Forces: Land ~ Air ~ Sea ~ Home
A MILITARY TRIBUTE WEBZINE . . . AS YOU WERE . . .
www.hillmanweb.com/flash
Compiled by Bill Hillman
FLASH. . . Editor and Webmaster: Bill Hillman: hillmans@wcgwave.ca
www.hillmanweb.com/rcaf/mag
AUGUST 2003
“We flew, we happy few,
we band of brothers”
Shakespeare. King Henry V
(Before we look at the articles submitted by Charley Yule, I would like to explain to our readers how this man was instrumental in founding the Ex-Air Gunner’s Association of Canada.)
All Ex-AG members will know, or know of, Charley Yule’s involvement in the Ex-AGs Association, but for those readers who have not had this privilege, here is a brief introduction in Charley’s words written in 1993.
“This Association (Ex-Air Gunner’s Association of Canada Inc.) began life in 1983 following a personal attempt at locating individuals with whom I had trained and served with in the RCAF. Ken Dicks, then of Thunder Bay, Ontario, saw my notice and enquiry in a service magazine and contacted me with the suggestion that we should try to ascertain how much interest there may be in forming an Association of War Time Air Force personnel who had trained for and earned the Gunner’s insignia.
We received support from some 27 former AGs and organized a meeting in Winnipeg to discuss a plan of action. Fred Ewatski, Winnipeg, agreed to act as President: Ken Dicks accepted the position of Vice President in charge of recruitment: with myself acting as Secretary Treasurer and Newsletter Editor.
It was agreed that one of our main objectives would be to do what we could to perpetuate the memory of Air Gunner, Pilot Officer Andrew Mynarski, VC.”
Thanks to Charley and these founding Members, the National Association membership grew rapidly.
The first Newsletter (3 pages) lists the first paid up Members
John Wallace, Townsville Australia
John Donnely, Sicamous, B.C.
Robert Bake, Edmonton,AB
Al Schafer, Calgary, AB
Bert Trainor, Victoria Beach, MB
John Waters, ValCaron, ON
Gord Mask, Kingston, ON
Ken Dicks, Thunder Bay, ON
Charley Yule, Pine Falls, MB
In September 1989 John Moyles took over Editorship of the News Letter Short Bursts, and Charley maintained the position of Secretary Treasurer, “keeper of the Purse”, Custodian of the Rolls, and “Nerve Centre” until September 2000 when the National Association folded its tent and slipped away into the sunset. Charley is still active in publishing the Obituary section of Short Bursts Web Page and copying out this page for members of the Manitoba AGs Branch.
September 1990 Doug Penny, Calgary, replaced Fred Ewatski as President and served faithfully until the demise of the Association.
From nine members at the first meeting, the Association grew to a total of 1267 members. All this because one person had the foresight, and longing to reunite with men he had trained and flown with during WWII. Truly, a BAND OF BROTHERS.
Charley Yule
What can one say to the man who started it all.
A collective hand shake from all the Members of our
Ex-Ags Association
Charley Yule
STAND BY FOR BROADCAST!!!
We receive current Updates of the Halifax NA337 Restoration Project at Trenton, ON from the Project Manager, Bill Tytula. LCol (ret'd).
The following is a very condensed summary of the Summer '03 Report:
This is a project in progress and the past winter and spring have been very productive. NA337 is beginning to look her old self!
While much has been completed there is still much to
do and we are faced from time to time with technical problems, one of which
has been the attention received from the Radiation Safety Office lately.
Since the instrument dials of that era contained radium this has posed
a difficulty to correct.
It would cost several thousand dollars to have it
removed from each instrument and replaced by silk-screened non-lethal paints.
This problem is still being looked at.
The Outer Wings are nearing completion. The Engines and Propellers are slowly coming together and will be installed as the rebuilding continues.
A Handley Page Hampden aircraft, partially restored and located at Langley, BC, has been offered to the Trenton Museum. It too, will happen!
