World War II Memoirs
My Life with the First Canadian Special Wireless Section
By Wilfrid Weicker
Dedication
I am dedicating these memoirs to my wife of nearly fifty-eight years, Marie. With her continual love and support, she has always been my joy and inspiration. I am also dedicating this to my children and grandchildren, and their children who will follow them.
Acknowledgments
My sincere thanks go to my daughter Cathy, who was my editor. She’s been a godsend; I couldn’t have done it without her.
Many thanks to my other daughters: Mary who rescued me countless times when my computer wasn’t cooperating; Anne who helped me with the photos and printing; and Theresa for her work on the cover and layout.
Thanks also to all the other members of the family who supplied me with mementos of the war, which I had previously given them.
Third edition (March 2007)
Introduction
I was a soldier overseas in World War II with the 1st Canadian Special Wireless Section, Type B. All of us involved with this secretive unit were ordered not to talk about what we’d actually done until thirty years after the war ended. Being only a support person, I didn’t know too much about the specific details, but we were all told that if we were captured we were not to reveal anything, as we were classed as spies and could be shot. Thirty years later was 1975, and by that time I didn’t think anybody would be interested in what our unit had done during the war.
In the early 1980’s, my son Christopher, wanted to know exactly what part I’d played during the war. He is a Colonel in the Communications and Electronics Branch, which was formerly the Signal Corps, so when I briefly explained what our unit had been involved with, he wanted more details. I decided to bring him together with Ron Gates, one of our former signals operators, and with Christopher’s encouragement Ron wrote about our unit in a publication titled, “I was a Spy of the Airwaves”. He explained its operation in detail from the beginning in 1941 and why it was of such importance in winning the war.
After the war, Ron Gates was the driving force who kept all members of our unit in touch with each other. Most of the Canadian provinces were represented in our sixty-five personnel, and with some of the others he arranged reunions until around ten years ago, when most of the survivors were then in their late seventies. At present there are only nine of us still alive, and unfortunately Ron Gates is not with us any more. Life must go on, and I guess I’m one of the lucky veterans. Read on, and please remember that I was no hero, but just did what I had to do to help win World War II. I hope you will enjoy it.
Table of Contents
