Daily Diary

No. 33 Service Flying Training School,
Carberry, Manitoba

April 1942

This Transcription of the Operational Record Book of No. 33 Service Flying Training School that was Located at Carberry, Manitoba, Canada was created by the volunteers at the Commonwealth Air Training Plan Museum, Brandon, Manitoba. You can visit their website by clicking this heading.

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Carberry.

• 1.4.42. STRENGTH: Personnel.

	Officers	Other Ranks	Civilians
RAF	84	921	–
Service Personnel other Than RAF
RCAF	9	100	–
CDC	1	2	–
RCASC	1	3	–
Civilians	–	–	10
Trainees
RAF	–	187	–

• STRENGTH: Aircraft.

	Servicable	Unservicable
Ansons	64	23

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Carberry

• 1.4.42 Flying was resumed, but it was still impeded by the restricted taxying strips and parking areas resulting from the blizzard. Although the roads of the Camp had been cleared sufficiently to permit fairly normal traffic, the Station presented a strange appearance owing to the great masses of snow piled up against buildings. Undeterred by difficult travelling conditions, the Rip Chords fulfilled an engagement to perform at No. 2 Manning Depot, Brandon, and the Swimming Team also travelled to Brandon to attempt a little practice in the diminutive pool there.
  Pilot Officer J.R. Alleyne was posted to the Unit from No. 31 P.D., Moncton to take the place of Acting Flight Lieutenant J.W. Grey (Accounts) who was about to leave the Station on posting to Calgary.
• 2.4.42 As a relief from the somewhat depressing situation in Flying Training the Unit amused itself during the evening in various ways. The Rip Chords gave a performance at No. 12 S.F.T.S., Brandon; the swimming team journeyed to Winnipeg where it gained second place in an inter-Services event organised by the Maple Leaf Club; and No. 2 Manning Depot sent its boxing Team to the Station where there were some excellent bouts in what one newspaper considered to be “possibly the finest ring in Canada”.
  Home thoughts were stimulated by a warning that it would soon be the turn of the Second Echelon to express its wishes in the matter of returning to Britain or remaining in Canada.
  Towards the end of a No. l Night-Flying Cross-Country Flight, a pupil pilot landed with excess speed. The instructor took control but was unable to avoid a slight swing which took the aircraft into deep snow, where the undercarriage collapsed, entailing damage requiring three weeks to repair.
• 3.4.42 A rapid thaw had now threatened to swamp the Camp, and some drains were glutted into inanition. Some idea of conditions is suggested by the attached photograph. (Not Attached)
  Alone among the four Courses, the Senior Course contrived to be in advance of schedule in flying hours. Course 48 was nearly five hundred hours behind schedule, and was well prepared to

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Carberry

• (Cont’d) 3.4.42 accept the gloomy atmosphere of Good Friday. Perhaps the most cheerful personnel in the Camp were a score of officers who, headed by the Armament Officer, had acquired five horses and had resolved themselves into a Riding Club.
  Owing to wear of the teeth of the epicyclic gear of the gear-box of the Port undercarriage, a pupil pilot found himself unable to get his undercarriage to the ‘Safe Down’ position when landing. As a result the undercarriage collapsed causing engine-damage classified as C.2.
• 4.4.42 Flying was brought to an abrupt stop by a blustering wind reaching gale force. Maintenance continued to be very busy with minor repairs to aircraft, but the Flights and many of the pupils had a good opportunity, eagerly grasped, for rest and recreation. The Drill Shed was alive with physical activity.
  A Pilot-Officer who had graduated from Course 34 was now posted to No. 31 P.D., Moncton.
• 5.4.42 At the Easter Sunday Morning Service – attended by many airman not under compulsion to do so, in
  addition to the normal percentage detailed to be present – the Station Chaplain dedicated a fine Bible which had been presented by comrades of the late A.C.1 K.M. Townsend as a memorial.
• 6.4.42 Postings and attachments continued to keep personnel lively. Squadron Leader R. Hansen arrived from No. 35 E.F.T.S., Neepawa (the Station’s new Royal Air Force neighbours) on Temporary Duty. Flying Officer L.I.R. Grey arrived from No. 6 A.O.S., Prince Albert, and two ‘Free French’ and one Czechoslovakian, pupil pilots reached the Station from Heaton Park, via the United States and Moncton.
  While maneuvering in a restricted parking-space an Instructor swung the tail of his aircraft on to rough ground, where the tail wheel, striking a rut, was damaged to the extent of requiring fourteen days’ repair.
• 7.4.42 Interference with Flying, caused by high winds, continued; and the Senior Course alone succeeded in holding its own in the matter of flying hours.
  In the evening the Rip Chords again sallied forth – this time to the town of MacGregor, where they received a great welcome and much hospitality. And in Winnipeg some of the Station Boxing Team gave exhibitions at the Winnipeg Final Bouts for the Manitoba Services Championships.

