by Malcolm Kelly
Carrying on from our previous Sprog Talk, Malcolm continues his conversation with former RCAF Flying Office Robert J. Middleton. Bob shares more of his experiences during training in the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan, the story of his transition from trainee pilot to navigator, and how that changed his life. […]
Malcolm introduces us to former Flying Office Robert J. Middleton, RCAF, who flew as a navigator with 431 (Iroquois) Squadron, Bomber Command, from 1944-1945. Bob talks about his path to the service, initial training, and how Malcolm captured the realities of the experience. Check out Bob’s memoir, Luck is […]
Edward Ashdown was a 19-year-old graduate of East York Collegiate who joined up mid-war and trained as a Flight Engineer in the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan.
When an air force crew packed up its troubles and headed for a target, it would sometimes bring them back with them. Thus, our story. Frederick and Isabella Churchard brought a new child into the world in September, 1922. Christened George, he would grow up with a brother (Fred) and […]
Rushing to the sound of battle to help when you haven’t been asked to do so has been part of warfare forever. For a Texan with every reason to stay at home, that moment came in 1940. Roger Bentley Clements, known by his middle name, was the son of a […]
When aircraft in the bomber stream were attacked by flak or fighters, sometimes they would slowly go down in flames, as the crew took to their parachutes, or go into deep dives from which there was no escape. Either way there would be a record, and graves. At other times, […]
It was a crowded, dangerous sky over Europe during the war, especially at night. Not only did you have to look out for night fighters, avoid searchlight locations, and pray your way through flak barrages, an eye had to be kept out for your own side’s aircraft in the long […]
When the curtain was pulled back at dozens of airfields to reveal the target and route of that night’s operation, one destination caused shortness of breath, and racing hearts, more than any other — Berlin. It was almost a thousand kilometres (600 miles) from London – a long, dangerous, dark […]
There is a photograph in the archives of Port Hope, Ontario, showing Hancock’s Hardware, just after the turn of the 20th century. The owners and customers pose on the wooden floor with the moustachioed stiffness classic to having your picture made at that time – amidst an atmosphere of hanging […]
In 1998, a Dutch farmer turned up pieces of an aircraft in his field, including an engine, a full propellor, and a wallet with a driver’s license marked “Dennis”. When the volunteers from Belgium’s Planehunters Recovery Team heard about the story some years later, they set out to investigate. It […]
We have lost a legend in Canadian aviation and historical writing. Murray Peden died on Jan. 6 in Winnipeg, Manitoba. He was 99. Murray learned to be a superior pilot going through the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan and advanced training in England. Afterwards, it was on to the Stirling […]
There is an old saying that for every casualty in a war, it’s the loss of some mother’s child. Wesley Brown was Irish-born in 1922, to his beautiful mother Sarah, and father Ernest. Young Wes had auburn hair, and striking brown eyes. He and his family, which would grow to […]