Don's subsequent musical career

Some of the other members of the band of 14AOD went on to perform regularly after the war. But as far as I remember, Don played mainly for his own amusement. I would guess this photo was taken at an office party or similar. The recorders and abundance of percussion instruments shows that this was not a serious musical ensemble. It looks like the guy with glasses to the left at the back is playing a tea chest bass. Interestingly, Don's guitar is seen fitted with a pick-up and that looks like a lead trailing down from where the neck joins the body, so perhaps he was playing electric. This pick-up used to sit in his guitar case, but I do not remember it ever being used. I still have it, but I understand it is not in working order.

The only time I remember Don playing a proper gig was in the early 1960s when we had a visit out of the blue from his cousin Bernard Saward. (Dad's side of the family was not particularly close-knit. We lived in Abbey Wood and Bernard in Eltham, but I only met him twice.) Bernard was a drummer and amongst other things he had played with Humphrey Lyttelton in the early 1950s. He persuaded Don to sit in with him for a session - I think it was at a pub called the Royal Oak - but that was only a one-off. Incidentally, Don and Bernard recorded some acetates in 1938. I shall say more abou them later.

Don & Frank plus one

Frank Simpson is seated and Don Mackie is to his right. Again, medal ribbons indicate that the picture was taken after V.E. Day. I do not know who the gentleman on the left is.

The picture surfaced in the "Crown Lane" archive, so possibly it was included in a letter home from Don to his mother. For more about Crown Lane and Don's family, see my family history blog http://mackiegenealogy.blogspot.com/

Don's Gongs

Left to right we have the 1939-1945 Star, France & Germany Star, Defence Medal, War Medal 1939-1945 and Royal Observer Corps Medal & bar. The first four were earned during WWII. The ROC medal came much later. Don was a part-time member of the ROC. He did not claim his war medals until the 1960s when he was selected to represent the ROC at the Festival of Remembrance. We also see here the check list that accompanied the medals. For more information on WWII medals, I would recommend http://www.stephen-stratford.co.uk/wwii_medals.htm

Don & Frank, Christmas 1944

Here we see Don Mackie and Frank Simpson with what must be a French family. The picture has been trimmed down so part of the manuscript on the back has been lost, but I think it reads "Bon Souvenir, Noel 1944, H.H. Sicol". Don and Frank would have been in Caen at this time and they are wearing jerkins very similar to those seen in Major Lee-Richardson's book. I presume H.H. Sicol is one of the people seen here, or a relative. It does not seem to be a very common surname; even google.fr finds very little. Pure speculation on my part, but maybe Don and Frank were billeted with this family.

Don Mackie's Guitar

This is Don's guitar. It is a 1930s vintage Radiotone. Clearly he did not take it with him during his service with 14AOD, as it does not appear in any of the photos of the band. It had a very high action which made it quite difficult to play; in later years Don played mainly a nylon-string guitar which was much kinder on the fingers. When he died in 1982, my mother was reluctant to part with it, so it spent 22 years at the bottom of a wardrobe. When I retrieved it, it was not in the best condition. The back had started to split from the sides, there was a nasty crack on the front, the tailpiece was broken and the pick guard had crumbled. I took it to Graham Noden, who has a repair workshop in the basement of Andy's Guitar Shop in Denmark Street, London. Graham did an excellent job of restoring it and I think it now plays much better than I remember it when dad was alive. You can read more about Graham here
http://www.andysguitarnet.com/about-us/about-us.html

Don Mackie's Soldier's Service & Pay Book

This document largely speaks for itself. Of particular relevance to the history of the band of 14AOD, we see that Don was passed fit for overseas service on 19 October 1944. From 22 October 1944, he was classed as both a location clerk and a musician. These dates match the known history of 14AOD being sent to France after D-Day. They also indicate that when the army sent 14AOD overseas, the dance band was an intentional element. 14AOD was drawn from different parts of the RAOC. I do not know the previous history of the rest of the band, but Don was previously based at Old Dalby (it was there that he met Eileen Bailey, the future Mrs Mackie) and Claude Page was at Chilwell.