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Carberry.

• 8.4.42 In keeping with the restlessness of Spring, eleven Airmen were posted to No. 34 E.F.T.S., Assiniboia, Saskatchewan, and twenty left the Unit for No. 41 S.F.T.S., Weyburn, Saskatchewan. Their train left Carberry sufficiently late at night to enable them to enjoy one more very jolly Airmen’s Dance held in the Recreation Hall and apparently more popular than ever.
• 9.4.42 A few cases of Scarlet Fever – a ‘seasonal incidence’ as Daily Routine Orders phrased it – were now reported; and instructions were issued to personnel to take as much exercise as possible, and to keep open all windows, especially in Barrack Blocks. The exhortation to take exercise came at that troubled and exciting point in Spring when the games played for a Season tend to pall and when other Sports gear is looked over and prepared. Actually, however, the interest in Basket-Ball was now at its peak and the change of effeminacy was forgotten in the fierce battles resulting from challenges flung by Section at Section.
• 10.4.42 A Commanding Officer’s Inspection of Barrack Blocks proved quite clearly that the affirmative principle of encouragement and the promotion of rivalry, as opposed to the negative method of punishment, had secured remarkably good results. And the general care for the good appearance of the Station, combined with a general readiness to help with any activity devised to make life interesting, received a satisfactory reward when, from time to time, pleased comments were made by airmen posted from other Stations, the locations of which had led personnel of the Unit to imagine that they must be infinitely more attractive.
• 11.4.42 Flying Officer J. Kostohrys, and Lieutenants L.J. Petit and J.L.A. Carot – the pupil pilots alluded to in 6.4.42 – were posted to No. 35 S.F.T.S., North Battleford.
  Although it appeared that no financial assistance was likely to be granted this year for the floral decoration of the Camp, there were many signs that the innate gardening instincts associated with the British were sufficiently strong to find some way of acquiring

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Carberry.

• 11.4.42 (Cont’d) plants; and the advice of one Airman who was a horticultural expert was freely at the service of all who wished to lay out gardens round the various buildings.
• 12.4.42 During the evening of this Sunday a fourth visit was paid to the Camp by a first-rate Concert Party from the Beacon Theatre, Winnipeg, and for the fourth time all travelling expenses were set by Mr. Harder, the cinematograph agent through whom the Station obtained the excellent films shown at the popular Camp cinema performances. Six hundred persons thoroughly enjoyed the evening.
  At a ‘draw’ held in Station Headquarters the names of thirty-six fortunate Airmen, to broadcast from the CKY Studios to Britain during the ensuing months, turned up and were published, and the strain of compressing the maximum number of sentiments into a mere fifty words was eagerly accepted.
• 13.4.42 Daily Routine Orders showed a high degree of activity in various branches of the Camp’s organisation. Thus, in addition to the Station Commander’s Conference, there were meetings of the Officers’ Mess, the Sergeants’ Mess, The Airmen’s Mess, the P.S.I. Committee, and various temporary committees to usher in the Cricket and Football Seasons.
• 14.4.42 It was noted that the ‘Indulgence Fares’ for dependents of R.A.F. personnel travelling to Canada were now translated into ‘dependents’ passages. Another announcement of intimate concern to a fair number was to the effect that Canadian-born wives of R.A.F. personnel would be obliged to remain in the Dominion for the duration of the war.
• 15.4.42 Weather conditions were now favourable again for Flying, and the Senior Course (No. 36) had its programme well in hand.
  The Station was very active in all departments, and there was certainly no shortage of opportunities to enjoy leisure hours. The Entertainments Section was still further sub-divided, so that, under the responsibility of the Officer concerned, there was an Officer i/c Station Concert Party and Dance Band, an Officer i/c Dramatics, and an Officer i/c Occasional Concerts. There was also, as usual, an Officer i/c Airmen’s Dances, Whist Drives etc. Moreover, another officer was entrusted with the task of organising additional social activities amongst personnel living in Carberry. On this night the Dance Band volunteered to play every Wednesday evening in the Large Canteen, and promptly made an excellent start. In the Recreational Hall some private films were shown. And the first Soccer Match of the season took place.

