Enlistment

I was walking in downtown Charlottetown one day and I ran into a fellow named Bennett MacDonald and I hadn’t seen him for some time and I said, “Bennett, what are you up to?” And he said, “Well I’m going up to Summerside tomorrow to join the air force, why don’t you come with me?” Well I was in the second year of Prince of Wales College which is really like Grade 12 or Grade 13 and didn’t have much prospects for the future. The family had no money to send me to university. There were no scholarships or athletics in those days so I said, “Okay I think I will.” So Bennett and I hitch-hiked up to Summerside and we got up there and he introduced me to the recruiting officer and the recruiting officer said, “Look while we’re sorting out Bennett, who’s going to sign up today. Why don’t you take the aptitude test just for fun.” So I said, “Okay, might as well!” So I went in a room and he brought in a sheet of papers and I filled out the aptitude test. I gave it back to him and he came back a little while later. He said, “Well you did pretty well on that, as a matter of fact” he said, “ you had no problem with the aptitude test.” He said, “Now it happens that we’re up here doing medicals today and we have a doctor right in the next room there and he’s just about finished up, but we could sure do you”, and I said, “Well alright, free medical, why not?” So I went in and took the medical and I passed that with flying colours. I came back out and the recruiting officer said, “Look I’ve got all your papers filled out here. It’s up to you, but if you want to sign on the dotted line we can have you off to London, Ontario in six weeks time.” So I said, “Why not?”, and I signed.

Mr. McAndrew describes accompanying a friend to Airbase Summerside, and being fully tested and enlisted in one day.

John Allison ‘Jack’ McAndrew

John McAndrew was born in Dalhousie, New Brunswick on February 15, 1933. His family moved to Charlottetown, where he grew up. He decided to enlist in the Royal Canadian Air Force, hoping to become a pilot, but was selected to become a radio officer, flying in a converted Lancaster bomber on anti-submarine patrols over Canada’s Eastern waters. For him, peacetime service proved uneventful and he moved on to a successful career in broadcasting. At the time of his retirement Mr. McAndrew held the rank of Flying Officer.