the ‘Battle of Britain’ had been played out for all to see in the skies above the
cities of southern England. It made the RAF fighter pilot a national hero and
inspired thousands of young men to apply for service via the Royal Air Force
Volunteer Reserve (RAFVR).
34 Once accepted for aircrew training, (pilot,
navigator or wireless operator), these civilian volunteers took an oath of
allegiance (the ‘attestation’) then normally returned to their jobs until
‘called-up’ for duty. During this time, they could wear a silver lapel badge to
signify their status. John Augustin was one such young man and after his
‘call-up’ he joined the Arnold Scheme immediately after the signing of the
‘lease-lend’ Bill.
35
Having ‘reported for duty’, transporting thousands of these volunteers
‘round-trip’ for training in Canada or the USA was not a simple process. In
1941 the waters of the North Atlantic were very dangerous, and in an effort to
avoid German reconnaissance aircraft, the battle cruisers and the feared
U-boats, troop transport ships (HMT) embarked from western sea ports,
mostly Glasgow and Liverpool, but occasionally Avonmouth and Milford
Haven. Some of these ships—often converted ocean liners—zigzagged their
way across alone, others travelled in small groups or convoys with armed
escorts, and the anxiety of training aside, this alone must have concentrated
the mind. But most of the volunteers had never travelled by sea before and
anxiety was compounded by sea-sickness which almost everyone suffered, the
lower decks of these transports often awash with vomit. Afraid of being
rejected for aircrew training, many tried to hide their indisposition and large
numbers of them hardly ate anything on a journey which normally lasted
about ten days. It was thus, John Augustin, along with the other 548
members of SE-42-A, crossed the perilous North Atlantic on the 27,000-ton
former Cunard White Star Liner HMT Britannic.
33
Disembarking on 29 May 1941 at Halifax, Nova Scotia—just two days
after the Royal Navy sank the Bismarck in the northern Atlantic—the men
were greeted by a freak winter-like storm with gale force winds driving snow
flurries across the docks and bringing the temperature down to the low
thirties Fahrenheit. Because of sea-sickness many were very weak, and the
cold caused some to faint, which in turn led to rumours that people in Britain
were starving. Even so, the men were soon out of Halifax, boarding (unheated) train cars for a further grueling 30-h journey to RCAF Manning
Depot, Toronto. But the misery continued. Surrounded for the first time in
months by an abundance of food, cigarettes, chocolate and drinks, some-one
had forgotten to issue the men with Canadian money, and they had to wait
until Toronto to receive an advance on their service pay. There was however a
brief stop at Truro, Nova Scotia, where locals boarded the train and
420
D. Sheppard
cities of southern England. It made the RAF fighter pilot a national hero and
inspired thousands of young men to apply for service via the Royal Air Force
Volunteer Reserve (RAFVR).
34 Once accepted for aircrew training, (pilot,
navigator or wireless operator), these civilian volunteers took an oath of
allegiance (the ‘attestation’) then normally returned to their jobs until
‘called-up’ for duty. During this time, they could wear a silver lapel badge to
signify their status. John Augustin was one such young man and after his
‘call-up’ he joined the Arnold Scheme immediately after the signing of the
‘lease-lend’ Bill.
35
Having ‘reported for duty’, transporting thousands of these volunteers
‘round-trip’ for training in Canada or the USA was not a simple process. In
1941 the waters of the North Atlantic were very dangerous, and in an effort to
avoid German reconnaissance aircraft, the battle cruisers and the feared
U-boats, troop transport ships (HMT) embarked from western sea ports,
mostly Glasgow and Liverpool, but occasionally Avonmouth and Milford
Haven. Some of these ships—often converted ocean liners—zigzagged their
way across alone, others travelled in small groups or convoys with armed
escorts, and the anxiety of training aside, this alone must have concentrated
the mind. But most of the volunteers had never travelled by sea before and
anxiety was compounded by sea-sickness which almost everyone suffered, the
lower decks of these transports often awash with vomit. Afraid of being
rejected for aircrew training, many tried to hide their indisposition and large
numbers of them hardly ate anything on a journey which normally lasted
about ten days. It was thus, John Augustin, along with the other 548
members of SE-42-A, crossed the perilous North Atlantic on the 27,000-ton
former Cunard White Star Liner HMT Britannic.
33
Disembarking on 29 May 1941 at Halifax, Nova Scotia—just two days
after the Royal Navy sank the Bismarck in the northern Atlantic—the men
were greeted by a freak winter-like storm with gale force winds driving snow
flurries across the docks and bringing the temperature down to the low
thirties Fahrenheit. Because of sea-sickness many were very weak, and the
cold caused some to faint, which in turn led to rumours that people in Britain
were starving. Even so, the men were soon out of Halifax, boarding (unheated) train cars for a further grueling 30-h journey to RCAF Manning
Depot, Toronto. But the misery continued. Surrounded for the first time in
months by an abundance of food, cigarettes, chocolate and drinks, some-one
had forgotten to issue the men with Canadian money, and they had to wait
until Toronto to receive an advance on their service pay. There was however a
brief stop at Truro, Nova Scotia, where locals boarded the train and
420
D. Sheppard