Keep Canada safe

Heroes Remember

Keep Canada safe

Transcript

Well it was a Sunday and it was the 4th of September and the member, Mr. Chamberlain coming on and in a very halting voice, said that they'd issued this warning to Germany and if they did not receive any, an answer by noon, I believe, that Germany would pull out of Poland we're at war. And his words were, "We have not received an answer, therefore, England is at war." And those words, I do remember them very clearly. My thoughts were that knowing the Nazi regime and under Hitler, his idea was to conquer the world not just to conquer Europe. And eventually England's turn would come and America's turn would come and naturally Canada would be in the same boat. And I felt that it would be better for me to do my part by trying to stop him over in Europe, before he came over here. And that was basically my thought, was to break this thing up, whatever little part I could play. My mother and my dad were upset because, I had a brother younger than I, was in the military and they knew that as soon as I could, I would likely join the air force. And so they were...and other parents were the same, there was a...if they had boys of military age, there was a lot of worry. On the day, second day, day of the war broke out, it was (inaudible ) as a beehive. And they had 3 regiments here. And all these men had registered for defence of Canada. Now they had to be resigned again to go overseas and (inaudible ) block. And there were so many people that they set up a card table, sort of a thing, out on the Christina Street. And the colonel was there and his adjutant and what not, they were signing up these people. And of course they knew everybody in Sarnia. And I had been in the militia, so when I came up, it was Captain Charlie Woodrow, later became Colonel Woodrow and he said, "James, which one outfit do you want to join, because there was the three?" I said, "I don't wanna join any , I want, can you tell me where I can enlist in the air force." And he looked at me and said, "Get the hell out of here!" If I wasn't going to be a soldier, he didn't want me to be there taking up time. At any rate, I'd always wanted to fly and during the depression you were lucky to be able to afford a pair of roller skates, let alone an air plane. So here's a chance to learn to fly and so naturally, my choice was the air force.

Description

Mr. James discusses his reasons for and the process of enlistment.

Lyle James

Mr. James was born February 27, 1917. He grew up in Sarnia, a small Ontario town whose economy depended on Imperial Oil and the Canadian National railroad. Being politically aware, Mr. James considered Hitler to be a global threat; he enlisted with the hope of keeping World War Two from spreading to Canada. After receiving his wings, Mr. James sailed to England where he joined 101 Squadron, Bomber Command in 1943. Mr. James became the pilot of a Lancaster bomber after training in a Wellington. He piloted 32 missions during the second Battle of the Ruhr. Today, Mr. James is a frequent guest speaker at service clubs and schools, where he shares his reflections on the Second World War.

Meta Data

Medium:: Video
Owner:: Veterans Affairs Canada
Duration:: 02:36
Person Interviewed:: Lyle James
War, Conflict or Mission:: Second World War
Location/Theatre:: Canada
Battle/Campaign:: Bomber Command
Branch:: Air Force
Units/Ship:: 101 Squadron
Rank:: Flying Officer
Occupation:: Pilot

Language selection

Keep Canada safe

Heroes Remember

Keep Canada safe

Lyle James

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Keep Canada safe

Heroes Remember

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