BILL
... by Mike Spack
Resource: The Mike Spack RCAF Wartime
Memoirs
http://home.westman.wave.ca/~mspack/
April 6, 1943: Bournemouth,
London, Church Lawford ....arrival in Rugby near Coventry in Warwickshire,
England then transport to Royal Air Force Station, Church Lawford, Advanced
Flying Unit (A.F.U.). Friends Bill Cameron from Winnipeg, Reg Bray, and
Bill Campbell were there having arrived ahead of the few of us posted from
Bournemouth and a long wait it had been. Interesting to note that I for
one did not know from which town or city my Canadian friends had come except
for those who came from my own hometown Winnipeg.
Bournemouth, a beautiful peacetime
tourist city located on the English Channel coast, was the reception station
for overseas airmen. Everywhere you turned you would see airmen and
at times airwomen. A lovely reception area and a great way to become acclimatized
to England. Nevertheless we were more than ready to be posted back to flying
having received our wings in Canada ready to “do our bit” to win the war.
Idealist youngsters, most of us, so a posting for training and being readied
for “operations” (bombing over Germany) was uppermost in our minds.
Therefore arrival in Church
Lawford after a few months meant we were on the way having just completed
a brief stint on the Tiger Moth airplane again for reorientation to flying.
The aircraft we were to fly in Church Lawford was an Airspeed Oxford, twin
engine, which meant we were headed for Bomber squadrons when and if
we were successful in this training course. Such were our expectations
when posted for some “real” flying.
This story is about friend Bill
Campbell who I met firstly at Bournemouth but came to know him more personally
in Church Lawford. Some excerpts from my diary concerning Bill and our
circle of friends April/May, 1943, follow:
April 7 - “In the evening played
pool and ping pong with Cam, Dave (Shewan), and Bill”.
April 10 - “ had a fine lunch
and then Campbell, Dave, and I walked the two miles to the main road and
caught a bus to Rugby - bought a lot of odds and ends - lost Campbell.....”.
April 16 - Cam, Bill, and I
got the bus to Rugby ...Cam went to Coventry - Bill and I to a dance in
Leicester -it certainly is a lovely city -dance great but we had to catch
the train back at 10.18 pm - we ran the two miles into station” (from main
road).
April 17 - “played Bill in snooker
and lost”.
April 19 - “ argument about
the Royal Air Force (as compared to RCAF) - we got pretty heated but soon
cooled down”.
April 22 - “Bill, Dave,
and I went to the station show, a very good one, ‘This Women Is Mine’
(RAF Stations regularly had movies and often stage presentations....the
snooker games, by the way, took place in the officer’s mess. We were
Pilot Officers (PO) at the time closing in on the next rank, Flying Officers).
Note: Our “leaves” either a
48 hour pass and far less often the “one week”, came at different times
especially with Cameron and Bill being a course ahead of the group with
which I had arrived..
May 4 - “played pool quite a
bit (snooker and sometimes billiards with three balls), Campbell and I
had three good sessions - I lost two ( by now readers may believe we were
becoming better snooker players than pilots -however the hours in flying
and lectures carried on during the day with evenings on our own except
when on night flying of course).
May 7 -” Bill posted to a staff
pilot station - we all hope this will be changed” ( indeed operations was
our goal and circumstances so often dictated where one was sent next such
as pilots needed on operations, as staff pilots, or in my case and others.
training to become instructors with operations perhaps over a year away.
Quite disappointed we all were with a posting other than operations training
but nothing could be done about this).
May 10 - (Cameron was posted
also not known where so both of them on leave before arrival at their new
station - dairy: “ Bill and Cam must be having a great time on their leave”.
May 18 - (Bill must have arrived
from leave and ready to leave for new posting) -diary: “went to bed after
bidding Bill goodbye -how brief our stay was and to think that we may not
see each other again”. Beautiful friendships these were happening often
as we shifted from one station to another. Old friends going away and new
ones arriving!
So it was quite normal while
in England to say “so long and all the best” to friends posted to another
Station. Memories remain and one gets to think, “ I wonder how so and so
is getting along for instance Bill and Cam?”. The picture photo copied
shows Bill with a jaunty air about him officer’s hat higher up on his head.
His was a cheery disposition and remarkable his look of boyishness with
such a smooth complexion. Mind you most of us were “boys”; Bill and I just
21 years of age.
