I enjoy learning about history and putting events of the past in context of the present, especially when
it means trying to figure out the location of past local landmarks that have been torn down over the years as the face of Moncton continues to
change with each generation.
On Remembrance Day last year, I wrote a story about Moncton being an
"Air Force Blue" town during the Second World War as thousands of young recruits from all over the world came here for their
flight training. I've often wondered what it was like for the young air crew members who came here, and last week I received a letter from one
of them.
James Venables, a veteran who now lives in Fonthill, Ont., read my story and felt compelled to write me a four-page handwritten letter
about his experiences here. A native of Ottawa, Mr. Venables was sent to Moncton's No. 5 Equipment Depot in March of 1943. He talks about
packing the airplanes and making food deliveries, marching on Main Street, playing hockey and serving as a loadmaster on RCAF air cargo planes
during the war.
Here's the letter:
"Twelve of us 18-year-old rookies were sent over to the old Moncton Arena (on St. George Street, it no longer exists) to unpack rubber
dinghies and repowder them and repack them. The seats of the arena were filled with boxes. We had tables set up in the ice area. I could not
believe that I was in the arena where the Moncton Hawks won the Memorial Cup (Allan Cup) with coach Sammy McManus. I was in my prime hockey
years.
"When we finished with the dinghies they wanted us to unpack parachutes. We told the corporal that we were not qualified and someone's
life is on the line. We got out of that one.
"One day everyone at the equipment depot had to go on parade through Moncton's Main Street. With the army from Sussex, Navy and Air
Force, we filled the sidewalk on Main Street.
"After three months at the equipment depot, 12 of us were transferred to #8 S.F.T.S. to the startup of 164 Transport Squadron. The 250 of
us came from all over Canada. The squadron was to load depth charges into the nose compartments of airplanes which were eight feet off the
ground. At this time in the war the German submarines were sinking our ships right at the dock, at Goose Bay. We had trouble loading but the
crew unloading them at Goose had no trouble. It was like lifting a 45-gallon barrel out of your car trunk.
"One day some of our loading crew put one ton of 4X8-foot sheets of metal into a Lodestar aircraft and only put ropes around the end of
the metal. The metal cut the ropes and the metal slipped to the back of the aircraft, and it crashed, killing the crew. After that, Eastern
Air Command recommended that whoever loaded the plane had to go with it. We had 21 Dakota C-47 cargo aircraft flying to Goose, Gander, Torbay
(Newfoundland), Iceland, Summerside and Charlottetown. Every morning we would go over to the warehouse which was on the other side of the
runways. We did this for over a year.
"Every Wednesday we went to the farmers' warehouse, next to the old Eaton's store (now Heritage Court in downtown Moncton) to pick up
crates of lettuce, celery, tomatoes, oranges, bananas and other supplies. They would always give us some apples.
"When the ferries going to P.E.I. broke down, we went to the CNR station and picked up express packages that would be flown to the
island. We did this every day for two months.
"One day I went with an empty aircraft to Summerside to pick up 80 bags of potatoes for the base in Goose Bay. I will always remember how
long it took the farmer to even get close to the aircraft.
"We had put a load of extra messing for the officer's mess hall in Goose Bay. The rookie pilot lost one engine, so he ordered the
loadmaster to open the door and throw everything out. The deer in Goose Bay had a good feed that day. The officers in Moncton were not happy,
so we had to load five aircraft and the pilots would fly them with one engine shut down.
"The two years I spent in Moncton I met so many nice people. Very friendly. My air force buddy, Lloyd Anderson, asked me to come with him
to the Garlands in Gunningsville for Sunday dinner. Mr. Harry Garland worked for the CNR and they made the best donuts that you ever tasted.
"Ken and Gordon Garland both worked in Moncton. Years later I went back to Moncton with my wife and daughter and they had a platter piled
high with lobster.
"After spending two years in Moncton, Lt. Milliken came and said to me if we ever get this war over with, there is an air traffic control
course. I signed up for this course, not knowing that out of 250 men I was the only clown. I was sent to Pennfield Ridge
(another air training
station near Saint John) to take the course but after a month, I got a 48-hour leave and went back to Moncton to see all my buddies. What a
surprise, the only person left was Lt. Milliken. The day after I left the whole squadron was shipped to Burma to fly into Rangoon (Yangon).
"My buddy Darrell Wagner from Weymouth, N.S., had a malaria shot and had to go to the hospital. So out of the 250 men only two of us did
not go to Burma. Later we found out that five of our 21 planes got caught in a storm over the North Atlantic and went down. A lot of our
buddies did not make it to Burma.
"So my memories of Moncton are of the great people, a great town and a great time. One of the greatest thrills was playing hockey for the
RCAF and we went to St. John's and played the Halifax all-stars, and Sammy McManus coached us.
"What a time, but we took a beating," Mr. Venables said in his letter.
Mr. Venables is one of many Canadian veterans who has shared his stories with The Memory Project, stories of the Second World War.
As a footnote, the 164 Transport Squadron that was formed in Moncton became one of the RCAF's main air-lifting units. It provided crews that
worked here in Canada and overseas.
The squadron had more than 42,000 hours of operational flying and lost only one aircraft with three men - because the rookie loadmaster didn't
tie it down properly and the load shifted to the back of the plane.
At the end of the war, this Moncton air cargo squadron was blended in with the 426 of Dartmouth and carried on heavy lifting operations for
the Canadian Forces at home and overseas for many more years.
SOURCE: Times & Transcript (Moncton, NB) - January 18, 2011.
Return to Pennfield Ridge Air Station Roll of Honour Page
Return to Pennfield Ridge Air Station Page
Return to Pennfield Home Page