Standing Up for the Crew

Heroes Remember

Standing Up for the Crew

Transcript

The end of March 1945, I was transferred up to 356 Squadron. And we thought we might have another couple of flights, some flying to do up there, and my skipper was delayed. They kept him in Digri because the commanding officer’s Tiger Moth had been damaged in flight. Somebody had been flying it and damaged it, so there was a board of inquiry and he was on the board, so he was delayed. And he phoned the squadron at Salvoni after we had arrived and it was Sunday morning and he said, "Don't you guys go anywhere," he said, "As soon as I get there, I want to get flying and get over with what we have to do to get it done." And I said to him, “Sorry, Art, but I’ve had my time flying while you’ve been sitting in the cockpit with your automatic pilot on,” I said. "As a navigator, I worked ten hours out of every flight and fifteen hours out of every fifteen hour flight while there were two of you sharing the pilot’s duties." I said, "The commanding officer here has offered our crew leave and we are going so you can join us when you get here." It was the first time I think I ever sort of disobeyed his orders but, at that time, I felt we needed a rest and we were going to have it.

Description

Mr. Hosegood tells of the only time he disobeyed the orders of his Captain.

William George Hosegood

William George Hosegood was born May 7th 1924. A carpenter’s son, Mr. Hosegood grew up with four brothers and five sisters in Fort William, Ontario. All of his brothers were in the military. “Money was scarce”, says Mr. Hosegood, who worked full time as a clerk at age 16, and held many other jobs before joining the army at 17 or 18. Originally placed in the reserve army, Mr. Hosegood joined the RCAF the next year. After graduating at the top of his navigational training class in Saskatoon, he was selected to go to Burma as a navigator. Mr. Hosegood says that his career in the military fashioned the rest of his life.

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