Rod White was born February 16, 1925 in Trenton, Ontario. Rod’s father died when he was only four, and some of his early memories are of his mother struggling to raise her seven children in difficult economic times. Rod left school after Grade 8, going to work and helping to support the family. Work took
Wally Adam was born in Winnipeg during the Second World War, where his father was serving in the Army Pay Corps. He grew up there, and decided to join the RCAF Reserves in his own right when he was in high school. After university, Wally enlisted in the RCAF, serving during the Cold War years.
Gail Halvorsen was born October 10, 1920 in northern Utah, where he grew up on a sugar beet farm, enjoying the great outdoor life the state had to offer. Gail worked hard during those years, and he decided to look into a civilian pilot training program that he had heard about. When the Pearl Harbour
Roland Glenn was born June 5, 1924; he grew up in small town Pennsylvania, against the backdrop of the Great Depression. He recalls a good childhood, where his family raised him with love and positive energy, in a time when that was in short supply for many Americans. His father and grandfather had instilled him
Stanley Grizzle was born in Toronto in 1918, to Jamaican parents who immigrated to Canada in 1911. He grew up in downtown Toronto, where he attended Prince Edward School and later Harbord Collegiate. He became a railway porter at the age of 22 to help support his family. In 1938 he became involved in the
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
This past Wednesday, January 27, was Holocaust Remembrance Day. On January 27, 1945, Auschwitz-Birkenau, the largest Nazi concentration and death camp, was liberated by the Soviet Red Army, and in subsequent months other camps were liberated by the Allies. International Holocaust Remembrance Day commemorates the end of the genocide that resulted in the deaths of
Julia Parsons was born March 2, 1921 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Her father was an instructor at the Carnegie Institute of Technology, and her mother was a kindergarten teacher. Julia recalls her childhood as being a traditional one, as dictated by the Victorian mores of the time. The family was not heavily impacted by the Depression,
Les Mitelman is a Crestwood grandfather; his grandson Liam Stern was in Grade 8 at the time this interview was completed. Les was born in Tarnopol, Poland on July 21, 1938, so he was only a baby when the war began, so growing up he had to learn the unspeakable and horrible lessons the Shoah
Guy Prestia was born April 26, 1922 in Pennsylvania. The son of an Italian immigrant and a Pennsylvanian, he grew up alongside his siblings against the backdrop of the Great Depression. Guy recalls that his father worked hard, supporting the family during the economic downturn and then doing war work once the United States entered
Daniel Gold was born in Lithuania on February 10, 1937. When the war began for Lithuania – in 1941 – the country was quickly overrun by the Germans, and Lithuanian Jews were placed in ghettos, and not longer after the mass murder began. Daniel remembers having to be quiet while Lithuanian neighbours were initiating the
Dear Parents, While it was a short week with students in school enjoying the glorious warm weather, we still managed to squeeze in some important events! Thank you to the admin team of the CSPA for hosting the first ZOOM CSPA meeting this past Tuesday. We were so pleased by the exceptional turnout, and
Ralph Russo was born July 7, 1917 in Newcastle, Pennsylvania. He grew up there against the backdrop of the Great Depression, when times were tough. Ralph’s father was able to hold on to his job during that time, and Ralph picked up work at a local foundry. When 1941 and the attack on Pearl Harbour
Ron Goldstein was born August 16, 1923 , in London, England. His parents, looking to escape the anti-Semitism and lack of opportunity, had immigrated to England from Poland in the years before the Great War. They went on to raise a large family, and Ron was the 10th in a family of 11. Ron left
John O’Henly was born March 15, 1923, and he grew up in the east end of Toronto. He attended RH MacGregor Public School, and after one year at East York, he opted to go to Danforth Tech, as he was interested in their art course. He spent much of his spare time with his friends
Bill Morgan was born April 23, 1925 in Consett, England, a small city on the east coast, not too far from Newcastle. Bill’s mother passed away when he was just five, and at that time he moved in with his grandparents and aunts, and his father’s role in his life diminished. Bill grew up an
Major Travis Kelley had a family background in the military, so he was interested at a young age. He studied Engineering at the University of Waterloo and joined the Army Reserves when he was finishing his undergrad. He then did basic training at the Wolseley Barracks and completed other training as a Combat Engineer in
Tyler Smith was born in Calgary, Alberta, a city that had a very deep tradition for the navy, in spite of its inland location. One of the first steps he took in order to achieve his goal of joining the military was to join the sea cadets, a program that the navy sets up in
Jim Lister was born January 5, 1928 in Toronto. He grew up in the tough days of the Great Depression and well remembers that the family lost their home. He also remembers exploring the Don Valley, and how different a city Toronto was at the time. Jim had older brothers and two of them enlisted
Leslie Mezei was born in 1931 in Hungary in a little town called Gödöllő. He had a good relationship with his mother and father. His father was an officer in the Hungarian army, and a lawyer. Leslie lived in a small house and had a tough childhood with some anti-Semitism appearing in his neighborhood and
Ann Collins was born November 27,1925 in Nottingham, England. She was only 13 when WWII broke out; it ended her schooling, and sent her to work, and forced her to endure the Blitz and everything else associated with the war. Ann joined the ATS when she was 17; she expressed that her time in the British
Georgine Nash was born in Hungary on June 16,1937. She grew up during the war, and as was the case with most Hungarian Jews, she enjoyed a distance from the terrible conflict, and the from the terrible Shoah that was commencing in the neighbouring countries. Georgine remembers her father being taken away to a labour
Robert Otterman was born January 24, 1925, outside Fisherville, Ontario, where he grew up on the family farm. When the war came, Robert recalls that he did not want to be a soldier; his village was largely German-Canadian, and while the locals disliked what Hitler and Nazism represented, they did not want to fight their
Howard was born in the Scotch settlement of Bradford on July 11, 1923; his English and Scottish ancestors had settled there long before. Growing up on a farm meant that Howard and his family were self sufficient and were able to provide for themselves; slaughtering animals for food was not uncommon on the farm. Howard’s uncle was
Rod White was born in Trenton, Ontario in 1925. Rod’s father died when he was only four, and some of his early memories are of his mother struggling to raise her seven children in difficult economic times. Rod was a sickly child, suffering from bouts of tuberculosis and jaundice; combined with wearing glasses from an
Frank Rees is from Toronto. He grew up in the city’s east end, against the backdrop of the Great Depression. He attended Danforth Tech and served in the reserve army during the early part of the war. When the time came for him to join up, Frank chose the RCAF – he remembers that it
Norman Cash was born January 1, 1920 in Russia, in the city of Odessa. When he was one year old his family made the decision to emigrate as the anti-Semitic violence associated with the pogroms was intensifying in the wake of the Great War, where Norm’s father had been a veteran. The family settled in
Alyre Gallant was born December 23, 1923, in Piusville, Prince Edward Island. He grew up during the time of the Depression, and when his father died when he was quite young, Alyre left school and began working on the family farm. And that was the theme for the rest of the decade and into the
Walter Swirski was born in Poland on May 7, 1922. His family lived in a small village, where they were prosperous farmers; Walter’s father owned a share in a flour mill, and had been an officer in the Soviet-Polish war. Walter had one brother and was going to school when the Second World War broke
Jim Parks was born September 22, 1924, in Winnipeg, Manitoba. He grew up there during the hard days of the Great Depression, making money anywhere he could, selling magazines and blocks of ice. When the war came along, Jim was in high school, and he remembers learning about the war in history class. He joined
