War 79

hauling gravel from the pits in the Valley. Much of this was directed to the building of the Charlottetown airport for its use in the war effort. One day the trucks abruptly disappeared from the roads. It was a strange absence, with a couple of neighbors wondering if perhaps the war had become serious and the drivers were “called up”! It was a slight over reaction and next day the dust was again flying on the Valley Road.

By 1941 Island skies were abuzz with planes as the RAF had just come to Charlottetown and set up a training depot. Their main aircraft were the dark two-engine Avro Ansons which had been shipped from England in crates and assembled here since on their own they were unable to fly across the Atlantic. They were a common sight and I used to be fascinated at seeing as many as a dozen at a time lumbering slowly along in the near and distant skies As might be expected there were accidents with a number crashing on land, ice and water. One vivid tragedy involved a mid-air crash of two Ansons over Tea Hill in 1942 which killed seven people. In all perhaps as many as twenty airmen lost their lives during wartime training here. The Ansons were soon joined in the skies by the tiny-looking Harvards out of Summerside. How we loved to watch the rolls, dives and other antics of these fast yellow fighter planes which so frequently appeared out of nowhere to perform their acrobats over our community and beyond. The contrast of these two types of plane was that of a crow to a swallow.

During the war a map of Europe had a prominent place on our kitchen wall to better follow the movements and events. On the radio and in the paper the progress of hostilities was care- fully noted with some of the older folk hinting that the news might be somewhat stacked in favor of our side. On many nights the voice of Gabriel Heater was a familiar one as he recounted so vividly the unfolding events. The fall of cities and regions in Europe and beyond was always cause for serious reflection even by youngsters. The sinking of the “Hood” in 1941 was one such sobering moment while the capture and downing of the “Bis- mark” only days later appeared to us then as such sweet re- venge. On the Saturday night NHL broadcasts the voice of Foster Hewitt tingled our spines with his opening words: “Hello Canada and Newfoundland and a special salute to our Canadian forces overseas". Vivid were the stories of troop ships from Halifax to England and of how they were attempting to dodge the enemy by Special maneuvers and escort vessels across the Atlantic. The Canadian plebiscite on conscription in 1942 was