If you would like to help and/or become a member of
the Halifax Aircraft Association and receive future Progress Reports, the
Memberhip/Donation schedule is as follows:
| PATRON | $10,000.00 |
| SPONSOR | $ 5,000.00 |
| LIFE MEMBER/DONOR | $ 200.00 |
| MEMBER/DONOR | $ 20.00 |
544 Yonge Street, Suite 1905
Willowdale, Ontario
Canada. M2N 6J4
Tel/Fax: (416)227-0016
Email: jeff@halijeff.ca
As you will be aware, the National Air Gunner's Association of Great Britain is no longer operating as it used to be. It has been decided, however, to continue with the Publication 'THE TURRET' under the direction of THE TURRET COMMITTEE.
The first issue, No. 1/87 2003 Summer Edition, has been received and consists of 16 pages of well presented information, photographs and illustrations
The 'Turret Committee', the principal Officers, are detailed on the Letterhead and were introduced to members present at the EGM at Elvington and minuted in the Editors Report in the winter issue (p3) and agreed at the first inaugural meeting of this new "Turret" Committee will serve for a period of one year.
Under the Chairmanship of Ken Wheeler, a new Constitution and Aims & Objectives has been struck.
All 'voluntary' donations, gifts, legacies, etc. for the current year to be sent to the Hon.Treasurer,
3 The Banks, Bingham,
NG13 8BL, 01989 87646
IF YOU ARE INTERESTED - DO IT NOW!
Lieut. Sam Taylor, 1918
TAYLOR FIELD REGINA SASKATCHEWAN
Taylor Field in Regina will be the location of the Canadian Football League Grey Cup Final, November 16, 2003.
When the expected 57,000 fans enter the stadium, with sleeping bags, mufflers, winter boots, thermoses, and fur lined whatever, to cheer for their respective team, will they think of where the name Taylor Field originated. Not likely.
Taylor Field is named after two brothers who flew with the Royal Naval Air Service in World War 1. Lieut. Sam Taylor of Regina joined the RNAS in 1918 and was shot down and killed that year. His Brother “Piffles” Taylor was also shot down and became a prisoner of war,
“Taylor Field” Regina’s Football Field is named after these two heroic flying pioneers.
BOOK REVIEW:
A new book entitled: THE BOMBER WAR - The Allied Air Offensive Against Nazi Germany, has come into our hands. Copyright and Authored by Robin Neillands, published by The Overlook Press, Peter Mayer Publishers Inc., Woodstock, NY 12498 in 2001 (ISBN 1-58567-162-2) and is available at:
Woodstock, One Overlook Drive,
Woodstock, NY 12498
www.overlookpress.com
And probably also available at a reliable bookstore.
This 406 page book, with several pages of notes, begins with the advent of the Bomber, 1914-1939 and follows all the events leading to the end of WWII. The author seems to have researched thoroughly all aspects of the complexity of dealing with Leadership and the rapid technological advances on both sides of the conflict including; aircraft design; electronics; radar; tactics, etc. right up to and including the Moral Issues and the Bomber War, 1999-2000.
In my opinion it is a powerful book, and with 87 years of 'hindsight' is bound to stir memories and may alter the opinions of history buffs who were, or were not, personally involved in the events.
THE POWER OF THE PRESS
The following is taken from CONTACT the Commonwealth Air Training Plan Museum News Letter Vol. 20 Issue 1.
From the Toronto Star:
I am seeking information about the crash of a Lancaster Bomber on Jan. 13, 1945 in which a Canadian Pilot, William McMullen, stayed to the last to guide his crippled plane from the populous Darlington in North East England. His crew bailed out safely.
A crew member, John Feeley wrote to our paper in 2000 comparing the selfless actions of Pilot McMullen with the Concord Pilot who avoided causing civilian deaths while crashing in Paris.
Apparently McMullen’s daughter has visited the crash site and her father’s grave. Her name was given as Dona Mae Barber of Ontario. Two years ago, for a client, I painted the Lancaster in which his Grandfather had flown. I hope to paint McMullen’s Lanc. I know that it was 428 Squadron, but hope to learn from one of your readers its identifying Squadron letters and if any operations had been flown.
I hold a fine arts degree and have exhibited at the Royal Academy of London. I am at
Darlington Co. Durham.
DL1 2YY England
Phone 01325-358474
Thank-you.
J. White
March 3, 2003.
Dear Mr. White:
Re Lancaster crash Jan. 13, 1945 near Darlington Co. Durham. Your letter appeared in the Toronto Star newspaper today.
