Sheppard, Patrick: my Army recollections (November 21, 2005)
PublicABSTRACT: Patrick Sheppard Patrick Sheppard joined the army in 1939, was quickly sent to Brockville for officer training, then to Borden for armoured training. Trained on Ram tanks. Went overseas with Three Rivers Regiment. Trained on Churchill tanks. Maintenance problems with same. Advantages and problems of Sherman tanks discussed. Convoy to Sicily, engineless in Sea of Biscay. Sicily campaign. Evaluation of leadership, being kept in dark, poor communications from leaders; concerns about shooting own infantry. Learning as we went along. Three Rivers Regiment gets dirty work because of General Kitching's grudge against colonel. Description of Eight Army coolness under fire. German military skills. Vivid description of being blown out of tank, then out of truck in Sicily. Of taking the point in attack, of a sergeant being killed taking the point of being able to see the anti tank rounds as they approached. Descriptions of street fighting, of Ortona, of getting blown up a second time, his gunner killed. Sent back to Europe for D-day but gets malaria, misses it, sent back to Three Rivers Regt in Italy. Death of friend Tommy Wickam. Assesses casualties in regiment, of friends disappearing, of suspicions they had been murdered by unhappy Canadian soldiers. Vivid description of street fighting in Ortona, of seeing a woman at prayer in a basement while firing down street, of a dead German officer, of German soldiers., or Canadian corpses of Loyal Edmonton Regiment being taken from Ortona in Bren gun carriers Side 1 000-enlists, trains at Brockville, Borden 060- trains on Shermans, 150- Knocked out Churchills 180-Sicilian invasion 250-failures in leadership 290 Sicilian campaign, Kitching's grudge 330-Eight Army calm under mortar fire 350-German prowess, traps 380-Sheppard blown out f tank, truck 420-point tank for the regiment 450-Squadron leader blown up 460-uselessness of 50 calibre turret gun 480- Street fighting in Ortona, John Stone 515-Sheppard nearly blown up again 570-Regiment moves to NW Europe Side 2 001-Attitude to Russians, fight them next 030-typhoon planes lauded 070-manpower issue 120-Indian soldiers, Polish soldiers 140-Casualties 171-Suggest officers were murdered by men 195-making Three Rivers Regiment French Canadian 225-Leadership issues 230-Ortona, death of Tommy Wickham 270-Ortona-Loyal Edmonton Regt losses 200-Ortona, life and death -the way it was 350-State of German prisoners, shell shocked, gaunt 370-A dead German officer
Interviewer: Weatherbe, Steve
An interview/narrative of Patrick Sheppard's experiences during World War II. Interview took place on November 21, 2005.
Interviewee: Sheppard, Patrick
- In Collection:
- 2 sound recordings (MP3)
- 48.69096, 9.14062
- Original sound recording on audio cassette also available.
- Canadian Military Oral History Collection
- SP_538
- Special Collections Finding Aid: https://uvic2.coppul.archivematica.org/military-oral-history-collection
- August 16, 2012
- Digital sound recording in .wav format at 16 bits and 44 kHz. In .mp3 format at 56 kbps and 24 kHz. Interview recorded in digital format for UVic Special Collections in 2012. 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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Sheppard_P_0538_01.mp3 | Public |
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Sheppard_P_0538_02.mp3 | Public |
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