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Carberry.

• 15.4.42 (Cont’d) Flight Lieutenant K.A. Phillips (Senior Equipment Officer) now appeared in Orders as promoted to the Temporary Rank of Squadron Leader.
• 16.4.42 A new Course (No. 54) arrived on the Station fifty strong. Of these no less than twenty-five were ex-Army.
  A reminder of the increasing restrictions on transport was given to the Station in a recommendation to utilise bicycles for short journeys.
• 17.4.42 The effect of the recent weather was discernible in the Weekly Progress Report’s figures of the state of the Courses as touching flying hours, the Senior and Junior Courses having largely escaped the handicap. Course 36 was nearly three hundred hours, and Course 52 one hundred hours, to the good – but Course 48 was six hundred hours, and Course 50 one hundred hours, to the bad. Owing to ground Examinations two days of this last week had been non-Flying days for Course 48.
  Canadian personnel of the Station were now given their opportunity of recording in the Camp their votes in the Plebiscite which was now arousing so much interest.
• 18.4.42 Despite the apparent normality of this day’s work, most minds were occasionally wandering to the prospect of the evening, when the Second Station Dance was to be held. Having had recourse to the experts of Eaton’s Store in Winnipeg, durable decorations, easy to put up and take down, were obtained, making the preparation of the vast Drill Shed a comparatively simple matter. The Boxing Ring was transformed into a dais for the Dance Band, and refreshment counters were erected. Partners were brought in from Winnipeg, Brandon, and Carberry, and a very jolly evening ensued, despite an unexpected downpour of rain.
• 19.4.42 Naturally enough, the Sunday was particularly peaceful – and, adjusted to the need of the Camp. A ‘Celebrity Concert’ was put on and was much to the taste of a ‘full-

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Carberry.

• 19.4.42 (Cont’d) house’. Items included a sketch written by an Officer, and played by a Pilot Officer, pupil pilot, and a Corporal.
• 20.4.42 A Visit by a Mobile Fingerprinting Unit caused some concern, but its operations were confined to R.C.A.F. personnel whose Identity Cards require this method of identification.
  The salvage of ‘silver-paper’ has been carried out for many months. The attention of the Station was now called to the necessity of conserving ordinary paper and orders were issued to prevent any form of waste.
• 21.4.42 The conserving of rubber also received attention when drivers and pilots were cautioned to avoid the abrupt application of brakes.
  The weather was now excellent, and work was put in hand to get flower beds and lawns, ditches and roads, tennis courts and football pitches, into shape for the expected warm weather.
  At the Station Commander’s Conference the building operations on the Camp and at Petrel were reviewed. The new Post Office was finished. The Hostess House was very nearly ready for occupation. Work was proceeding on three of the Barrack Blocks as a start for the installation of improved heating in Airmen’s Quarters. An extension to the Sleeping-Quarters of the Officers’ Mess was well under way. An extension to the Sergeants’ Mess was completed. One of the two new Hangars rapidly loomed up, and the foundations of the other were established. The satellite landing-ground at Petrel was now transformed into a fully-fledged sub-Station, and was almost ready to house a hundred personnel. And more goal posts were being erected.
• 22.4.42 Another sign of the departure of Winter was to be seen early on this morning when the Station, in three Squadrons, paraded in the open for the Colour-Hoisting ceremony and March Past. This was carried out in normal working dress so that there should be no waste of time. In the matter of drill, regular Corporals’ Classes were new arranged.
• 23.4.42 In the afternoon forty-six pupil pilots of Course No. 36 graduated, the usual ceremony being performed on the parade Ground. The Flying Badges were presented by Group Captain W.S. Dipple, Officer Commanding No. 7 Bombing and Gunnery School, R.C.A.F., Paulson. Fifteen of the Graduates were approved for Commissions.
  In the evening, when the numerous visitors had departed, the Graduates gave a farewell Party.

