I saw the news that Don had passed away at the good old age of 95. Off to the green fields beyond.
I've written elsewhere about my links to him so all I will add here is this. I know that he was very proud of his wartime service with the RTR - his battle dress and beret hung on the back of his study door. I don't know what he experienced but service with a teeth arms unit in North Africa and Italy must surely have had its grim moments. So when he commanded a troop of tanks in a WW2 wargame at the late, great Wessex Wargames Club there must have been some mixed feelings. As his armour approached a small village he declared that even though he could see no little plastic Germans he was going to thoroughly machine gun the place. As a simple teenager the concept of surpressive fire was something I had never even considered. It was a salutory lesson and I thought to myself that here was a small glimpse into the reality of how people, rather than models, actually fight.
So, thanks for all your kindness and wisdom Don.
I've written elsewhere about my links to him so all I will add here is this. I know that he was very proud of his wartime service with the RTR - his battle dress and beret hung on the back of his study door. I don't know what he experienced but service with a teeth arms unit in North Africa and Italy must surely have had its grim moments. So when he commanded a troop of tanks in a WW2 wargame at the late, great Wessex Wargames Club there must have been some mixed feelings. As his armour approached a small village he declared that even though he could see no little plastic Germans he was going to thoroughly machine gun the place. As a simple teenager the concept of surpressive fire was something I had never even considered. It was a salutory lesson and I thought to myself that here was a small glimpse into the reality of how people, rather than models, actually fight.
So, thanks for all your kindness and wisdom Don.
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