Wishart, William Donald: my Army recollections (May 18 - June 21, 1984)
Interviewee: Wishart, William Donald, b. 1907
Rank: Colonel. Medals and Honours: Order of the British Empire (OBE)
ABSTRACT: Col. William Donald Wishart, O.B.E. Royal Canadian Corps of Signals (Reel 1, Side 1) Born on Jan. 19, 1907 at Portage la Prairie, Man. Graduated from the University of Manitoba in 1931, the same year he joined the army. Comments on recruitment, officers, training, facilities at Camp Borden, Ont. Regimental sergeant-major had great influence on young officers. Went into debt purchasing uniforms, almost a standard occurrence. Details of mess life and customs. (45:00) Marriage for junior officers was not approved until promotion to captain was attained. Training equipment was old and often worn-out. Issued with No. 1 Wireless set in the mid-thirties. Served in Ottawa and in London, Ont., 1935-1939. Joined a 2nd Division signals unit upon the outbreak of war. (40:00) (Reel 1, Side 2) Intensive training at Barryfield, Ont. Divisional signals organization. Promoted to major, appointed Lines Officer (telephone communications). Some very primitive equipment was in use, but later were issued commercial style "telephone trucks" which were a great improvement. Comments on his senior signals officer, Brig. J.E. Genet. (25:00) Thoughts on Maj.-Gen. A.G.L. McNaughton. (Reel 2, Side 1) Employed on line communications at 1st Canadian Army headquarters. Difficulties in finding efficient signalmen; required much time to train them. Felt that the headquarters officers were very efficient. On D+20 went to Normandy where establishing communications was a high priority. Experiences in Europe -- a wide-ranging anecdotal account. (38:00) (Reel 2, Side 2) Decided to remain in the Army; chief instructor at Vimy Barracks, Kingston. Remarks on the production of the Canadian No. 26 Wireless set. Preferred wartime soldiering to that of peacetime with the many constraints -- political and financial -- of the latter. (Reel 3, Side 1) Family matters, technical staff college in England. Appointed Director of the Canadian Signal Research and Development Establishment in Ottawa, a post which he held for six years. Director of electronic and communications development. Commandant of the School of Signals, Vimy Barracks, 1958. Retired in 1960. Joined a firm of consulting electrical engineers. Retired again in 1972. (90:00)
Interviewer: Bell, Chris
An interview/narrative of William Donald Wishart's experiences during World War II. Colonel Wishart served with the Royal Canadian Corps of Signals. Interview took place on May 18, 31, June 7 and 21, 1984.
- In Collection:
- 5 sound recordings (MP3)
- 48.69096, 9.14062
- 52.16045, -0.70312
- Three original sound tape reels (ca. 390 min.) : 1 7/8 ips, 2 track, mono. ; 4 sound cassette copies : standard, mono. in Special Collections.
- Canadian Military Oral History Collection
- WWD_205
- Special Collections Finding Aid: https://uvic2.coppul.archivematica.org/reginald-herbert-roy-fonds
- September 12, 2012
- Digital sound recording in .wav format at 24 bits and 96 kHz. In .mp3 format at 192 kbps and 44 kHz. Digitized by TMP, 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 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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