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Carberry.

• 24.4.42 Course No. 36 left the Station. Eight were bound for Trenton, three for Clarseholm, one for Picton, and thirty-four for Moncton. Two officers also departed – Pilot Officer H.J. Holden, who from the rank of Flight Sergeant had been appointed to a Commission as A/Pilot Officer in the Technical (Engineer) Branch of the Royal Air Force, was posted to No. 31 O.T.U., Debert: and Flying Officer R. Ruck was posted to a Station., (No. 31 B. & G.S., Picton, Ontario) now commanded by Group Captain J. Cox, previously Chief Instructor at this Unit.
  While taxying on the tarmac a pupil pilot attempted to stop his aircraft behind a stationary Anson. The brakes failed, and a collision resulted. There was merely slight damage to one Anson – but the other sustained damage requiring fourteen day’s repair.
• 25.4.42 It was announced that Wing Commander E.K. Piercy had assumed the duties of President of the Mess Committee, vice Squadron Leader W.H. Gossip.
  As weather conditions were now becoming suitable for seeding there was great activity in spreading good soil in appropriate parts of the Camp, and all those interested in Barrack Block gardens were invited to apply for seeds.
• 26.4.42 A wedding in the Station Chapel had already taken place. On this day its first Christening Service was held at 16.30 hours when John Richard Dickens, second son of Wing Commander T.C. Dickens ( now Group Captain, and stationed at Eastern Command Headquarters) was christened by the Station Chaplain. The Station Commander, Squadron Leader Burnell and Mrs. Burnell, stood proxy for the Godparents.
  An admirable Concert Party organised by the Winnipeg Y.M.C.A. gave a performance in a crowded Recreation Ball. This performance brought to an end a long succession of excellent Concerts resulting from the Unit’s initiative in making contacts with various groups of civilians in Winnipeg and Brandon. The arrangements for visiting Concert Parties now passed into the hands of Command owing, presumably, to the desirability of an equitable distribution of such Concert Parties among the large number of Units which had sprung up in the Command Area. Whatever results might accrue from the new system –

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Carberry.

• 26.4.42 (Cont’d) beneficial or otherwise – this Unit was happily placed in that it seemed to have an almost inexhaustible store of talent for its own Concerts.
• 27.4.42 Footballs had now been issued to all Barrack Blocks and Sections with astonishing results to those not familiar with Airmen’s notorious passion for Soccer. At the close of their working hours nearly two hundred Airmen flung themselves into their first games and made all the available ground resemble a park on a Bank Holiday. Meanwhile, in one corner of the ground, a group of somewhat bewildered Canadians doggedly continued work on their Softball back-stop.
  Pilot Officers E.N.L. Guymer and J.J. Bray arrived on the Station, posted from North Battleford.
• 28.4.42 Considerable activity in the Station Hospital continued with vaccination and inocluation.
  Wet weather affected the roads of the Camp adversely, and precautions were taken to prevent the use of the Landing Ground at Oberon while there remained any possibility of damage to the surface.
• 29.4.42 The muddy state of the Camp also led to the cancellation of the Commanding Officer’s Parade; and during this week there was considerable loss of flying hours.
  In the evening a very happy Airmen’s Dance was held on the Camp. Flying Officer (Acting Flight Lieutenant) M.W. Anderson was posted to No. 31 B. and G. School, Picton, as Squadron Leader, O.C., Maintenance Wing.

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Carberry.

• 30.4.42 STRENGTH: Personnel.

	Officers	Other Ranks	Civilians
RAF	83	917	–
Service Personnel other Than RAF
RCAF	7	78	–
CDC	1	2	–
RCACS	1	3	–
Civilians	–	–	10
Trainees
RAF	–	199	–

• STRENGTH: Aircraft.

	Serviceable	Unservicable
Ansons	55	37

• (C.H. Brill)
  Group Captain, Commanding,
  No.33 S.F.T.S., RAF,
  CARBERRY, MANITOBA.