Bert "Yank" Levy
| Bert Levy | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Nickname(s) | "Yank" |
| Born |
October 5, 1897 Hamilton, Dominion of Canada |
| Died | September 2, 1965 (aged 67) Los Angeles, California, U.S. |
| Allegiance | Internationalism |
| Battles/wars |
World War I; World War II |
| Other work | Guerrilla warfare instructor/advocate |
World War I; World War II
Bert "Yank" Levy (October 5, 1897 – September 2, 1965) was a soldier, military instructor and author/pamphleteer of one of the first manuals on guerrilla warfare, which was widely circulated with more than a half million published. He served with irregular forces in several parts of the world in the 1920s and 1930s, most notably in the Spanish Civil War, and was a significant figure at the Osterley Park training school for the British Home Guard during World War II. Similar combat training was provided to forces in the United States and Canada, and he was an itinerant lecturer and provocateur on the subject.
Levy was born in Hamilton, Canada to a Jewish family. His family moved to Buffalo, New York when three months old, and then to Cleveland, Ohio when he was seven years old. His parents were Samuel Levy, a tailor and "horse doctor", and Sarah Pollock. Bert Levy had nine siblings. To counter a frail constitution, Levy became a Boy Scout and a boxer. He grew up on the streets and stated that his "real education was in the school of hard knocks". At age 16, he quit school after his father was seriously injured by a trolley. He took employment with the Kaber Printing Company in Cleveland for four years to help support his younger siblings.
In 1916, he joined the British Merchant Navy working as a stoker. In the spring of 1918, Levy enlisted in the Thirty-Ninth Royal Fusileers. Levy continued boxing through World War I and was the regimental bantamweight champion. After returning to Cleveland from the war, he briefly turned professional. He fought in 23 matches before retiring "in order to maintain family harmony".
...
Wikipedia