Reference to the privately produced Book of Remembrance, “They Shall Grow Not Old”, first printing 1992, 2nd. Printing 1996, page 509, gives Pilot Officer McMullen’s final Lancaster as the number KB 793. I trust this will assist you in research for the painting that you plan to make.
The large reference book mentioned above is a project of the Commonwealth Air Training Plan Museum Inc. in Brandon, Manitoba. A labour of love, it’s completion is due to the devoted sacrifice by Les Allison and Harry Hayward whose research cost them years of intense effort including travel around the world in search of elusive records and burial sites Account mentioned reprinted below.
Wishing you every success in your own “labour of love”.
Sincerely,
J. Fred Bailey
Orangeville, Ont., Canada
Account referred to by Fred Bailey:
MCMULLEN, WILLIAM STUART P/O(P) J90038. From Toronto, Ontario. Killed Jan, 13/45 age 33. #428 Ghost Squadron (Usque Ad Finem). The crew of Lancaster aircraft #KB 793 were returning from a cross country training flight to Middleton St George, England when the Port outer engine caught fire. The fire could not be extinguished and the propeller could not be feathered so P/O McMullen ordered his crew to bail out and he remained at the controls of the aircraft and guided it away from the city of Darlington, Durham, England. The aircraft with P/O McMullen still at the controls, crashed just outside the city. The city of Darlington honoured him by erecting a cairn and naming McMullen Road after him. P/O McMullen is buried in the Stonefall Cemetery, Wheatherby Road, Harrogate, Yorkshire, England.You can see from the above the extensive research that went into incorporating in THEY SHALL GROW NOT OLD the circumstances surrounding each Canadian airman who fell during WWII.
If you would like a copy of this book, contact the Museum at:
CATP Museum,
Box 3, Grp.520, RR 5,
Brandon, Manitoba.
R7A 5Y5 Tel. (204) 727-2444
brandonman@msn.com
Lancaster
John Moyles
Extracts from Don “Red” Macfie correspondence
In the June 2003 Page Don “Red” Macfie told about getting leave but missing a flight out due to a “play by the rules” Accounting Officer. The plane crashed at Belfast with the loss of many lives. In his last letter Red writes:
“When my daughter downloaded the June Short Bursts she read about me missing that flight to Wig Bay. She phoned me to say, ‘Dad, if you had got on that flight I wouldn’t be here’. Solemn thought that.” WHAT IF?”
Then he goes on to recount another “WHAT IF?”
“While training at Debert for Atlantic Ferry duty there was a crew with Pilot Bob McCallum from Parry Sound. As we were from the same local, I got to fly with him when his WAG was sick. Bob got to thinking I should be part of his crew and went to great lengths to have this done. Higher command stolidly refused the transfer. We got overseas and our crews remained intact. Our crew went to help form a new Canadian Squadron 423. Bob and his crew went to RAF Squadron 119.
So now we open the book “They Shall Not Grow Old” and what do we see:
McCallum Albert Robert F/L Pilot
KIA Dec. 15, 1942 age 23 #119 Sqdn. R.A.F. Sunderland
A/C missing from Anti-sub patrol over the Atlantic Ocean. An S.O.S. was
received giving their position as SW of the Scilly Islands.”
With Bob went Bill Milne and Ray Law, room mates of mine at Debert, one New Zealander, six R.A.F., and another Canadian, P/O B.D. King.
“WHAT IF?”
In an attempt to encourage readers to send in their “WHAT IF?” stories, I will inflict you with two of my own.
I graduated as a Wireless Air Gunner in November 1941 and, complete with train pass to Halifax, meal tickets, and berth instructions on the troop ship, was on embarkation leave in Regina. A telegram arrived ordering me to report to Western Air Command in Victoria B.C. From there it was up to Prince Rupert 7 BR Sqdn. arriving December 15, eight days after Pearl Harbour. Two years later I arrived in the UK, but by then the horrendous casualty rates experienced by aircrew during 1942/43 had abated,
“WHAT IF?”
While on troop transport flying out of India we were proceeding, at night, from Karachi, India, (now Pakistan) up the Persian Gulf to Basra. Our crew consisted of two Pilots, a Flight Engineer, and myself as Wireless Operator (no navigator). Pay load - British soldiers from Burma.
