Don Andrews was born in North Hampton, England in 1924. He grew up in England, and joined the British armed forces in 1942 at the age of 18. At this time the war had already commenced. Don became an anti tank gunner in the 2nd regiment of South Staffordshire, and served until the end of the war. Throughout the war Don had served in many battles and conflicts including; D-day, and Normandy battles such as Caen, throughout the battle of Britain. Throughout the war, Don has been in the countries; France, Belgium, Norway, Germany, and Holland. In this period of time, Andrews served alongside troops from countries such as Canada, United States, and Poland in battles across Europe.
After the war, Andrews moved to Canada and became a painter, where he currently lives with his wife, Joyce. Joyce was also from England, and had served under the British forces in the land army. After the war, Joyce moved with Don to Canada. Don has two children who also reside in Canada today.
Memories
In our interview, Mr. Andrews shared some memories and stories that were of my particular interest. One memory was of the food the soldiers had during their deployment. During a normal day of service, troops would receive a box of rations. This usually consisted of items like: Oatmeal, canned meat, and dry biscuits.
Sometimes troops would be pulled out of service for a period of 24 hours. During this time they were able to take a warm shower, have a nice hot meal, and rest for an extended period of time. This was called rest and recuperation. This is one of the things the soldiers looked forward to the most.
One of Don’s Combat memories was on D-day, when he landed behind enemy lines in a glider. He recalls the very rough landing, in a field. The gliders were piloted into a farmer’s field or road behind the initial lines of defence. The gliders used in D-day were very large, and many of them even carried a vehicle. This was a very dangerous task indeed.
Justin MacEachern
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