Did Canadian and Australian ground forces ever serve in the same theatre at the same time in WWII?

[Sid Guttridge]

Hi Loic,

Good link.

What is largely unknown is that at the outbreak of WWII Newfoundland (then an independent Dominion and not part of Canada) had no military forces at all. Nothing. No army, no navy and no air force. It was more totally disarmed than any of the defeated Central Powers after WWI.

The British therefore could not get any serviceman from Newfoundland at all in 1939. Instead, Newfoundland foresters, who required no military training, were sent immediately at British request. NOFU went on to form its own Home Guard battalion in Scotland and hundreds of its men went on to join the British armed forces and provide replacements for two Newfoundland heavy artillery regiments formed later within the British Army. NOFU was more akin to the Pioneer Corps than to a civilian organisation and provided basic military training;

Newfoundland had a lot of experienced small boat fishermen and, at Churchill's specific request, they were also recruited in 1939 and sent to the navy after only a couple of weeks basic naval training. Their role was to form the crews of boats on the armed merchant cruisers of the Northern Patrol blockading Europe. It was thought that their peacetimre experiencce made them best suited in the Empire to form boarding parties to seize Axis merchant ships before they had time to scuttle themselves. Later drafts received full naval training and were distributed round the Royal Navy worldwide.

Thus, although Newfoundland's contribution in 1939 had a rather unmartial aspect, it was the first contingent from the Empire to reach the UK and was only the beginning of more substantial contingents in 1940-41.

The Newfoundlanders served on British rates of pay and conditions, whereas the Canadians served on their own higher rates of pay and their own conditions. The Newfoundlanders' pensions and benefits were brought up to those of their Canadian equivalents as part of the agreement that saw Newfoundland join Canada in 1949. That was when NOFU veterans got the same pensions and conditions as the Canadian Army loggers, who had been doing the identical job. The same was true of all Newfoundland veterans of both World Wars.

Cheers,

Sid.

[Michael Kenny]

The Times September 1st 1941