The Icelandic Canadian - 01.09.1981, Page 33

THE ICELANDIC CANADIAN
31
HEIMIR THORGRIMSON'S CORRESPONDENCE
FROM WORLD WAR II
Compiled by Hrund Skulason. (Her comments in italics.)

Soldiers from Lundar, Manitoba in England, 1940. Left to right: Heimir and Thor
Thorgrimson, Victor Vestdal, Rafn Goodman, Trausti Lindal, Leifur Einarsson, Joe
Johnson, Carl Bjornson.
In November it seems to have become the
custom to relate tales from World War II
and show old war films on TV. The editor of
the Icelandic Canadian has been asking me
to send something to him for publication in
The Icelandic Canadian. Having interesting
letters written by my brother, Heimir, l
thought I should share them with the readers
of The Icelandic Canadian.
Early in 1940 eight men from the town of
Lundar, Manitoba joined the 8th Field
Ambulance Core and at that time were sup-
posed to serve as a unit and go to Iceland.
This did not materialize. After training in
Canada they were sent to England.
Heimir’s first letter is written in Icelandic
to mother on August 19, 1940. This is a free
translation of excerpts from that letter.
“By now you have, of course, heard that
we are in England with the 8th Field Ambu-
lance (C.A.S.F.). When we came aboard
ship all our travelling programme had been
changed. All we could do was to accept this
with as good grace as possible. Maybe we
will still be able to go home to Iceland but
that will not be until later this fall. Now an
attack on England is expected any day. You
must not imagine that we are in any great
danger here at present. However, the Ger-
man airplanes have visited us three times
and one day they bombed this little town
where we are staying. Though the noise was
terrific no one was harmed. We were all
lying on the floor in our barracks. Thor
showed no panic, although the walls shook
and I wasn’t as scared as I was when I heard
thunders for the first time in the old Sigur-
geirson’s house in Hayland.
“The journey across the ocean was
glorious, the weather sunny most of the time