In March 1944, he was transfered to Torbay before going to England in June. 

The story will be continued on the RCAF No. 128 Squadron blog.

Dave “Jug” Dack was with my grandpa pretty much everywhere. Torbay and England area. Have you put up a profile?

I’d like to show my Grandma, when I see her next, she remembers him the best.

Greg

Greg had sent this picture in November. 

He said that I could post it on the blog. At first I thought it was too personal.

He said his grandmother did not mind. In fact she is thrilled about the blog!

Walter and his wife Elizabeth are seen with another pilot, Dave Dack and his wife Vera.

It was taken in June 1944 in Hotel Montreal the summer before Walter went overseas where he flew 74 missions on Spitfires.

Now Greg wants me to look for “Jug”.

It’s the least I can do for him since he scanned more than 200 pictures and logbook pages. I know he’s F/L Dove’s grandson, but he did not have to do it.

So here goes…

What about Dave “Jug” Dack?

David Dack was born in Calgary, Alberta, 9 May 1920. He enlisted in the RCAF in June 1941 and started his training at no. 2 ITS Regina then trained at No. 19 EFTS Virden. He graduated at No. 2 SFTS Uplands in April 1942.

He went to “Y” Depot, in Halifax, while waiting for his posting in England. He was finally posted with RCAF No. 128 in Sydney, Nova-Scotia.  In March 1944, he was transfered to Torbay before going to England in June. He was sent to No. 61 O.T.U. in August for conversion on Spitire. He was posted after with 83 Group then with 401 Squadron on 1 December as a Flying Officer. He stayed with that squadron until the end of the war. He was then posted with 411 Squadron then 416 Squadron in July. He came back to Canada in December and left the RCAF in January 1946.

Nothing much on him on the Internet.

You can click here for pictures of RCAF No. 401 Squadron.

Flying Officer Wallace Victor John Burdis J/40853

Just a name?

Not quite…

This pilot’s name was in Walter Dove’s logbook.

He died on April 17, 1945.

The war was not over by any means…

Just take a look at these pages.

F/O Buzz Burdis Crashed and Died To-Day – Lack of Petrol

In memory of
Flying Officer
WALLACE VICTOR JOHN  BURDIS
who died on April 17, 1945

Military Service:

Service Number: J/40853

Force: Air Force

Unit: Royal Canadian Air Force

Division: 403 Sqdn.

This is a picture of Wallace Burdis found on the Canadian Virtual War Memorial site.

There is more on the site…

He wrote a letter to his father one day before he died.

I will tell you more tomorrow.

Well, I got this comment…

Wow!

I posted the letter and photo of Wallace Burdis on the Virtual War Mem site. Wallace was the only child of my great-uncle, related by marriage, so he has no blood relatives, but we remember him all the time because his dad, Uncle Clem and his step-mom, Aunt Alice, were a very close part of our family. I am so thrilled to see pictures of Wally that we didn’t even know existed!

My dad is going to be so excited to see them.

Thank you!

Dean Black sent me this information about Wallace Burdis…

Thursday, April 12, 1945

Continued operations from B.100, three operational trips flown, armed recces in the Oldenberg area. 

1^st operation – 12 sorties,

2^nd operation – 12 sorties,

3^rd operation – 8 sorties. 

Three new pilots arrived on the Squadron today,

J29779 F/O A.A. Roy,

J39160 F/O R. Young,

J40853 F/O W.V.J. Burdis, all beginning their first tour.

The best style is the style you don’t notice.

— Somerset Maugham

I never expected this…

Now I know all about Captain Foster and Eugène Gagnon…

Remember when I wrote in an article…

Captain Foster was an instructor at  No. 6 SFTS, Dunnville, until October 1942.

Eugene Gagnon got his wings at No. 6 SFTS, Dunnville, in April 1942.

No. 6 SFTS, Dunnville, Ontario, April 1942

Foster and Gagnon must have met somehow since Captain Foster instructed at No.6 SFTS, Dunnville, until October 1942. Maybe he was Eugene’s instructor.

