Search Results for: D-Day

Kenneth Cooke was born August 8,1925 in East Kirkby, Nottinghamshire, a coal mining district.  He indicated that he had a rough early life growing up:   there was a general strike, and there was no income.  He attended school at age 5 and completed his education at age 14, and then had to find employment. 

Philip Daniel was born July 24, 1925 in Toronto.  He grew up on a farm in the Leaside neighbourhood, where his father – a Great War veteran – delivered dairy goods.  Philip’s father was part of the Canadian Engineers in the First World War, working with horses and keeping the supplies moving; his mother was

Wally King was born October 31, 1923 in Cortland, Ohio.  He grew up in that rural part of the Buckeye state, not too far from the Pennsylvania border.  Wally recalls a pretty normal childhood, growing up against the backdrop of the 1920s and the Great Depression 1930s.  His father had two sons from his first

Don Martin was born June 9, 1933 in Toronto, and he attended Danforth Tech in the city’s east end.  Don grew up during the war years, and two of his older brothers served in the Second World War.  That includes Jack, who stormed Juno Beach on D-day, and whose story also appears in the Crestwood

Warren Goss was born February 9, 1925 in Glenshaw, Pennsylvania, where he grew up in a large farm family.  He grew up against the backdrop of the Great Depression, working around the farm and delivering papers and being a Boy Scout.  When the attack on Pearl Harbor happened, Warren recalls selling many newspapers – and

Bud Norman was born October 29, 1923 in London, Ontario.  He grew up there in his grandparents’ care, attending school and doing all the other things teenagers of the day were doing – school, sports, work, and so on.  Bud was able to complete high school at an early age, and he went to work

Michel Mockers was born December 17, 1922 in Nantes, in the northwest of France.  His father was a successful director of casinos, both in Nantes and Cannes, so Michel had a positive childhood.  He attended school at the Abbaye de Calcat, where he received an excellent education, and as a teenager he was even learning

Bill Gunter was born February 27, 1925  in South Hull, Quebec.  He grew up there in the 1930s, alongside his older brother.  When the war came, both brothers joined up, but Bill’s older brother was killed in a horrible elevator accident at the naval headquarters in Ottawa.  Bill joined several army reserve units while he

Roly Armitage was born February 8, 1925 in South March, Ontario, in the Ottawa area.  He was raised on a farm, with many brothers and sisters.  Roly’s father was a veteran of the Great War who saw action at Ypres:  he was gassed and while being treated in England he met a young Red Cross

Ron Moyes was born February 11, 1926 in Vancouver, B.C.  His father was a veteran of the Great War who came back to Canada with a war bride and baby daughter, and who built a successful business in 1920s Vancouver before buying a farm.  Ron was only 13 when the war began, but as he

Stuart Johns was born February 11, 1925 in Walkerville, Ontario.  He grew up in and around Windsor, against the backdrop of the Great Depression.  Stuart recalls his family being affected by that calamity – but also that they were not living in poverty.  His father, a veteran of the Great War, worked at the nearby

Hugh Patterson was born December 30, 1921 in Seneca Township, just outside Caledonia, Ontario.  He grew up on a farm:  there was plenty of food as Hugh remembers, but money was tight in the days of the Great Depression.  Hugh worked on the farm when he was young, but as he put it “milking those

Art Boon was born November 12, 1924 in Peterborough, England, emigrating to Canada when he was a baby.  Art’s father had come to Canada for the first time in 1912, but with the outbreak of the Great War Art’s father and uncle returned to Europe to fight in that war.  Art grew up in Stratford,

Jack Paley was born December 2, 1921 in a Yorkshire village.  His father was a veteran of the Great War, one who had seen action at the Somme and who had been a POW of the Germans.  Jack attended school until he was 14; he went to work at that time as a keymaker, and

Wilbur Bryans was born April 3, 1922 in Sullivan Township, Ontario.  He grew up on a farm, attending the local two-room school house before moving on to business school in Owen Sound.  While there Wilbur picked up critical skills that would impact his time in the military.  Wilbur was called up in 1941, reporting to

Richard Rohmer was born January 24, 1924 in Hamilton, Ontario.  His parents divorced when he was young, so Richard recalls growing up between the two households and dealing with the consequent difficulties.  He attended several schools in southwestern Ontario and by his teen years – coinciding with the start of the war – he was

Bradford Freeman was born in Mississippi on September 4, 1924.  He grew up on a farm, where the family was insulated from the worst effects of the Great Depression.  Brad remembers being at a neighbor’s house when the news about Pearl Harbor broke; he ran home to find his mother crying.  Still in high school,

“Papa” Jake Larsen was born December 20, 1922 in Hope, Minnesota.  He joined the National Guard when he was 15; times were tough, and he needed the money.  By the time Jake graduated high school, the war was underway in Europe and Asia, and the December 7, 1941 attack on Pearl Harbour brought the United

Don Greenbaum was born March 10, 1925, in the suburbs outside Philadelphia.  He grew up in an observant Jewish family, dealing with the realities of the Great Depression and attending military school.  When the war came, Don was quickly inducted and sent into basic training.  He was assigned to an artillery unit – the 283rd

Roly Harper was born in Toronto on October 16, 1924.  He was the youngest of three children, born to parents who had emigrated from Ireland.  Roly grew up in the city’s east end, in the Danforth and Donlands neighbourhood, and he graduated Riverdale Collegiate in January 1941.  Roly grew up against the backdrop of the

Ryerson Picot was born June 27, 1925 in Terra Cotta, Ontario.  He grew up in northern Ontario against the backdrop of the Great Depression, and the family followed the father as he moved from  job-to-job on the Canadian National Railroad.  Ryerson longed to join the army when the war came along, and he managed to

Howard Pfeifer was born September 22, 1923 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.  He grew up there against the backdrop of the Great Depression, so as a teenger he worked many jobs, delivering newspapers, pumping gas, and so on.  When the war came, a cousin of Howard’s told him about the merchant marine; Howard liked what he heard,

Bud Anderson hails from northern California, where he was born January 13, 1922 and grew up on a farm in the little town of Auburn, relatively insulated from the effects of the Great Depression.  Always interested in flying, Bud attended junior college and took on a job at the Sacramento Air Depot, and he was

George Herbert Beardshaw was born September 14, 1923 in Thorne, Yorkshire, England. He grew up in Garden Boys City, one of the Barnardo orphanages. He remembers that one day a man came into class, asking who wanted to go to Canada: George raised his hand, and in 1938 was off on the grand journey. He

Kenneth Lett was born July 13, 1923 in Carp, Ontario, a small farming village to the west of Ottawa.  He worked the land and would go to the Byward Market with his mother when he wasn’t playing hockey or attending school.  When the war came, Ken and his brother opted for the RCAF.  Ken went

Alex Polowin’s official birthday is April 15, 1924 – but it was really May 15, 1925.  That’s because like many young Canadian men he was anxious to go to war, and since he was born in Europe the official records had been lost.  So with the help of a lawyer, Alex filed his new birthdate,