Interview with Greg Taylor

Narrator: Taylor, John G. 1948- Interviewer: Interviewed by Logan Groicher Interview Date and Location: March 10, 2025 On Zoom Synopsis 0:00-3:16 - Early life and reasons for joining the Military 3:16-4:00 – decisions on which branch and trade to choose 4:00-7:00 – Switching from Reserves to regular Force, COTC, RMC. 7:00-14:46 - Discussions and opinions on Basic Training, Completing officer training twice 14:46-27:57 – Regiments He served with, Tours he went on, roles he occupied and stories in these subjects. 27:57-40:00 - Western Germany, well supplied, what exercises and life was like, Snowballs 40:00-49:08 working with foreign militaries, Anecdote of German exercise, German unpredictability 49:08-1:02:46 explaining problems in exercises, American mistakes, How different militaries fight, Brigade Commander anecdote, German functionality 1:02:46-1:18:52 - Supplies, Anecdote on outdated Ammunition, favours between militaries 1:18:52-1:20:44-Berlin wall coming down, Leaving Germany 1:20:44-1:40:34-Being assigned to Defence of Canada, Opinions on Defence of Canada, Goose Bay, War games and exercises, new brigade commander, Papers written, CAF intelligence 1:44:31-1:53:01- final thoughts and opinions, OPP American adopted process

In Collection:

• Canadian Military Oral Histories

Contributor

• Groicher, Logan
• Taylor, John G. 1948-

Subject

• Military history
• Royal Military College of Canada
• Basic training (Military education)
• Berlin Wall, Berlin, Germany, 1961-1989
• Canada. Canadian Armed Forces
• Military education

Language

• eng

Identifier

• Interview #SC141_TJ_938

Keyword

• Americans
• Armoured Corps
• COTC
• Keith Kerbel
• Sydney
• Germans
• FLINKER IGEL
• The Cold war
• exercise CERTAIN CHALLENGE
• Goose Bay
• Petawawa
• NATO
• Defence of Canada
• Radly Walters
• Basic Officer Qualification
• Royal Canadian Dragoons
• Snowballs
• Western Germany
• 8th Canadian Hussars
• Cyprus
• GDP
• RMC
• RSA
• PSA
• Russians

Date created

• March 10, 2025

Relation

• Part of the Military Oral History Class collection of interviews (HIST 426, 2025).

Resource type

• Moving Image

Rights statement

• In Copyright - Educational Use Permitted

Extent

• 01:53:01

Alternative title

• The Stories In Between: Oral History on Canada's Military in Western Germany

Geographic Coverage

• Germany (West)

Physical Repository

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

Collection

• Canadian Military Oral History Collection

Provider

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

Genre

• reminiscences
• video recordings (physical artifacts)
• interviews
• oral histories (literary genre)

Archival item identifier

• Accession Number: 2026-0008; Series: IV; Item: 938

Fonds title

• Military oral history collection

Fonds identifier

• SC141

Is referenced by

• Special Collections Finding Aid: https://search.archives.uvic.ca/military-oral-history-collection

Date digitized

• 2025

Technical note

• Interview recorded in digital format for UVic Special Collections in Spring 2025. Recorded in digital format by interviewer. Keywords supplied by interviewer. Metadata by KD.

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/fhft-kk31