When I left Lancashire to return to
Bournemouth, I recall the train being quite chilly but when I got to Bournemouth
the weather was much milder. I spent some more time in Bournemouth. Then I was
posted to Cranwell in Lincolnshire on the East Coast of England. It was a huge
peace time R.A.F. station. The food seemed to consist of brussel sprouts and
more brussel sprouts. We slept in a barracks and it was so cold and damp that we
put on our flying outfits and slept in them. The only place where it was
comfortably warm was the cinema in the neighboring towns.
At Cranwell we
took additional wireless training, aircraft recognition, etc. Also while at
Cranwell I recall going to nearby Grantham, with either Duffy or Dawdy whom I
had been with since Brandon days. At Cranwell we met two girls and we had a
pleasant time in one of the pubs. My girl, Robin, was quite taken with me she
said I looked like an American movie star. I never saw her again. I found the
people to be very friendly and always willing to chat with you and they were
generally interested in what part of Canada you were from.
After
Cranwell, I was sent to a holding centre for air crews while awaiting openings
at (O.T.U.'s) Operational Training Units. While there the Wireless Operators
(me) were required to practice daily to keep up our Morse code. Some of us
complained because the other air crews didn't have to do anything. At this time
the R.A.F. were bringing in B.A.'s (Bomb Aimer) and the W.O.G.'s were asked if
we wanted to transfer to become B.A.'s. So a number of us switched over. We
could also fill in for the W.O.G. if he was killed or incapacitated in action.
Prior to this the observer (navigator) dropped the bombs. This was often a hurry
up job as he left his navigating to aim and drop the bombs. It was believed a
bomb-aimer could get better accuracy, as the B.A. was also the front gunner he
was able to map read to locate the target. At this time bombing was still a
visual operation, always on nights with moonlight. The best nights were full
moon nights, and this of course made it easy for the night fighters to locate
us. But in war you have to weigh alternatives and choose the best, generally at
the expense of manpower.
If you were under attack and suffering aircraft
damage, the bombs were jettisoned (dropped without a bomb run and over the
general target area). Under these circumstances it is better for the B.A. to
stay in the front turret and man the machine guns and look out for night
fighters. A damaged aircraft less its bomb load could sometimes make it back to
England.
