Richard Ratcliffe was born on the 16th of June 1928, in Haileybury, Ontario. After his father died in 1938 his family moved to St.Catharines, Ontario. He joined the Navy in 1945 when he was 17 years old. He went to Naval College in Royal Rhodes in BC and graduated as a midshipman. He went to the Royal Naval College in Greenwich, England. He finished his studies in 1950 and came back to Canada and got married. Months later we was placed in a destroyer named HMCS Nootka en route to Korea, where he was stationed for 9 months. He continued to serve in the Navy until his retirement. He is a father and grandfather.
He was interviewed by Amir Rafati, Aaron Greenspan and Yoshie Ishikawa on September 22, 2017.
Videos
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- 1. Early Life and Prewar Memories
- 2. 1945; Thoughts on Communism; Joining the War
- 3. The Aircraft Carriers; Almost in Russia
- 4. Richard's Role in the Korean War; Friends; Thoughts on the End of the War
- 5. The First and Second Trips to Korea
- 6. Thoughts on the Armistice; The Destroyers' Schedule
- 7. Thoughts on Remembrance Day; Family and Life in the 50s
- 7. Thoughts on Remembrance Day; Family and Life in the 50s
- 8. The Ships; Invictus Games and Advice