Andrew V Garner

Better known as Andy Garner, born in Croydon on 12th January 1964 before moving to East Anglia with my parents in the mid 1970’s, a father of two, a grandfather of three, and a member of the Scout movement in a leadership role for the last 24 years.

I have a lifelong interest in World War I and Second World War history, with a focus on the United States Army Air Force in East Anglia due to the location of my home and the friendly invasion in the 1940’s. I am passionate about sharing the knowledge I have gained through presentations with my collection of memorabilia and learning with local youth groups, schools, and adults.

Having conducted and written many personal interviews with veterans, including the late wing commander and friend Tom Neil Battle of Britain ace and Cyril Doy, the last survivor from the bridge over the river Kwai. My aim is a continuing project of remembrance with the use of original letters and documents from WW1 & WW2 to translate writings without the use of too much editing to take away the emphasis from the words as written by the original writer to describe their story as it unfolded while adding little factual information about the information described within the letters. As a volunteer at the “Red Feather Club”, Horham, Suffolk, which was home to the United States Army Air Force 95th Bomb Group during the Second World War, one of my roles is as a researcher, collecting, and writing for the newsletter, something I have undertaken for the last 15 years, I have the title of deputy editor. During this time, I have interviewed veterans who were at the base, those who have childhood memories of Americans, and family members remembering relatives who served. Amongst the interviews, I have interviewed and written an article on John Orloff, a scriptwriter for the famed HBO production of the Band of Brothers series and the scriptwriter for the Apple series “Masters of the Air”. I have on several occasions interviewed and written about Donald Miller, American author of many books, historian, advisor on the HBO Pacific series, and author of “Masters of the Air”. Also included in my collection of interviews is an article I wrote on Rob Morris, author of “Untold Valor”, “Prisoner of the Swiss” and “B17’s Over Berlin” with co-writer Ian Hawkins. My current plan is to write four books using letters and memorabilia that I have collected or been gifted. The first is the trial book and the shortest to ascertain and learn the comings and goings of writing books. The second, is a much larger project and will focus on two different G.I.s who have never met but have an unusual connection. This will be a heart-wrenching story with a surprising ending. (From my point of view, whether the author or not, the potential for this is endless). The third will be about an American coach who receives hundreds of letters from those serving in the Second World War and the fourth concerns an American pilot. I have more to follow as I trawl through my own collection of these valued time-keeping capsules that I aim to reveal, crammed full of history and emotions. My only regret is not proceeding with this venture earlier in my life. I have held these letters for many years, some were never read. A chance to discuss with my partner, an English teacher at a high school in Norwich during remembrance November 2022, led me to lend her some of my collection to take to school to show her pupils the importance of remembrance and letter writing, I did not expect the response she gave me. “A pupil was reading the letters and she burst into tears” This was the kickstart I needed, future projects will also include British letters although these collections are quite sparse. If I did not have to work full-time, this would become my new goal; writing, researching, remembering, and sharing, full time. These are not just letters, these are true stories that will give the reader an incredible insight, a historical tour through the eyes of the men and women who wrote them, with additional material added where needed by the author, while still keeping factual information to a minimum so the stories are not lost through pages of information.