Profile - John Hunt
John Albert Hunt
8 April 1911 - 19 June 1993
John Albert Hunt was born 8 April 1911 in Diamond City,
Alberta – just north of Lethbridge. He enlisted in Calgary initially with the R.C.C.S (Signals Corps) as a
signalman on 21 July 1940. John was transferred to the Calgary Highlanders on 18 August 1940 and sent to Camp Shilo in Manitoba. At the time of enlistment John had four
children ranging in age from seven years to seven months – the youngest being
our mother Doris.
On 21 August 1940, only three days after John arrived at
Camp Shilo, the Calgary Highlanders left for Halifax. They embarked on the SS
Pasteur on 24 August to begin their voyage across the Atlantic Ocean. The SS Pasteur arrived in Gourock, Scotland on 4 September
1940 and the Calgary Highlanders were sent by train to the Guillemont Barracks
near Cove, England.
The Calgary Highlanders were part of the Canadian Army’s 2nd
Division. Their role in England was twofold – they participated in battle training
and the defense of England’s south coast in preparation of the anticipated invasion
of England by German troops. Once Hitler determined he could not gain air superiority over England, his attention was diverted to the Eastern front and away from England. The Calgary Highlanders focused on training in
preparation for deployment into the North West Europe war theater in July 1944.
John remained with the Calgary Highlanders until 27 June
1943 when he transferred to the Royal Canadian Army Service Corps (RCASC) as a
transport driver and mechanic. John was taken on strength with the 1st
Canadian Infantry Brigade Company of the Canadian Army’s 1st Division that was
attached to the British 8th Army while in Italy. He embarked for the
Mediterranean war theater on 16 August and landed in Sicily 27 August 1943. The
Sicilian Campaign had ended by time John had arrived having started 10 July 1943.
The 1st Division was busy in preparation of invading Italy at Reggio
Calabria on 3 September 1943.
John would remain in Italy until 25 February 1945 when he
embarked at Leghorn (now Livorno), Italy as part of Operation Goldflake - the
Canadian Army’s effort to reunite all of its divisions in north west Europe to make the final push
eastward into Germany and the end of the war. The 5th Canadian
Armoured Division arrived in Marseilles, France 7 March 1945 and pushed through
over the next five days to Dixmude, Belgium. John would enter the Netherlands and conclude
the war there in May 1945.
John returned to Canada and was discharged from the Canadian
Army on July 31 1945 after serving for five years. John move to Bluffton, Alberta northwest of Red Deer in 1946. There he owned and operated a dairy farm as well as provide mechanical and carpentry services. He joined the Bluffton Legion #203 in May 1946 and was president from 1953 to 1955. John retired to Bentley, Alberta in 1965 and resided there until his passing on 19 June 1993 at the age of 82.
Footnote:
One question that had always surfaced was: What would cause our Grandpa and so many others like him leave their family to join the Canadian army and risk their life fighting in the war? Tim Cook provides a possible answer to this question in his book “The Necessary War: Canadians Fighting the Second World War 1939-1943” in which attributes the desire to join, other than sheer patriotism and love for the British Empire, as being caused by the brutal effects of the Depression. The locust years, lack of jobs, crops drying up and blowing away caused families in their desperation to seek meagre social assistance. “In uniform, a man received regular meals, $1.30 a day for privates and $35 a month for his wife, plus another $12 per child (to a maximum of two). It was enough money to support a family and much more than most Canadians had lived on in the past few years.”
One question that had always surfaced was: What would cause our Grandpa and so many others like him leave their family to join the Canadian army and risk their life fighting in the war? Tim Cook provides a possible answer to this question in his book “The Necessary War: Canadians Fighting the Second World War 1939-1943” in which attributes the desire to join, other than sheer patriotism and love for the British Empire, as being caused by the brutal effects of the Depression. The locust years, lack of jobs, crops drying up and blowing away caused families in their desperation to seek meagre social assistance. “In uniform, a man received regular meals, $1.30 a day for privates and $35 a month for his wife, plus another $12 per child (to a maximum of two). It was enough money to support a family and much more than most Canadians had lived on in the past few years.”
Some helpful links:
To obtain a copy of your family member's WWII military records:
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