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• - Jean (Johnny) Boivin, Ottawa-age 21
• - John Ellis, Toronto age 21
• - Art Keeler, Toronto age 21
• - Robert L. Pearson Jr., Orlando, Florida - age 23
• - Jim Smith, Trinidad (originally from Scotland) - age 27
• - and yours truly from RR#4, Port Hope, Ontario - age 18

Except for John Ellis, who wanted to be an armourer, we were all candidates for aircrew. All five of us would graduate in one of the aircrew trades but Johnny Boivin and Jim Smith would not survive the war.

For me the train ride to Québec city was something of an adventure, and other than a trip to Ottawa with a 4H Club had never been more than 100 miles from home. We changed trains in Montréal and arrived in the Provincial Capital around midnight. Then began our first experience in the service of learning to stand around and wait. Eventually transport arrived and we lurched our way through the hills in the back of a truck to Valcartier. It was now 2:30 in the morning and we were starved. They took us to the mess hall but not for food. Again we waited and waited - this time for our barracks assignment. We were there long enough to see the cooks already preparing breakfast. They were making mountains of toast and plopping canned tomatoes on each and every slice. A few hours hence that was our first meal in His Majesty's service and as his daughter Elizabeth would say years later, "We were not amused."

Reveille sounded at 6:20 - a real live bugler no less, and it seemed we had just turned in. In looking around we found ourselves in an H - hut which housed several dozen airmen. There were two wings to the structure with washrooms in the center, and we were to see this standard configuration at all the training stations in Canada. As we made our way to the mess hall it became apparent that many of those in our barrack block were Americans. Such strange accents from the Bronx, New England and the Deep South were something new to these ears. At this stage of the war, the Yanks were pouring across the border in record numbers, almost all wanting to be pilots. They were good types and several became close friends.

Mass inoculations were a way of life at Valcartier, and for a kid who hated needles, I wasn't looking forward to the next few days. In all we received five shots in the first round to guard against scarlet fever, diphtheria and some others I can't remember. The one that left a lasting impression was T. A. B. T. which was a combined anti--tetanus and typhoid shot. We were excused from parade for a day but my arm hurt or week. Another recollection I have is that the big strapping guys were the ones who usually fainted in the lineup. We had follow-up shots later on but by then it was old hat.

At Valcartier we spent most of our days, excluding Sunday, learning basic drill some of which I had in high school cadets. For the first week or so we paraded in our civilian clothes and shoes. It rained a lot and my clothes were a real mess. We were issued fatigue clothes in the second week which helped. This consisted of khaki trousers, shirt, a cardigan sweater, a blue wedge cap and a pair of canvas shoes - and that was it. It seemed there were shortages of everything. We weren't in issued our blue uniform until week three and the tunic was several inches too long - and I was one of the lucky ones.

There was also a shortage of non--commissioned officers, and acting corporals were recruited from those who had previous military training. One such recruit was Bob Gildersleeve from English, West Virginia who was a former 1st Lieutenant in the US Army, had graduated from the Virginia Military Institute, known as the West Point of the South, and had received parachute training at Fort Benning, Georgia. He was an exceptional individual and an excellent drill master. We wondered what he was doing in Canada when he had so much to offer in his own country. He returned to the USA after earning his RCAF pilot"s wings and lost his life over Europe while serving in the US Army Air Corps.

While at Valcartier I met George Sweanor from Port Hope and Ed Witheridge from Bowmanville. Also AC 2 Bill Car was there and he was to become Chief of Air Staff in the post-war RCAF. We had a VIP visitor to Valcartier in the person of the Duke of Kent, the King's brother, and there was a mad scramble to find enough uniforms to output an honor guard, and any others within view to greet this illustrious Air Commodore. He passed right in front of me and I could see a close resemblance to the King. He also visited some of the numerous army units - it was thought to be good for morale. The Duke would die in an air crash less than a year later showing the that even Royalty found flying in the military to be downright dangerous.

Despite the rain and the mud I rather enjoyed my stay at Manning Depot. It was a new experience for me and a good introduction to service life. We learned the difference between our left foot and the right, and how to tote a rifle. We became quite proficient at polishing brass buttons and keeping the barracks spotless - a lot of mothers would have been amazed. From the beginning I liked the camaraderie and there were very few bad apples. Some of them were characters. One in particular I remember for his eccentricities, answered to the name 'the Finn'. It was said that he fought for Finland in the Russo-Finnish war. I don't even remember what state he was from but that really doesn't matter. On occasion, he would drink a bottle of Vitalis hair conditioner just to show he could do it. At the inter--service sports meet he ran the 200 meter dash in his bare feet on a cinder track - and won. I lost track of the Finn but someone said he was discharged early for medical reasons perhaps he had been through too much already.

We spent most of our free time on the base but managed to visit Québec City a few times. They had first-run movies and good restaurants and Johnny Boivin's brother who is in the RCMP, and stationed in Québec City, gave us a tour of this beautiful, historic old city. We visited the Plains of Abraham where the French-English feud started nearly 200 years before. We saw the magnificent Château Frontenac, Lower Town and lots more. He also treated the six of us to a fine dinner, which on thinking about it years later, was a generous thing to do on an Inspector's salary.

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