Herb Danter ...
I have only just learnt of the death of Herb Danter and am so very sorry that I never met him. Herb was stationed in Eastbourne with The 23rd Field Regiment (SP) RCA from August 1943 until the run-up to D-Day in March 1944. Alas we didn’t link up until the summer of 2006, before the publication of ‘Canucks by the Sea – The Canadian Army in Eastbourne during the Second World War’, but too late for his memories to be included. However, Herb did contribute to the project, for when it seemed that our payment for an advertisement in Legion would not arrive in time, he saved the day by writing a personal cheque to cover the cost until we could reimburse him.
Herb had been back to Eastbourne several times since the end of the war, and was hoping to make a special trip to be present at the book launch in November 2006. I was looking forward to taking him to some of his old haunts, and Herb hoped to take part in the parade on Remembrance Sunday and lay a wreath at our war memorial. Unfortunately, he was already ill and couldn’t come.
He sent me some of his wartime photographs and more details of the Canadian presence in Eastbourne – these are included in a new edition which came out earlier this month. With the permission of the webmaster, details of this new edition of Canucks by the Sea will be posted on the forum shortly.
I sent him several e-mails during the autumn, but there was no reply. Fearing the worst, I searched the forum for his name and so found the sad news of his death. One of Herb’s last e-mails to me was in November 2008. He referred only briefly to his poor health and ended: “I am looking forward to getting over to Eastbourne, and of course this gives me an incentive to carry on. Cheers!”
Herb Danter was a proud soldier and a brave man. I am so sorry that he never made that last visit to what he called ‘my home from home’.
Michael Ockenden
Eastbourne Local History Society
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