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To go directly to the reminiscences of a
named person, just click on the name at the left.
Personal Reminiscences of Frederic "Deric"
Jaques
576557 Sgt. Pilot
1J9/40th (Instrument Maker) Entry —
1939 to 1941
Initial Training
We started at Cranwell on 28th August 1939, and moved to Halton 30th August,
1940. I was held back in passing out due to an illness, but finally passed out
18th June 1941. I was posted to RAF Henlow, but only stayed there a month as I
applied for a transfer to Grantham, where my brother was an instructor on
Oxfords. At Grantham I applied for pilot training and went before the board in
November 41. From Grantham I was sent to ACRC in Regents Park and then went to
ITW at Scarborough. My 12 hours Grading School was spent at Carlisle where I
soloed on the Tiger Moth. While waiting at Heaton Park, Manchester, for posting
to Canada for training.
Flying Training
I volunteered for training in the United States instead, with the US Navy.
There I trained at Grosse Isle, Michigan on Steerman aircraft, and then on
Catalina flying boats at Pensacola, Florida. My career came to a screeching
halt while I was acting as copilot, when our instructor flew us into the beach
at night. Three were killed, and I was one of two who managed to survive. I
spent two years in hospital in the USA, with 14 skin graft plastic surgery ops.
I eventually received both the RAF and US Navy pilot wings, but was invalided
out in July 1945.
Recent Events
I had married Barbara, a Canadian girl from Michigan, and we now reside in
Novi, Michigan, about 30 miles NW of Detroit.
Just this past July [2001] I had a great experience of flying a Harvard for
45 minutes, and was surprised at how little one forgets after all these years.
Recently we drove down from Detroit to see an Avro Avian. What made the trip
so very special is that this very machine was purchased new by my Father in
1927, being imported to Australia where we lived at that time. It is the only
one of its type flying in the world today, and is now in a private museum in St.
Paul, Minnesota. At five years old I went for a ride, sitting on my mother's
lap, in this Avro — that was over seventy years ago. Well, I had another
ride in the same airplane that my dad owned back in 1928. We loved it!
Another item of interest to my fellow Apprentices:
If you go to
http://www.ameliaflight.com/ameliaflight/flightlogs.po?id=40
there is a picture of me sitting in the Avro Avian, and also my wife and the
pilot.
I would be delighted to hear from any of my old entry — 40th/1J9
Deric
Jaques — raf557(at)mi.rr.com.
This memoir is currently being
updated by the originator.
Greetings one and all. My name is Tom Lisle, 577438 1J9
entry Instrument Maker.
My Air Force career started on October 6, 1939 at Cranwell. After a 1 year
sojourn, it was decided to move all the instrument makers to Halton where I
spent the next 18 months completing the required training. (The usual 3 year
course was shortened to 30 months due to the need occasioned by WW2, not by
cutting course content but by the simple expedient of working us harder for
longer hours per day!).
After leaving Halton I was posted to 13 MU Henlow, where I lollygagged long
enough to pick up corporals stripes. I also managed to come down in an old
Whitley a darn sight faster than we went up - that's another story.
I remustered aircrew as u/t pilot, went through St.John's
Wood, ITW at Truro in Cornwall, 12 hours on Tiger Moths at Hatfield, and to
Heaton Park in Manchester for posting on the Commonwealth Aircrew Training Program.
Wound up at 31 EFTS Assiniboia, Saskatchewan
in December 1943 flying Cornells. Was anyone there around this time? The wings
would come off and fold over the coupe top during steep turns. They would let
go at the root end! Made for some interesting flying after they did a mod. and
told us to go ahead and do aerobatics again!!
Went to 6 SFTS Dunnville,
Ontario for service flying on
Harvards - what a wonderful noise when you put 'em in fine pitch! Came unglued
here. About 4 weeks before wings parade some boffin decided that there were far
too many pilots in the pipeline and not enough navigators and bomb-aimers. They
wiped out over half the course in one swell foop! So, after nearly 2 years of
training, learning to fly an aeroplane before I could drive a car, I became a
Bomb Aimer. Did bombing and gunnery at Jarvis Ontario and Navigation at 1 AOS Malton, Ontario. Graduated with a commission and
wound up at Boundary Bay, B.C. for OTU, flying
with Mitchells and converting to Liberators at Abbotsford, B.C. Then here came
another change. By now I am a F/O and it appeared that the Training Wing
adjutant had been posted back home and a replacement was urgently needed. Who
better to fill the spot than yours truly who was in the service before Pontius
was a pilot, or so it seemed to those jumped-up Johnny-cum-latelies! Any road
up, even though I was nicely crewed up, I was yanked off flying and became the
Training Wing Adjutant. It was by far the biggest scrounge and doddle of my
airforce career! And then the war ended!