It’s funny when you meet people.

You never know what will evolve from that meeting.

Well…

I got this comment:

What an amazing blog and what a wonderful tribute to those who served in 403 squadron.

I am Cap’s youngest son and can’t thank you and Greg enough for putting this together.

I can answer your question as to whether or not Cap was Eugene Gagnon’s flight instructor unfortunately he was not, I just searched through my fathers log books from his time at 6 SFTS in Dunnville and Eugene’s name was not there. Too bad because that would have been so very cool.

I look forward to learning more about the history of the Wolf Squadron and once again thank you so much for your efforts.

There is creative reading as well as creative writing.

— Ralph Waldo Emerson

His famous speech, in which he said, “I came out of Bataan and I shall return”, was first made at Terowie, a small railway township in South Australia on 20 March. Upon his arrival in Adelaide, MacArthur abbreviated this to the now-famous, “I came through and I shall return” that made headlines. Washington asked MacArthur to amend his promise to “We shall return”. He ignored the request. (Wikipedia)

I shall return to this blog later.

I am now concentrating my efforts with F/L Dove posting at Torbay, Newfoundland from September 1943 through April 1944. That’s where he was posted before being sent to England to join later on RCAF No. 403 Squadron.

All this information can be seen on my new blog about RCAF No. 128 Squadron. Greg has scanned all the relevant logbook pages with some more exclusive photos like this one…

Collection Walter Neil Dove

Click here to visit the blog

It’s not about shooting down Germans airplanes or strafing MET.

It’s about sharing pictures of those who had to fight for their side.

It’s about remembering.

Reg Morris is another pilot in Walter Neil Dove’s photo album. Reg Morris came back, just like Tommy Todd and Doug Orr did.

Little is known about him.

So when Greg scans pictures and send them along, I write what I can find.

This is Reg Morris in the cockpit.

Reg Morris

Collection Walter Neil Dove

This is the story I found on the Internet.

This is an excerpt taken on page 303 and the following page. Reg Morris’ name is in there as well as others. I will put their names in red as well as information found in F/L Dove’s logbook and photo album as I go along.

This article will be edited as I go along and review it.

So come back once and a while. It will be worth it.

Lest we forget…

The Luftwaffe appeared again for a brief while on April 23rd [1945].

Returning from an early morning patrol of the Bremen- Hamburg area the Wolves [403 Squadron] met twelve long-nosed FW 190s.

Eight of the aircraft were milling about low over an autobahn, the other four acting as cover at 3,000 feet.

The squadron engaged the four flying as cover and F/Ls H. R. Finley

and W. N. Dove

each destroyed one. F/O A. McLaren experienced engine failure southeast of Bremen and crash-landed but called up to say that he had got down safely. He eventually was released from a prisoner-of-war camp.

Later in the morning two more FWs were seen but they took refuge in cloud.

The Oshawa Squadron damaged some transport and strafed a tank.

A total of 22 transports, two locomotives and several goods cars was accounted for by the Hornets on the 24th while the Red Indians claimed a complete train.

But there was a bigger and more varied toll on the 25th.

F/O Bob Shannon of the Wolves destroyed an FW.190 at Hagenow just after it had landed and, as aircraft in large numbers were reported parked there and at Schwerin, the squadron visited those two aerodromes later in the day and damaged four enemy aircraft on the ground. S/L Zary claimed an Me.262 and a Ju.88 while F/Ls Reg Morris and E. O. Doyle each damaged an Me.262.

On the southwest corner of Schwerin aerodrome twelve Me.109s were strafed and as our pilots pulled up and away they noted a large explosion which enveloped all the aircraft in a cloud of dust.

