Consorting with the Troops

Well, they would very quickly realize if the pilot had operated the engine correctly, you know. And in speaking to the aircrew they would be able to know how much knowledge they really had about the engine. In our squadron we each had our own aircraft assigned to us and an air man, an airframe mechanic and an aero-engine mechanic assigned so that I had two air men who took care of quote, unquote, my aircraft. In 601 Squadron it was a Scottish lad and a Welsh guy and those fellows really, my life depended on them and they took care of that aircraft magnificently. They would even beeswax it to make it nice and shiny, you know, oh great. And we had a very close association. Whenever I got a package from home I would always go down to their tent and give them the chocolate bars and things. As a matter of fact I was paraded before my flight commander for consorting with the troops. I wasted no time telling him what I thought of him. But these, these fellows, your life depended on them and Bishop is quite correct, they would know how knowledgeable the operator was.

Mr. Yarnell talks about how involved the ground crews were in the maintenance and watchfulness over what they considered to be ‘their’ birds.

Cyrill St. Clair (Cy) Yarnell

Mr. Yarnell was born August 9, 1920 in Carlow, Ireland. He moved to Canada when he was 8 years old. He enlisted in the Royal Canadian Air Force in 1940 at the age of 20. Mr Yarnell received his initial pilot training in Victoriaville, Quebec where he learned to fly the Fleet Finch, he then graduated on to the Harvard. He received flying instructor training in Trenton and trained pilots from many countries. After instructing for a year, Mr. Yarnell was sent overseas. He flew missions over North Africa, Italy and Germany and was involved in the battles at Liri Valley and Monte Cassino. Following the war, Mr. Yarnell continued with the RCAF, retiring in 1975 as a colonel. He is a member of the Air Force Association of Canada and is very active with the Air Force Museum in Trenton, Ontario. Mr. Yarnell and his wife, Phyllis, have three children, seven grandchildren and one great-grandchild.