Personal Profile Collections
Roderick (Rod) Donald MacCuspey
Short Biography:small.jpg)
Roderick (Rod) Donald MacCuspey was from Sunny Brae, New Brunswick, and was born on May 25, 1923. Sunny Brae is now a part of Moncton. Rod had two siblings, a brother Kenneth and a sister Madalyn. As a teenager before the war, Rod drove a public bus in Sunny Brae.
After the outbreak of World War 2, Rod enlisted in the army and joined the Carleton and York Regiment, an infantry unit who mobilized out of Woodstock, NB. He was still a teenager at the time. His service number was G24228. He trained with the unit and went overseas to England. While in England, Rod was transferred to the Cape Breton Highlanders, who arrived in England in November, 1941. Rod was with the Cape Breton Highlanders through the Italian and Northwest Europe campaigns. He drove a jeep for an officer for part of his time on the continent and transported supplies to the forward troops. It is believed he held the rank of private throughout the war.
While in England, Rod met Pamela Warwick, an English girl who worked at Bletchley Park and was involved in enigma deciphering. They married after the war and raised two girls, Phyllis and Lynn.
Upon returning to Canada, Rod and Pam settled in Ontario and worked in the food industry. They lived in the communities of Goderich and later Woodstock. They purchased a small restaurant and later ran a catering business. Rod also worked for Esso for a time and inspected their restaurants. Rod was a long time member of the Royal Canadian Legion in Goderich and Woodstock.
Rod passed away in 2013 at the age of 91. He was predeceased by his wife Pam who passed away in 2003.
Notes on the Collection:
I would like to thank Rod MacCuspey's nephew, Alfred Woodworth, for meeting with me and providing information on his uncle. Alfred allowed me to copy photos that belonged to his uncle, and to photograph some of his uncle's World War 2 era artifacts. I visited Alfred in his home in Enfield on several occasions in 2016.