OSA magazine Issue 90

T h e O l d S t a t i o n e r - N o 9 0
wailing sirens, becoming the propaganda
symbol of German air power and the
so-called blitzkrieg victories of 1939–1942.
The Stuka operated with considerable
success in close air support and antishipping
at the outbreak of World War II.
It led air assaults in the invasion of Poland
in September 1939. Stukas were critical to
the rapid conquest of Norway, the
Netherlands, Belgium and France in 1940.
Sturdy, accurate, and very effective against
ground targets, the Stuka was, like many
other dive bombers of the period,
vulnerable to fighter aircraft. During the
Battle of Britain its lack of maneuverability,
speed and defensive armament meant that
it required a heavy fighter escort to operate
effectively.
Trevor Rowe
(Owen's son)
Vehicle Tracked, (also known as Buffaloes),
which had already proven their worth in
the Pacific campaign. 41 Commando was
tasked with assaulting the town of
Westkapelle and then to move north along
the causeway to Domburg. Just to their
south, 48 Commando took on a radar
station and naval gun battery, while 47
completed the encirclement of the western
part of the island by moving south towards
Flushing.
The brigade would spend the rest of the
war making raids across the Maas River in
Operations Incalculable and Bogart.
After occupation duties in Germany, the
Brigade returned to the United Kingdom
in 1946 and was disbanded. [Background
information from The Commando
Association Commemorative Souvenir
18th September 2005]
Owen rose to the rank of Captain and
remained in the Commandos until 1947.
Following the war and back to ‘civvy street’
Owen returned to work at Barclays Bank
with a number of roles: from working
again in high street branches;
‘Mechanisation’ all over the country that
involved introducing machines to replace
paper ledgers; ‘Inspection’ to ensure all was
as it should be and finally becoming a
branch manager in Weston super Mare
and then taking on the second largest
branch in the South West region at Bath.
Owen retired from Barclays in 1981 and
now lives in Cirencester.
* The Junkers Ju 87 or Stuka (from
Sturzkampfflugzeug, "dive bomber") was a
German dive bomber and ground-attack
aircraft. Designed by Hermann Pohlmann,
it first flew in 1935. The Ju 87 made its
combat debut in 1937 with the Luftwaffe's
Condor Legion during the Spanish Civil
War and served the Axis forces in World
War II.
The aircraft was easily recognisable by its
inverted gull wings and fixed spatted
undercarriage. Upon the leading edges of
its faired main gear legs were mounted the
Jericho-Trompete ( Jericho trumpet)
Adrian Andrusier
55-62
I left school in the summer of 1962 and
went to work for a small Israeli insurance
company in Fenchurch Street London.
The plan was to go to live on a kibbutz in
Northern Israel and in case it didn't work
out, to work for the company in Tel Aviv.
Sadly my father died in February 1963 and
so I shelved this plan to help support my
mother. I had an excellent opportunity to
learn many skills with a small team of
experts - from underwriting, agency work
and office skills to working closely with an
actuary calculating premium rates and
overseeing annual valuations of the
company's liabilities.
When the office manager in Manchester
fell ill, at the age of 20 I was sent there to
hold the fort and ended up managing the
office when he failed to return – travelling
the length and breadth of Northern
England visiting insurance brokers to
drum up business.
I married in 1969 . 1 had by then taken a
role in Manchester with one of the
company's major brokers with a nationwide
sales force and used the experience to
become au fait with how direct selling of
insurance products needed to be carefully
vetted and helped develop and run a team
NEW MEMBERS
of compliance officers who visited clients
post sale to ensure appropriate advice had
been given.
The company moved me to London in
1971 to manage a London sales team.
Three years later I decided that my
conscience demanded a change to provide
independent advice snd so a colleague and
I set up our own insurance brokerage in
1974. It was a risky time insofar as I had a
three year old daughter and as son on the
way - born in June 1974 and income was
of course uncertain. We also only had
electricity for three days a week!!! ( the coal
strike) However we did well and built up a
successful company in Regent Street
London W1.
In 2004 we merged our client bank with a
Leicester brokerage and I served a 5 year
buyout at the end of which I continued
advising my clients and am still at it.
I very much enjoy my work and the regular
contact with clients I have been advising
for up to 45 years !!
I remarried a wonderful Italian lady and
am blessed with a 12 year old son and an
Italian family and friends. My daughter
has 19 year old twins (a boy and a girl) and
my son has a 10 year old boy.
After two life threatening ailments in the
last 9 years, I am happily fit and with both
my wife and son go dancing at least twice
per week and have a pretty large circle of
dance friends all over the world.
Three week long dance seminars per
annum - Hungary, UK and Belgium -
maintaining my connection with Israel
from afar through Israeli dancing. I never
settled there but visit to meet old friends
who did whenever I can.
I have built up an archive of Jewish life
before the Holocaust - ephemera,
postcards, postal history and autograph
letters a pretty demanding hobby when
you lead a busy life!! Waiting for the time
to write a series of books! !
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