Don't Worry About Me, I'll Be Ok
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DON’T WORRY ABOUT ME, I’LL BE OK (P.S. PLEASE SEND ME SOME ………..) A COLLECTION OF LETTERS WRITTEN BY A WW2 SOLDIER TO HIS MOTHER BACK HOME IN MONTREAL DURING THE PERIOD FROM 1942 TO 1945 BY BYRON LAURIER HIGGINSON Published with the assistance of the Royal Canadian Hussars Association and the Montreal Cavalry Institute Version 2017.12.30 ISBN: 978-1-7752303-0-1 2017-12-30 Collection of letters written home by Lieutenant Byron Laurier Higginson during the period from 1942 to 1945 This page is intentionally left blank Byron Higginson Letters Home 20180302.docx Page 2 of 197 Collection of letters written home by Lieutenant Byron Laurier Higginson during the period from 1942 to 1945 Foreword Byron was a regular and talented writer who, in his letters to his mother, Frances Higginson, provided a unique point of view as to the experience of Canadian Servicemen stationed in England and Northern Europe during World War 2. After enrolling in in the 6th Duke of Connaught’s Royal Canadian Hussars in early 1942, Lieutenant Byron Laurier Higginson, attended officer training in Canada, and was then sent overseas. Like many other newly trained officers and non-commissioned officers, he was sent to the 3rd Canadian Armoured Corps Reinforcement Unit. The reinforcements units allowed newly trained soldiers to be sent to the units most in need, regardless of the origins of a soldier. In spring of 1943, Byron was transferred to the 6th, which was furnishing the Headquarters Squadron of the 5th Canadian Armoured Division. In October 1943, just as the 5th Canadian Armoured Division was preparing to deploy to Italy, Byron was transferred back to the Reinforcement unit. In early 1944, Byron was transferred to the 21st Canadian Armoured Regiment (Governor General’s Foot Guards), which was one of the tank units in the 4th Canadian Armoured Division. He generally served as a member of this unit until the end of the war. Upon returning home to Montreal, Byron rejoined the 6th Duke of Connaught’s Royal Canadian Hussars, where he served until 1956. After the War, the collection of letters was preserved by Frances Higginson, by Byron, and then by Greig, Byron’s younger brother. Upon Greig’s death the letters were legged to Peggy Higginson, daughter of Neal Higginson, with a request that she have them preserved. Peggy found the stories to be fascinating, unique and very informative. With representatives of the Royal Canadian Hussars (RCH) Association and the Museum, it was agreed that an appropriate way to preserve and provide access to the letters would be to transform them into a typewritten document that would be published on the RCH Association website. To enable this, the RCH Association has been granted non-exclusive publication rights of the final document. The Higginson family has retained the rights to his original letters and pictures. John Cochrane, a former member of the Royal Canadian Hussars, converted the letters to a typewritten form and prepared the background sections that are interspersed throughout the text. The background sections were added to allow the reader to understand the context under which the letters were written. Many of the texts, pictures and maps used in the background sections were copied from or inspired by a book entitled ¨History of the Governor General’s Foot Guards¨ written by a committee of Guards officers in or around 1948. Please let us know if you see an error or an area that can be improved. Please send any questions, comments or suggestions to: John Cochrane – [email protected] – 514-591-9455 Permission to reprint the stories in whole or in part can be obtained by communicating with Peggy Higginson by telephone at 519-942-8733 or by e-mail at [email protected]. Byron Higginson Letters Home 20180302.docx Page 3 of 197 Collection of letters written home by Lieutenant Byron Laurier Higginson during the period from 1942 to 1945 Table of Contents Sections Description 01 Introduction 02 to 16 Training in England during 1942 17 to 41 Training in England in early 1943 42 to 64 Summer of 1943 with the 5th Canadian Armoured Division Headquarters Squadron 65 to 76 Return to the 3rd Canadian Armoured Corps Reinforcement Unit 77 to 92 Preparation for the Invasion with the 21st Canadian Armoured Regiment (Governor General’s Foot Guards) 93 to 107 The Move to Normandy – July 1944 108 to 110 The Breakout after the Invasion – August 1944 111 to 112 The move to close the Falaise Gap – August 1944 113 to 120 Belgium and the Leopold Canal – September 1944 121 to 123 Rest, Injury and Redeployment to the Scheldt – October 1944 124 to 139 Clearing the Scheldt – October, November 1944 140 to 141 The Winter and the end of the War - 1945 142 Life in Montreal after