I went back to England, hung around a holding unit
(Middle or Upper Wallop - can't remember which) and then the medical types
caught up with me. Seems I had a back operation while in Canada which
the RCAF thought nothing of as I went right back on flying duties, but the RAF
was convinced I had one foot on a banana skin. So, in 1945, at the ripe old age
of 22, having just been Gazetted Flt/Lt. I was placed on the Disability Retired
Pay List. After 2 months short of 7 years service the Airforce had trained me
for one thing or another for 51/2 years and actually got 18 months work out of
me!
I emigrated to Canada in July 1946 and became a
Canadian citizen. Among other things, I worked in the Instrument Test
Development laboratory of A.V.Roe Canada Ltd. Interestingly, the Supervisor was
none other than one Harry Farrow another ex apprentice Instrument Maker from an
earlier entry. I was there during the exciting time of the development of a
four-engined jetliner before anyone knew that such an aircraft existed. Also
the ill-fated Arrow was being test flown during my time there.
I spent 5 years as vice president and general manager of
Chubb Industries, the Canadian branch of Chubb in England. Eventually formed and ran
my own company for 10 years before selling out and moving to the U.S.
I was picked up as a senior consultant on contract to the
American branch of a worldwide Norwegian company, DNV, (Det Norske Veritas.)
Spent close to 10 years with them being sent all over the U.S., Canada
and places like India, Pakistan, Thailand,
England, Angola, Ecuador
and Oman.
I finally retired at age 74 (I was having too much fun to quit earlier, plus I
was trying to get in the requisite amount of time to qualify for U.S. Social
Security!) By this time I had become a U.S. citizen.
Not wishing to curl up and die I looked around for what else
to occupy myself with and found the Lay Pastor Academy
of the Central Florida Presbytery. Being an ordained Elder qualified me for
admission and 21/2 years later I became a Commissioned Lay Pastor. Shortly
after that I got a call to the Tangerine Community Church
which is a non denominational church in the community of Tangerine about 5
miles north of Zellwood Florida where I live. And so, in May of
2002, at the age of 79, when most ministers have long since been glad to quit,
I started on yet another career as Pastor of this little old church that has
been there since 1886, quite a while by American standards.
I have 2 daughters, one in New Port Ritchie, Florida, the other in Stratford, Ontario
along with her 2 boys, my grandsons. My wife for the past 8 years, Eva, is my
friend, companion and everything I could ever have hoped for or deserve in a
life-mate.
To close this screed, I wonder if the position of Padre to
the Appsnet is vacant? What a wonderful thought - to get you lot out on church
parade!
Pax vobiscum.
Tom Lisle 1st. May 2005
I was born in a little village called RoeGreen, near
Manchester, on 2 July
1923. One of my earliest memories was going with my father to see the King and
queen opening the East Lancashire
Road, the first 4 lane highway built in England.
When I was 11 years old, in 1934, my father got a job in Liverpool and we moved
to Garston, a suburb of Liverpool. I remember
when the first Mersey Tunnel was completed people were allowed to walk and
bicycle through it for the first few days before it was opened for vehicular
traffic. I went through it on a tandem with my father. That was in 1935 I
believe.
I attended Oulton High School until I was
16, then applied and was accepted as a direct entrant into the RAF
apprenticeship scheme. I didn't have to write the entrance exam because my
father had been in the RFC and RAF during the 1st World War. My hobby had
always been wireless and electricity so I applied for the WEM course. I arrived
at Cranwell via one week at Halton 22 Aug 1939, 2 weeks before the war started.
I was in 1M9D, B squadron.
I remember vividly being part of a large group of young
apprentices crowding round a wireless on 3 Sep 39 when the Prime Minister
(Neville Chamberlain) announced that "we are now at war with Germany".
I also remember watching the test flight of the first jet propelled aircraft,
the Gloucester Whittle experimental, on the south drome in 1940. We called it
the "Flying Flue" because it didn't have a propeller.
The war didn't affect us very much except to shorten the course somewhat. Some
older apps were issued rifles for aerodrome defence, I got put into gas
decontamination which was a bit of a bind. When I went home on leave there were
usually air raids and I would be dragooned into putting out incendiary bombs. Liverpool got quite a pasting.
I passed out in Jun 1941 as an LAC and was posted to 30 MU
Sealand Cheshire.
