Background

Albert Adam (a.k.a. "Chub") Angus was 31 when Britain and Canada declared war on Germany on September 1, 1939. It marked a stage in his life that would colour the rest of his days.

The war provided millions of Canadian men with relief from the lost opportunities of the Depression. On the prairies in particular, it provided a much-needed outlet for thousand upon thousands of men who had few alternatives to life on the farm.

On June 3rd, 1940, Chub enlisted with the Queen's Own Cameron Highlanders (QOCH) regiment in Winnipeg, joining his younger brother Jim (on right) who had enlisted a few months earlier. They both became privates in the infantry.

At 31, Chub was older than the average recruit, and below average in size as well. He stood about 5'6", and weighed only 150 lbs, with a slight but muscular build. His had well-developed forearms, and a ruddy complexion that was notable for both its heavy eyebrows and a ready smile.

Chub and Jim spent six months in basic training in Canada, then went east to prepare for being shipped overseas. They arrived in England on February 18, 1941, and were stationed in southern England for the next 18 months, before seeing any action.

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Iain writes ....
In 1987 I had the honour of participating in the 45th anniversary of the Dieppe Raid. I did so as a Member of Parliament, representing the NDP and as a son of a Canadian POW captured at Dieppe. As part of the commemoration trip I traveled with men who had served at Dieppe and the women who they married and spent the remainder of their lives with.

That journey, like the one that my brother and I are on, started in London. In the 1987 version, we were honoured at Canada House by the Canadian Government. This time around I arranged my own tour of the British House of Commons (more accurately known as Windsor Palace). Murray connected with me at our hotel just off the corner of Piccadilly Circus in early afternoon. We spent our day like any other tourist, wandering from place to place without a clear destination. As we would say in Scotland it was ‘grand’. Lunch was fish and chips, served by an Asian wait staff, in a restaurant called Scotch Steak. How appropriate. That night we caught Phantom of the Opera – it was Murray’s first musical (mine, ironically was also in London in 1976 when I was with the Select Committee on the Highway Transportation of Goods and saw A Chorus Line). Wandered through Trafalger Square wondering if our father did the same thing when he was either on leave from Newhaven, or after the war when he was convelesing in a London hospital.