Page 13 - August2020

This consisted of sitting with back to wall and legs This
This consisted of sitting with back to wall and legs
extended. Alex managed to wiggle his little bum (it
was then) forward a couple of inches thus extending
his leg length. I think they knew but they let him go
anyway so he carried his wee cushion from then on
when he was flying.
On graduation from I.T.S.
you were promoted to
L.A.C., Leading
Aircraftsman, and
presented with a white
flash to wear in the front
of your wedge cape
signifying aircrew.
Ground crew and army boys told the girls that it was a
warning that you were infected with V.D.
From here you went to E.F.T.S., Elementary Flying
Training School, flying Tiger Moths where most of our
instructors were old bush pilots.
Last weekend it was quite a thrill to go to the de
Havilland Aerospace Museum in Toronto and fly the
last flight of Tiger Moth 3874 which I had flown 62
years before at #19 E.F.T.S. at Virden, Manitoba. She is
now in retirement.
Next came S.F.T.S., Service Flying Training School,
where those who made it received their wings. From
here I was joed into the job of flying instructor.
After a short stint at F.I.S. Flying Instructor School, I
was again posted to #12 S.F.T.S. as a green kid with a
little over 250 flying hours charged with the task of
training other kids to fly multi-engine aircraft then go
on as skippers on four engine bombers carrying a crew
of 6 or 7 and dropping bombs on target and returning
home again in spite of weather, flak and enemy
fighters.
#12 was a busy place. At peak times we might have 18
or 20 aircraft in the circuit with 3 on final approach and
no radios.
Traffic was controlled by aldis lamp and very pistols.
Few accidents occurred on the aerodrome.
However, there were casualties. Besides Canadians,
790 Royal Air Force, 59 Royal Australian Air Force and
41 Royal New Zealand Air Force airmen were killed in
and around Canada. Imagine the grief of those parents
who thought that by being sent away from a war zone
their sons would live at least a few more months.
they could reach the rudder pedals of a Tiger Mother.
Of the over 18,000 members of the Royal Canadian Air Force
who lost their lives in all areas, most ranged in age from 19-22.
Those included my roommate here at #12. Their life spans
were short.
Some interesting points that happened here:
 The day water leaked into an underground storage
tank and we had aircraft down all over the area.
 The day the elevator cable of a Crane was found cut
most of the way through. All aircraft were grounded
until inspected. Was it sabotage?
 Fire in #1 Hangar. I mentioned use of very pistols.
Some careless pilot had left a loaded one in an aircraft,
which happened to be in the back corner of #1 hangar.
A ground crew member doing daily inspections at night
experimented by pulling the trigger and setting the
aircraft on fire. The hangar was full of aircraft and all
fuel tanks full of gasoline. We managed to remove all
aircraft and lost only 2, including the original that
burned up on the apron. If you look in the southeast
corner of #1 hangar, you can still see signs of charred
beams. I had more respect for the King's dollars than I
would have for the Queen's 25 cent ones today.
 Then there was the mutiny, as far as I know the only
one to occur in the R.C.A.F. in wartime, perhaps
because the maximum penalty for wartime mutiny was
death. At the time we had a sadistic S.O.B. of a Station
Sgt. Major whom the boys hated. ONe night they
caught him and game him a severe beating. When he
returned from hospital several days later, they went on
strike and refused to obey any orders. As a result he
was posted to another station. There he had a fatal
accident a few weeks later.
I would like to acknowledge our ground crew. Those boys,
fitters, riggers, instrument men, etc. with only a few months
training were servicing the aircraft on which our lives
depended. There were many others including W.D.s, Womens
Division, who did many jobs. Their motto was "We serve that
men might fly."
Everyone involved had an important job to do but the aircrew
and especially pilots got all the recognition.
I would like to pay tribute to and salute these others.
These are a few of the stories of the Commonwealth Air
Training Plan and #12 Service Flying Training School
We are on historic ground!