Fitch, Burton: my wartime experiences (February 2, 2007)
ABSTRACT: Burton Fitch Burton was born in Quebec City. At age 5, his family moved to Montreal. Burton joined the Canadian Infantry Corps in 1942. At the age of 27 he was at least 5 years older than all the other platoon commanders. He was also married and soon had a new son. Burton joined because he resented the death on duty of his good friend, and felt he would be called up eventually. After training in St Jerome, Brockville and Valcartier, he was sent to serve in Northwest Europe. Burton took part in battles in Boulogne, Cap Gri Nez, 25 harrowing days in the Sheldt (Holland and Belgium), and crossing the Rhine. When the war ended, he stayed in Europe with the Occupation Forces for one year. In 1946, Lt. Fitch was demobilized. He returned to his family in Montreal and made his career as an insurance broker. Burton's message for our youth today is 'There comes a time when you have to go to war'. Burton has been retired in Nanaimo since 1984. Rabbi Cass, Canadian Army Chaplain, arranged for Burton to attend a Passover seder with a family in England. The father contacted Burton and told him he had a daughter Burton's age. Burton answered 'I have a wife your daughter's age', and he didn't attend the seder. "One of the remaining memories of the Scheldt is that the 25 days that I served there, I had two pairs of socks and one bath. This was not one of the more pleasant memories." "The men were indescribably dirty, they were bearded, cold as it is only possible to be cold in Holland in November, and wet from having lived in water-filled holes in the ground for twenty-four hours a day. Their eyes were red-rimmed from lack of sleep, and they were exhausted from their swift advance on foot under terrible conditions. Yet all ranks realized with a certain grim satisfaction that a hard job had been well and truly done."
An interview/narrative of Burton Fitch's experiences during World War II. Fitch served with the Canadian Infantry Corps. Interview took place on February 2, 2007.
Interviewee: Fitch, Burton
Interviewer: Fitch, Edward and Sharon
- In Collection:
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Contributor
Subject
Language
Date created
Relation
- 52.16045, -0.70312
- 45.50884, -73.58781
- Canadian Military Oral History Collection
- FB_547
- Special Collections Finding Aid: https://uvic2.coppul.archivematica.org/edward-fitch-collection
- 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
