2018 marks the 65th anniversary of the signing of the Korean War Armistice on 27 July 1953. Members of the Royal Canadian Signals had a large presence in Korea during the war with the main units being the 25 Canadian Infantry Brigade Signal Squadron and the 2nd Field Regiment RCHA Signal Troop. The following text is taken from The History of The Royal Canadian Corps of Signals…’Wireless communications in Korea had proven very satisfactory, contrary to earlier fears. Hilly and mountainous though the country was, with distances between units and formations considerably greater than normally encountered, wireless contact had been continuous and signal strengths good. Operators’ knowledge of radio wave propagation and the use of aerials had contributed largely to this success….For normal brigade communications the workhorse radio of the Second World War, the No. 19 set, had been found reliable as ever and a No. 52 set link had kept the brigade in touch with the Canadian base in Hiro, Japan.’
The photo at right shows Royal Canadian Corps of Signals signalmen operating wireless sets in an old Korean house. Left, Normand Beddard and right, Walter Buccos. The radio is a WS No. 19, the telephone on the right is a Telephone set F. To the left of the telephone is a Fullerphone. [Thanks to Joe Costello for his keen eye and Signal knowledge].
Thank you to all our Korean War veterans and specifically our Signal personnel who served so courageously and bravely in this very complex and challenging theatre of war.VVV
Photo Credit: Library and Archives Canada