Baptism of fire! Hero’s first active service was D-day
I’M TOO BUSY TO DO MY LAUNDRY, CONFIDES IN-DEMAND REGé-JEAN
A VETERAN of D-Day – who drove a tank numbered unlucky 13 – has died, aged 98.
Bill Anderson’s first day of active service was June , 1944, the day of the Normandy Landings and, aged just 20, he steered a Sherman tank on to Juno beach.
Son Richard, 8, from Southminster, Essex, said: ‘He was the first tank across the River Orne Bridge when it was captured alongside Pegasus Bridge.
‘His tank was unlucky number 13 but was the only one in his squadron that wasn’t destroyed.
‘When the Germans broke through at the Battle of the Bulge, it was his regiment that went to the rescue.
‘He fought in the forests of the Ardennes and his regiment went to Holland and helped to clear the enemy resistance.’
Bill died in January after contracting Covid-19.
Describing him as a ‘fantastic guy’, Richard said: ‘For him to have survived everything and live to tell the tale was amazing.’
DRIVE-THROUGH vaccination centres could bring an early end to the lockdown, a trial suggests.
More than 2,300 jabs were delivered at a car park in Woolpit, Suffolk – 360 per cent more than an equivalent clinic.
Dr Richard West, the GP who created the trial last month, believes up to 6,000 people could be vaccinated in a weekend.
‘I’ve had the support of the local clinical commissioning group but not NHS England,’ he said. ‘We’d do another tomorrow if we could but can’t get the vaccine.’
Analysts say using drive-through clinics in each London borough could vaccinate 4.5million people in a month – with the rate potentially doubling across the country.
Other drive-through centres are running in Whitstable in Kent, Hertfordshire, and Warwickshire. Dr
Richard Vautrey, chair of the British Medical Association’s GP committee, said: ‘Drive-through clinics are a good idea.’
NHS England said: ‘It’s clear from our progress so far that the biggest factor in how quickly people can get a jab is the availability of supply.’
Meanwhile, the latest figures show 24,196,211 people have had their first vaccination, while 1,584,909 have had a second.
RIDGERTON heartthrob Regé-Jean Page has praised the Netflix hit for including black actors in its ‘Cinderella fantasy’ – as he joked about his dirty laundry.
The 31-year-old Londoner has been surging in Hollywood after nailing his role as Duke of Hastings Simon Basset – who he describes as an ‘1813 f***boy’ – in the Regency drama.
He has even been given the honour of guest hosting America’s Saturday Night Live in the wake of his steamy scenes with co-star Phoebe Dynevor.
And explaining the power of small-screen representation, he said: ‘People of colour in Bridgerton do challenge the status quo but not necessarily as a form of calculated rebellion.
‘It’s important to include black people and not just black skin on screen because then you see what a black life is and sometimes that challenges the status quo.’
Posing in a jumper and allwhite for Man About Town, Page added: ‘We’re just out here living our lives but the difference is now we’re starting to do it in the same light as everyone else.
‘It’s a beautiful, fun, Cinderella fantasy and the only difference is everyone gets to play.
‘When you no longer centre whiteness as the default of all stories of humanity, it’s incredibly simple to include everyone in your perspective because everyone has always existed and had an inner and an outer life that has been fascinating and worthy of stories.’ The drama doesn’t just tackle race, he insisted, but also gender issues.
‘So many of these problems would be solved so quickly if men could hug each other – that’s what Bridgerton says about masculinity,’ he added.
He may live the life of a lord on screen but, away from the show, Page says his main problem is balancing fame with doing his laundry.
The actor, who dates part-time footballer
Emily Brown, said:
‘I’m terrible at timing my washing load.
I haven’t quite got the hang of balancing any of this.’