Gunner Douglas Gerald Savage was born on the 18th of August 1920 in Ramsgate, Kent. His father Douglas, grandfather William and uncles were all butchers by trade, with many of them serving in the First World War. Gunner Savage attended Chatham House Grammar School, and left in 1935 on the same day as Ted Heath the future prime minister. He subsequently began work in his family's government surplus shop on the high street in Ramsgate, but the town was bombed in August 1940. Thereafter the family moved to Derby in October 1940. 

On the 23rd of October 1941, Gunner Savage enlisted with the 53rd (Worcestershire Yeomanry) Anti-Tank Regiment. This unit eventually joined the 6th Airborne Division and was renamed 53rd Airlanding Light Regiment in November 1943. It is likely Gunner Savage was in 210 Battery, but it is not stated definitively which battery he joined. The following year, the 53rd Regiment was to be the primary fire support for the 6th Airborne Division in the invasion of Normandy. However, only one battery flew by air - 211 Battery. Gunner Savage was part of the sea tail and embarked from the UK on the 10th of June with the rest of 210 Battery. They were joined the following day by 212. This seatail convoy arrived off the coast of France at Luc Sur Mer on the 13th of June, but was fired on by enemy aircraft. It subsequently moved to Colleville-Sur-Mer on the 14th and commenced unloading stores. 210 and 212 Batteries were linked up with 211 Battery and were in the field near Benouville by the 15th of June. Gunner Savage remained in Normandy with the 6th Airborne Division until the 3rd of September, when his unit returned home. 

Gunner Savage was deployed again by ship when he left to fight the German offensive in the Ardennes forest on the 23rd of December 1944. Gunner Savage’s next embarkation date of 23^rd December 1944. The war diary reveals that he embarked at Folkestone aboard the TSS Canterbury for Ostend in Belgium, the same place the rest of the 6^th Airborne Division arrived on Christmas Eve 1944. Their guns were hurriedly rushed into battle in defence of the Dinant Bridgehead which was under attack by the Germans. Savage was pictured this time in the bitterly cold conditions with his comrades in the Ardennes. They returned home on the 25th of February, 1945. 

Gunner Savage’s final embarkation date was 21^st March 1945, three days before the aircraft and gliders left for the airborne drop over the Rhine. This would suggest that he was again delivered by ship, and he does not appear on the aircraft manifests for any of the gliders that went with 53^rd Airlanding Light Regiment. However, this list is not exhaustive.  Not much is recorded about the Varsity sea tail party, except that it went to Dagenham to embark on 19^th March.  Savage was probably in this party.

Gunner Savage returned from Operation Varsity on the 1st of June 1945. He was released to the W(T) list of the RA Reserves on 28th August 1945, where he was still liable for recall. He eventually left the army on 2nd April 1946. After the war, he returned to Derby to work in the family Army and Navy stores shop. His father died in 1948 after years of ill health related to his own military service in Salonika in the First World War. Thereafter, Gunner Savage turned the family shop into a camping and outdoors business with the motto "the shop for campers, run by campers". He had gained a love of camping from his time in the Royal Artillery. 

In 1950, Gunner Savage married Jean and together they had three children: Sandra, Brian and Geraldine. Brian eventually took over the family business himself. 

Douglas Savage passed away on the 6th of June 1998, a few weeks before his 78th birthday. His grandson recalled: "He never really spoke to us about his military service, but he used to wear his Pegasus badged blazer with pride"

Compiled with information kindly supplied by Leigh Brookes (Gunner Savage's grandson). 

Article written by Alex Walker.