Clark, S. Findlay: my Army and political recollections (June 16, 1967 - December 11, 1972)

Interviewer: Roy, Reginald H.

ABSTRACT: Lt.-Gen. S.F. Clark, 16 June 1967. (No transcript.) Came to know Maj.-Gen. Pearkes quite well when he was Chief of the General Staff and Pearkes was Minister of National Defence. Discusses nuclear war-heads for Bomarc and Honest John. Avro Arrow problem. Pearkes' policy of civil defence for the militia and possibly for the regular force. Pearkes favoured some integration for the services. Pro-American attitude of Pearkes logically led to American equipment for the Canadian services. Lt-Gen. S.F. Clark, 6 January 1971. 31pp. Decision to scrap the Avro Arrow fighter aircraft. Attitude to nuclear weapons in Canada. Small atomic weapons. Bilingualism in the forces. The army's Bobcat, not really financially feasible. Lt.-Gen. S.F. Clark, 18 February 1971. 33pp. Acquiring the Bomarc. Problem of nuclear warheads, a necessity. Rationale for the militia involvement in Civil Defence. The Honest John rocket. Availability of nuclear warheads. Lt.-Gen. S.F. Clark, 7 July 1971. 32pp. Harkness Papers. Use of Honest John rockets. Public arguments, mostly specious. Finances, manpower problems. Civil Defence and the finances of the militia. Military Bands. Working after regular hours. The problem posed by unexploded shells, etc., on military ranges. Pressure exerted by food suppliers to purchase larger quantities. Cost of establishing radar lines, American involvement. Lt-Gen. S.F. Clark, 12 August 1971. 29pp. Military training provided to certain African countries. Air support for the army: Air O.P.'s. Paratroop training, publicity. Early integration (medical). Commonwealth defence, military politics. Lt-Gen. S.F. Clark, 11 December 1972. 16pp. Defence, ministerial meetings, NATO, other treaties. U.S. stockpiles of weapons, particularly nuclear. Cost of manpower in the armed forces. Excess of commitments over finances and personnel.

Rank: Lieutenant-General. Medals and Honours: Order of the British Empire (CBE)

Interviewee: Clark, S. Findlay, b. 1909

An interview/narrative of S. Findlay Clark's recollections of Major-General Pearkes. Lieutenant-General Clark was Chief of the General Staff and Pearkes was Minister of National Defence. Interview took place on June 16, 1967, January 6, February 18, July 7, August 12, 1971 and December 11, 1972.

In Collection:

• Canadian Military Oral Histories

Contributor

• Clark, S. Findlay, b. 1909
• Roy, Reginald H.

Subject

• Armed Forces--Officers
• Pearkes, G. R. (George Randolph), 1888-1984
• Military history

Language

• eng

Date created

• June 16, 1967 to December 11, 1972

Relation

• Part of the Social Sciences Research Centre collection of interviews.

Resource type

• Sound

Rights statement

• In Copyright - Educational Use Permitted

Extent

• 12 sound recordings (MP3)

Geographic coverage

• United States
• Canada

Coordinates

• 60.10867, -113.64258
• 39.76, -98.5

Additional physical characteristics

• Five original sound tape reels (ca. 6 hours, 55 min.) : 1 7/8 ips, 2 track, mono. ; 6 sound cassette copies : 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

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

Archival item identifier

• CSF_216

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

• October 1, 2010

Technical note

• Digital sound recording in .wav format at 16 bits and 44 kHz. In .mp3 format at 56 kbps and 24 kHz. Digitized by JF, 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 2010. 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/10.58066/5ph3-cz83

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