Alliston, Ontario

Alliston, Ontario – Alliston aerodrome was a satellite field to the camp Borden aerodrome and it was used to alleviate the traffic of flying training at the Borden aerodrome.

One night, Farrel was giving me dual, night flying training at Alliston and as usual Farrel fell asleep in the rear cockpit while I was practicing night landings. (When an overworked instructor had an opportunity to get some sleep it was considered by the pupil to be a compliment that the instructor would do so on the pupil’s time.) As the petrol was getting low, I switched to the reserve tank and took it upon myself to land and to taxi to the ramp. I got out of the aeroplane and started to walk, with my parachute over my shoulder, to the small, dimly lit hangar, when sleepily I realized that Farrel wasn’t with me. I went back to the aeroplane, and to my amazement, Farrel was still sleeping soundly. He was too much of a gentleman, whom I admired, for me to leave him there to be ridiculed.

The drive

The drive – One evening, Sandy Taylor said, “I can get a car. Are any of you fellows willing to chip on for a trip to Toronto next weekend?” There were four of us eager to go. Sandy was a capable pilot but the four of us thought, on the road to Toronto, that he could do with a little more dual on an automobile as his driving was quite erratic, including the grinding of the gears at almost every shift. We made it to Toronto and we made a pact as to where we would meet and at what time for the return journey.

Ring makers & O’Driscoll vs. Kennedy

Ring makers – Bob Boettger, Sandy Taylor, and I used to make rings and other things from the pieces of duralumin which we cut from the bent and broken airscrews found in the graveyard before the wreck was ploughed into the earth. One rainy day, Bob and I went to the graveyard to get a supply of duralumin before they bulldozed a new wreck into the soil. In the process of nosing through the wreck, Bob pulled back what was left of an instrument panel and somebody’s brains oozed down. This ended our hobby of making rings and other jewellery in the machine shop.

Accidents

Accidents – It was always a sad sight to see a mangled blob of metal being trucked to the aircraft graveyard at Borden. I, especially, remembered watching the hamburged wreck of Ogilvie’s aeroplane as it solemnly passed. I liked Ogilvie very much and I could not understand his crashing as he was a reliable person and pilot.

Phillips & Wings tes

Phillips – Pop Phillips was a hard master, but he had a pleasant way of being so. After about thirty minutes on a Harvard, we landed and he made me taxi the aeroplane back to take-off position and put the kite straight on the runway, and then he said, “Put the instrument hood over your cockpit and take this Harvard off by instruments. I’ll set you straight on the directional gyro.” I got ‘er off. Later on, he used to put the Harvard into a spin and demand that I recover by the use of basic instruments only.

Camp Borden, Ontario

It was at the No. 1 Advanced Flying Training School where I got my early wings.

Instructors – It was my fortune to have two wonderful instructors. The first was Flying Officer Farrell, a tall, lean, and quiet Englishman who came to Canada to try and teach colonials certain aviational ways of doing military things. The second was Flight Lieutenant Pop Phillips who was, without a doubt, the greatest forestry pilot to fly in Canada and who was the Superintendent of Algonquin Park in Ontario for many years until his death.

The peanut pusher

The peanut pusher – The Commanding Officer of the Station, Flight Lieutenant Bouchier, was indeed, a sport. He and Dave Wilcox, a pupil from the United States, were great friends. Because of a bet that Wilcox wouldn’t finish the course, Bouchier had to push a peanut with his nose along the main street of Prince Albert while hundreds of the natives looked on. The nasal course was paced off but I have forgotten the length it was.

The residents of the Prince Albert area indicated that they would never forget the first class, and the instructors and administrators extolled that the sooner the better. The School was in the developing stage and we certainly helped to develop many rules. Oh me, oh my, were we a handsome bunch of innocent young men for one fiftieth of a second.

Back row, left to right – Dave Wilcox, Ron Fidler, Don Cochrane, Stan Thompson, Sandy Taylor, Wier Klassen, Bruce Whitson, Phil Archer, Tom Parker, Bob Vincent, Bill Doerr, Harry Boyle.

