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.
Ted Willmott
Don Mackie
Frank Simpson
Art Sutton
Claude, Denis, Don and (just about) Ted