Is this the end of this story
of “BILL”? We did lose touch with each other as was the case with so many
friends. Sometimes the postings were such that a circle of friends found
themselves together at a new RAF Station as was true in my case with Reg
Bray for instance. One then became more familiar with their home towns
such as Alexander in Manitoba for Reg. Why RAF and not RCAF? Apparently
a surplus of pilots occurred at the time of our arrival in Bournemouth
from Canada. Hence the longer stay than usual there with many courses and
experiences but not flying. That is another story except to say that though
we remained RCAF, we were attached to the RAF and were posted accordingly.
Having lost touch with Bill, I know not of his further postings except
for his reported squadron.
Having lost a diary, I
rely completely on memory and perhaps a letter or two amongst the letters
I wrote to my mother. She saved them all and gave them to my wartime bride
Kathy from Nantwich, Cheshire, after we were settled back in Winnipeg.
Prior to actual repatriation
from Liverpool in July, 1945, I spent naturally many days in May, 1945
(war ended May 8th, 1945 officially) with Kath, newly married we
were, and her family in Nantwich located in between the cities of industrial-like
city of Crewe and the truly lovely city of Chester. My last posting as
an instructor was RAF Station Calveley located about 3 miles from Nantwich
on the road to Chester. Reg Bray was my roommate for all those months in
Calveley and fast friends we were as one would expect. Indeed the posting
in Calveley was the longest stay of all while in England.
Knowing I would be leaving soon
back to Canada and Kath to follow me a year or so later, I asked Kath to
come with me to see Reg, his gravestone, in Blacon Cemetery
located on the fringe of Chester. We had been there before but a last goodbye
to my friend killed in an accidental low flying accident was a priority.
How devastated I was at the time when the accident was reported! We arrived
at Blacon and walked through the rather unkempt English Cemetery
to the Canadian area which was kept ever so beautifully. Row after row
of gravestones and we knew where Reg was buried and laid some flowers there
on behalf of his family back in Alexander with whom I had corresponded
after the accident.
Leaving Reg, we noted that workmen
were placing a new gravestone, upright similar to all the others. We stopped
and naturally sought out the name and finally were able to read it; William
Gavin Campbell. The middle name did not provide a clue as to whether or
not he was my fine Church Lawford friend. Checking further though I noted
his officer number and it was J 21450. I knew that both Bill Campbell and
Bill Cameron had numbers close to mine. Indeed Cameron’s was J 21453 and
Bill’s two away. J 21450 from mine J 21452. This was indeed my friend and
sadly, so sadly, we left the cemetery. Unfortunately Bill Cameron was killed
in action also along with between 18 and 19 thousand other airwomen and
airmen in World War 11 out of an estimate of some 42000 who died in this
war supposedly to end all wars.
At that time, I did not know
Bill came from Strathclair but some years later after war ending, on one
of my visits to England and Nantwich, I went to Blacon. This time there
was a book at the entrance listing all the names and their home towns/cities.
In this way I learned that Bill came from Strathclair. We moved to Brandon
and at an opportune time I drove to Strathclair and inquired about Bill
Campbell who had died in the war. The information led me to the Strathclair
High School to seek out nephew Bill Hillman. After our chat he informed
me that Bill’s sister Louise I believe, lived in the next town, Newdale.
So I proceeded on my way to Newdale and luckily found her at home. We talked
for some time and said our goodbyes with memories etched in both our hearts,
sad and happy.
An epilogue is that in
due course I renewed conversation with Bill and his wife Sue-On since both
attended the Faculty of Education at Brandon University where I had been
teaching since 1966. I knew that both of them were popular musicians and
we have now a record which they gave to us when seeing them at their restaurant.
As a member of the Shilo Golf Course I was fortunate in meeting Alex Campbell
who I believe is related, perhaps a nephew. At the Royal Canadian
Legion # 3 in Brandon, I chatted occasionally with Bill’s Mom and Dad.
This may sound like a family tree but Kevin Choy from whom we bought our
computer informed me that Sue-On, Bill’s (Hillman) wife is cousin to Bill
Campbell. Kelly Choy, my favorite student at the Faculty of Education,
is brother to Kevin and by this time on the phone to Kevin I was pretty
well lost.
How to close other than the
cliché that it is indeed a small world. This story, BILL, becomes
part of my ethical will, memories of my wife's and my past experiences
for our children and grandchildren as well as friends and their families.
The headline in the Brandon Sun recently, WWW.HEROES, says it all. Bill
Hillman’s discovery through the Internet brought back sharply my
memories of friend Bill Campbell. It became a calling from inside to read
again the diary and to record in written form these precious memories.
I searched in vain for the pictures
of Blacon cemetery and the gravestones of Reg and Bill. Perhaps I sent
them on to relatives but if found will copy and mail.
This is not goodbye to Bill
for indeed he is with us and will remain so. God Bless to Bill and all
his loved ones.