About twenty aircraft were seen at Travemunde aerodrome and sea station and again there was ground strafing with good results. F/L A. E. Fleming destroyed an He.III and F/O Leslie claimed what he thought was an FW.189. A Do.26 was damaged by F/O Fred Town with the help of F/O J. R. Baker and FS J. C. Pickering, and in addition six small speed boats and two tugs were damaged. The squadron also reported two submarines lying in the channel. The Hornets participated in the strafing of Schwerin where they saw some sixty assorted Ju.87s, FW.190s, Ju.88s and other types of aircraft. One Ju.88 was destroyed by F/O A. J. Dilworth and damage was claimed to two Ju.87s and an unidentified aircraft by F/L Finley, to another unidentified aircraft and a Ju.87 by S/L DeCourcy, who got the D.F.C. for his part in this attack, to a Ju.87 and an unidentified aircraft by F/O H. A. Greene, a twin-engined and a single-engined aircraft by F/O M. C. Tucker, a Ju.87 by F/O O. A. Dodson, an FW.190 by F/O G. S. Taylor and a Ju.87 by F/O W. G. Conway.

In the evening the same squadron visited Neustadt aerodrome where they sighted twenty-five Me.109s and FW.190s on the ground. Two FWs were destroyed by F/O Tucker and one by F/L Finley while F/O Taylor damaged two more. The squadron also had much success against road transport. This time, however, F/O Dilworth failed to return, his aircraft being assumed to have been hit by flak. The Hornets lost two pilots the next day, too. F/L Watt reported a glycol leak after an attack on road transport near Neumünster and subsequently crash-landed while F/O Conway said that he had hit a pole when pulling up from a ground attack. He was not heard from after he asked for directions to make base. Watt was later reported in hospital and Conway safe in the United Kingdom.

The Wolves recorded an attack on road transport and also strafed a locomotive with a train-load of lumber. The 27th and 28th were poor days though the Wolves saw a Do.217 flying southeast at 6,000 feet on the 28th. F/L Cap Foster attacked it from astern and it burst into flames and crashed.

Foster now had three destroyed and a damaged to his credit, as well as several transport vehicles, a score which netted him the D.F.C.

On the 29th the same squadron encountered an FW.190 at which W/C J. F. Edwards took a squirt-but it escaped in the clouds. Similarly the Hornets saw an Me.109 at Lübeck which also escaped.

The month closed with a good score on enemy road and rail transport by the Wolves and the Oshawa Squadron. In addition F/L Fleming of the Wolves shot down an Me.108. The Oshawa Squadron set something of a record when for twenty-four sorties it claimed 45 motor vehicles destroyed and io6 damaged, together with two locomotives and five goods trucks damaged too. S/L Mitchner, D.F.C., was awarded a Bar for his share in this devastation of enemy transport. An interesting note was added to the diary of the Red Indians by F/O Marsden on April 29th: Soon after we landed (at Reinsehlen) Evans and myself heard of the army finding one of those graves containing German political prisoners of all nationalities so out of curiosity we went to ee it. There had been 156 of them in all–the last 19 of them were still there and those are what we saw. It wasn’t a pleasant sight as they had been dead since April 5th and were being exhumed by local farmers overrun by the Army. We’d both seen photos of them in newspapers but hardly believed it. However, there’s no doubt about those pictures now.

The close of hostilities found the McGregor-Northcott Wing at Wunstorf. On May 1st the Rams on a patrol of the Schwerin Lake area sighted an FW.190 which W/C G. W. Northcott, D.S.O., D.F.C., damaged. A second one was seen taking off from Lübeck aerodrome and was likewise damaged by S/L Klersy. On the last patrol of the day the aircraft of F/L G. D. Cameron, D.F.C., was hit by flak and he had to bale out but he was escorted back to his unit by a German doctor.

The Grizzly Bears were more unfortunate, Losing P/O D. B. Young, who was posted as “missing, particulars unknown”. The same Bears gained two victories on the and when F/O Wilson destroyed an Me.109 and F/O G. N. Smith damaged an Me.262, the only other event of the day being the damaging of a locomotive and a passenger car by the Falcons.

Klersy was killed on a training flight on May 22nd. His D.S.O. was announced in June, 1945, at which time he was credited with the destruction or damaging of go enemy vehicles, eight locomotives and eight goods trucks since the award of the Bar to his D.F.C. His total of aircraft destroyed in the air and on the ground was 16½. 2 F/O J. P. Francis who had destroyed four e/a was awarded the D.F.C.

