Soldiers of many nationalities in the Second
World War came to feel great affection for the machinery in which they entrusted their
lives. Canadian soldiers were no exception, and everything from jeeps to tanks
sometimes acquired names and art work, assigning the object a personality of its
own. In the Calgary Highlanders, the most obvious example was Old Betsy.
On 20 July 1943, the Calgary Highlanders received their first 6-pounder anti-tank guns to
replace the obsolete 2-pounders. One of these guns was dubbed "Old Betsy",
and she soon helped the Calgary Highlanders win a competition at the Lydd ranges. By
finishing first in a divisional anti-tank shoot, the anti-tank platoon won itself a prize
of ten pounds sterling and a party to celebrate. |
Old Betsy, photographed in July 1945
Image courtesy the Calgary Highlanders Museum
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In January 1944, the gun was
almost lost during a demonstration of kapok floats on the River Ouse. Other
demonstrations tested Old Betsy, submerging her in mud and water, and in one instance the
gun was kept in action in such a state for over two weeks. Old Betsy emerged none
the worse for wear, and went to Normandy in July 1944 with the Regiment.
On 18 July, Old Betsy went into action for
the first time. Paired with another gun, she engaged German Panther tanks and
assisted in breaking up an enemy attack. However, German shellfire destroyed the
other gun,and Betsy's entire crew were killed or wounded, and another infantry attack
overran Betsy's position. Two days later, the Highlanders' anti-tank platoon
sent a carrier behind German lines, hooked Betsy up and escaped through shell and
machinegun fire to bring her back.
| As the other original guns of the six-gun
anti-tank platoon were destroyed and replaced, Old Betsy soldiered on. At St.
Leonards, she destroyed a German 88 and halftrack, killing 27 Germans. During the
Scheldt battle, Betsy was manhandled and used with good effect against German infantry
positions, and her Gun Sergeant won the Military Medal. In the Reichswald and
Hochwald battles, Old Betsy was used to cover the advance of the Carrier platoon. As the war came to a close and the Highlanders were
approaching Oldenburg, in Germany, another German halftrack fell victim to Betsy, and this
was to be the final shot fired in anger during World War Two not just by this anti-tank
gun, but by the entire battalion.
Betsy was the only survivor of the original
six guns adopted by the anti-tank platoon (she also outlived every single vehicle
originally assigned to the anti-tank platoon), and in all had fired 1500 rounds, 1200 of
those at the enemy. She never suffered a breakdown and did not spend a single minute
in a workshop outside of routine modification work. Of the original fifty-five men
of the anti-tank platoon, only thirteen were still with the platoon on VE Day, and only
four of those thirteen had not been wounded at some point in their service.
Old Betsy today resides at the Canadian War
Museum in Ottawa. |
From "The Maple Leaf"
scan courtesy of
Warrant Officer WE Storey, CD
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