Happy 90th Birthday Dad!

Today is my Dad’s ninetieth birthday. He was born on February 3rd, 1922 in England and grew up in the seaside community of Cleethorpes. He often told us stories of his boyhood days with his pals, a happy time for him. In the photo above, he is enjoying a ride on a donkey on the sands by the sea with his proud Mom looking a little nervous.

Dad, front row, second from right.

Like many of his generation, Dad’s life was shaped in major ways by the intervention of World War II. Here he is in his uniform during his days in the Royal Air Force. Many young men he knew became rear gunners, a position with a high casualty rate. But because of Dad’s superior knowledge of Morse Code, learned from his father, he was assigned to a position as a Radio Operator, operating a direction finding set which guided aircraft back to base. He was at RAF Hemswell in Lincolnshire, which had a squadron of Lancaster bombers crewed by Polish airmen. Later, he was sent to work at training facilities at Mount Hope near Hamilton.

Dad loved Canada from the beginning. He told us how that first winter, the beauty of the snowy landscape enthralled him. It was in Hamilton that Dad met Mom. After the War, they settled in the area and started a family. Dad’s passion was photography and he made his living working for several different photography firms and finally starting his own business. Photography remained his passion throughout his life, and last summer his accomplishments were celebrated at the Art of Living show, which I wrote about here.

Happy Birthday, Dad. Thanks for everything.

Dad and I, Autumn 2011.

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