19 February, 2021
"Old Betsy" came to the Calgary Highlanders in July 1943, the first gun of her kind issued to the Regiment. Her first gun Sgt. was Sgt. H. 0. Larsen who won the MC as a Company Sergeant Major in Germany.
Betsy was one of the two-gun team with which the Anti-Tank Platoon won the Second Division's anti-tank gun shoot on the ranges at Lydd, winning ten "quid" and a party for the boys.
In February 1944 she fell into the River Ouse from a kapok float but was recovered, cleaned of mud and water, repainted and went on to better things ...* landing in Normandy with the Regiment on July 6th 1944. On July 18th Betsy and another gun supporting C Coy in the attack on Hill 67 were attacked by Panther tanks and although none were officially credited to Betsy the attack was broken up and at least one Panther was seen on fire. Their position was spotted by a German '88 and the other gun destroyed ... all of Betsy's crew were killed or wounded. The position was overrun by enemy infantry and Betsy lost to the enemy. Two days later the boys in the Platoon decided that she should be brought home and took a Bren Carrier and drove straight into enemy lines, turned about and dragged Betsy back to our own lines. In the rescue several '88 shells and three or four machine guns were firing on the carrier but luckily nobody was hit. Mark [Tennant] admits to knowing all about the incident but somehow never confirms that he led the effort aided by a number of other officers and NCOs ... Betsy survived where all the other guns were knocked out and replaced.
At St. Leonard's Betsy had her own back on the enemy, knocking out an '88 and a half-track and killing 27 Germans in one position ... in Beveland the pride of the platoon was manhandled great distances and did bad things to Jerries on the Canal, winning a MM for her gun Sgt .... In both the Reichwald and the Hochwald battles she was used in covering flame thrower attacks ... and so on through the crossing of the Rhine through Groningen and in the drive to Oldenburg.
Betsy was used to fire the last shot fired in anger by the Calgary Highlanders at the end of the war ... and Mark Tennant presented the spent shell case from that shot to his Regiment at his retirement dinner on January 23rd 1982, following his retirement as Honorary Lieutenant Colonel of the Regiment.
Betsy's targets included Panther tanks to German dugouts and from church steeples to slit trenches. In all she fired about 1500 rounds, of which over 1200 were at the enemy.
The record of Betsy was that she never had a breakdown and save for modifications, never went to workshops while in action ... she was the only gun or vehicle in the Platoon to be used throughout the '44-' 45 campaign. Of the original Platoon only 13 remained on VE Day out of 6 guns, 13 carriers, 5 motorcycles, 2 officers and 53 other ranks ....
No wonder Betsy is in the National War Museum. Calgary retains Mark Tennant, with pride.
*Article is reproduced in full. All ellipses are part of original article.