Tom Boneham was born March 21, 1923 in Warwickshire, England, where he grew up on a farm in the village of Shotteswell in the Stratford-upon-Avon district, not too far from the town of Banbury. His father Tom worked that farm with Tom’s mother Hilda; the two of them had met after Tom’s father was discharged […]
William Lummiss was born April 21, 1929 in Toronto, where he grew up in the Beaches neighbourhood of the city. He attended Adam Beck Public School, and then Danforth Tech, and then pursued an apprenticeship in graphic design. Impacted by the events of the war, the young William remembers scrap metal drives and rationing, and […]
Harry Miller was born July 2, 1928 in Columbus, Ohio. He would serve in the American Army in the Second World War, when he was not yet 18 years old. Harry’s mother died when he was only 3, so it would be his father and sister who guided the family through the difficult days of […]
Douglas Brooks was born in 1921 in Toronto, the middle child out of all his four brothers. Douglas is currently 92 years of age. He grew up against the backdrop of the Great Depression. Like many men, the reason Douglas joined the army was simply because there was no work; also all his friends and […]
John Hishon and his mother lived in the Yonge & Bloor area of Toronto, where his Mom worked extremely hard to make a living during the Great Depression.. When the war broke out, John trained on the Canadian Exhibition grounds, where at first they did not have any equipment and were laughed at. He eventually […]
Ron Beal was born April 5, 1921. Growing up during the depression, he enlisted in the Royal Regiment of Canada, having been in the militia before the war. After training and the overseas journey and several months of waiting, Ron was sent to Dieppe. It was the first cross-Channel raid by the Allies, and a […]