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THE NEW TANNER THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 5, 1998 25 Mill St. E., Acton 853-2410 (WEES e-tee) PETER ZIONS CONSTRUCTION LTD. AMERIAN) [X@RESS A family Building Tradition Since 1964 (519) 853-2464 oy. % HOW ee syed 2 "ories CS Door to Door Airport Servi Tyler Transport Ltd. 379 Queen St. E. Acton PHARMACY ITD. ® (Canada) Ltd. = Formerly AP Green S& Refactories (Canada) Ltd. 159 Perth St. ACTON 853-0840 853-1550 ACTON 2 Main Street North, Acton 853-1620 ACTON TGA Hometown Proud! 12 Main St. N., Acton (519) 853-1960 SHOEMAKER FUNERAL HOME 853-0350 55 Mill Street East, Acton Nick Larter DENTURE SPECIALIST E. JUREVICIUS D.D. Construction & Fittings of New Dentures ACTON DENTURE CLINIC 6] 16 Mill St. B., Acton 853-0079 prvcAs MFG. INC. HOT BIP GALVARIZING 60 Commerce Cres. - 853-3540 Zeal Ji. ACTON PRECAST CONCRETE LTD. @ SEPTIC TANKS & @ TRANSFORMER WATER CISTERNS BASES @ PVC SEWER PIPE @ STEPS & =e = YARD & PATIO & CULVERTS PRODUCTS Vet Art Ford remembers - BY MAGGIE PETRUSHEVSKY The New Tanner Crescent Street resident Art Ford drove the first am- munition truck onto the beach at Courselles for his regiment when they landed in France on D-Day, June 6, 1944. "Tt was just breaking day when I drove onto the beach," Ford recalls. "The guns had just landed and the infantry behind them. We left our 2 IC (second in com- mand) for the regiment on the beach. We went about five miles that first day." An Acton resident from a very early age, Ford enlisted in the 12" Field Regiment, 43" battery in Guelph the day he turned 18. Norm Price joined the same day. Since Ford already had considerable training with the Lorne Scots before enlist- ing for active duty he was put in charge of the machine guns when he joined the ar- tillery. The regiment went to a camp at Sussex, New Bruns- wick when they finished |, training locally. Ford was part of the advance guard for that move. They arrived No- vember 5 and were billetted in tents. "We forgot how to shave in a hurry," he says. "The water froze up in the basin so you just didn't bother." / \. ); D-DAY MAP: Art Ford, a former member of the 12% Field Regiment of Guelph, holds a map showing where the regiment went as it fought its way across Europe. - Maggie Petrushevsky photo That was the camp where they encountered the Chaudieres from Quebec. Ford says they were such brawlers and rabble-rousers the store windows were barred and everyone in town was afraid of them. When a group returned from leave, the camp commander sent:a company of soldiers with loaded rifles to escort them back to camp. That way they all stayed out of trouble and they didn't tangle with the 12" Field Regiment. ACHILLES Mmazpa 357 Queen Street ©) 853-0200 Halton Hills (Acton) ©°5) 453-8965 It's worth the drive to Achilles! Thank you to the Brave Men & Women 318 Queen St. Acton 853-5945 ACTON HomME HARDWARE Bill & Valerie Manes 43 Mill St. E., Acton In July 1941 they crossed the Atlantic on the Duchess of York, or the Drunken Duchess as she was known because of her tendency to roll from side to side - even in calm seas. They were sent to East- bourne, near London, when they first arrived and wound up on coastal duty for most of their stay, It was while he was in England that Ford asked for 853-1730 853- ually Concrete Protects Sice 1963 -Tue Smoke SHOPPE- 56 Mill St. East, Acton Unit A 853-041 | Serving Acton for Over 25 Years Tobacco, Lotteries, Used Books (on the United Church parking lot) SS Ee eee | 519 853-1529 and received his transfer to driving an ammunition truck, He wanted the switch because it was less responsibility, As a non-commissioned officer he got trouble from the sol- diers under him as well as his superior officers. Asa driver he only had to worry about himse'f and follow orders. Not th: t sleeping in the back of a t uck on top of 300 rounds of ammunition was withou. its tense moments. But he preferred it to being a bombadier. Ford's closest brush with injury came in Europe when a provost stopped his truck at an intersection for some un- important reason. While they were stationary a shell came through their windshield. "Two pieces of shrapnel just missed my ear," Ford says. Ernie Gray, who was with Ford, got a couple of pieces of the shrapnel in his leg. D-Day was scary, Ford says, at times. Other times they were too busy to be scared. Ford returned to Britain in July 1945 and got home in September. Art and Joan Ford always used to march in Acton's Remembrance Day Parade, then grab a couple of flags and join the sevices at Rockwood and Haltonville too. Now that his eyesight is failing, Ford only attends the Legion church parade. Thurs-Fri | 17 Mill St. E., Act 1970