Flying as a Spare
Heroes Remember
Flying as a Spare
Transcript
Description
One day Mr. Western was called in to the gunnery office and told he was to fly as a spare for another crew but luckily for him it never happened.
Rev Jack Western
Mr. Western was born on July 20, 1923, in Bradford, England. His father, a businessman, sold coal but due to the UK General Strike of 1926 switched to selling fresh vegetables. Mr. Western joined the Royal Air Force with the intention of becoming a pilot partially because of the stories he had heard from First World War pilots. Unfortunately, he was unable to become a pilot due to the requirement for a high level of mathematical skills. As a result he became a tail gunner and flew 22 missions before the war ended. After the war Mr. Western became a police officer. He lost his leg while he was the police chief and went on to serve as a civilian in police services for a total of 20 years. For the next 28 years he worked as a court administrator and also as a Justice of the Peace for the Province of Ontario. When he retired in 1995 he became a pastor. He currently resides in Sarnia, Ontario.
Meta Data
- Medium:
- Video
- Owner:
- Veterans Affairs Canada
- Duration:
- 01:56
- Person Interviewed:
- Rev Jack Western
- War, Conflict or Mission:
- Second World War
- Location/Theatre:
- Europe
- Branch:
- Air Force
- Units/Ship:
- 153 Squadron
- Rank:
- W.O. II
- Occupation:
- Tail Gunner
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War Is Declared
Mr. Western recalls going for a bike ride with his father in England and being in a little town the day war was declared.
Vaccine Flu
Mr. Western talks about being in the hospital one night when London was being bombed. They could not be moved to the bomb shelter so he and another soldier were left in their beds with only one very brave nurse to stay with them.
Getting Crewed Up
After graduating from training each member has to be crewed up. Mr. Western tells us about the process they used to select their crew.
Shot Down!
On one of his missions Mr. Western’s plane was shot down by a German 88. He tells us what happened in the air and on the ground.
Heavy Fighting
Mr. Western talks about one night of heavy fighting , when another air plane was shot down and the radio from the plane was on. Everyone heard the tail gunner and pilot plunging to their death.
Caught in the Search Lights
Mr. Western tells us what it’s like to get caught in a spotlight and how hard it was to get out of the cone of lights.
Close Call During A Daylight Run
During a daylight run Mr. Western and the crew had a very close call when another bomber was flying at the wrong bombing height and dropped their bombs directly above Mr. Western's plane.
Fighter Training
Mr. Western talks about how they were going through training over Scotland and how this fighter pilot did not pull out of his dive.
Lone Gun
While on their way to the bombing target, Hamburg, Germany, the planes flew over an empty air field , but their was one gun who shot down the plane that was beside him in the air.
Bombing Hamburg
While approaching Hamburg, their bombing site, they where called off as the Canadian troops pushed into the city.
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