60th Anniversary Homecoming!!

[Garry Shipton (RIP)]

On this date,today,May 21st.1945,William James(Jamie)Shipton.our old CMP/motorcycle driiving/ D-Day Dosger stepped off a Canadian Pacific troop train at Windsor Station on Peel Street here in Montreal,after five years and five months away from home.The boys stepped off the ocean liner"Ile de France"in the wee hours of May 20/45 in New York harbour and entrained overnight to Montreal without even seeing the Lights of the Big Apple.There to meet him at the station were my mother and brother(later Captain-RCAF-426 Squadron-Korea).They boarded the local streetcar,no parade,no fanfare,kit bag over his shoulder and stood for the 45 minute ride to Verdun,a suburb of Montreal.The next day he had to return to the station,still in uniform(they weren't charged fares for public transport at the time)to fetch his foot locker,which I am staring at not ten feet away from me today.The one thing he still remembered from that train ride was the blacked out windows of the hospital rail cars bringing home the wounded,who were unloaded out of public view.God bless them all.

Originally posted by Garry Shipton
On this date,today,May 21st.1945,William James(Jamie)Shipton.our old CMP/motorcycle driiving/ D-Day Dosger stepped off a Canadian Pacific troop train at Windsor Station on Peel Street here in Montreal,after five years and five months away from home.The boys stepped off the ocean liner"Ile de France"in the wee hours of May 20/45 in New York harbour and entrained overnight to Montreal without even seeing the Lights of the Big Apple.There to meet him at the station were my mother and brother(later Captain-RCAF-426 Squadron-Korea).They boarded the local streetcar,no parade,no fanfare,kit bag over his shoulder and stood for the 45 minute ride to Verdun,a suburb of Montreal.The next day he had to return to the station,still in uniform(they weren't charged fares for public transport at the time)to fetch his foot locker,which I am staring at not ten feet away from me today.The one thing he still remembered from that train ride was the blacked out windows of the hospital rail cars bringing home the wounded,who were unloaded out of public view.God bless them all.

Hi Garry,

Talk about a memorable event ... I wonder what he felt like to arrive home and see such a different world of sights and experiences ... it must have felt both very good, and very strange, for most coming home from the war. At least there was a longer time to adjust to the experience of coming home, unlike todays short plane ride of a few hours and bang - which must feel like quite a psychological wrenching and glitch to arrive from war to civilian home again. Such different worlds.

That footlocker must be a treasure to you Do you have a picture of it? (I have NO idea what a "foot locker" looks like )

Karmen (scratch the SHADSTER for Ma ? )

[Jon Skagfeld]

Pixie...

A foot locker is the same as a Barracks Box.

Check previous posts.:

[Andrew Morrison]

From UK archives in Kew.

While looking for something else this file was included with what I had requested. Thought it looked interesting so made some notes which I hope you find of interest. You forget that behind the scenes there is still someone counting the monetary cost.

File Transport of Dominion troop and materials to Europe.
(Despite the 'Dominion' title most of the file was made up of Australia arguing over the price per head which was not settled until 1943.)

16/11/45
Ministry of Information
Canadian troops going home on 'Queen Elizabeth' are to go to New York rather than Hailfax. As they will arrive just before Christmas this will disrupt New York trains which is going to upset the locals. Are worried that someone might dig up information that UK has offered 'different' terms to USA for trooping to that offered to Canada. Foreign Office in Washington to be prepared to steer any questions away from this issue. UK has made no charge to USA for use of the big troop ships while charging Canada £15 per head. At the time this figure was agreed the Canadian government had given the UK government a gift of a thousand million dollars.

There was a further page of questions and 'correct' answers to be given by Foreign Office in Washington should someone ask.

03/05/46
UK Ministry of Information correspondence to UK Treasury advising of intention to remove all non military personal from agreed shipping rates. This was due to the number of brides and children being carried. A price of £45 per head was set.

05/02/44
Cost per Canadian to Normandy was set at £15.

06/11/44
A query from the War Office as to who pays for 1 officer and 100 men of Newfoundland troops who have arrived in UK. British War office, Canadian Government or Newfoundland Government. This had been outstanding for some time with no one wanting to accept cost. It was agreed that the UK government would pay the cost of the New York / UK crossing they had made.

June 1941
The Canadian Government was looking for a change to a per capita basis for their troop ship costs. They had been talking to the Australians who were seeking a similar deal. A letter dated 18/12/41 notes agreement with the Canadians at a price of £30 per capita for liners and £20 for freighters. This was based on the pre war 3rd class fare plus 33 1/3 for war costs. A further letter dated 22/12/41 from the Ministry of War Transport notes that they have achieved a good result as their figures show an actual cost of £19 per capita.

26/05/43
Canada wanted to renegotiate their trooping costs as now believed were paying too much. New rates were agreed at £23 1939/1940, £21 1941 and £17 1942.

31/05/43
Correspondence notes that Australia has agreed a 50% cost reduction where US vessels are used. Canada has not asked for a similar reduction and no one is to mention this to them.

[Garry Shipton (RIP)]

I guess troops were like cattle on a boat,I.E. so much per head
Good on you mate

[Craig Tanner]

My father came home on the Ile de France as well. I was home recently and my mother and I went through several of Dad's photo albums and there was a post card with the Ile de France on it and Mom said that it was the ship dad came back on. Dad was seconded to the RAF in the earlier days in England (radar technician) and went to N Africa then finished in Italy, he serviced the radar systems mostly on the Night Fighter Beaufighters (RCAF) in the Med. I believe that he sailed from Italy to Halifax. I will have to ask Mom the next time I'm talking to her.

Craig Tanner
Oromocto N.B.