We headed out over the Gulf of Oman and then proceeded up the Persian Gulf. The weather closed in and we were soon experiencing heavy storm conditions.
Knowing there were mountains immediately to starboard gave us some concern. Suddenly we broke free of the storm and into bright moonlight. We were flying down a deep gorge with mountains rising immediately off each wingtip! We located Basra and landed without further incident.
“WHAT IF?”
Just this week I was discussing this with a friend
who had been a front-line infantryman in the Italian Campaign. He told
me about the time his patrol were moving along a road at night trying to
locate enemy positions. They were crawling along by a hedge when he heard
a “chink”. He thought nothing of it at the time, but later when they were
relieved, he went into the mess tent, removed his mess kit from the back
of his webbing and poured tea into the metal cup. As fast as the tea went
in it flowed out onto the ground. He then realized the cause of the sound.
A bullet had passed through his webbing and mess kit putting a hole in
his cup. Two inches lower it would have cut through his spinal column.
Ron Bramley
(Ron is Editor of THE TURRET the RAF Ex-Air Gunner’s
newsletter to which Charley Yule makes reference above.)
Old Comrades: Ron Bramley (left) and Bill Bailey
Ron also served in Burma and will be attending
The Burma Bomber’s Reunion, Niagara Falls, Ont.
Sept. 29, 2003
Group’s Salute to Gunner’s Last Post
By Andy Smart
The Evening Post. Nottingham, UK.
Monday April 7, 2003
It is nearly 60 years since they last flew in anger. Strapping themselves into the claustrophobic turrets of Lancasters and Blenheims, Beauforts, and Liberators, the air gunners provided the sting in the tail to keep the fighters at bay.
Those that are left are now aged either side of 80, and time is taking its toll. That is why the National Air Gunners Association, formed in 1949 to bring old comrades together, is winding up. Its last official function was held n Nottingham, home of one of the most thriving branches.
But as Nottingham Secretary and national vice-president Bill Bailey, a veteran of 40 missions in Liberators, explained: “Members came from Eatbourne and Newcastle and from South Wales. But they are getting on a bit. It is asking a lot to expect them to travel across the country to meetings.”
So, in the Westminister Hotel, around 60 old flyers got together for the last time as official group.
Individual branches across the country – there are around 25 – will continue although they will simply be known as the Air Gunners. They want to carry on a long as possible. They have a lot of memories to share, a lot of friends who did not make it through those dark days of war. Of 55,888 aircrew killed in Bomber Command, in the war, 28,350 were air gunners.
Ron Bramley, another Nottingham member and editor of the Association quarterly magazine The Turret, is now 82 but he has no intentions of giving up. During his days in Beauforts with a torpedo bomber squadron, he crash landed twice, got shot up “no end of times” and admits “being frightened to bloody death” before adding ruefully, “I never shot anything down.”
He was one of the lucky ones. “The chances of surviving one tour in a torpedo squadron were 17%, two tours it was 3%. We suffered terrific losses,” he said. Little wonder such comradeship continues.
The Nottingham group will continue to meet on the first Thursday of the month in West Bridgeford Royal British Legion Club. Any ex-air gunners interested can get more information from Ron Bramley on (0115)956-9266.
Upwards of 100,000 young men, all volunteers flew with
Bomber Command in the war. More than half were killed. By 1944 the average
age of its aircrew was 23. Some were flying on ops before their 20th birthday.
Some wee killed before their 19th. In some squadrons, weeks, even months
passed without a single crew surviving to complete its tour of 30 ops.
Although Ron does not mention it, no RAF bomber crew ever declined to fly.
TED HACKETT
I call these pictures "Down Memory Lane". The first two are of Betty's Bar and the De Grey Rooms in the city of York. They will be familiar places to many AGs who served with 6 Group. There was a mirror behind the bar in Betty's that was autographed by hundreds, if not thousands, of aircrews but, when my son visited the place he was told that the mirror was in storage. The first thing he was asked when they found out he was a visiting Canadian was, "did you come to see the mirror?"
Gremlins
Sgt George Martin ~ WO 'Ernie Hackett