I immediately applied for aircrew training. I was promoted to Cpl in Nov 41 and
posted to A&AEE Boscombe Down in Mar 42. At Boscombe I did quite a bit of
flying as radio operator on testing flights. I also flew regularly as radio op
in the pressure cabin Wellington
which was at Boscombe for testing at that time. This aircraft was a Vickers
Wellington modified with a pressure hull which held the pilot, navigator, bomb
aimer, and the radio op. It was powered by Hercules 2 row radial engines
driving 4 bladed props and could climb to over 40,000 feet. Only a few were
built and they never got into operations.
On 14 Sep 42 I finally got my heart's desire, I was posted
to the Aircrew Reception Centre,
Regents Park London. After going through Initial Training at Newquay and Grading School,
where I soloed in a Tiger Moth after 6 hours of instruction, I was sent to Canada for
pilot training. I went through Elementary Flying School
at St Catherine's Ontario on Tiger Moths, then Service Flying School
at Ottawa Ontario
on Harvard's, got my wings and was commissioned as Pilot Officer. While at Ottawa I met my future wife and we were married before I
went back to England.
Back in England at the beginning of 1944, I went through
conversion to twin engine on Airspeed Oxfords, then Operational Training on
Wellington's, then conversion to 4 engine on Halifaxes, and finished up in 520
Squadron Coastal Command based in Gibraltar, flying convoy escort and weather
reconnaissance.
Meanwhile, my wife had arrived in England
and was staying with my parents in Liverpool.
My oldest son was born in Liverpool Nov 1944.
I got my discharge from the RAF In May
1946. We went to live in Picton Ontario and I got a
job in a shop in Belleville
repairing radios and installing wiring. In December 1946 I decided that was
enough of civie street and enlisted in the RCAF as an LAC Radio Technician. I
was sent on a radio/radar course which, after 2 years at Cranwell was a snap
for me, for a year, then posted to #6 Repair Depot at Trenton Ontario. I
wangled a job in the Flight Test section and did a lot of flying as radio
operator on various types of aircraft.
In Nov 1948 the RCAF decided they had an aircrew shortage
and the quickest way to get them was to use the many ex-aircrew who were then
working ground jobs, so I applied and jumped in rank from LAC to Flying Officer
in 1 week! After not having flown as a pilot since 1946, I was checked out and
flying as a Lancaster
captain by the end of Nov 48.
I spent 2 years in Greenwood and Summerside on
the East Coast flying Lancasters and Dakotas on
search and rescue, then I was posted to Flying Instructors Course at Trenton. I spent 6 years
at Centralia Ontario teaching ab-initio students how to
fly on Harvards and Expeditors. It was an interesting 6 years, hairy at times.
In 1953, just 10 years of married life, my wife Jean became
very ill and died, leaving me heartbroken with 2 sons, 9 and 6 years old. It
was a very sad period. My wife's sister came to help me and a year later we
were married.
In Jan 1956 I was transferred to 426(T) Squadron in Montreal to fly North
Stars on transport operations. The North Star was a DC4 type aircraft, built at
Canadair, powered by 4 Rolls Royce Merlin Engines, all up weight was 65,000
pounds. The next 16 years were the best part of my service career. Most of our
flights were across Canada
and transatlantic to England
and Europe, but we did a lot of world flights.
In 1957 my daughter was born in Montreal while I
was in Keflavik Iceland on my way home from a
European flight.
In 1960 the squadron was moved to Trenton
Ontario, and in 1961 was re-equipped with the Yukon aircraft. This was
a 4 engine turboprop aircraft similar to the Bristol Britannia but larger, built
by Canadair and powered by 4 Rolls Royce Tyne turbo shaft engines driving 4
blade props 20 feet in diameter. We could carry 150 passengers or up to 55,000
pounds of freight. All up weight was 210,000 pounds and we had enough range to
fly non-stop from Trenton to Europe.
For the next 10 years I flew all over the world in this aircraft. In 1972 the Yukon aircraft were
withdrawn from service and the squadron was re-equipped with Boeing 707s. The
powers that be decided the I was too old to be retrained on jet aircraft so I
was also withdrawn from service.
We bought a house in Trenton
and I got a good job with a company making RF Filters and High Voltage power
supplies, mainly for the US
military and space programs. For the first time in my life I had a 9 to 5 job 5
days a week. I didn't care for it very much but I persevered for 9 years until
my mortgage was paid off, and then I retired for life.
Now I fly my airplanes on my computer, play golf in the
summer, travel when I can, and visit my children and grandchildren. We have 3
greatgrandchildren now. I'm in good health so I should last another 20 years, I
hope! Unfortunately I have no immediate relatives left in England so I
don't go there as much as I would like.
Roy Longworth - 28th April 2005, updated 6th February,
2008
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