The 3rd was a great day, a kind of grand finale to the whole continental campaign.

The Rams had been patrolling over Hamburg as the ground forces entered the city and, while in search of enemy transport, saw a grass strip at Schonberg, northeast of Kiel, with a number of enemy aircraft in various stages of camouflage. The Rams attacked and, meeting no opposition, continued firing until they ran out of ammunition. S/L Klersy destroyed a Ju.52 and an He.III. F/L Watt destroyed a Ju.52 and a Ju.87, F/O Francis destroyed two Ju.52s and F/Os Gudgeon and Dack each three more; P/O V. E. Cottrell destroyed two Ju. 52s and P/O Woodill one He.III. In addition the squadron accounted for five locomotives damaged, thirteen rail trucks damaged, seven motor vehicles destroyed and 47 damaged and three horse-drawn transports damaged. The Winnipeg Bears also added to their score. Sighting three Fi.156s on the ground north of Neumünster, F/Ls Innes and Peck attacked and left all three damaged. Innes now had three enemy aircraft destroyed and was awarded the D.F.C. in September 1945 A little later S/L Gordon, D.F.C. saw another Fi.156 flying near the deck and shot it down in flames. F/L J. A. O’Brian was hit by his own ricochets during this operation and baled out southeast of Hamburg. The same day he was reported as on his way back to the squadron. For the Grizzly Bears and the Falcons it was an unfortunate day, both losing one pilot. F/L McClarty, D.F.C., of the Bears was hit by flak and disappeared twenty miles south of Kiel while F/L Pieri of the Falcons was forced to bale out when his aircraft likewise was hit by flak or ricochets.

 The last score of the war for this wing was obtained on May 4th. A locomotive and five trucks were damaged by the Falcons and an He.III was destroyed by F/L D. F. Campbell and F/O T. L. O’Brien of the Grizzly Bears. The Winnipeg Squadron got two motor vehicles and damaged ten others. Flying on the 5th was uneventful.

On May 12th the Wing moved to Fassberg. There they found many wrecked German aircraft.

They soon settled in and availed themselves of the many amenities that they found, including the two swimming pools. On July 5th they reluctantly left for Utersen, a few miles north of Hamburg, where they were within reach of the many entertainments provided for service personnel.

They remained there throughout the summer, the Wing forming part of the Occupation Forces.

Since D-Day, June 6th, 1944, the McGregor-Northcott Wing had flown 22,372 sorties and destroyed 361 enemy aircraft in addition to taking an enormous toll of ground targets. Reinsehlen continued to be the locus operandi of the Turner-Edwards Wing until its official disbandment on July 7th, when two of the squadrons, the Oshawa and the Hornets, were transferred to the McGregor-Northcott Wing, the Wolves and the Red Indians being disbanded with Wing headquarters.

May started with a bang. On the 1st, four squadrons maintained standing patrols over the bridgehead across the Elbe, carried out armed reconnaissances in the Schwerin area, southeast of Lübeck, and provided escort fighter cover to medium bombers attacking Lübeck. The reconnaissances provided many targets on the roads and the second patrol netted an encounter between the Wolves and twenty FW.190s. In the dog-fight two of the enemy were destroyed by WO R. C. Neitz and F/O R. Young, one was probably destroyed by F/O Bob Shannon, and eight were damaged, one by F/O Leslie, two by WO Neitz, two by F/L C. L. Rispler and three by Shannon. After escorting Mitchells to Lübeck, the Red Indians on an armed reconnaissance in the Schwerin area saw an FW.190 which was shot down by the joint efforts of F/L W. P. Harper, F/O E. H. Mann and WO P. S. Murphy. The squadron also successfully attacked a convoy of motor vehicles while the Hornets similarly had considerable success against road transport.

