This pamphlet has to be one of the earliest ones distributed promoting the BCATP. It has a covering letter to an army man in BC stating that it is being sent as per his request to the Department of Defense (obviously a guy like my Dad, who joined the RCAF because he couldn't stand the thought of all the walking the army did).
The pamphlet was published in 1941 and in the foreword, the Minister of Defense, Charles Power, says: "...I am glad not only that this little book has been written but it has come from one who served tirelessly during the bitter, difficult days of 1940 and the heartening first half of 1941." From my reading of the pamphlet, it seems apparent that there were two problems in the formative days of the BCATP: first, that the public didn't like the inertia of the first days of the plan, with the bases taking a while to swing into operation, and two, the complaining of able-bodied men, who were put to work with picks and shovels when they felt they would be more use with rifles and hand grenades.
After Ray Provick's latest generous contribution, it's been necessary to revamp this part of the site. It seems that many and probably most of the BCATP bases had some sort of publication, mostly small magazine format, but also some newspaper quality and certainly many anniversary and special occasion issues.When one considers that the cadets travelling through these bases didn't stay for more than a few weeks, it is most likely that the permanent staff bore most of the responsibility for these productions.
"The Take-Off" (October, 1942) from 3# ITS in Victoriaville, Quebec is a wonderful magazine, full of newsy items about cadets, present and past. There is a real atmosphere of fun in the articles, too. They sounded so interesting that I did some research into the names. Unfortunately, a number of them didn't survive the war, but why would I find that so strange? Considering the short time cadets spent at ITS, #4 ITS in Edmonton put out a very impressive magazine. These two are an issue which came out at the opening of the school and then the anniversary issue of June, 1942.
Here are a couple of examples of EFTS issues. I was a "printer's devil" as a boy and the trained eye can spot signs of an amateurish production (raised slug, border spacing) on the cover of "The Monthly Moth" (#33 EFTS, Caron, SK), yet one has to admire the spirit of the base personnel, who put in the extra time after their hours of arduous training to get the word out. Another Manitoba production, "Virden Days", on the other hand, was a more professional job, but it was likely "farmed out" to a big printer, considering the color picture of the Moth and Cornell on the cover and the fact that it covered the entire history of #19 EFTS, which closed at the end of 1944. Both of these bases were near very small towns, so hats off to those who accomplished these publications. --------------------------------------------------------------
These have to be the most colorful of the lot. The #33 SFTS, Carberry (MB) issue has a truly inspired cover--a great piece of art work! As you can see, it was a production of the local printer, but must have had some cooperation from the base. Feast your eyes on "The Prairie Flyer" from #32 SFTS in Moose Jaw. After all these years the colours are still quite stiking. "The Penhold Log" (#36 SFTS) made very regular appearances, this being designated Volume V, Number 7. #8 SFTS in Moncton, NB produced the "Takeoff". This was the base where S/L Eric Bland was stationed after his tour on Spitfires. (See linking page on Bland) And finally this assortment of "The Prairie Flyer" from 23 SFTS in Moose Jaw.
This is the biggest part of the collection and the base at Mossbank was sure busy. Four of their publications are shown here: "Bomb Bursts", two issues of "Contact", and their farewell issue, which shows #2 B&GS's distinctive coat of arms (see "Jacket Crests" page). At Dafoe, SK, #5 B&GS offered this Christmas issue for 1944. #7 B&GS at Paulson, MB issued "The Paulson Post", and the eagle on the cover of "Tracer" of #3 B&GS at McDonald, MB proudly carries the "E" for "Efficiency" flag, awarded quarterly to the top school of each type in the Plan.
Here are some odds and ends, but nontheless very interesting issues. The #3 Wireless School in Calgary issued "The Wag Mag". The Air Observers School in Portage La Prairie, MB summed up their history with "The Record". Next is "The Aircraftsman" from the Technical Training School in St. Thomas, ON. The #2 Flying Instructors School distributed this magazine for its official opening and it's chock full of ads from the nearby town of Vulcan, in anticipation of all the business they would do with the personnel that passed through (and, I suppose, all the daughters they'd have to hide). Even Operational Training Units had their contributions: here are two, from Pennfield Ridge, NB (#34 OTU) and Debert, NS (#31, later #7 OTU). The last is a British publication about The Plan.
I'm sure that many businesses tried to cash in on the fact that there were thousands of young boys thrown together in situations where it was important to exhibit their manliness. And in an era when "lighting up" was not a questionable practice, there would always be a call for matches. In the scan at left, the dark blue covers were all manufactured by Strike Rite Matches Ltd. of London, Ont, while the others were from the Eddy Match Co. (The gray one didn't show up too well; it's from #2 ITS, Regina, SK.) The scans at right are a small sample of Ray Provick's collection.
When I hear the music of the '40's, I can understand why dancing was such a big deal. And well, there was a war on, and they were young, and who knew what tomorrow would bring. The invitation was for Brantford's #5 SFTS, and the dance card was for the "Final Frolic" at McLeod, Alberta's #7 SFTS. The dance was aptly named because two weeks later, the base was closed for good.--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Efficiency Award appears to have been given quarterly by the Minister of Defense to the top school of each type in the BCATP. This one is for the top SFTS. Gordon Diller sends information that the accompanying photo shows the awarding of the Efficiency Flag at #5 EFTS in High River, AB. He says that in the quarter July to September, 1943, #5 was judged as being the most efficient EFTS "IN CANADA". The photo shows the raising of the "E" pennant presented by Group Captain C.H. Flinn Senior Air Staff Officer of #4 Training Command. The three are (left to right) GC Flinn, Mr. D.K. Yorath, Managing Director of #5 EFTS, and F/L Jock Palmer, AFC, Chief Flying Instructor. This information begins to clear things up to some extent and our thanks to George.
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I love finding stuff like this. It was a standard autograph book set out in the local restaurant in Mossbank, Sask, home of #2 Bombing and Gunnery School. According to the dates of the entries, it must have been started soon after the base opened in Oct, 1940 and seems to have been filled by early in 1941. It has the names of nearly 300 airmen who passed through and is full of interesting, humourous, risqué and touching thoughts left behind by these men, some of whom later became casualties. The opening pages show a logo and motto: "Sky Hy Dive". On their official crests, though, the motto is: "Aim Well, Shoot Straight" (See "Jacket Crests" page). By reading between the lines of the entries, it is obvious that the restaurant was run by a married couple, with the wife waiting on the airmen and the husband preparing the grub. The wife must have been attractive (although with dozens of hormone cases buzzing in and out, did she have to be anything but female?) because a lot of the entries profess love and admiration for her, and there is one reference about a head poking out from the kitchen to keep an eye on things.
Nonetheless, there is a lot of interesting reading from men of Commonwealth countries and beyond. Here are a few samples:
