After the War - Douglas Hicks

Hicks, with niece Shirley Newburg, on
his return home September 10, 1945.
Source: The Hicks family

At the end of his treatment in the Canadian Wing at the Queen Victoria Hospital, Douglas Hicks traveled to Bournemouth to await transport back to Canada.  He would be repatriated back to Canada, along with over 4,000 other troops, aboard Canadian Pacific steamship ‘The Empress of Scotland,’ coincidentally the same ship he sailed on to the UK fourteen months prior.  The ship departed Liverpool on September 4, 1945, arriving five days later in Quebec City.  Trains were ready dockside to take the troops onwards to their destinations in Canada.  Doug arrived home in Toronto on September 10th.

Hicks was awarded a commission in the Royal Canadian Air Force and discharged at the age of 19 with the rank of Flying Officer, upon which he went to work at Air Canada.

He lived with his mother and sister Anne (and her growing, young family) in Toronto until marrying his wife Madelaine, a flight attendant for Air Canada.  Hicks ultimately became the Airport Manager for both Kennedy and LaGuardia Airports, retiring after 42 years.  He and Madeleine were married for over 54 years, until her passing in 2011 and they had five children: Katherine, Candace, Brian and twins Janet and John.

Hicks continued to be an active member of the Ex Air Gunners Association, the 550 Squadron Association and the Guinea Pig Club.  Hicks passed away August 16, 2014 in Las Cruces, New Mexico, at the age of 89.