Milne, Wesley A.: my Air Force recollections (November 17, 2007)

ABSTRACT: Interview with Wesley A. Milne Interviewed by Louise Tumchewics November 17, 2007. Victoria, British Columbia When and where were you born? When and why did you join the RCAF? "I was born in Vancouver, August 7, 1923. I joined the air force October 20, 1942 because I was concerned that conscription might be enforced as it had been in 1916, and I would rather have been in the air force than the army. My brother was in the air force already. It was just the done thing, everyone was joining up. I had already left art school after 1 1/2 years of studying there, in order to work and I was working at the BC electric company." "My brother, Alien Milne, was in ground crew and later became an excellent pilot, flying mainly in coastal command. My brother was very mechanical, and always a wanted to fly. I am not mechanical at all, but I had very neat drawing skills and that singled me out for navigation because it was thought I would be good at chart-making. " Can you describe the training you received? "I was first sent to Manning depot at Edmonton. There was a bottleneck of aircrews at the navigation training centre in Calgary so I was sent to Saskatchewan, to the University at Saskatoon. The training consisted of classroom training in aerial navigation, learning to take starshots with sextants, that sort of thing. Then we went up in little aircraft (showed photographs of Avro Ansons) with two instructors. It was on to Brandon, Manitoba for further training on radars. I can't describe them--I'm not very mechanical. It was there that I graduated and was given an observer's badge one wing, with a "o" shaped ring." Pilots had two wings. From there I went to Lachine, Quebec, and then Montreal, where I made two very good friends through a Christian organization that helped Christian officers and airmen. I arrived in England maybe around D day and crewed up with one of these friends when we were sent to an OTU." You have many photographs of your crew. Can you tell me about them? How were you assigned? "I was the only commissioned officer on our crew for a while so I lived in a separate barracks until we were assigned to a squadron. Most of the crew was Canadian, our pilot he was a comic playboy, but an excellent pilot, had quick responses and was very cool, never panicked. The five carried on quite a bit, but my friend and I we didn't drink or fool around (because of religious beliefs) but even so we were all very close. We had great bond, we have all kept in touch and the others had reunions but! was busy in China and Taiwan so I didn't go to those gatherings, but I have kept in touch with all of them, although two have passed away now, but our wireless operator, Don, he is right here in Victoria and sometimes I talk to him." What aircraft did you fly on operations? "We started flying on a Wellington, that's what we were trained on then a Halifax, then half way through our tour we switched to a Lancaster. You know "remember remember the fifth of November" It's a Guy Fawkes Day expression, but for us it's something different because on the 5th of November, 1944 we were flying circuits and bumps--take-offs and landings--on the Halifax. One engine failed, then another, then a third. Our pilot was very good, he tried to maintain altitude but couldn't the plane kept dropping. The ground crew cleared the field, there were emergency crews waiting for us to crash. We all tucked into our crash positions, knees to forehead but I can't recall feeling afraid, excited and tense but not afraid. I really sensed that God was with me. Somehow we were able to make a safe landing and right away we were switched a new plane without a break so that the pilot and the rest of us would not lose our nerve. But the experience made us very close as a crew." What was your responsibility as a navigator during an operation? Please describe some of the trips that you flew on, if you can recall them. "We flew into the Norwegian fjords on mining raids. I recorded the altitude and plotted the route but the pilot flew by sight so I didn't have to do much! However it was quite challenging for the pilot because we were flying very low and there was a lot of flak. We were on the Chemnitz raid. This was done in cooperation with the Russians. It was strange weather that night, low base clouds and high clouds, we flew in between. We couldn't go in the high clouds because of the danger of icing. Out pilot had a sinus problem and was suffering from very bad headache. The pressure was so hard on him that he decided to climb to a higher altitude despite the orders not to. The ice collected along the edge of the wing and the airplane gave a great shudder and dropped. We were shouting at each other over the intercom. I as the navigator was quite useless. I simply sat and prayed for the crew, because I knew that they did not have the same faith, the same relationship with Christ as I did. I was very peaceful, I was not afraid to die, but I feared for the others. But we didn't crash, we didn't die." How did your experience in Bomber Command shape the rest of your life? "The Lord's protection on that mission and on all our missions strengthened my conviction to be a missionary. There were also many Christian officers they were far more evangelical than I. They also made a great impression on me. I knew before the war that I was to be a missionary and my time in the air force was confirmation of that because I survived in order to go into Christian service." Interview continued focusing on his 40 years as a missionary in China (1946-1949) and Taiwan.

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