Not All Could Serve

Well I know when I , when the war was over, I had, had a tendency maybe to look down on people my own age who hadn't served, hadn't been in uniform. But now I realize that everyone couldn't be in uniform. There were things that had to be done, and people had various reasons for not serving, you know. And there wasn't cowardice in all cases by any means, you know, they had family responsibilities, and health, and I was young and foolish and I wanted adventure and I got it. But we used, used to sort of look down on these people for a while, but that's all forgotten.

Mr. Spear reflects on his impressions of individual's contributions to the War effort; specifically, how it took him some time to understand and appreciate that for various reasons, not everyone could contribute as directly as he and other troops did.

Allen Maxwell Spear

Mr. Spear lived in Sussex, New Brunswick, before attending Business College in Saint John - he worked in Bathurst, New Brunswick, for a number of years before joining up. Mr. Spear had not enjoyed his Army camp experience in high school and was attracted to joining the Air Force, particularly as a fighter pilot, because of the recognition the Air Force was receiving in the Battle of Britain. He joined as soon as the Air Force lowered the education requirements to high school which allowed him to qualify. After much basic and initial flight training, Mr. Spear was excited to begin Spitfire training in England in fall 1941. In early 1942, he was stationed to North Africa. The camp locations changed often as the RAF and German Air Forces leapfrogged back and forth across the desert. A few months later (July 1, 1942), his engine gave out during a mission. He landed his plane behind German lines, was captured as a POW, and was shipped to Sulmona, Italy for internment. In September 1943, when the Italians capitulated, the POWs at the Sulmona camp escaped. Mr. Spear, along with two other Canadian POWs managed to escape by travelling along the mountains, avoiding the valleys where they were more likely to run into Germans, until they met up with other Canadian troops in November 1943. After being shipped back to England, Mr. Spear was returned to Canada to serve as a Staff Pilot at a Bombing and Gunnery School in Mountainview, Ontario. A post he held until the end of the War, at which time he was discharged.