D-Day
City council approved the naming of Normandy Drive in May, 1946, as part of the new Avalon Park Development. Though the origins of the Avalon subdivision date back to 1913, Normandy Drive was not developed until 1946.
Avalon Park was first established as a housing subdivision on land owned by the Waddell family and the first house was built on Rankin Street. However, the First World War intervened in 1914 and the project remained dormant until after the Second World War. The first part of Normandy Drive, at right angles to Britannia Street, was originally called Waddell Street. It had been laid out in an earlier plan to run parallel to Mercer and Rankin streets.
D-Day Landing June 6, 1944
However, following the war, Eugene G. Faludi of Toronto, one of the leading town planners in Canada, was hired by the city to design a new street plan for the Avalon subdivision. He laid out the new plan for the Avalon subdivision.
Specifically, it was for postwar houses to accommodate returning soldiers and their families. Faludi's new design was a radical departure for the streets of Stratford. He developed a plan that introduced gently curving streets, with circles and curves that were new to the city. Prior, the pattern for most Stratford plans comprised traditional straight-line streets. This plan was described as having "winding, picturesque streets, crescents, and park areas." The names of some of the streets had become well known because of the war. Normandy Drive was named in honor of Stratford veterans who served with units that took part in the invasion of Normandy, June 6, 1944. Though the Perth Regiment did not take part in the Normandy campaign, there were many Stratford veterans who served in units, other than the Perths, who did take part. By Stanford Dingman
D-Day, June 6, 1944
Canada was a full partner in the success of the Allied landings in Normandy (D- Day). Determined to end four years of often-brutal German occupation, on 6 June 1944, Allied forces invaded Western Europe along an 80-kilometre front in Normandy, France. Of the nearly 150,000 Allied troops who landed or parachuted into the invasion area, 14,000 were Canadians. They assaulted a beachfront code-named “Juno,” while Canadian paratroopers landed just east of the assault beaches. Though the Allies encountered German defences bristling with artillery, machine guns, mines, and booby-traps, the invasion was a success.
Other Canadians helped achieve this victory. The Royal Canadian Navy contributed 110 ships and 10,000 sailors in support of the landings while the Royal Canadian Air Force had helped prepare the invasion by bombing targets inland. On D-Day, and during the ensuing campaign, 15 RCAF fighter and fighter-bomber squadrons helped control the skies over Normandy and attacked enemy targets. On D-Day, Canadians suffered 1,074 casualties, including 359 killed. Source: Canadian War Museum
Lt. Col. Arthur Garrod via Bill Donaldson, 18th Battalion . . . FB
Lt. Col. Arthur Garrod
Lt. Col. Arthur Garrod, well known in Stratford military life, lived on this street for 60 years , 27 years when it was as Waddell Street and 33 years after it was named Normandy Drive. He didn't take part in the Normandy invasion, but he was a veteran of both world wars. By Stanford Dingman
He immigrated to Canada in 1911, and in November 1914 joined the 18th Battalion as a private soldier. By 1917 he was a regimental sergeant major. He was awarded the Military Cross January 1918. Source: War Diary of the 18th Battalion.