Captain F.C. "Freddie" Aston. DFC. TD.In 1938 Freddie Aston joined the 153rd Light Anti-Aircraft Battery as a Territorial Officer. The arrival of war the following year saw him sent to France with the British Expeditionary Force. His experiences in 1940 in France were to become a foretaste of what he was to experience a few years later at Arnhem in September 1944. He escaped back through German lines with fellow officer Tony Barber - later to become Chancellor of the Exchequer - on a purloined motorbike and arrived at Dunkirk, to be evacuated back to the UK.
Having recovered from Dunkirk, Aston found himself posted to Southwold on the Suffolk coast, commanding a small anti-aircraft battery. The Suffolk/Norfolk coast was to become a life long love, but by 1942 he was bored and looking to do more for his country. His feelings coincided with a circular that was asking for volunteers for the Churchill's new project, the Glider Pilot Regiment. He applied to join and was accepted.
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Aston's Logbook - Click here
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