Add Information to Record of a Person who served during the Second World War on The Wartime Memories Project Website
Add Information to Record of a Person who served during the Second World War on The Wartime Memories Project Website
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234706
Pte. William Ferguson Evans
Canadian Army 6th Btn. Canadian Seaforth Highlanders
from:Summerland BC
My dad, William Evans, served with the Canadian Seaforth Highlanders (he signed up in Vernon British Columbia) and ranked as Private. He initially trained in Vernon BC, then went to Prince Rupert and spent some training time in Prince George. (I'm trying to find out more about his service.) He was on the front lines as a communications/radio operator. He said he relied on other soldiers to tell him when the shelling started as he couldn't hear it. Most of his time was in Italy.
According to his brother, he went on a boat to England then through the Mediterranean to North Africa. Another ship took him to Palermo. To quote his brother, "He then, I presume, walked up the length of Italy to Leghorn to Marseille, up France to Belgium and then to liberate Holland and up to Germany". At the end of the war, they arrived to Vancouver BC by train and walked from the train station in Vancouver over the Burrard Street Bridge to the Vancouver BC Seaforth Highlanders building.
According to his Discharge Certificate, he was enrolled in the No. XI District Depot.
He wouldn't talk about his service for about 30 years due to what he'd seen. However, he had no regrets and was proud to have served Canada.