I started to play the trumpet at the age of 10 with the CNR boys band and when I got to Sir Adam Beck High School I joined the school orchestra, which had Don Wright as conductor. He was a great teacher and our paths would cross many times in the future.

In the late 30s, I joined the Johnny Downs band, (which was also from Beck) and we played summer engagements at Kincardine, Leamington, Gananoque, Midland and Peterboro,

When WW2 came along I played for troop shows at all the Western Ontario military bases in a band conducted by Don Wright and sponsored by the London life Insurance Company. Then in common with so many others I joined the RCAF in 1943 and during this time played with service bands including the “Commodore Band” in Belleville.

After demobilisation rejoined the civilian bands and played with Frank Crowley, Alf Tibbs, Bob Wybrow, Russ Mills, Scotty McLachlan, and Jack Evans. In the late 1940s, I joined the CFPL Studio Band, which was formed and conducted by Neil McKay. CFPL station manager was Don Wright and the band was known as the CFPL All-Stars. This band eventually became the “Neil McKay London All Stars” playing at the London Arena and doing a weekly CBC network show on Saturday nights with Gayle Gordon and Ginnie Mitchell supplying the vocals. I also played many other CBC radio broadcasts, including the Don Harding (Earl Plunket) Show and the weekly Silverwood sponsored show.

Neil left London in 1953 to get his Doctorate of Music degree at the Eastman School of music, and at Neil's request I took over the band and played two more winters at the Arena and during the summer at Wonderland Gardens. It was at this point that big bands were being used less frequently and it became difficult to keep them busy, but there were still lots of opportunity at the bar scene. As a result, I formed a smaller nine-piece band and played many functions for university dances and local dance halls in Goderich, Grand Bend, Ipperwash, Sarnia, Chatham, Rondeau, Port Stanley, Port Dover, Brantford, Guelph and Stratford etc.