard Three Rivers Regiment Sheppard_E_0133_01.mp3 Born on June 17, 1916 in Saskatchewan. Father a veteran of the Boer War. Joined the militia at Dundern, Sask. in 1939; had to buy his own overalls to begin training. Went "active". Sent on a gas warfare course which, fortunately, was never required. Very aware of the lack of modern weapons. Sent to the O.C.T.U. at Brockville, then to Camp Borden where armoured training began. Overseas. Living conditions. Posted to the Three Rivers Regiment of the 1st Army Tank Brigade. Trained on Churchill tanks which he does not regard very highly. In 1943 issued with the reliable Sherman tank. Sailed for Sicily, living aboard a landing craft, tank for about a month. Algiers. Experiences in Sicily and Italy. Sheppard_E_0133_02.mp3 Returned to England to prepare tanks for the invasion of Europe. Landed a week after D-Day. Served until Ghent, Belgium was reached (does not state his unit). Returned to England as an expert in servicing and loading tanks in landing craft. Slated for a post in Australia which did not materialize. Comments on a day in the life of a tank subaltern in action; orders, tactics, "point troop" which was a dangerous job. Shermans, while reliable, "brewed up" too easily. German prisoners praised the Canadian infantry; not so impressed with our tanks. Back in Canada he was offered a position with the Armoured Corps at Camp Gagetown, but decided to leave the Army in 1945. (45:00)

Interviewer: Torrie, Tom

An interview/narrative of Earl Herbert Sheppard's experiences during World War II. Lieutenant Sheppard served with the Three Rivers Regiment. Interview took place on August 25, 1987.

In Collection:

• Canadian Military Oral Histories

Contributor

• Torrie, Tom
• Sheppard, Earl Herbert, b. 1916

Subject

• World War (1914-1918)
• Military history
• World War (1939-1945)
• Tanks (Military science)
• Operation Overlord

Language

• eng

Date created

• August 25, 1987

Relation

• Part of the Reginald H. Roy collection of interviews.

Resource type

• Sound

Rights statement

• In Copyright - Educational Use Permitted

Extent

• 2 sound recordings (MP3)

Geographic Coverage

• Europe
• England

Coordinates

• 48.69096, 9.14062
• 52.16045, -0.70312

Additional physical characteristics

• One original sound tape reel (ca. 45 min.) : 1 7/8 ips, 2 track, mono. ; 1 sound cassette copy : standard, mono. in Special Collections.

Physical Repository

• University of Victoria (B.C.). Library

Collection

• Canadian Military Oral History Collection

Provider

• University of Victoria (B.C.). Library

Genre

• oral histories (literary genre)
• reminiscences
• interviews
• sound recordings

Archival item identifier

• SEH_133

Fonds title

• Reginald Herbert Roy fonds

Fonds identifier

• SC104

Is referenced by

• Special Collections Finding Aid: https://uvic2.coppul.archivematica.org/reginald-herbert-roy-fonds

Date digitized

• July 25, 2007

Technical note

• Digital sound recording in .wav format at 16 bits and 22 kHz. In .mp3 format at 64 kbps and 22 kHz. Digitized by AN, technical and cataloguing metadata provided by JF and JP. Transferred from audio reel to audio cassette between 1987-1997. Interview migrated to digital format for UVic Special Collections in 2007. Migration metadata by KD and MT.

Rights

• This interview has been posted with the understanding that it may be used for research purposes only. Should the interviewee or their heirs have any objections to this interview being accessible on the Internet, it will be removed promptly. Contact UVic Special Collections for permission if using for other than research purposes: speccoll@uvic.ca

DOI

•  https://doi.org/10.58066/7vsz-p369

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