Brooks, Douglas

Douglas Brooks was born in 1921 in Toronto, the middle child out of all his four brothers.  Douglas is currently 92 years of age.  He grew up against the backdrop of the Great Depression.  Like many men, the reason Douglas joined the army was simply because there was no work; also all his friends and brothers were joining the Army.  Douglas joined the army in 1939; at the time he was 19.  He became part of the Royal Regiment of Canada.  Douglas’ journey to get to d Dieppe took him to Iceland and England first, where he awaited further orders and prepared for the raid on Dieppe.   During that time, he also was in London during the Battle of Britain.  After the disastrous Dieppe raid, where Douglas was lucky not to be wounded, he became a prisoner of war for three years.  Douglas’ prison camp was liberated in 1945 and he left the army, ready to begin a new life in Canada.

Douglas was interviewed for this project in his room at Sunnybrook in February 2014 by Crestwood students Gabe Lantos, Luca Lettieri and Aidan Reilly.