On January 14, 1943, Jack became a guardsman in the Canadian Grenadier Guards which was a tank unit, known as the 22nd Armoured Regiment. The regiment had been in Britain since the previous September and was camped in Hove, Sussex. It was equipped with Sherman tanks, the most widely used medium-sized tank used by the Allies, whose main 75mm gun moved with the central turret. It had been highly effective in the North African campaign and carried a crew of five – a commander, a gunner, a loader, a driver and a co-driver/hull gunner.

 

Jack qualified as a tank driver on May 18 after a five week course. By November he was a qualified mechanic. Every couple of months the regiment would be stationed in another area of southern England and life was mostly preparing for the upcoming invasion of Europe. There were courses, lectures, drills and battle practice. At the end of November the 22nd set up camp near Crowborough, 30 kilometres from the south coast of England.

 

On March 9, 1945, King George VI inspected the unit and as D-Day approached, General Eisenhower reviewed them on May 29. He spoke with a few of the men, asking them about their civilian careers and their jobs in the army. As D-Day on June 6 came and went, it became apparent that the 22nd Armoured Regiment and its associated brigade, the 4th Canadian Armoured Brigade, which also included The Governor General's Foot Guards and The British Columbia Regiment, weren't leaving England in the near future.

 

On June 29, their commanding officer explained that the delay was because there was too much armour already in Normandy. The unit began waterproofing the tanks in case they had to land through the shallows to the beach. Finally on July 18 the unit moved to East London and to the docks, where the men cast off in the late afternoon of July 21. They dropped anchor at the mouth of the Thames until July 25 when they sailed and saw the French coast at 2000 hrs that evening. Flak, enemy aircraft and explosions greeted them. The regiment's war diary noted the “tremendous noise served to dispel any notion that our trip to Normandy would be in any sense a picnic.”

 

Jack was a member of Squadron 3 which was fully landed on Juno Beach on July 27. The tanks had the waterproofing removed. The waterproofing had proved unnecessary as the landing was directly on to the beach. On July 29, the 22nd was south of Caen and the shelling was described in the diary as “a little hot for the uninitiated.” The Allies were pushing towards Falaise, where the Germans were surrounded on three sides and fiercely defending the fourth. The next day the unit relieved the Fort Garry Horse tank unit and experienced their first taste of battle as a mobile counter attack force. By the end of the day the men were getting used to enemy fire and jumping into slit trenches as quickly as possible.

 

By August 8 they had pushed 13 kilometres south. The Regiment continued to move slowly towards Falaise, but the inexperience of most of the armoured regiments hindered the advance. On August 11, the regiment was relieved and the respite was welcome. The war diary noted that the rest “assisted in getting them over the initial shock.”

 

The final push on August 14 to take Falaise was named Operation TRACTABLE, using large columns of tanks. It would be a daylight attack, and hit the enemy unexpectedly. Previous operations had been at night with attacks after heavy air bombing of the enemy. Jack's regiment was told that it would be smash through Falaise by sheer momentum. The day was sunny and warm and at 1030 hrs the tanks began to form along the flat farm fields. The Germans were being led to believe that the attack would come from a different direction. The war diary noted:

 

“We were to move off at 1140 hrs, speed 12 mph. At 1130 hrs the air was electric, peaceful and quiet as everyone was in [position], there in the bright sunshine waited. What would happen? No one could foresee. The odd [officer] was out taking bearings, trying to find some object on which to aim his advance. About the exact direction there was some debate. At 1140 hrs exactly, Major Hamilton...voice clear and calm, gave the order 'Advance now.' The [advance] began in good order and for the first few hundred [yards], some sort of fun was maintained. But then the dust came up in huge billowing clouds. Distant aiming marks were obliterated, [tanks] were held up getting through minor bottlenecks.... But though fun was lost the [advance] went on. 'Into the sun' that was the only course we could follow. 'Into the sun' with pedal to the floor with irrestible momentum we sped on. [Minefields] were encountered. The enemy shelled heavily on his [...] targets. But though [tanks] were lost nothing could stop our [advance], nothing.”