On to North Africa

Heroes Remember

On to North Africa

Transcript

Well, we were advised that we were going somewhere and they provided us with tropical helmets and khaki shorts and all the rest of the tropical gear. And we took a ship out of Greenwich, Scotland and a huge convoy and we went down, we got halfway down the African Coast. We were going to go down and around the Cape of Good Hope and up to Cairo through the Suez Canal. Let's see now..., and then we got, after we got halfway down there, there was apparently a panic over in Egypt. They needed more pilots. So our ship was diverted from the convoy into Freetown and they took us on a coastal boat down to Takoradi on the Gold Coast and then they flew us right across Africa over to Khartoum and then up to Cairo. It took us about three days to go across there. Pan American Airways, the Americans had set up Pan American Airways shuttle service across Africa to rush people up to the front. Things were getting, getting pretty bad up in Egypt and of course once we got there, the usual screw up. We sat there for three months because our airplanes got sunk. Interviewer:So you were in, where were you when you were waiting? Right in Cairo. Interviewer:You were in Cairo then for three months for aircraft Wonderful place to spend a holiday in the middle of the War. Interviewer: Tell me a little bit about Cairo. What was it like? A great combination of ancient practices and modernity in that on the streets you’d see a Cadillac go by and then the next thing that would go by would be a donkey cart with a bunch of junk on the back. It was, it was a real mixture of the old and the new. It was quite an interesting place to be.

Description

Mr. Chisholm was posted to the 92nd Operational Squadron, operating at that time out of Digby, Lincolnshire, England. His first posting with the Squadron was to Cairo, Egypt.

William Lawrence (Red) Chisholm

Mr. Chisholm’s father was a station agent in Berwick, Nova Scotia with the Dominion Atlantic Railway. He moved his family to the station in Windsor, Nova Scotia and then later left the railroad and bought a store in Kentville, Nova Scotia. Mr. Chisholm completed his education in the Kentville school system. He worked briefly with his father after graduation from high school then went to work as a brakeman for the Dominion Atlantic Railway. After enlisting in the Royal Canadian Air Force in 1940, he took his initial training in Toronto. He was then one of about 500 sent to the first class at British Air Training Program Training School in Regina for a period of two months. After completing his training he moved to a Flying School in London, Ontario. Mr. Chisholm went on to become an ace pilot and was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross (DFC), with bar.

Meta Data

Medium:: Video
Owner:: Veterans Affairs Canada
Duration:: 02:15
Person Interviewed:: William Lawrence (Red) Chisholm
War, Conflict or Mission:: Second World War
Location/Theatre:: Africa
Branch:: Air Force
Units/Ship:: 92nd Operational Squadron
Rank:: Sergeant
Occupation:: Pilot

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On to North Africa

Heroes Remember