Nova Scotia/Nunavut Command of The Royal Canadian Legion www.ns.legion.ca 57 It was 1939 when WW11 commenced and I had finished High School, Grade 12. I had always thought that I would like to be a pilot. I got the “bug” one day during my time in school when a pilot landed his aeroplane at Aldershot just outside of my home town, Kentville, NS. He was there to offer sightseeing rides over Kentville and the nearby Annapolis Valley area. I think we called pilots who did this “barnstormers”. My mother drove me up to Aldershot to see the plane. I think that she was as curious as I was to see it. When we arrived there and found that the pilot was selling rides my Mum paid the fee and we both climbed into the tiny cockpit and away we flew. I think that was when I got the idea that I wanted to be a pilot! While being an army cadet at King’s County Academy I, with other cadets, enlisted as ‘Boy Entrant” in a local militia unit of the King’s Canadian Hussars (pay 60 cents a day while in camp at Aldershot). While I was in Senior High School I learned that some young Canadian men were working their way on “cattle boats” as payment for their passage to England where they joined the Royal Air Force. I wrote to the RAF and enquired about enlisting as a pilot. I received what was to me a disappointing reply. It said that I could complete the enclosed application to enlist as a general duties airman. If accepted and after learning a trade and being employed as such, I would have an opportunity to apply for the pilot training programme. This was not what I wanted. I went to the RCAF Recruiting Office in Halifax and completed an application for enlistment. I was accepted for pilot training. I enlisted on 21 October 1940 and reported for duty. I was given a train ticket and sent to No.1 Manning Depot in Toronto. No. 1 Manning Depot Toronto, Ontario No.1 Manning Depot in Toronto was at the Toronto Exhibition Grounds. The building had been used for exhibiting cattle and had been divided into areas, and I, with other aircrew hopefuls, were lodged in the “Bull Pen”. I was issued with uniforms, given medical examinations, basic training and lots of exercise. We now officially held the lowest rank of the RCAF, Aircraftman II (2nd Class) and were paid $1.70 a day with accommodation, meals, clothing and equipment included. The visits to the Dental Office stand out in my memory. My parents had a routine for my sister and I. We were regularly sent to the dentist ensuring that our teeth were in good shape. I was surprised when the Manning Depot dentists removed and replaced most, if not all, of my fillings. No reason was given for this. It was not until one day when I was flying on an operation in Africa that I may have learned why this had been done. On this day, while flying, I developed a severe toothache. Lucky for me, a few days later my squadron was visited by an army Dentist. He arrived in an old caravan housing among other necessities, his dental chair and equipment. While I sat in the chair, and his army assistant worked the foot pedals which powered the drill, I had my aching tooth repaired. The dentist told me that I was fortunate that my tooth had not exploded while flying at high altitudes as the seal between the filling and the tooth had deteriorated. As I had been selected for aircrew training, I assume that trying to prevent this type of problem was the reasoning which resulted in fillings being replaced while at the Manning Depot. From the Manning Depot I was posted to No.1 Initial Training School, also in Toronto. My Time With The Royal Canadian Air Force And The Royal Air Force WWII 1940 - 1945 Earl L. Banks CD, Squadron Leader, RCAF Retired continued ...
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