An upcoming author’s talk and multi-media presentation in Huntsville will shed light on a little written-about aspect of World War II that turned the war in the Allies’ favor.
Author Ted Barris will be presenting the latest ‘Lunch and Learn’ event, discussing his book ‘Battle of the Atlantic: Gauntlet to Victory.’
Barris calls it ‘his pandemic book’ as it’s his latest, written in recent years.
It started out via conversations he had with a neighbor, Ronnie Egan (above) who’d served in the Women’s Royal Canadian Naval Service.
Barris recalls how she told him she used to stand at the Citadel in downtown Halifax, which was pivotal in the Battle of the Atlantic where the massive convoys set out from.
When the many ships would leave Bedford Basin under escort and run the gauntlet between North America and Britain, the experience of watching it was etched in Egan’s memory which in turn i, importantly informed Barris’s book.
Another key material source was the experiences of Robert Rae (Above), a merchant sailor who sailed in the convoys. More below from Barris about the experience of these sailors during wartime:
The final pivotal ingredient was a letter a Canadian woman had written home from Britain, says Barris.
Alix Masheter (left) had written it to her family back in Fenlon Falls, he says, describing Britain’s wartime blackout curtains, rationing, coupons, and food shortages.
This proved to be an a-ha moment for the author which helped pull the book together.
“(Reading the letter) it suddenly dawned on me that was what the convoy was about – keeping Britain alive,” he says. “It was about saving people and keeping the chance that they could eventually stage an invasion to restore freedom to Europe from Britain which was what it was all about.”
With U-boats attacking the convoy with torpedos at night trying to cut this lifeline, freedom was on the line. Britain’s ability to survive an outright invasion could have happened had the much-needed convoy supplies been cut off.
Barris says in spite of the horrendous losses they suffered, the Merchant Navy was able to make 25,000 plus transatlantic trips during the war, delivering 90,0000 tons of freight and fuel to Britain each day of World War II.
When it was clear the U-boats were sinking more ships than the Allies could build near the end of 1942, Canadian ships were pulled out to be refitted with weaponry and defensive mechanism to detect the U-boats.
They were then sent to help Operation Torch in the Mediterranean, which delivered troops to North Africa. In the first few months of the operation, they sank three U-boats, prompting Lord Mountbatten to famously call the Canadians ”those wonderful young bastards.”
Those attending the talk on October 21st at the Huntsville Legion can expect it to be about an hr long presentation with lots of time for questions
A bookstore will also be there to sell the book and accompany the luncheon.
“The audiences have been so engaged by this subject,” says Barris. “No one’s ever written about this before – it’s the longest battle of the second world war and its sort of disappeared behind the bigger WWII flashpoints that were one or two days or a campaign that was a month (long).”
The talk, which is a Kiwanis-sponsored event supporting the youth of local communities in Huntsville/Lake of Bays happens October 21st at noon at the Royal Canadian legion 232 at 21 Veterans Way in Huntsville.
To purchase tickets, contact Rick Brooks at 705-635-2101
They are only $40 per person, cash or e-transfer to: info@huntsvillekiwanis.ca
Photos via Ted Barris