"Ralph" in Glinde

The top picture shows Don Mackie with two saxophonists. That's Art Sutton on the left, this time with a tenor. (On the recordings I have, he plays only alto and clarinet.) The altoist does not appear in any of the other photos. On the back of the full-length picture, Don has written "This is Ralph." He is absent from the Arromanches photo and he is not wearing medal ribbons, while Don, Ted and Denis are. This indicates he was not with 14AOD in Caen but joined them only when they reached Glinde. Is he the second saxophone heard on "American Patrol"?

14AOD in Glinde

After V.E. Day, 14AOD moved to Glinde, near Hamburg, to handle returned ordnance. This is a series of informal pictures which I presume was taken in Glinde, as some of the men are wearing medal ribbons for the 1939-1945 and France & Germany stars. We see only five of the members of the band here. These correspond to the quintet heard on one of the recordings and a photo - to be published here later - of the band in performance. I believe these photos were included with letters home from Don to his wife Eileen. Where applicable, I have included the notes he made on the back.





3 Stooges (Arthur - Teddy - DJM)
(Wipe that smile off your face!)


3 Stooges again.
(I'll let you have a better one when we make an enlargement)



3 Heroes.
(That's Denis in the middle - bless his little 'eart)



Inseperables



Just reading through one of your letters here
(That's Eileen in the picture on the window sill.)

Paris Leave

According to their families, Denis Harper and Claude Page saw the Glenn Miller Orchestra in Paris in December 1944. (This was, of course, shortly after Miller had gone missing, but the band went ahead with the concerts anyway.) I don't remember Dad ever mentioning this so perhaps he wasn't there, but we see him here at the Palais de Chaillot. That's him, just below the statue. Two places to his right is Frank Simpson (without hat). These are the only two I recognise.

Pictures of the Band

These are a series of formal postcard prints of the band. They are from my father's collection and have been signed by the other musicians.




Bert Hunt

Yours on a "Blue Chord". Bert

















Ted Willmott

Best wishes always. Ted

















Don Mackie



















Denis Harper


Yours in tempo. Denis Harper


















Claude Page


Happy Days. Claude Page








Frank Simpson

To Mac

















Art Sutton

Yours swingcerely


















Claude, Denis, Don and (just about) Ted

What this is all about

During WWII, my father served in the Royal Army Ordnance Corps. In October 1944, he was posted to Caen in France with 14AOD (Advanced Ordnance Depot). He played guitar and he soon became part of an army dance band "The Band of 14AOD". After VE Day (8 May 1945) 14AOD transferred to Glinde near Hamburg to handle returned ordnance.

Dad brought back with him various records and photos of the band. But he never actually played the records. They lay gathering dust until a couple of years ago when I dug them out and had them cleaned up and transferred to CD. I was interested to know more about the band and its members. I sent a photo in to the Daily Mail's "Missing and Found" column and made contact with relatives of some of the other musicians. Comparing notes with them has enabled me to fill in a lot of the gaps, but I would still like to know more. The band comprised:

Art Sutton - alto saxophone and clarinet. He was originally from Leicester, but later moved to Birmingham. After the war, he developed a successful hosiery business called "Knickers"

Denis Harper - accordion. From Loughborough. He went on to be a successful band leader.

Claude Page - trumpet. From Rothwell, Northamptonshire. He played with a number of bands, including a 40s Big Band made up of veteran performers.

Ted Willmott - drums. From Carshalton.

Bert Hunt - piano. From Aldershot.

Don Mackie - guitar. From Abbey Wood, SE London.

Frank Simpson - bass.

I know that Messrs Harper, Hunt, Mackie, Page, Sutton and Willmott are no longer with us. So far, I have not established any contact with any family or acquaintances of Frank Simpson. But if he is still alive, he will now be in his late 80s.