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Memory of a Ceremony That Marked the History of Verdun

Black and white photograph. A stage is set up at the end of a skating rink in an arena. Rows of servicemen in front and on the sides. Aviation flags and the Union Jack hang from the ceiling. The bleachers are filled with spectators.

Photograph

Date: November 19, 1942

Source: Verdun Borough Archives (038-39) 

Audio clip

Date: 1994

Source: Courtesy of Serge Durflinger

Audio clip: interview with Douglas Whyte (D.W.) , conducted by Serge Durflinger ( S.D.).

Transcription:
D.W.: And we in ‘42, I believe, ‘42, Beurling came home.
S.D.: Yes, that’s right.
D.W.: Beurling came home for…
S.D.: A celebration.
D.W.: Yeah, a celebration and a bond drive and our cadet precision squad was at the Verdun Auditorium.
S.D.: So you were there!
D.W: Yeah.
S.D.: Tell me about that night. 
D.W: That was an amazing night 
S.D.:  So you were there the night that Buzz Beurling came back, the knight of Malta, the hero of Malta, came back triumphantly to his hometown after shooting down 29 enemy aircrafts?
D.W.: Some figures like that, yeah.
S.D.: And what was the mood like in November 1942?
D.W.: Ah!  The Auditorium was packed.
S.D.: Packed, yeah. Verdun Auditorium held about 5 000 people.
D.W.: Oh Yeah! You couldn’t carry on a conversation with anybody around that time, unless it was all about the fact that Beurling, Verdun’s hero, was coming home.
S.D.:  Were you personally proud?
D.W.: Yeah definitely.