Front row, left to right – Jack McGrath, Art Summers, Paul Sabourin, Jack Amos, Don Keith, Earl Mason, Don O’Driscoll, Laurie Philpotts, Don Sutherland, Jack Martin, Jeff Northcott, Bob Boettger.

Recreation

Recreation – The good people of Prince Albert were always trying to do their best for their country, and they would invite the pupils to go here and there. While attending a festival dinner at one of the churches, one of the ladies remembered me saying that I loved to ride horses. I never thought that the young housewife, who was, also, a local equestrienne, would turn up the next Saturday morning at the Station without first telephoning and ask me if I would like to go horse-back riding.

Golfers & Wooden Nickels

Golfers – Sandy Taylor, Bill Doerr and I went to play golf at the local club one Saturday afternoon. Sandy and I had never been on a golf course, never-mind playing on one, so poor Doerr was in for a surprise. Doerr finally left the golf link in complete disgust and, childishly, he wouldn’t speak to us for a couple of days. Cohort Sandy and I told him that we had played for years and we supposed that he would soon realize our joke. With big bruising Sandy digging holes all over the place, and with me continuously looking for my golf ball, I never knew how many players Doerr waved though, but I did know that I was sick of the game at the last hole; hole No. 3.

The awe of it all & A print dress, a couple of bouncy muscles, and no shoes

The awe of it all – Sometimes just flying around doing the same exercise over and over was quite boring so one afternoon I set the Tiger Moth down into a field which, I thought, was miles from any habitation. I put the parachute in the shade of the mainplane, put my head on it, and planned a snooze. The engine was ticking over, but I heard a voice and it came from a break in the hedge along the edge of the field. A little, old farmer came over and asked, “Can I have a look at your machine? I have never seen one before.” “Yes,” I said “but please don’t go in front of it because it is dangerous.” Very shortly after this, I noticed, out of the corner of my eye, that he was beckoning a lady (his wife) over and, again, I suggested firmly that they keep away from the front of the aeroplane. They had a great time looking into the cockpits, jiggling the ailerons and elevators up and down, and chatting away and then I heard the little, old guy say, “Naw, naw Mable. This is one of them thar fightin’ machines.” Before I took off I had to give them a reason, of course, for landing in his field. I told him that I had to land to cool the engine off. He thought that that was a smart thing to do. The kind people wished me good luck and I never forgot them.

Parasquirrels & Look Ma, no belt

Parasquirrels – Ron Fidler of Fidler’s Seeds of England was crazy about snaring ground squirrels (gophers) and then taking the little critters up onto the roof of the hangar and watching them float to the ground in the parachutes which he made for them. I swore that the gophers, with their four little legs drooping down, enjoyed the lofty view of the scenery yet I was worried lest the eagles, hawks, and owls saw them. But I suppose that the parachutes would keep them away.

The educators & Boyle, bread, girl, pie

The educators – Stan Thompson, a rancher from Saskatchewan, and D---- O---------, a Newfie, were rushing a country school teacher and they would fly over her school on the prairie and perform acrobatics. The teacher used to take the kids outside of the school in order to watch the performances. It was lucky that she did this because Thompson dropped a note to her on one occasion. Dropping a note was perfectly alright but the silly ass but the note into a bottle and the bottle went right through the roof of the school like a bomb. Authorities of the local school board and of the flying school were perturbed.

First flight & Spot landing

Caption reads "Twenty- four young aircraftsmen of the Royal Canadian Air-Force cheered on arrival at Prince Albert airport for training at No. 6 Elementary Flying School. Getting down to action at once, they drew lots to decide who should have the honor of the first flight. To the right, Aircraftsman Philpotts is shown in the rear cockpit of a Tiger Moth craft after his first training flight. Civil Instructor Earl Bowman, who took up the recruit, is shown in the front cockpit"