On the 2nd the Wing participated in almost every conceivable kind of activity, patrols, armed reconnaissances, escorts to bombers and to a V.I.P. (very important personage), scrambles, fighter sweeps, and reconnaissances to check up on bombing results. The Wing got credit for an enemy aircraft when a German wireless mechanic landed a Henschel 126 on the aerodrome and, with another member of the master race, surrendered to the Canadians. The Wolves scored again when, on a patrol of the bridgehead, an He.III was shot down by F/O Town. But it was really the Hornets’ day. On a morning patrol, four of their pilots destroyed twelve transports and damaged twenty more, four more pilots got an additional twelve and still later the squadron found a number of aircraft on .the east shore of a lake in the Lübeck area and destroyed one He.III and a Fieseler- Storch as well as damaging two more He.IIIs. Then a Ju.88 was seen flying north at 2,500 feet over Bad Segeberg. F/O M. J. Clow and F/L Finley shot it down but Finley’s aircraft was hit by the rear gunner’s fire and Finley had to bale out. He returned to the squadron three days later. The Red Indians on their afternoon patrols damaged five trains and destroyed ten motor vehicles.

A new note was introduced on May 3rd when, in addition to their other duties, the squadrons indulged in antishipping strikes. The Wolves turned in a varied score of one locomotive and rolling stock damaged, road transport destroyed and damaged, flak towers destroyed, hits on a runway and dispersed aircraft, trawlers and cargo ships damaged -and rail cuts obtained. The Oshawa Squadron, on an otherwise uneventful day, got its last victory of the war  when F/O Rex Tapley and P/O Larry Spurr jointly destroyed a Do.217. The Red Indians’ only relief from a series of dull patrols was an attack by an FW.190 which failed to do any damage and then made off in clouds. The Hornets damaged locomotives and rolling stock, road transport, cut roads and rails, destroyed a trawler and damaged others, and destroyed a Ju.88 which fell to the guns of S/L T. J. DeCourcy, F/L R. G. Sim and F/O W. A. Marshall.

Subsequent operations by the Wing provided nothing eventful.

Since D-Day the Wing had flown 20,084 sorties, destroyed 184 enemy aircraft, probably destroyed 8 others and damaged 103.

Source: THE R.C.A.F. OVERSEAS

Words, once they are printed, have a life of their own.

— Carol Burnett

Collection Walter Neil Dove

What about this information then?

Collection Dean Black

Intrigued?

Come back for more next time.

No, you can do better than that.

Click here instead.

You will be amazed by what Greg has started scanning for us from his grandfather’s photo album.

Squadron Code RA

7 June 1942.  Formed as Fighter unit at Sydney, Nova Scotia. Flew the Hurricane aircraft.

15 March 1944.  Disbanded at Torbay, Newfoundland.

Walter Neil Dove was stationed there from 14 September 1943 to 15 March 1944.

Then he went overseas on the H.M.T. Andes.

Click on the image for the source

Very little is known about that squadron.

Billy Gould was also stationed there.

This is what I found on the Internet.

Another pilot was there and he tells about his experience at Torbay in Newfoundland.

Click here for the source.

My early experience flying fighters (Hawker Hurricanes) was initiated off the east coast of Newfoundland. We flew from Torbay Airfield near St. John’s. These aircraft were equipped with two 250 pound depth charges slung under each wing in addition to our four 303 machine guns. Our responsibility was to provide coastal patrols searching for German submarines which were known to frequent the coves of Newfoundland and Cape Breton Island. These submarines were sinking the iron-ore laden cargo ships stationed dockside at Bell Island in Conception Bay. Our second task was to provide a deterrent to the battleship Tirpitz (which carried a spotter aircraft) in the event she approached our shores looking to do surveillance and sink allied vessels.

We flew patrols in a single engine aircraft and covered areas as far as 60 miles to sea. We only had compasses and our innate navigating instincts to guide us. The radios only provided contact between each other and the base. They were not “very high frequency.” At time we would return to Torbay, exhausted from the day’s sojourn, only to find the runway thick with fog. Our limited range did not allow us to land elsewhere. Adverse conditions and in adequate equipment made for some high adrenaline landings. I suppose that is what is meant by “… coming in on a wing and a prayer.” We did both.

