- Contributed by听
- Silver Surfers
- Article ID:听
- A1137331
- Contributed on:听
- 07 August 2003
By Frederic Orton:
We embarked on the troopship Aquitania on the
river Clyde and sailed to Halifax, Nova Scotia. When we disembarked we were met by a host of ladies who gave us fruit, chocolates, cigarettes, milk cartons, coffee and many other gifts. Coming from food-rationed Britain this was very rewarding!
We then boarded a train which was to take us to Moncton. During the journey we were given more cigarettes, chocolates etc. The train sometimes stopped at small towns where the local ladies again gave us chocolates, cigarettes etc. I have never before or since experienced such hospitality.
Our eventual destination was to be Portage La Prairie near Winnipeg. On arrival at Winnipeg we were met by a brass band and again given fruit, cigatettes and chocolates. A reporter from the newspaper Winnipeg Tribune asked us how we found Canada. Our reply was that we could not have been better treated. There cannot be any more hospitable people in the world than the Canadians.
We were all adopted by Canadian families for the duration of our stay in Canada, and the hospitality continued. Thank you very much to the Canadians.
141 Squadron
We were on an advanced navigation course at No 3 Air Navigation Course, at Portage La Prairie. It was during the tail end of winter when I was required to fly in an Avro Anson Mk 5 as the 1st Navigator for the first time. The Anson was of pre-war design and was at full stretch during the Canadian winter.
I little realised that I was about to have my first baptism of snow. It was not long after take-off that the aircraft was completely covered in snow and we were 'blacked out'. Map-reading was out of the question, so I had to rely solely on DR navigation and radio bearings. Much to my amazement we returned, after an eventful flight, to base.
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