Long-awaited Return
My father, Private Felix M. Perry, was born in St. Louis, P.E.I., on August 18, 1909, to French Canadian (Acadian) parents. His father later moved the family to a farm in Hunter River, P.E.I. In June of 1940, Felix heeded the call and volunteered to join the Canadian army to aid the Allied nations against German and Italian forces. He enlisted with The Prince Edward Island Highlanders and was shortly after relocated to Nova Scotia. While in Europe, however, he was transferred to The West Nova Scotia Regiment, more commonly known as the West Novies.
After basic training in Halifax, his unit was sent to Newfoundland and spent over two years (August 1941 to April 1943) in training before overseas deployment. While in Newfoundland, he met a young, 18-year-old girl, named Edna Dobbin, who was the sister of a pen pal he’d been corresponding with. Private Perry and Edna got married in July of 1942 and just prior to being shipped away, their daughter Mabel was born. On November 25, 1943, his battalion embarked for England and would eventually arrive in Italy in March 1944. He trained in infantry and served as a machine gunner in a support battery. He was also qualified as a courier driver for short periods and saw combat in Italy and France. In fact, Veteran’s Affairs Canada has him listed serving 21 months in Italy and North West Europe. It would be two long years before he would see his beloved wife Edna and young daughter again.
Private Felix Perry survived the war, seeing service in Italy, France, Belgium and Holland before disembarking from France in March of 1945 to return home where he was honourably discharged on September 26, 1945. Felix and Edna were once again reunited and lived in several locations across Canada before finally settling down in Dartmouth, N.S., to raise a family of nine children. He died in 1981 at the age of 71.
My book Red Soil, tells Private Perry’s story from his last day on the farm to the bloody battlefields of Europe, to his eventual return home and reunion with his family.