On 19 November, WWII veteran Peter Smoothy will celebrate his 100th birthday. On 6 June 1944 Peter Smoothy was one of the 156,000 allied servicemen that took part in the Invasion of Normandy as part of Operation Overlord. Peter was one a crew of 99 on a Landing Ship Tank LST 215 which headed across…
Born on 11 November 1924 John King celebrates his 100 birthday on 11 November 2024 – Armistice Day. John joined the Royal Navy in 1943 and was drafted on to HMS Janus which was involved in the bombardments of both coasts of Italy. He was a sight-setter on the warship’s stern gun, manning the range…
WWII veterans were driven to Shropshire to meet the master distiller who created a commemorative 80th anniversary D Day dark rum. The Taxi Charity for Military Veterans took a groups of veterans for a couple of days break in Shropshire which included a visit to meet the Distinct Distillers team who have been selling ‘44’…
WWII veteran Henry ‘Harry’ Rawlins, 98, who served with The King’s Royal Rifle Corps died on Monday 10 June at The Royal Hospital Chelsea. His niece, Angela, and her husband Andrew were at his bedside. Harry joined the army at the age of 18 and was posted to the Kings Royal Rifle Corps. At Operation…
100 year old WWII veteran William ‘Bill’ Gladden, who flew into Normandy on D-Day, died at home in Haverhill on 24 April. William ‘Bill’ Gladden was born on the 13 January 1924. His parents were both from Yarmouth in Norfolk, but they raised him in Woolwich; his mother having worked in the Arsenal during the…
Tom Schaffer, from Mill Hill, who was affectionately known as the poster boy of the Taxi Charity for Military Veterans died on 16 March, he was 97. Tom was a regular on Taxi Charity trips across the UK and to the Netherlands and Normandy and for over 30 years. After enlisting during the war and…
Taxi Charity Dutch Ambassador Frans Ammerlaan has been awarded an honorary MBE by King Charles for services to commemorations and to British World War II veterans. Frans Ammerlaan has had a long association with veterans. He has a great interest in Operation Market Garden, an Allied military operation during the Second World War fought in…
WWII veterans enjoyed an event hosted by the Taxi Charity at Biggin Hill with two Spitfire flights and entertainment from the D Day Darlings. On 12 September a group of nineteen WWII Veterans were joined by veterans from other conflicts for a Taxi Chairty event in the Heritage Hangar at Biggin Hill, a working hangar…
On 1 September, a group of Taxi Charity for Military Veterans volunteers, veterans and supporters attended a reception at the Ambassador’s Residence in The Hague. Joanna Roper CMG, His Majesty’s Ambassador to the Netherland has met with the Taxi Charity on several occasions and kindly invited them to visit her Residence on their way to…