RCEME was split out of the Royal Canadian Ordnance Corps (RCOC) in 1944 due to the increasingly specialized nature of equipment and the need for specialized management and repair thereof. My late uncle was a founding member of RCEME.He had first enlisted in the RCOC as a tank fitter.He took specialized training on the Sherman tank at the US Army Armored Center in Ft Knox,Kentucky and when deployed overseas, was a member of No2 Tank Troops Wksp RCEME,a corps/army level unit involved in the repair and overhaul of disabled and knocked out tanks and other vehicles. When I first started out with the Armoured Corps he told me a stories about having to clean human remains out of knocked out tanks while in the process of rebuilding them.A sobering thought for a young sprog. He was very interested when I told him that I had learned to drive a Sherman at the Armoured Corps School at Camp Borden in 1965, and was curious to learn how things had changed when I told him about a course which I attended at Ft Knox in the 1980s.I have all of his wartime memorabilia,including his personal issue S&W revolver,a German P-38,his medals,and various badges incl the RCEME cap badge and shoulder flashes.Among his things is a letter of commendation for his work in converting 105mm SP guns to the first APCs for use in Operation Totalize in Normandy,the Canadian offensive in the Caen-Falaise area.I also have his photo album which includes pictures of the aftermath of the German defeat at Falaise,visits to some of the WW1 war memorials in Belgium,and amazingly,his own photos of a sky full of Dakotas and gliders en route to Holland for Operation Market Garden.I did get to re-trace some of his wartime movements in Normandy and brought home a mitt full of pictures and my own impressions of the old battlefields to share with him.
Question about displaying Grampa's WWII Medals.
- Thread starter Noel
- Start date
Great post purple. Thanks for sharing that. What a humble job it would be cleaning out the vehicles like that. I would love to retrace my Grampa's footsteps some day. I only know Uncle Joe was in England for the duration of his service time. No idea what he worked on. I have a few of his letters he sent his sister back here speaking of blackouts during bombing raids etc.
The way he wrote everything all was peachy keen but it isn't like they were allowed to write down what it was really like. I am sure it was anything but.
The way he wrote everything all was peachy keen but it isn't like they were allowed to write down what it was really like. I am sure it was anything but.