As the Allied efforts began turning the tides of war in January of 1944, we were posted as a squadron to England and we then converted to the famous Spitfire fighter aircraft. We flew as “Fighter Bombers” with the Second Tactical Air Force carrying a 250 pound bomb under each wing and a 500 pound bomb under the fuselage. We were also equipped with two 20 mm cannons and four 303 machine guns. With the armory on boards, we were assigned to provide close army support. As we moved from station to station, we lived “under canvas.”

Prior to D-Day (Operation Overlord) and the assault on enemy occupied Normandy, we helped pave the way for the upcoming invasion by dive bombing V1 sites and the anti-aircraft gun emplacements. We strafed enemy trains and motor transport which provided the enemy supply links to the coastal regions. Our squadron made sweeps deep into France searching out and destroying Nazi fighters and bombers. These operations “prepped” the area for the infamous D-Day Invasion.

On the actual invasion day, our squadron was assigned to cover the landings of the British Army Units on the beaches of Normandy. We did two sorties that day – one at dawn and then later in the afternoon of June 6, 1944. It was a harrowing experience. We had a bird’s eye view of the tremendous fleets and heavy bombardments from the Navy. We could also view the landings and the fierce tank battles inland towards the city of Caen. Interestingly enough, no German fighters or bombers appeared to challenge our airspace. We provided air coverage daily until we established an airstrip on the Beach Head. On D-Day plus nine (June 15, 1944), our entire unit moved to established ourselves on a field called B3 – just in from the cliffs of Arromanches. We were the first Wing to be stationed and fly from French soil since the Dunkirk evacuation. Our field was visited nightly by German bombers droning continuously above us as we slept in tent covered slit trenches – “army style.”

During the Normandy Campaign, our squadron was credited with damaging or destroying nearly 500 enemy motor transports. We accounted for some 40 enemy fighter planes from the time prior to D-Day up to and including the closing of the Falaise Gap. We lost aircraft and men to ground fire and the Folk Wolfe 190s. Two of our squadron leaders were shot down by the anti-aircraft ground fire and became prisoners of war. My aircraft was badly shot up at the time of the closing of the Falaise Gap, but I was lucky enough to be able to limp back and crash land behind our lines.
We continued to follow the army as they pursued the Germans up through France and Belgium. We were now stationed at Antwerp, Belgium while we took part in “Operation Market Garden.” We were given the task of guarding the bridge over the Rhine at Nijmegen. As a result, the German aircraft were unable to destroy or damage it. There came a lull after the failure of the Market Garden Campaign. We were then transferred back to England at Folkstone. During the previous campaigns we had lost at least 50% of our experienced flying personnel; some had been shot down, while others had finished their tours. Now our assignments were to escort heavy bombers (Halifaxes and Lancasters) as they attacked factories in the Ruhr Valley.
My tour of operations was completed after 131 missions over enemy held territory, always subjected to very heavy anti-aircraft fire during our bombing, strafing and escort runs.

Victory in Europe (May 8, 1945) was observed in the middle of the Atlantic by yours truly as we plied our war homeward aboard a ship. We hoped the German U-Boats had learned the war was over! I received my discharge back in Canada and then went on to study Dentistry at the University of Alberta by courtesy of the Veterans’ Allowance. It had proved to be a long and gruesome road in reaching my goal. Being one of the fortunate ones to survive, I was grateful to be able to pursue my dream of attending the University and become a Dentist with a Specialty in Pediatrics.

Three pictures.

Three pictures of a model airplane…

NO. 128 SQUADRON

Dragon

Never until I saw this.

Collection Walter Neil Dove

A new chapter opens up with this page from Walter Neil Dove’s logbook. His training days and more…

If the writing is honest it cannot be separated from the man who wrote it.— Tennessee Williams

Click here.

This is only a small clip of Rememberance Day at CWHM that day.

George was the guest speaker.

I met George Stewart before I met Greg…

The rest is history.

Toddles.