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We arrived October 8th 1940 at 10 FTS Training School Canada. Training started soon, flying Ansons aircraft over ever distant prairies of snow white areas can never be forgotten. My tank was that of a leading Aircraftsman with white flashes in our caps. The instructor for me was f/o mills which we shared with a pupil — soon we were solo and soon we were qualified, promoted to Sergeant Pilot and decorated with our wings.

On December 27th 1940 we were instructed to go solo together on Anson 9823 LAC Powell and self to do instrument of lying blind and could only see the tunnel, after he wanted to do low flying over the last mountain lake which as frozen solid but in doing so, we did not expect or rather he did not expect the difficulties and danger involved.

The ice was also snow covered and there were mounds which formed several feet high undetected, the whole belly of the machine skidded over!

I was quick to realise and react to grab the controls and obtain height. The propellers were bent back to the cowling. We had continued in a very noisy way. We had 50 miles to base and LAC Powell was scared and I continued to hold the controls. He would be court marshalled for disobeying orders; he agreed for me to keep control and discussed the problem to land at base. The high mounds of snow would hide us! It had to be with undercarriage up! So we made a belly landing. The fire tender came to the rescue and explained that his glove got trapped in the undercarriage winding gear!! The explanation was accepted and the tail wheel was never found!!

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