Wilkinson, George: my Army recollections (March 15, 2013)

An interview/narrative of George Wilkinson's experiences whilst serving with the Canadian Army. Interview took place on March 15, 2013.

ABSTRACT: Lieutenant Colonel George Wilkinson's interview is focused on his time as a marshal in The Gaza Strip beginning on the 161h of July 1961. He discusses relationships between other nations within the United Nations peacekeeping operation in the Gaza Strip, relations between the Arabic and Israeli sides, and UN administration. His narrative includes criticisms and discussion regarding the United Nations as an administration. He also uses anecdotes from his time in later in Cyprus to illustrate discussion on international relations within the UN. 00:00-01:37 - Preamble, Signing of Release Form 01:37-02:00 - Introduction 02:00-03:09 - Basic personal identifying information, anecdote about childhood 03:09-05:09 - Joining the army, date, anecdote, retirement, distinguishments 05:09-07:34 - Pre deployment: preparation, appointment to Gaza Strip. 07:35-10:34 - Arrival to Gaza Strip, Stationing, Command Structure, Assigned Duties 10:34-15:25 - Interactions: local police, UN police, and impressions of other nations. 15:24-25:13 - Administration of UN, opinion on peacekeeping and protocols. 25:13-30:24 - Daily routine, commentary on the experience itself: Duties, cohabitation etc. 30:35-36:55 - Interactions with civilians, impression of lifestyles, quality of lives, tensions 36:56-45:40 - Impression of Media, both current and past regarding the conflict 45:41-49:37 - Estimation of worth regarding Canadian participation. 47:38-51:11 - Conclusion, confirmation of Release form signatures. Suggested Clip(s) for Archive: 15:33-17:09 - Opinion of the United Nations decision makers, their training and the lack of connection to military conflicts. Compares the staff armies to Canadian quality.

Interviewer: Bond, Celeste

Rank: Lieutenant Colonel. Medals and Honours: Canadian Forces Decoration

Interviewee: Wilkinson, George, 1918-

In Collection:

• Canadian Military Oral Histories

Contributor

• Wilkinson, George, 1918-
• Bond, Celeste

Subject

• United Nations
• Personal narratives--Canadian
• Military history

Language

• eng

Date created

• March 15, 2013

Relation

• Part of the Military Oral History Class collection of interviews.

Resource type

• Sound

Rights statement

• In Copyright - Educational Use Permitted

Extent

• 1 sound recording (MP3)

Geographic coverage

• Gaza Strip--Gaza

Coordinates

• 31.50161, 34.46672

Additional physical characteristics

• Original sound recording (MP3) also available.

Physical repository

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

Collection

• Canadian Military Oral History Collection

Provider

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

Genre

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

Archival item identifier

• WG_774

Fonds title

• Military oral history collection

Fonds identifier

• SC141

Is referenced by

• Special Collections Finding Aid: https://uvic2.coppul.archivematica.org/military-oral-history-collection

Date digitized

• March 24, 2013

Technical note

• Digital sound recording in .mp3 format at 192 kbps and 44 kHz. Recorded in digital format by interviewer, technical and cataloguing metadata provided by JF and JP. Interview recorded in digital format for UVic Special Collections in 2013. 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/10.58066/5rxj-3a65

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