Alan Forster was born in Toronto, growing up in the city’s east end during the Great Depression. From a military family, he joined up as soon as he was able, heading off to training and then to England. Shortly after the D-Day invasion, Alan headed to France, to begin his “baptism under fire”. They were in the thick of it, right away, fighting through Normandy and into Belgium, the Netherlands, and Germany itself. Alan’s memories of those times are clear, and his stories are ideal for Canadians looking to find insights in the minds of young Canadian men in the 1940s.
We met Alan in his room at the Sunnybrook Veterans Wing, where he was interviewed for this project in April 2015. Crestwood students visited again in January 2018, this time filming Alan in HD!
Videos
- 1. Early Life; The Great Depression; School Memories
- 1a. Alan Forster - Background and Early Memories
- 2. The Depression; Life in the City
- 3. Knowledge of the War
- 4. Family Reactions; Training
- 5. The Troopship
- 6. Life in England
- 7b. First Military Action; Aspects of Battle Moving Inland from Normandy
- 7a. Fighting in the War; Letters from Home; Training
- 7. The Invasion; Landing in France
- 8a. Life as a Machine Gunner
- 8. Carpiquet Airport.mp4
- 9. St Andre-sur-Orne.mp4
- 9a. St. Andre-sur-Orne
- 10. The Maple Leaf News.mp4
- 11. The Road to Belgium.mp4
- 12. Interacting with the Locals.mp4
- 13. Experiences in the Netherlands.mp4
- 14. Night Guard Duty; Moving towards Germany.mp4
- 15. The End of the War.mp4
- 16a. Postwar; Lasting Effects and Impactful Moments; Sharing his Story
- 16. Going Home.mp4
- 17. A Gamble.mp4
- 18. Alan's Brother.mp4
