Willbond, William: my armed forces experiences (November 18, 2009)

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Interviewee: Willbond, William, b. 1941

Interviewer: Williams, Elizabeth

ABSTRACT: Sergeant William Willbond Begins to recount his military career, but veers into a long digression on the loss of soldiers’ tax-free status. Considers this an example of politicians taking unfair advantage of young soldiers. He also begins to discuss mountain training in Chilliwack and the necessity of trusting one’s fellow-soldiers, and begins discussing an incident of severe illness, wherein he attacked two medics who tried to bathe him with water that was too hot. Briefly discusses the Russo-Chinese war in the context of his time at the China Desk between 1973 and 1976. Discusses refusing a posting that would have forced him to leave his wife and children alone in Petawawa for a year, that resulted in his leaving the Forces. After this he worked in the RCMP office in Victoria, and recalls an officer that gave him trouble over his level of education. He briefly talks about taking over the Cadet camp and hiring several civilian women to get through the piled-up paperwork. Discusses the Civil Defence infrastructure that still existed, despite being inactive, which helped with the Port Alberni Tsunami relief. His and other soldiers’ participation involved a lot of “standing around”. Discusses the pre-deployment riot-control and crowd-control training his unit went through before going to Cyprus. He talks about the feral dogs and wild children in Cyprus, which he cites as the first time he became interested in helping orphans. He also remembers that he lost one of his best friends in Cyprus, and reminisces briefly about this friendship. He then goes back to talking about his charitable actions, talking about selling all his personally-owned guns and rifles and using the proceeds to buy medical supplies and dolls for orphans. He then returns to discussing Cyprus, including an incident wherein his small friend “Rat” made a large Turkish soldier back down by chambering a round. Then he recalls all the various nicknames he and his squad-mates used to give one another, many of which were politically incorrect. [Break] He recalls an amusing incident where Canadian soldiers filled the illegal Turkish listening posts with effluvia from the latrines and then dirt, resulting in much irritation on the part of the Turks who came back to re-dig them the following night. He makes clear, however, that despite such antics, like the case where his friend chambered a round, the soldiers were always very conscious of the rules and of not escalating conflict. Discusses the use of “shows of force” to make Turks and Greeks back down from confrontations or illegal activities, and remembers how the UN troops were extremely outgunned by both sides, and thus could not rely on force. He then recalls a Major who was consistently barely on time for fall-in parades. [Break] Talking about the FLQ Crisis, wherein he was working with the Development of Integrated Logistics Programme, and briefly explains what that entails. He recalls that this was the first time he’d worked for a female boss, and recounts an amusing incident with regards to ordering personal items for those who worked in the office. He discusses the soldiers’ job of guarding politicians, and which politicians the soldiers enjoyed guarding because they allowed the soldiers to sit inside the house rather than outside in the cold Jeeps. He then talks about the misconception of the CF’s involvement in the FLQ as an Aid to Civil Power, when in fact that involvement was under the War Measures Act. He shares his anger that the soldiers involved were never recognised for their contributions. [Break] Recalls taking the support personnel on training runs for the Battle Fitness Test on the orders of the CO, and that after their training they passed the engineer units on the actual test, thanks to the CO getting the engineers drunk the night before. He opines that the rise in guidelines and rules were to do with the fact that the Canadian Forces began to lose personnel. [Break] His opinion is that the Forces’ decline has led to its lack of involvement in many potential peacekeeping missions, including the genocide in Sudan. The CF are now involved only in what he refers to as “peacemaking” missions. He then digresses into discussion of African and Arab treatment of women, and his related charitable work. When asked about his experience of Rules of Engagement, he responds that he doesn’t remember ever seeing any written down, and had only seen Daily Orders. He then discusses recommending people for medals while working with the police, and segues into the importance of recognising extraordinary efforts and how wrong it was that the soldiers involved in the FLQ Crisis were not so recognised.

Rank: Sergeant.

An interview/narrative of William Willbond's experiences during the October Crisis and the United Nations operations in Cyprus. Interview took place on November 18, 2009.

In Collection:
Contributor Subject Language Keyword Date created Relation Resource type Rights statement Extent
  • 5 sound recordings (MP3)
Geographic coverage Coordinates
  • 60.10867, -113.64258
  • 35, 33
Additional physical characteristics
  • Original sound recordings (MP3) also available.
Physical repository Collection
  • Canadian Military Oral History Collection
Provider Genre Archival item identifier
  • WW_615
Fonds title Fonds identifier Is referenced by Date digitized
  • November 19, 2009
Technical note
  • Digital sound recording in .mp3 format at 48 kbps and 22 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 2009. 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

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file details SC141_MilitaryOralHistory_GenericThumbnail Public
file details Willbond_W_0615_01.mp3 Public
file details Willbond_W_0615_02.mp3 Public
file details Willbond_W_0615_03.mp3 Public
file details Willbond_W_0615_04.mp3 Public
file details Willbond_W_0615_05.mp3 Public