I am researching and writing the memoirs of firstly my paternal grandfather who was born in Belfast, Northern Ireland on the 8th February 1913.
He attended Belfast Royal Academy and then gained employment with the Ulster Bank. He was sent to Westport, Co.Mayo to work for some time and returned to take up a position in Dungannon.
The majority of his friends had joined the 8th Belfast Heavy AA Regiment at the start of World War II. George volunteered for a mixed heavy/light AA battery.
He underwent training at Gillingham and was posted to a Light AA Defence Unit in Dover, after this he went to Forfar before emarking oversees on the SS Tegleberg departing Scotland in March 1943.
This ship took him to Capetown and then up the African coast where he landed on 11 May 1943. He travelled to Alexandria and then with his driver Charlie Smirk, he was sent to Egypt via Beirut.
In July 1943 he was aboard a ship and since he was the only officer on board, he was given the sealed orders for Operation Husky 'Detachment 66LAA Regiment.
Sergeant Johnston, army number 1573402, read the orders to the troops. On the 10 July 1943 he and his troops landed in Syracuse, after a stint there he headed to northern Italy to Fozzia Main with the 176 Battery. Then on to Carizuola and Taranti where he then sailed for Athens.
In June 1945 he returned to Italy and when the end of the war was announced he joined the Tunisian Police and guarded Milan Central Station. From Milan he went to Domodossola until his discharge from the army.
Secondly, I'm seeking information regarding my maternal grandfather Walter James Taylor, born 5 November 1907, in Hull, England. He served in the Royal Navy and retired with the rank of Lieutenant Commander.
His brother Sidney Edward "Buck" Taylor also served in the British Navy from the age of 13. He served for 10 years and then, in the early 1930's, left the service and went to California where he met and married his wife.
In March 1941, he enlisted in the US Navy. Harbour defense was his speciality and he served in the Pacific Theater during World War II. Some 27 years later he retired with the rank of commander.
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