the War Byron Higginson Letters Home 20180302.docx Page 4 of 197 Collection of letters written home by Lieutenant Byron Laurier Higginson during the period from 1942 to 1945 1. INTRODUCTION Byron Laurier Higginson came from a Westmount family with four boys who all served in the Military during the Second World War. Byron served as a member of the 6th Duke of Connaught’s Royal Canadian Hussars before and after the War. In 1942, holding the rank of Lieutenant, he was sent to England, where he served the Canadian Army (Overseas). On October 11th, 1944, he was injured in action while serving with the 21st Canadian Armoured Regiment (Governor General’s Foot Guards) in Belgium. On October 28th, 1944, he returned to duty with the 21st Canadian Armoured Regiment. On December 5th, 1945, he was promoted to Captain. The Higginson Family is pictured above just before the Second World War. Rear row, from left to right: Flight Sergeant John ¨Blake¨Higginson, RCAF, who was Killed in Action at Dusseldorf, Germany on September 11, 1942 Signalman Greig Darwin Higginson, Royal Canadian Navy who served on the Fennel Miss Mary Frances Higginson (a.k.a. Peggy) Pilot Officer Neal Alexander Higginson, RCAF who served in North Africa and during the Italian Campaign Front row, from left to right: Mrs. Frances Ann Higginson, widow of the late John Bright Higginson, and mother of the family. Lieutennant Byron Laurier Higginson, who served with the 6th Duke of Connaught’s Royal Canadian Husssars, the 3rd Canadian Armoured Corps Reinforcement Unit, and the 21st Canadian Armoured Regiment (Governor General’s Foot Guards), and was wounded in action during the campaign to liberate Belgium and Holland. Byron Higginson Letters Home 20180302.docx Page 5 of 197 Collection of letters written home by Lieutenant Byron Laurier Higginson during the period from 1942 to 1945 Although many soldiers wrote letters home to their parents, this collection of letters is probably unique due to the number of letters and the fact that they were preserved long after the war. Being the eldest son of a widow whose sons had all signed up for military service, Byron, in writing these letters, wrote using a style that was likely intended to provide emotional support and a feeling of connection to his mother. This is clearly reflected in the way he let her know that he cared for her and appreciated her existence. When reading the letters, it is also apparent that Byron felt somewhat responsible for his siblings. He was the one that took the initiative of seeking them out and visiting them in England, and when one of his brothers was killed in an air raid, of recovering his effects. Another theme in the letters is his appreciation for the parcels sent to him by his mother and others. He clearly appreciated receiving the things that were sent to him, and often asked for more. Because each of his letters had to be certified by a censor before being mailed, Byron provided only a few sparse details of his military work – he concentrated more on his social activities, his feelings and his requests for parcels and funds. He did on occasion, use veiled speech to circumvent the censors and pass messages to his mother. Most of the letters were written in cursive writing on two-sided blue airmail forms provided by the military. An example is provided below. Mail was generally either sent by air mail or ordinary mail. Ordinary mail travelled by sea and took approximately two weeks to arrive in Canada. Air mail paper, which was very thin and was often referred to as ¨onion skin paper,¨ was used to reduce the weight and cost of mailing a letter overseas. In early 1943, the Army introduced a yellow-paged Air Graph, which was limited to a single page. Air Graph letters were converted to microfiche in England, and the microfiche was shipped by air to Canada, where the letters were printed and delivered. This method may not Byron Higginson Letters Home 20180302.docx Page 6 of 197 Collection of letters written home by Lieutenant Byron Laurier Higginson during the period from 1942 to 1945 have been much faster than air mail, but it reduced the weight and volume of mail being sent home. These air graphs were only used in England and were not available to troops in Northern Europe. An example follows. Regardless of the form of the letters used, the collection of letters traced the travels and experiences of Byron Laurier Higginson through England and Northern Europe. The letters must have been very precious to his mother as she preserved most of them. The collection of letters has been preserved in this beautiful box by Byron’s niece, Peggy Higginson. She transferred them from their original decrepit vessel to this box that she had kept for years thinking it too nice to dispose of but not knowing what to do with it.