Silence among Canadians on Radar

Heroes Remember

Silence among Canadians on Radar

Transcript

We had learned to keep our lips buttoned. Our wives and girlfriends didn’t know what we were doing. It was highly confidential and people who got out of the air force, been in radar for years, learned not to say anything about it. And you could be working beside somebody, as I was in a manufacturing plant, and I didn’t know that he was in radar. The ones that I knew were in radar were my old buddies, the radio hams who all joined up when I did. But these folks, they had been decorated. They’d done tremendous work in the service, but they learned to keep their mouths shut.

Description

Mr. Barrie speaks of the understanding amongst all radar technicians to keep quiet in relation to their duties and responsibilities in the war.

William “Bill” Barrie

Mr. Barrie was born on June 5, 1918. As a child, he was intrigued by radio, followed his desires and studied in the field of radar. By 1939, Mr. Barrie received a certificate as a Second Class Commercial Radio Operator from the Marconi Radio School in Toronto, Ontario. At age 22 he joined the RCAF. His first posting was to Britain and from 1941 to 1942, while in service, he obtained more education on heavy duty radar systems. In July, 1942, Mr. Barrie joined the RAF # 212 Flying Squadron and travelled to Southeast Asia where he took part in many airborne radar patrols. In 1945, Mr. Barrie returned to Canada and enrolled in a Radio Physics course at the university in London, Ontario, graduating with a BSC in Honours Radio Physics. In 1946, Mr. Barrie met a young Scottish girl who was serving with the Royal Navy as a WREN and they married later that year. After graduating university in 1949, Mr. Barrie was employed as a Development Engineer with a company in Belleville, Ontario. From 1957 until his retirement in 1981, Mr. Barrie was involved in major projects in the field of radar, from developing sound systems to designing more complicated satellite communications hardware. Retirement allowed him to become a major contributor to the “Canadians on Radar Research Project”.

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