427 Squadron Association

Two Lads from Weyburn

Bill Hind, now of Edmonton, was one of the first post-war trained pilots to be posted to 427 Squadron when it was reactivated in 1952 flying Sabres. Lou Fellner, now of London, Ontario was the skipper of the first Wellington crew posted to 427 Squadron when it was formed in 1942.

An interesting twist to this story is that both pilots grew up in the prairie town of Weyburn where the Hind and Fellner families were close friends for many years. In Bill Hind's words "Weyburn has a special place in the annals of 427 Squadron history."

In an earlier issue of ROAR, Bill did not recognize the name "Lou" Fellner as his old friend. Around Weyburn he was known as Alex (his real name) or "Choppy" a nickname. The name "Lou" was coined by W/C Dudley Burnside at the time the squadron was being adopted by M.G.M. and the aircraft named after movie stars. In a chance remark, the CO mentioned that Sgt. Fellner looked a bit like Lou Ayers, a Hollywood star at the time. His crew and squadron mates latched onto the name Lou and it soon became a fixture. To this very day he is "Lou" Fellner to those who knew him nearly seven decades ago.

This story is originally appeared in Volume I, No. 10 issue of ROAR.