No rest for the weary

Heroes Remember

No rest for the weary

Transcript

The Yanks said, “Hey, we need help!” and Churchill being a good politician said, “Send a couple of squadrons!” So they sent us. And we flew, we were supposed to be having a rest in Egypt to go to Italy but they said, no, you take off now you go to Burma so we did. We went from Egypt to Bahrain I think, or was it Charga, I forget and anyway a couple of stops and got to India. We arrived in India with no sleep. Went to Burma, no sleep still so they said okay you guys you're going to bomb Bangkok which we did. God I was tired. Anyway, we got back and they said well you can't stay here, because the Japs are going to blow the devil out of this place which was Rangoon, called (inaudible) was the aerodrome and they said the Japs are going to bomb us real good so you gotta go up to Lachio. So we went up to Lachio, we could hardly stand up let alone do anything else. This great big Russian handed me a cup of rum, picked me up and put me in bed. I slept right around the clock.

Description

Mr. Campbell describes being sent from Egypt to the Burma theater to assist the Americans against the Japanese. After arriving in Rangoon, and with no rest, he immediately goes on a bombing run to Singapore. After returning to Rangoon, and still not having rested, his crew is sent to a safer airfield in Lashio, Burma. Finally, after a stiff tot of rum, he sleeps around the clock.

William Campbell

William Campbell was born on March 14, 1920 in Almont, Ontario. His father was a First World War veteran, and his brother had enlisted when World War Two broke out. Mr. Campbell enlisted in the Haldeman Rifles, but after not being called up he switched to the Air Force. After training in Canada, he went to England and joined a Blenheim crew. Mr. Campbell was deployed to Middle East Command, where he took part in successful bombing raids against Rommel's fuel and ammunition stores. He was then sent to the Far East to participate in the bombing runs to Burma and China. Mr. Campbell was fortunate to survive a crash landing after an engine failure. While still stationed in India he also instructed American pilots in low-level bombing techniques.

Meta Data

Medium:: Video
Owner:: Veterans Affairs Canada
Duration:: 1:55
Person Interviewed:: William Campbell
War, Conflict or Mission:: Second World War
Battle/Campaign:: Burma
Branch:: Air Force
Units/Ship:: 159 Squadron
Rank:: Sergeant
Occupation:: Navigator

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Date modified:: 2019-06-20